Still catching up from last year - Smart People

i guess i just love independent films, and i love them when they are written well.

smart people has some of the greatest, intelligent-people dialogue and it makes it so clever and witty and to be honest, one you might need to watch with subtitles to catch all the snippets of humor embedded deep. there are just some moments that are so stinkin funny...

quotable quotes:
Vanessa Wetherhold: [stressed] I'm in an after-school special.

Lawrence Wetherhold: Why would you have a baby with me?
Janet Hartigan: Because you don't know how to properly use a condom.
Lawrence Wetherhold: Point taken.

Lawrence Wetherhold: You're a giant toddler!

Vanessa Wetherhold: You should really make your bed. It sets the tone for the day.
Chuck Wetherhold: But, how do you know what tone I was trying to set?

little ellen page is a juno-wit-type character, just as snappy and fun to watch, though with an opposite set of traits: NHS, high SATs... she is a brainer, which just makes it funny. the interesting ones to watch are the Dennis Quaid and Sarah Jessica Parker match up. they are so unassuming, and still when it is done you almost don't see it... but it works for what they need it too, i guess. (lets be honest though, who doesn't want to have hair just like her.. long, wavy... yummy. or like meg's in women... anyway, i digress.)

again, why i love indie films is cause they move a a closer-to-reality pace than a romantic comedy or even a drama would. they don't try to embellish more than needful. and both of these actors played roles that were uncommon to them: quaid as a pompous jerk with almost no charm, and parker as one who could melt into the film instead of bubble her way into the forefront. (not that i believe she does this on purpose, but something about her look and/or acting gives off a vibe that really pulls me out of films that she is in sometimes. she is just too jumpy or bubbly or fake or something... but i loved it. then, on the other hand, she was quirky in family stone, and i loved that one...)

anyway, that's all i had on that one.

in my humble, yet correct opinion: 3/5

don't buy it, netflicks it though- a great lazy homealoner.

another new-ish review: Ms. Pettigrew Lives for a Day

this goes to show how powerful the previews are. i saw the preview for this one whilst watching atonement and i instantly put it on my queue.

i thought i would love the movie because i adore amy adams. i thought it was going to be a kind of witty, period piece that would interesting to see. but the fairly new director gave me something i didn't expect.

amy was fun and all, but it was ms pettigrew (Francis McDormand) who shined for me. she was just a joy to watch. not to mention my new crush from pushing daisies: Lee Pace. what an adorably charming actor. he's just fresh and new and great on screen. also noteworthy are the supporting roles Ciarán Hinds & Shirley Henderson (moaning murtle), who were both fun additions to the little farse.

i love the kind of movie that throws me in media res and gives me way too much information to handle so i am just as lost as the character they want me to identify with. i love that we figure life out at the same time ms. pettrigrew does. it isn't an extrodinarily deep film, it doesn't change your life. but you will wish you lived in the forties because of the fun costumes and bars, and you will wish you had a guy like lee to be the one that knocks some sense into you. yes, it is a blatant chick flick, yes it is slightly an indulgent one, and yes, i squealed a few times... so worth it.

in my humble, yet correct opinion: 3.5/5

and yes, this is an owner for me.
can't have too many girly uppity films in your stash.
unless it is another one of those she's-from-new-york-and-a-magazine-editor-or-something-and-yadda-yadda-perfect-life films... then you don't need it. you have five of those already.