Movie Reviews - May 2005 (AKA My Anger at Kingdom)

Hey everyone! When I originally started this blog, I claimed there'd be lots of entertainment news published here (because there are so few places to get such news these days;). Instead, I've had little to say about movies, tv, moviestars and the like. I think it's been because there have been so few movies worth watching this year. My new goal is to post reviews monthly, primarily of those that tickle my fancy or generate my ire. The middling will likely be ignored. Following are some mini-reviews of a few I have seen lately:

• Upside of Anger - This drama stars Joan Allen, Kevin Costner, and Kerri Russell (finally the return of Felicity!) and is about how a mom and her daughters deal with life after being abandoned by the dad. Costner plays their next door neighbor who is shockingly a retired baseball player. My brother and I were trying to think last nite if this were the fourth or fifth time Costner played a baseball player. Luckily for the audience, it's what he plays best. And he does a great job in this movie. He is bested though by Allen who is hilarious and a revelation as the epitome of a woman scorned. For my money she's the best actress out there today....Meryl Streep who? That's how good she is. This movie is that rare treat that is engaging, funny, sad and moving all at once. It's also filled with great character roles and lots of subplots. It's probably too late for you to catch it in the theater, but make sure to rent it or netflix it. Rating: Nighttime movie
  
• Melinda and Melinda - This is Woody Allen's latest (at least in the States - more on that in a sec). It's set in NYC like the vast majority of his films and the difference for me was that I actually got to see it while visiting Cyd in NYC. This was truly a treat as Woody is the quintessentiall New York director. NYC is beautiful thru his camera lens. The movie starts out with a nod to My Dinner with Andre. Two playwrights discuss the following scenario: A woman shows up unexpectedly in the middle of a dinner party. The two debate whether it's a comedy or a tragedy. The movie jumps back and forth telling both sides as imagined by the playwrights (this is much less confusing than I'm making it seem). Each version is populated by different actors except for the protagonist, Melinda, played in both stories by Radha Mitchell (you may remember her from Pitch Black, Finding Neverland, or High Art). She is definitely one of my favorite younger actresses and it was a treat watching her play out both sides. Also in the movie is another of my favorite younger actresses - Chloe Sevigny. To me, she'll always be Alice in Last Days of Disco. The cast also includes Amanda Peet and Will Ferrell. Cyd and I both enjoyed the film but she thought Ferrell was distracting/disturbing/annoying in Allen's Manhattan. Rather than come to blows, we agreed to disagree. Earlier I wrote that Melinda was Allen's latest movie in the US. That's because his actual latest is currently showing at Cannes, and is supposedly the hit of the festival. It was filmed in London and is called Match Point. I eagerly await it. I hear he's looking to film his next movie in Spain, so I can only hope that he does not abandon New York completely. Rating: Matinee
  
• Sahara - If you read my earlier blog post, you know that such is my fondness for Matthew McConaughey that I traveled to Golden one day to view him and his trailor as he promoted Sahara. So of course, I had to go see it. It was a fairly enjoyable movie of the whole action/Indian Jones genre and included some imagined history of the lost ship of the Confederacy that made it interesting. Nevertheless, it didn't win me over. And in no way is it in my top 10 MM movies. The problem really was Matthew himself. They dyed his hair black and left him in the Mystic Tan machine for way too long (think Ross from that one Friends episode). These people are crazy for messing with his looks. His acting unfortunately was a bit over the to p as well. Penelope has never been a fav of mine and her role could have been played by anyone. As usual, Steve Zahn steals the movie as the funny sidekick. Rating: Rentable
  
• Kingdom of Heaven - This is one I was really looking forward to. I love these big budget epic kind of movies. But perhaps I was spoiled by the LOTR trilogy. Because Kingdom was horrible. It's 2.5 hrs long and I was terribly bored thru the first half. If I hadn't had a bottle of coffee with me I would surely have nodded off. It was also so unbelievable and stupid that I could not get over it. In 5 minutes Orlando "blooms" (couldn't resist) from an illiterate blacksmith into a brilliant soldier and strategist. Whatever. The movie spends so much time trying to play to all sides that it has no point of view and is just a mushy mess of special effects. The Siege of Helm's Deep was just sooooo much better than the Siege of Jerusalem! The whole time I was wishing elves would show up to save the day and my boredom. Plus there's only one girl in Kingdom - and she's only in it for about 5 minutes. I guess that's all it takes to establish a romantic relationship in Ridley Scott's world. Disclaimer - Thomas really enjoyed this one, so maybe it's a guy thing. Weird fact: Edward Norton played the leper king. You would never know it's him because his face is covered the whole time by a silver mask. What a waste of Ed Norton. His breakup with Salma must have caused more damage than I ever imagined. Rating: Must be paid to watch.

Rating System:
Nightime movie
Matinee
Rentable
TV
Must be paid to watch

The big movie news of the week is the final Star Wars - Revenge of the Sith! I really liked the 2nd one unlike most of the world, and I hear this one is great so I can't wait. To get you in the mood, check out Darth Vader's blog that Thomas showed to me.

In other news, I happily welcome my mom, Katie, to the blogworld. She's just getting started but be sure to check out her musings.

Boulder Bumpersticker of the Day: Born OK the first time.

Denver Bumpersticker of the Day: Gun Control: Good judgement and a clean shot.

Next time, an update on my culinary adventures.

-sunday