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.

New-ish movie Review -- Atonement

stunningly beautiful

cinematically captivating

this story is so compelling that it begged to be told. the performances of Kiera Nightley and the oldest briony, played by Vanessa Redgrave were exceptional. i thought kiera's lover, played by James McAvoy was a little bland. that could be simply a director's choice, but then again, maybe not. I mean, his last noteworthy performance was as a faun.

this is one of those movies that you are not necessarily on the edge of your seat, but your insides are. it is easy to become invested in a little girl's childish lie and it is easy to take the story for face value, just as it is told. so when you find that there is no redemption, it begs the question: then why "atonement?" and it is suddenly no longer just a pretty film. it truly asks the audience to think about the stories we tell and how they affect those in our world.

noteworthy technical elements: costuming and lighting. i kept praising the use of color and fabric... and that green dress.... hello! and even though the period felt more like an interpretation than an accurate representation, i loved the womens' clothes, from the nurse's uniforms down to kiera's swimsuit. the lighting played with the concept of harsh situations vs. the innocence of a child and told the story as well. the young girl always looked like a painting, perfect and hazed, and the rest of her world that she wrote about was bright and in sharp contrasted lighting. irony in lights? loved it.

the war scenes are an interpretation of WWII that you would never have thought to imagine. the lay-out, the colors, the mood of it all, is one that I have not seen a comparison.

as far as the rating, i don't recall why it was even given a Restricted rating, unless it was to purposely grab a mature audience to handle the content. there is some war violence and mature situations is what i believe it was labeled.

in my humble, yet correct opinion: 5/5

oh. and atonement is one to own.
a possibly powerful, thought-provoker, so it might be an
only-a-few-times-a-year kind of flick,
but it should live on your shelf nonetheless.

oh. it also should have won best picture last year.
but maybe i should see the winner first prior to
making just a bold statement. ok, i will...
but i still think it.

Old School Movie Review #10 -- Baby Mama

I guess I can hardly call this one "old school" cause it still feels so recent. Maybe its just that I love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler more than I can describe. They are both so much fun in the Baby Mama, and though both of them are similar characters than we've seen, you buy em and fall in love with both of them so fast.

The plot is expected, not much of it is a surprise, but the dialogue is witty and hilarious and some of the extra characters make it a serious kick in the pants.
Tina's boss, for example, is a very granola/borderline Fabio played by a starting-to-look-sort-of-old Steve Martin.

It is the perfect example of what happens when a good writer sits down and defines characters well and then envisions only the most devastatingly hilarious things for them to say. It also has a little chick flicky/heart warming side too so it was good times all over. I recommend it to anyone.

In my humble, yet correct opinion: 4/5

This one could be a renter or an owner. maybe and owner for me.

Talladega Nights --- Old School Movie Review #9

I have things I could be doing that are far more productive. And let me tell you, if I were a real and normal individual I would not be doing what I am about to do:

I was "indoctrinated" this weekend into a slightly cultish movie of the area I am now a part of. (AKA: I would not understand half of the conversations in the air if I did not partake myself) This one is one of those movies that looks like it is so beyond retarded that there should be no room for humor in it. Honestly though: I was impressed by its shear stupidity. Stupid humor is an art form too, and they nailed it. They also nailed a white trash culture that is so fascinating to those of us in but not of their world. Loved every second, I have to admit. Sue me.

Best scene: the family sits down for prayer and he prays to baby Jesus. They all get in a fight over who to pray to and that Jesus had a beard..etc. "I am saying grace! When you are praying, you can pray to baby Jesus, or toddler Jesus, or teenage Jesus, or bearded Jesus..." The scene takes quite a long time and is horrendously irreverent. But so funny.

Best line: (a gay French car racer) "My husband Gregory and I wish for that which every other couple wish for: to tame komodo dragons in Sri Lanka and teach them to perform Hamlet." I may or may not have tinkled a few and had to rewind it thrice to be sure that is what he said.

In my humble, yet correct opinion: 4/5

Own or rent?: hmm, depends on you i suppose.

Dag- 2 in 1 day...

Too good not to. Here: I love Onion. Period. Soon I will be able to pick up my very own copy in person and read it on the way to work and laugh out loud to disturb the other public transit users.

For now, enjoy the videos...

Doogie Howser -- where have you been hiding?

uh oh... i have found a gem. a true gem.

Neil Patrick Harris, I realize this proves to all that your career is officially washed up farther on shore than an Alec Baldwin or even a Mario Lopez.... but I appreciate your dedication to geekdom and to the wide world of cheap and accessible entertainment.

If you have 40 minutes, and I know you do, please just enjoy this piece of randomness and joy.