Ramblings of an Anonymous Coward

Movies I've Seen Lately

it's time to throw out another batch of movie reviews. i think i've got a pretty good mix this time and i'd bet there is at least one or two you haven't seen. i could be wrong.

• johnson family vacation
  this flick was a weak attempt at matching the humor of national lampoon's vacation with chevy chase and cast. the movie wasn't bad, but it just didn't live up to my expectations. i must confess that i found it terribly funny when the father and son went through each other's cds throwing out those artists who were unacceptable (aka shot). marvin gaye. shot. twice.

• welcome to mooseport
  i had wanted to see this one for a while, but always came across something i'd rather see more. i bit the bullet and was amused. it is about what i was expecting from mr. everyone loves raymond -- a movie you don't have to think about, just sit, watch, and veg-out.
  
  
• taking lives
  even without the angelina jolie nude scene, this was a good movie. her character plays an fbi agent sent up to montreal to help the french canadian police catch a serial killer. the movie intertwines the expected and unexpected to keep you on your toes. definitely worth the rental.
  
  
• godsend
  in a word -- disappointing. i expected so much more from de nero. the movie had a good premise making use of current concerns on human cloning, but the movie gave in to a predictable plot and oh-so expected ending.
  
  
• the manchurian candidate (1962)
  excellent. of course, i knew that before watching. i don't remember watching the entire movie before -- perhaps i was occupied with my solitaire game? oh never mind. anything i say here will give it all away... go see this movie. the original. not the remake.
  
  
• the laws of attraction
  your typical romantic-comedy "chick flick" with a plot that was clearly created to meet the ends. two seemingly incompatible people meet and navigate the awkward waters of being attracted to one another yet constantly at odds (due to them being opposing divorce attorneys). a magic castle in ireland throws a wrench into things and the plot does the typical -- take away hope, but in the end provides the "they live happily ever after".
  
  
• The Girl Next Door
  i'm not sure i'd put this into the "chick flick" category, but i'm sure it would still garner it's share of "aw, how sweet" from the xx-chromosome crowd. i see the movie being in the risky business mold, but instead of hookers you get porn stars. this flick will never be a classic, but is worth the rental if you were one of the not-so-cool kids in high school.
  
  
• eurotrip
  "scotty didn't know, scotty didn't know, ...". here we have a classic movie about a group of recent high school graduates having comical misadventures as they travel through europe. it's set up by having the main character get dumped by his sweetheart right after graduation. his quest now is to catch up with his german pen pal who he has always thought was a guy, but turns out was a gorgeous girl who loved him dearly. they hang with everyone from english hooligans to madame vandersexxx in amsterdam. "hey! this isn't where i parked my car."
  
  
• 9 dead gay guys
  there is really only one reason i was even slightly interested in seeing this film: the title. when you see it, the title makes you wonder what the film is going to be all about—besides the obvious, that is. you begin to conjure up images of a dark comedy, one that should be preposterous. it ends up being about a silly quest to see who killed the queen and a search for treasure -- the bread is in the bed. if you want a weird movie with no redeeming quality, this is your movie.
  
  
• 2 brothers and a bride
  after josh (david arquette) and his brother jake's (tim blake nelson) mother passes away, they are forced to try and find a bride for josh. jake decides the best course of action is the stereo typical "russian mail order bride" and the two head to st. petersburg for a variety of meet-ups and dates. jake's methodical approach provides a good contrast to his slow but lovely brother. this movie was renamed "a foreign affair" if you decide to try and find this title on dvd or pay-per-view. the movie left me feeling it was incomplete, but all in all it was a cute movie and worth watching.
  
  
• dopamine
  i watched this movie just last night and it is still sinking in. that's a good thing! i can safely categorize this as a movie you will end up either really liking or one you'll find completely worthless. the basic idea is that a san francisco programmer/animator (rand) is preoccupied by his creation (koy koy) which can best be described as an aritifically intelligent bird they group has programmed to be a "friend". rand finds himself attracted to sarah, a learning centre teacher, where their software is being tested in the classroom with kids. they each have their issues with relationships and the movie is quite subtle in having them work through them. definitely something you'd expect to see at sundance. it could have used a lot more polish, but not having it did provide it some additional appeal.
  

Posted by ac at September 1, 2004 11:43 PM