May Movies

Capitalism:  A Love Story

Michael Moore's diatribe on the love affair of America with capitalism is more of his typical fare.  He has a bias and he's going to insure his point is made until there is no way we can't understand what he wants to say.  Now, I'm not saying there isn't some truth to his message, but his over the top theatrics near the end of film as he wraps crime scene tape around wall street is just too much.  That's nearly ten minutes of the movie that could have been put to much better use.

Best Line(s):

• "I'm in awe of propaganda - the ability to convince people who are victimized by this very system to support the system and see it as good."
• "Capitalism is precisely what the holy book reminds us is unjust."

The Blind Side

My wife really wanted to see this film...me, not so much.  But since she watches so few, I had to get it.  And I have to admit, they did a pretty good job with the story of a christian family who takes in an underprivileged black child and sees him through to the NFL.  I stress the christian part because I don't think there was a single scene when Sandra Bullock wasn't wearing a cross around her neck and of course she has to be told she's such a "good christian".  I just don't like that phrase, why not just a good person?  Anyway, back to the movie...Bullock does a respectable job in her role, although it seemed her accent came and went.  Was it an Oscar worthy performance? not really, but the film was entertaining, especially the banter between her and her husband and the comic relief from the younger son.

Best Line:  "Michael's gift is his ability to forget."

Fantastic Mr. Fox

This Wes Anderson film starring George Clooney and Meryl Streep is on the verge of being great, it just loses some steam at the end, but the first hour and 10 minutes are wonderful.  Many of the signs of a Wes Anderson film are present...the scene titles, the quirky characters and the fast dialogue.  I especially got a kick out of the use of the word "cuss" in place of any curse word, allowing the characters to talk more normally, but without any cursing.  Such as, "Are you cussing me?" or "What the cuss do you mean."  Just replace any curse word with cuss and you're golden.  It's not really a movie for kids as most of the humor and the issues between the characters will fly right by them, but I really enjoyed it.

Best Line(s):

• "I can't hear you now but keep talking."
• "If what I think is happening is happening, it better not be."

On The Road With Judas

This indie film tells the story of an author who wrote a book.  He imagines himself on a talk show to discuss the book that was so successful it was made into a movie.  His imagination is so complete it includes both the "real" characters the book is based on and the "actors" who played them in the film.  But that's the gimmick...is he really on a talk show? or isn't he?  I don't think I'll give away any spoilers if I say that early in the film at a book signing that only 2 people show up for, he answers a question about whether the book is based on real characters or not and says they only exist between the front and back cover of the book.  So, that kind of tells you what's going on.  It's basically an ego story that goes nowhere and to top it all off, it's dull.  Although the dialog is pretty bad, there still has to be a best line within the context of this film.

Best Line:  "If nobody's going to love you, you might as well love yourself."

The Amateurs

Before Zack and Miri made their porno, there was The Amateurs, starring Jeff Bridges in a vaguely similar performance to that of The Dude in The Big Lebowski.  In this case, he's a down and out divorced man who decides the way to strike it big is to get his friends in their small town to bankroll the making of an amateur porn film.  There is a cast of nutty town folk who all decide to go along and the hi-jinks ensue.  Unfortunately, it's an incredibly bad film.  I should have known from the beginning when the narration began and continued for at least 10 minutes while each of the characters were introduced.  I'm not sure now why I gave it 2 stars instead of 1...maybe there were a few redeeming scenes, I can't remember.

Best Line:  "I like women so much, I can't understand why they aren't all lesbians."

The Road

I has listened to the audiobook by Cormac McCarthy and thought it was exceptional.  His writing conveys the emotions and bleakness of the story well.  It's not a feel good story, in fact it's quite depressing, but what draws you in is the relationship between the father and son and their struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.  Knowing that film adaptations typically can't depict the same depth as the written word, I still wanted to see how well they could capture the world the characters inhabit.  I think they did their best, but the movie falters a bit in it's short format to not be able to show as much of the interaction between the father and son and the fathers ability and desire to prepare his son for when he's gone.  Still, it's worth seeing, but if you get the chance, read or listen to the book.

Best Line:  "Are we still the good guys?"

Not a bad viewing month, definitely some good films in the mix.  For June, I'm planning to watch the 6 hour PBS documentary on the American Revolution called Liberty.  This is in response to the recent Texas State Board of Educations re-writing of the Social Studies standards.  I know the story, but a refresher on the details is always good and since much of it will be missing from the textbooks, I need to get my history from a reliable source.  I'm sure I'll throw in some "regular" films as well.  Thanks for reading.