The Garden State
United 93
James Bond: Casino Royale
Although others have criticized this prequel as not being true to the Bond legacy or whatever - obviously I'm not someone who is all that familiar (or impressed) with that [whatever] - I really enjoyed it. The first time that I watched it, it made me gasp and/or laugh several times. It was especially nice to see a female character play such an active and pivotal role in the plot (rather than just being a "Bond girl") - and that, I think, was the point: to show why Bond thereafter went only for the "Bond girl" type. Even a mite thought-provoking.
The Lake House (twice; discussed in passing here)
Broken Flowers
Why We Fight
The Boondocks: Season 1 Episodes 1-5
Just as I expected based on the comics, this series' treatment of Black women - of all women, really - is universally negative. A vivid example is the R. Kelly episode, in which the only Black women are the young girl who testifies that she wanted Kelly to pee on her and an overweight protester who kills Rosa Parks when she throws at her the chicken bone which she's just finished gnawing. The next episode features a White prostitute - and yes, she is called a "hoe" - who manipulates Granddad into spending lots of money on her. Disappointing.
Airplane!
The Notorious Bettie Page
The DaVinci Code
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Thank You for Smoking
I enjoyed this movie's celebration of rhetoric, even though I find a little tiresome its typical idealized portrayal of a parent who sacrifices everything because he is unable to stomach a little bit of hypocrisy and/or contradiction, which as Sara Ruddick writes is central to real parenting.
The Last Mimzy (discussed here)
Everything Is Illuminated
Dancer in the Dark (discussed here)
The Hunt for Red October
Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
This movie has always annoyed me, but this latest viewing finally enabled me to articulate why: Its primary protagonist is a careless, self-absorbed liar who, not surprisingly, therefore repeatedly uses the far more interesting other people in his life strictly to advance his own whimsical desires. The worst part is at the end, all of that is supposed to look as though it turned out to be a good thing for those other characters. Yes, let's teach our children to be like that.
VeggieTales: The Ultimate Silly Song Countdown
Six Degrees of Separation
Bride and Prejudice
The Wizard of Oz
Evolution
VeggieTales: Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Samson's Hairbrush
Paradise Now
Blazing Saddles
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Shrek
Sherrybaby
I really, really enjoyed this movie and would recommend it to anyone. First of all, it stars the ever-impressive Maggie Gyllenhaal. But it's a story of a formerly drug-addicted mother who gets out of prison motivated solely by her hopes for a close relationship with her daughter. She quickly discovers, though, that one cannot rely entirely on a child for one's sense of purpose - especially because children are often unpredictable. It's also a story of the many realities of our society that can keep a good person from always being good. And it's a story of a family who has essentially adopted this little girl and their legitimate concerns for her interests - and their own. I can empathize with both sides of this story, so I was ever-alert to any standard demonization of either the mother or the stepmother - but it really wasn't there. Neither character was perfect, and both were often sympathetic. The movie is an excellent exploration of the complications of parenting in the real world and how they simply cannot be simplified into "good" and "bad" or "right" and "wrong."
Margaret Cho: Assassin
This DVD of one of Cho's appearances on her "Assassin" tour was disappointing. I'm not that familiar with her work except that I know people who love her. I found the occasional suggestions of racism - always against Blacks - to be most upsetting, though. As a friend of mine who had read some of her work astutely pointed out later, she tends to joke about issues but never quite go as far as you expect and actually say anything substantial about them. That being said, it was funny - but only for leftists in the company of leftists, at least for the first half.
Sicko (discussed here)
O Brother Where Art Thou
OK, George Clooney does not a convincing Odysseus make. In fact, the plot's resemblance to the original Odyssey is skeletal at best - and thus sometimes simply frustrating, so it would be better to watch it without that expectation. It is, then, somewhat amusing. Its all-too-typical demonization of the wife/mother - a horrible debasement of the original, honored Penelope - further hurts the flick in my eyes, though. I wouldn't recommend it.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
The Princess Bride
The X Files
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (discussed here)
Epic Movie
Music & Lyrics
X-Men
Donnie Darko
A professor in my new department thinks the world of this movie and recommended it to me. It was too weird for Dennis, but I enjoyed it once I realized that it was basically magical reality, like Salman Rushdie's work - and it packs an incredible emotional punch. It also demonstrates an awareness of societal constructions of ideal motherhood - which in this case particularly involve appropriate mothering behaviors, such as complete devotion, and perfect results in the children themselves - and subtly challenges them. I'll probably watch it again to take closer note of all of its nuances.
Dead End
I watched this movie thinking that it would be relevant to my mother-sons work, but the daughter's relationship with her father turned out to be the real focus. It was an enjoyable movie too, especially once I realized that, despite the frequent creepiness, I wasn't going to see anything truly nightmarish. It was always just suggested - sometimes rather humorously. The surprise ending also reminded me a lot of that of Donnie Darko, since in both movies your entire understanding (or lack thereof) of what you've seen changes - and your confusion resolves itself - right in the last few moments of the action. To be honest, Dead End still leaves some questions in the viewer's mind - but I'd still recommend it.
Wanda Sykes: Sick and Tired
Sykes provides comedy that proves that you CAN be politically correct while still being hilarious. Unproblematic enough to be unlikely to offend anyone - except perhaps prudes - and also really smart and subtle about some of the issues facing Americans today. Just wonderful.
Keeping Mum
With an all-star cast (including Rowan Atkinson of Mr. Bean fame; Kristen Scott Thomas; Patrick Swayze; and Maggie Smith, most recently known as Harry Potter's headmistress), this movie attempts to make what is quite serious - adultery, murder, and sermon-making - quite funny, with some success. If you take such things seriously, you might not be convinced, though. Dennis certainly wasn't, and I had some trouble myself as well.
The Holiday
With another all-star cast (Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Jack Black), this movie succeeds best in its sometimes hilarious send-ups of movies themselves. It has a couple of really bad lines, and some plot moments and casting decisions are unconvincing, but it's nevertheless a fun, even unpredictable movie. Diaz shines. Probably worth your time.
Mr. Fix It
Starring David Boreanaz, best known as Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Angel, this movie appears to attempt to be a spoof but is only occasionally successful - we suspect because of a less strong cast than you usually find in such things - such as that of The Holiday, above, for instance. Thus it ends up being more cheesy than funny at times. If you can stick with it, though, a surprising twist late in the flick livens things up. Then it goes for over-the-top cheesy at the end.
Unbreakable
Running with Scissors
Deja Vu
The Sweetest Thing
Hercules
Spaceballs
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Brazil (discussed here)
Superman Returns
Two Weeks
You, Me and Dupree
We watched this movie because we heard from a friend that it contained a brief Mensa reference. Ouch. It doesn't help the image of Mensans much that this ne'er-do-well is representing us. Owen Wilson, the actor who plays Dupree, has always annoyed me, and the whole plot was so over-the-top - but worst of all, it's another example of the practically ubiquitous wives-dominating-husbands bit, which is utterly ridiculous since it's usually the opposite even in this day and age. But I am a Matt Dillon fan ever since I enjoyed his reading of Jack Kerouac's On the Road (so I almost cracked up when he even used the phrase "on the road" in the movie). Overall, the flick is funny, when it isn't offensive. It was almost the perfect thing to help me cope with a couple of frustrating weeks. Almost.
Monster's Ball
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Bad Boy Bubby
Little Miss Sunshine
The L Word Season 1 Episodes 1-4
Ugly Betty Season 1
Shrek 3
Training Day
The Hoax
Big Momma's House
Enchanted (discussed here)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (again)
for a total of 72 movies or an average of ...
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(C) 2007 Jessica B. Burstrem