Mr Smith Goes to Washington -
Trying to catch up on my movie reviews. I watched this over a week ago, but haven't had time to sit down and write a review.
I'm amazed at how relevant a 1939 movie is to modern politics. Every politician should be made to watch this before taking office.
Jimmy Stewart isn't exactly the worlds greatest actor, but his whole "aw shucks" routine works well for him here.
I'm not sure I'd call it a great movie, but I certainly liked it quite a bit. I don't see it's central theme ever not being necessary, so that alone makes it worth a watch.
Sophie's Choice -
Man, this was a long one. I'm surprised it took so long to see this, but I suppose the topic is what kept me away. I figured, like Mr. Smith, that I had to see it eventually.
The most amazing part of the movie is Meryl Streeps transformation. She was incredible. The accent. The mannerisms. She obviously did her homework, and became this woman. The movie was worth seeing just for her performance.
I never did get the romance between Nathan and Sophie. Seems to me that he was simply taking advantage of a under-privileged woman who had nowhere else to go. But he was quite a bit "off" himself, so I guess the pairing kind of worked.
Oddly enough. I didn't know what Sophies "choice" actually was before seeing this. I thought it was about having an abortion or something. What ti really was would haunt you for the rest of your life. This movie floored me once again at the depths of depravity the Germans stooped to back then. I truly wonder how any of these men slept at night.
The movie certainly dragged in spots, and really could have been edited down to 2 hours without any loss of theme, or characterization.
Despite the melancholy the movie brings about, I'm glad I finally saw it. Definitely a good movie, but far from the classic I was expecting.
Rise of the Guardians -
This was a bizarre combobble of a movie. Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth fairy, the Sandman, and Jack Frost, as a team of Guardians(super heroes, really) . Facing off against the Boogey man, known as Pitch Black here, to save the world from darkness and despair.
How could this possibly work? Well, it actually does, for the most part.
We get much more interesting versions of these characters than previously known. Santa(North, here) wielding samurai swords? The Easter Bunny with an Aussie accent busting things up with boomerangs. The Sandman, who doesn't talk, somehow being the most interesting(and powerful?) character.
This is wild, creative stuff. Fortunately, the filmmakers took advantage of this premise, and made a fantastic looking movie, with some great scenes. I imagine it works pretty well in 3D.
It actually kind of feels like The Avengers Lite. This is not a bad thing.
Pitch Black, while seeming familiar, is still one cool baddie.
The movie does suffer from far too many cliches, and story predictability, but I still enjoyed it. I wonder about the possibilities for a sequel. Groundhogs with superpowers? Leaping Leprechauns? Turkeys out for revenge? The possibilities demand it!