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This blog is the work of an educated civilian, not of an expert in the fields discussed.

Friday, January 18, 2008

2007 Movies

And Also: I liked David Letterman's beard. Stewart and Colbert still are fun without their writers. The new Terminator show is pretty violent (given the potential wasteland, thousands could be killed and it would be pretty minor actually) and messy -- doesn't that make it easier to get the lead renegades? Also, the terminators are pretty blunt. John easily could have been dead by now if they showed a bit more finesse. The leads also have that too young pretty boy/girl WB/CW feel. Still, it has potential.


[updated with note]

I plan to see one more 2007 movie,* so it might be a good time to have a list ...

I have not seen many of the films listed on some top ten lists, but did enjoy Once (on a Slate list). My problem was that I could barely understand some of the lyrics of the songs -- poor sound quality in the theater or perhaps the accents.

Films I really enjoyed included: Eastern Promises, Bridge to Terabitha (read the book too!), Waitress, The Nines (good chance for its lesser stars leads to have their day in the sun), and (for what it was, a well made period sports flick) Gracie. Starting Out in the Evening and Romance & Cigarettes deserve honorable mentions too.

Pleasant diversions: Dan in Real Life, The Jane Austen Book Club and Music and Lyrics.

Good indies: Descent and Day Night Day Night. Likewise, Juno was pretty enjoyable too.

Somewhat overrated: 11th Hour. Various "greats" I might not see; Gone Baby Gone was not as good as some said it was. It was one of many depressing films, so many that I saw only some of the major ones. Charlie Wilson's War was generally given a "good" not "great" rating; though it might get some nod at Oscar time, that fits.

Lousy remake: No Reservations. P.S. Love You was pretty lame, even though I said it was okay in some ways. Still, NR was probably lamer. See, Mostly Martha instead!

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* I did see the movie, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, the filmed version of the musical -- Mamma Mia! was one of the previews (the one with all the ABBA songs). Two of the stars and the director from The Corpse Bride (Johnny Depp, Helena Bonman Carter [great] and Tim Burton) again star in a twisted tale with a lovely creepy look. Good songs too.

The middle portion has a bit of a lull, but overall, it belongs on the list. The movie is sure to be nominated, and might very well win at least one technical Oscar, and at least one of the songs deserve a nod too. Also, the new Hallmark movie The Good Witch (with Catherine Bell) was cute. Sorta soft Alice Hoffman.