December 20, 2005

A Year's Subscription

I don’t know what to do with myself. I could work on fiction but my head’s not clear and it would probably exhaust me. I’ve run out of movies to watch. Yesterday I watched "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." I’m not being cynical--there’s nothing I wanted more yesterday than to vegetate and watch a movie, but it was nearly unintelligible. I couldn’t follow it. I’ve never read a Harry Potter book. Someone please explain to me why a series of books about child wizards is OK fare for adults. I’m sure they’re thoughtful and entertaining but: they’re children’s books.

I’ve been watching a lot of movies. It’s Academy DVD time. Here are some one word reviews.

In Her Shoes: Bad
Elizabethtown: Bad
Narnia: Violent
Shopgirl: Dull
Squid and the Whale: Bleak
Broken Flowers: Detached
Hustle and Flow: Ruled
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Enjoyable
Match Point: Pretentious
Good Night, and Good Luck: School

Man, I’ve seen a lot of movies lately. These are just the ones I can remember. That’s what happens when they’re all free. I’d be better off if I never sat through "In Her Shoes." "Narnia" started off as a good kids' movie, but then it becomes really violent when it gets to the war. The main character in "Elizabethtown" is called a "failure and a fiasco" because he designs a poorly-selling shoe after being given too much creative freedom. It’s almost like Cameron Crowe made a bad movie on purpose to mimic his character. I actually liked Jim Jarmusch’s "Broken Flowers" all right. Bill Murray has played the detached rich guy one too many times: Rushmore, Royal Tennenbaums, Lost in Translation. I’m sure this has been mentioned in many reviews. Woody Allen always writes about fantastically sophisticated people--but it’s always balanced out by his neurotic schlubiness. In "Match Point," everyone is just too beautiful, young, sophisticated, and rich to be true. More thoughtful than his last several movies though.

I think I’ve reached my opinion threshold for 2005.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

U forgot Walk the Line

Henry Baum said...

Creepy. Some anonymous person knows what movies I've watched. Well, "Anonymous," Walk the Line was all right, sorta generic, and I'm not a big Johnny Cash fan. Actually, I never listen to Johnny Cash. I'm more of a Willie Nelson guy. It's like that line in "Pulp Fiction": "You're either a Beatles person or an Elvis person." I'm a Beatles person.

Philofaxer said...

You really see some crappy movies, Henry. In Her Shoes? Elizabethtown? Sheesh. You are getting these through your mother, and not paying for them, correct?

I'm a Beatles person too, no doubt. When I was in high school, you were either a U2 person or an REM person. The only people who liked both were (i) people who didn't actually like music, or (ii) people who were incredibly into all music. I just liked REM.

Henry Baum said...

In my defense, I only half-watched those two movies. I don't see any mainstream movies throughout the year and then watch them all come Nov/Dec when the free DVDs pour in. Sometimes it can feel good to watch something really, really bad.

I'd go with REM, but I wasn't really into either in high school. All I know is that people take U2 too seriously these days, like they're the Beatles. I'm always surprised when I hear new indie groups on KXLU (L.A. punk rock radio station) that are ripping off U2. Bono's voice still sounds like a manifestation of ego to me, like he's singing above the song and not with it.

Opinion threshold? Never!

Henry Baum said...

Another one: "The Weatherman." I liked that all right.

Anonymous said...

U forgot Capote

Henry Baum said...

OK, now you're freaking me out...I wrote about Capote earlier. So there.

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