Man have I been going to the movies a lot lately. I’m not sure what it is, but it seems like I’ve been to at least one a week for the last four weeks.
I know it started when I got to go to an advance screening of Body of Lies way back in September. A fine film, I can no longer tell the difference between the films of the Scott brothers.
Then when W. debuted, I went to see it on opening day. It was no Nixon, which had the advantage of being made a quarter-century after the events it was depicting. Still, it made me think you could have just made a two-hour film with Richard Dreyfuss enacting the most likely scenarios of Dick Cheney and his “man-sized safe” deep inside the confines of the Google Earth-proof Vice-President’s residence.
After seeing its amusing trailers, Sex Drive was a bit of a disappointment, but I did enjoy seeing Clark Duke and Seth Green together on screen.
What Just Happened was similarly disappointing, but it encouraged me to purchase The Player from Amazon and re-watch it on an up-converted DVD in 1080i. I really agree with whomever said this film doesn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know about Hollywood producers. Although, I did enjoy Bruce Willis playing himself as an asshole. And I did always wonder where production funding came from (the drycleaners).
Synecdoche was disorienting, and also simultaneously both saddening and affirming. I’d recommend it only to the most hard-core Charlie Kaufman fans. I enjoyed it and it made me think, but I think I would have liked it better Spike Jonze directed. Then again I have a hard time visualizing him working with Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Zack and Miri was hilarious. I forgot how much I missed Kevin Smith. His directing has become so polished, it’s almost lost the edgy independent quality of Clerks and Mallrats.
Speaking of Mallrats, I’m still shocked that Jason Lee is a member of the CoS. He seemed so likable back then!
So far, Zack and Miri ties with Body of Lies for my favorite film of 2008.
Finally, RocknRolla. I have to admit I have a soft spot for films that use Hungarian (Camelback) notation in their titles. RocknRolla’s plot smelled dispicably similar to Lock, Stock, but I was willing to overlook that for the redone production value and totally new cast, including, Jeremy Piven in a minor but rewarding role. It delivers, and embraces its own campiness at the end by proclaiming that most cliche of endings, a title card effectively stating, “SEQUEL?!?”
QuantumTom 