Thursday, March 12, 2009
Center Stage: Turn It Up (2008)
That's right a straight to dvd sequel to a little known Australian dance movie. And I L.O.V.E. it. The first one is one of my go-to cheesy dance movies and this one just gets added to that list. It manages to do what the Step Up duo didn't in that the Center Stage pair are separate entities that don't immediately relate to each other. Cooper shows up in the second but there is no awkward moment where we sort of have to explain what the last movie was all about--that's right Step Up 2: The Streets, I noticed your pitiful writing in of a dance-off between characters past and present and Center Stage is better, much better. This one also pulls in street dance with the ballet without making either seem stupid or uptight. And, of course, there is the end dance number that re-tells the whole thing. G.E.N.I.U.S. I need to own it immediately.
Coraline (2009)
Cute! I loved the stop-motion animation and the story is fun. There are some things to forgive or overlook--a few forced plot points and Dakota Fanning being involved with anything--but it's essentially a kids' movie so you have to move on and understand kids would like it. Anyway, there isn't much to say other than I loved the cat, I love Neil Gaiman, the movie is cute, and now I sort of want to read the book . . . although I bought Neverwhere so that will be first (not to mention the still-not-finished-and-still-sort-of-not-totally-engaging 2666).
Friday, March 6, 2009
6 Movies and a Book
A bunch of satisfying fluff, three disappointing Oscar nominated movies, and a frustrating book.
Step Up 2: The Streets (2008): Not as good as the first one but good enough and great for 30 minutes of Wii Fit's free step. Nothing like people dancing to get you to forget your calves hurt a lot. The plot isn't genius but it's standard and satisfying. I thought it ended a bit abruptly.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962): I've never been a Sinatra fan and this didn't change my mind. I figured it out, for what that's worth, early on and it simply failed to have much of an impact. I'm vaguely curious to read the book to see if it is more successful in terms of suspense.
Persepolis (2007): Eh. Interesting enough I guess but it doesn't quite go far enough. Something crucial is missing to form a complete story arc. I am interested in this book, too, just to see if the movie misses something. I do, however, love the animation and the use of color.
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008): If they showed that gum one more time! And the vomit? Gross. The movie was cute enough but it could have been brilliant. The problem, well one of them, is that is just gives up at a certain point. Someone who has some influence thought "Dude! Wouldn't be it super cool to have them have sex at Electric Lady Studios and have the equalizer register the noise!" Problem is from the moment she falters and then goes into the studio, the whole movie falters and the moment looks incredibly contrived, as does the moment at the party where they confront the toxic-boy/girlfriends, as does the escalator moment. So this movie filled with cute honest moments winds up looking hollow. Just for a quick look at an equalizer.
Alfie (1966): Ugh. I only made it to the halfway mark, well not quite even the halfway mark. I just couldn't tolerate it and, on top of that, it was immensely boring. I always hear how likable Michael Caine makes the character. How great it is that this complete womanizing cad can be made human. Um, no. I hated him and I didn't like the women he was involved with so I didn't care about any sort of relationship they were having. And I was particularly annoyed with his use (or lack thereof, rather) of pronouns. All women were "birds" so apparently the appropriate pronoun is then "it." I can get past "birds." Whatever. But "it"? Even birds have genders. And it's just so sickeningly sexist. Especially for 1966! Ugh. Gross.
Shall We Dance? (Shall we dansu?) (1996): This is the Japanese movie, not the JLo/Richard Gere movie. I think the plot is the same (I've not seen the American one) but I also think it makes more sense in the Japanese context in which ballroom dancing is really seen as odd. It's cute and funny but a little long at over 2 hours for a basic romcom.
Firmin by Sam Savage (2006): A fluff book that was to be a reward for slogging through 3 of 5 books of 2666. It's a cute premise and cute packaging (there is a bite taken out of the side of the book--albeit one too large to have been taken by a rat). I hated it until page 74. The book is only 164 pages long. The first 74 pages is nonsense. Pure nonsense. So, the book is about a rat named Firmin who somehow knows how to read and just happens to be born in a used bookstore. Ok. Whatever. But the first 74 pages are filled with nonsense. I can't even explain how stupid some of it is. But at page 74, it all turns around because Firmin is taken in by a hippie deadbeat author and the book has a relationship around which to revolve. That makes all the difference. The book actually becomes endearing at this point. Too bad it's almost half over. The second half, the endearing half, moves a little too quickly. I wish the whole book were like the second half.
Step Up 2: The Streets (2008): Not as good as the first one but good enough and great for 30 minutes of Wii Fit's free step. Nothing like people dancing to get you to forget your calves hurt a lot. The plot isn't genius but it's standard and satisfying. I thought it ended a bit abruptly.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962): I've never been a Sinatra fan and this didn't change my mind. I figured it out, for what that's worth, early on and it simply failed to have much of an impact. I'm vaguely curious to read the book to see if it is more successful in terms of suspense.
Persepolis (2007): Eh. Interesting enough I guess but it doesn't quite go far enough. Something crucial is missing to form a complete story arc. I am interested in this book, too, just to see if the movie misses something. I do, however, love the animation and the use of color.
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008): If they showed that gum one more time! And the vomit? Gross. The movie was cute enough but it could have been brilliant. The problem, well one of them, is that is just gives up at a certain point. Someone who has some influence thought "Dude! Wouldn't be it super cool to have them have sex at Electric Lady Studios and have the equalizer register the noise!" Problem is from the moment she falters and then goes into the studio, the whole movie falters and the moment looks incredibly contrived, as does the moment at the party where they confront the toxic-boy/girlfriends, as does the escalator moment. So this movie filled with cute honest moments winds up looking hollow. Just for a quick look at an equalizer.
Alfie (1966): Ugh. I only made it to the halfway mark, well not quite even the halfway mark. I just couldn't tolerate it and, on top of that, it was immensely boring. I always hear how likable Michael Caine makes the character. How great it is that this complete womanizing cad can be made human. Um, no. I hated him and I didn't like the women he was involved with so I didn't care about any sort of relationship they were having. And I was particularly annoyed with his use (or lack thereof, rather) of pronouns. All women were "birds" so apparently the appropriate pronoun is then "it." I can get past "birds." Whatever. But "it"? Even birds have genders. And it's just so sickeningly sexist. Especially for 1966! Ugh. Gross.
Shall We Dance? (Shall we dansu?) (1996): This is the Japanese movie, not the JLo/Richard Gere movie. I think the plot is the same (I've not seen the American one) but I also think it makes more sense in the Japanese context in which ballroom dancing is really seen as odd. It's cute and funny but a little long at over 2 hours for a basic romcom.
Firmin by Sam Savage (2006): A fluff book that was to be a reward for slogging through 3 of 5 books of 2666. It's a cute premise and cute packaging (there is a bite taken out of the side of the book--albeit one too large to have been taken by a rat). I hated it until page 74. The book is only 164 pages long. The first 74 pages is nonsense. Pure nonsense. So, the book is about a rat named Firmin who somehow knows how to read and just happens to be born in a used bookstore. Ok. Whatever. But the first 74 pages are filled with nonsense. I can't even explain how stupid some of it is. But at page 74, it all turns around because Firmin is taken in by a hippie deadbeat author and the book has a relationship around which to revolve. That makes all the difference. The book actually becomes endearing at this point. Too bad it's almost half over. The second half, the endearing half, moves a little too quickly. I wish the whole book were like the second half.
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