I LIKE TO WATCH
Happy Thanksgiving..... but enough about all that, let's talk movies!
THE MIST: I really loved this whacked-out Stephen King adaptation. This is one of the most downbeat, brutal, and generally unpleasant (although never gory or silly) films of the year! I thought it was great. Totally nihilistic, and extremely critical of our government without being preachy. And it's directed by the guy who made The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile. My grade: A.
SMILEY FACE: A great new indie film by Gregg Araki (of Doom Generation and Mysterious Skin fame) about a pot smokin' wannabe actress who accidentally gets super high and has to go about her day pretending she's sober. I thought it was really, really funny. I had a chance to talk with Gregg Araki before the screening, and he was incredibly nice in person, and very funny too. It's kind of an anti-stoner comedy, with a classic performance by Anna Farris as the drugged out actress. Destined to be a future cult classic! My grade: A.
SOUTHLAND TALES: Lisa and I have been wanting to see this for a really long time. As a huge fan of Donnie Darko, I was really psyched to see what Richard Kelly could come up with next. The film, as it turns out, is a total trainwreck, but it's so fascinating and bizarre, that I ended up being really entertained by it. It's nowhere near as good as Donnie Darko, but it's definitely a total head-trip! I guess I liked it in the end, but it was about half an hour too long. My grade: B.
AMERICAN GANGSTER: Pretty perfunctory effort. It's hard to believe that the same person who directed Alien and Blade Runner made this film. I'm sure it'll get some Oscar nominations, but it's really not that great. It's like Ridley Scott is trying to do a Scorcese film. And I'm so sick of Russell Crowe--he's really boring, and he always plays the same character. Denzel Washington is good, as usual, but I thought he was a more convincing badass in Training Day. My grade: C.
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alexmcaulay) wrote,
