Bedtime Stories (2008): Yeah. It was on TV or OnDemand. Boys chose it. It's not good. I'm sad for Adam Shankman having directed it.
9 (2009): The writers clearly watched LOTR one too many times: one shiny round thing to rule them all, one shiny round thing to find them, one shiny round thing to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. This could have been an incredibly interesting movie with minimal effort but noooo. We have to focus on the inane and ignore the profound. Way to ruin it.
Cadillac Records (2008): This movie is ok with a lot of qualifiers. Beyonce is super. Beyonce is not, however, Etta James and should not pretend to be. Every cameraperson within a yard of Adrian Brody should be aware of his nose and I should not, at any point, have a direct sight line into his nasal cavity. Um, also, it's not so great that I didn't know who the narrator was (in terms of history/actual person) until the credits were ready to roll.
Brick Lane (2007): This one is watchable which is more than I usually have to say about movies dealing with the immigrant experience. I haven't read the book yet so I'm interested to see the parallels. I do like how the movie dealt with this one woman's emotions and did not trivialize them.
Prizzi's Honor (1985): I don't know what this is. I don't know what it was trying to do. I don't necessarily dislike it but I certainly don't like it. Even considering my affinity for Kathleen Turner.
Georgia O'Keeffe (2009): Yep, Lifetime Movie event. This is what happens when "Project Runway" is on Lifetime and I see ads and what happens when J is out of town and I'm bored. Actually, this wasn't bad at all. Joan Allen and Jeremy Irons are incredibly watchable and now I know more about an artist I didn't know anything about (well, her personal life), maybe (since it may be completely fictionalized).
Happy-Go-Lucky (2008): Mmmkay. I don't know what to say about this one. I liked it just fine but I don't know how to describe it. Unlike, Prizzi's Mess above, this one is good but a bit strange. Quirky. It's lovable and quirky.
The End of the Affair (1999): J told me I should read the book first but I tried for a minute and couldn't get into the swing of Greene's writing. I'll give it another shot now because the movie is excellent. Really very good.
The Passion by Jeanette Winterson (1987): I heart Jeanette Winterson. Seriously. I'm going to have to get another of her books now just to have the promise of reading it. This one has parallel narratives and is set during the Napoleonic Wars but doesn't beat. you. over. the. head. with. capital. H. history. So, brilliant!
Out Stealing Horses by Per Peterson (2003, translated to English 2005): Goodness. This book was on The Millions Best Books of the Millennium (So Far) list. It's Norweigan and quite good. It runs dual narratives, one of which is a flash back, and it manages both and the transitions between the two beautifully. And the novel feels very full despite most of it being in very sparse settings. What might be the best part is that the book leaves threads loose but it feels ok instead of infuriating. Clearly a talented author.
Zombieland (2009): Wonderful.
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