Romantics Anonymous (2010, France)

This was a cute enough movie with some good underlying serious issues, but I was still a bit disappointed. Having heard it described as Amélie meets Chocolat, I was expecting greatness. It wasn't bad, it just didn't live up to its hype—or its potential.

I did love the two main actors. Both were absolutely endearing and... I can't think of the word. Normal and average don't quite get it. Maybe ordinary? I think the title must have been a play on words, because while they were both secretly romantics, they were also overemotional (mostly anxious). Their anxiety was fascinating to watch. It was of course overplayed for comedy, but it also rang true. It was a delicate balance that ultimately succeeded.

 The setting was also a lot of fun. They work in a struggling chocolate factoring that needs rescuing, and all four of their coworkers are just right and all a bit stereotypical. Two mothering middle aged women and two young, slender, androgynous men who are all invested in the company and in the lives of their boss and the new employee.

So with all this charmingness, how did it fall short? There were just too many places were things were set up for a perfect line or plot twist that never happened. Everything was too easy (even for a romantic comedy) and a brilliant concept ultimately went to waste. I would still recommend it, just not too enthusiastically.

Rating: 3.5

Dr. No (1962, UK)

I decided to start watching the James Bonds films from the beginning, since I've only seen the Daniel Craig ones and maybe one or two Pierce Brosnan ones. I don't know if I'll get all the way through them, but we'll see what happens.

This wasn't quite the "wow" opening that I was expecting. Even the opening credits were a bit odd. They included three different songs that abruptly, rather than smoothly, transitioned. The dancing girl silhouettes in neon colors were very Bond, but they didn't seem to fit the rest of the movie. I was also a bit disappointed with the intro to Bond. The only reason he's "Bond, James Bond" is because the girl he's talking to introduces herself the same way first. Also, he seemed to fall on the sleazy side of the sexy/sleazy line when it came to sleeping with girls. I mean, knowingly sleeping with someone you're about to arrest... Shouldn't there be a law against that for government agents?

Anyway, I found the rest to be delightfully corny. Ursula Andress was a very sexy Bond girl, and I loved that he laughed at her name—Honey Rider. The supervillain was supercorny, as was his underground lair. I'm not quite sure about MI6 sending off an agent to do work that should be the CIA's business, particularly for a first outing, but still a fun flick.

Rating: 3.5

The Dark Knight Rises (2012, U.S.)

Ugh. What just happened? I saw this with my brother, who was seeing it for the second time, and his reaction seemed pretty close to mine, even knowing what was going to happen. It was so confusing. I feel like I'm throwing the word "disjointed" around a lot these days, but that's just what it was. The timeline was very unclear. It seemed like events were happening very close together, but suddenly a change in the weather indicated that it had actually been months or more. (I think we decided that the main timeline, not counting flashbacks, was a little over a year.)

The acting was good, the sets were good, the costumes were good, the Bat-toys were awesome (I love that motorcycle thing)... But the plot was just overly ambitious and the writing lacked flair. The villain Bane was supposed to be the coolest villain of all time, but I found him almost ridiculous. His face mask is never adequately explained, his voice was supposed to sound creepy and just ended up getting on my nerves, and various plot twists (which I won't give away) completely ruined the power he had as a villain and all of the impassioned speeches he gave (probably the best writing in the movie). Perhaps a lot of the let down stems from being the third in a series where the first was really fresh and the second was well-crafted and featured one of the most brilliant performances by one of the most brilliant actors of his generation (Heath Ledger). Or maybe it was just that unwieldy. It's hard to enjoy something when you're trying so hard to keep up. It's one thing with a foreign film or intense drama, but a super hero movie... I like smart movies with capes, but this wasn't smart, at least in its entirety.

I am having a hard time putting my feelings into words here, so I'll give it up. Stick to the first two installments.

Rating: 2.0

Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging (2008, UK)

How fitting... Immediately after a middle-aged romantic comedy, I see a teenaged romantic comedy! The series of books that this movie was based on might have been the only young adult books that I read as a young adult. When I saw that they had made a movie, I was so excited. But it didn't come to the States, and it didn't come to DVD. We have just changed from dish to cable and gotten many new channels, and I've spent the last few days flipping and watching random stuff, something I haven't done in at least 5 years. Long (and pointless) story short, I turned to Nickelodeon or ABC Family or some such channel the second this movie was started. I was psyched!

I loved Georgia Groome. I didn't really have a picture of Georgia Nicholson clearly in my head (at least anymore), but she was exactly right. I also liked the actors who played her parents and Robbie (who kind of reminded me of a mix between Logan Lehrman and someone else I can't quite put my finger on). The movie was funny like the book (though maybe not as funny as I would have found it 13 years ago), and also really cute. It is definitely the Bridget Jones for the younger set. It was charmingly British and wonderfully uplifting for non-perfect girls everywhere.

I would definitely watch this again—bonus points for the nostalgia factor. I also keep telling myself that I need to reread these books sometime soon. Maybe now's the time!

Rating: 4.0

Hope Springs (2012, U.S.)

This was a cute movie. It's nice to see the middle aged equivalent of romantic comedies popping up here and there. While this wasn't as funny as It's Complicated, it was much more thought-provoking. It was very simply plotted (a couple goes to out-of-town marriage counseling) but unflinchingly honest. The humor was the humor of reality, and at times it could even be called uncomfortable.

Meryl Streep is just lovely and brilliant, of course. Tommy Lee Jones was beyond perfect as the husband. I can't even put into words how he embodied the character of a set-in-his-ways, taking-his-wife-for-granted, slightly curmudgeonly man of a certain age. As a couple, they had the perfect chemistry, for lack of a better word. I could easily believe that they were a couple of more than 30 years, living in the same house in separate bedrooms and dealing with the issues they speak to their counselor about. Speaking of the counselor, Steve Carell didn't stand out here, but he was perfect as a therapist gently nudging his clients into discovering themselves and the issues in their partnership. Letting Streep and Jones shine with his understated performance was the best possible choice.

I would definitely recommend this to ladies (and gentlemen) of a certain age.

Rating: 3.5

Sarah's Key (2010, France)

My book club read this novel for August, so we decided to get together and watch the movie too. I think every single one of us was disappointed. We all felt that it was very disjointed, and we wouldn't have known what was going on if we hadn't read the book. The only person who hadn't read more than the first few chapters verified our reaction. With a novel of relatively short length and few characters, there really wasn't any reason for it to be so hard to follow.

It was also painfully unemotional. The book was moving, but the movie felt perfunctory. The only moment when I felt anything was when Sarah opened the closet. My heart nearly broke at the amount of emotion the young actress conveyed. However, with the magnitude of the story unfolding, other moments should have been heartbreaking too—particularly in the Vel' d'Hiv, in Drancy, at the Dufaure's... I could go on.

Kristin Scott Thomas wasn't bad, but honestly I got sick of her. Even though a majority of the novel also follows Julia, here it just felt too much. This was especially true because both of the actresses who played Sarah (as a child and as a young woman) were phenomenal. The best way I can think to describe both of them is "arresting" or perhaps "captivating." I was very surprised to see that the adult Sarah, Charlotte Poutrel, only has one other small credit to her name. Maybe she's not a great actress when she starts speaking, but her silence and the expressiveness of her eyes were enthralling.

Anyway, I probably wouldn't recommend this one, though I'd definitely recommend the book.

Rating: 2.5

The Artist (2011, France)

It is so clear to me how this lovely, charming, wonderful film won so many Academy Awards this year. I would have loved to have seen it on the big screen, because it was just wow, and a theater would have made it even more so.

Seriously, everything about it was just magical. A silent film about the silent film era is a strange but successful subject. Modern audiences could be thrown off by the lack of speech, but the actors convey so much with their faces and bodies, and the absolutely stellar score (heavy on the jangly piano) does the rest. I smiled, I laughed, I cried, I loved it!

They captured the era with the subject, the sets, the costumes, the score (especially the score—maybe the best Oscar-winning score of all time!), the title cards, the props, the everything. Yet the story of a man who suddenly finds himself obsolete (and in love with the new face of the future, to boot) was timeless. Really, the story was just... charming. I was enraptured. I even loved the use of blatant symbolism (like when he sinks into a sand pit in his final silent film) despite (and maybe because of) its obviousness. George Valentin has this dream where suddenly there is noise everywhere but he can't speak, and it was just brilliantly executed. Brilliantly.

As I mentioned, the actors were incredible and portrayed a wide range of emotion flawlessly. (Dare I include the adorable Uggie, who played The Dog? He was much better here than in Water for Elephants!) Dujardin certainly earned his Oscar. He was every inch the charmer, but he was also believable when he fell on hard times too. (When he finally did speak his only two words of the film, I felt the urge to clasp my hands to my chest and grin like an idiot.) He makes the viewer fall in love with him and mourn for the world he represents, a world that is vanishing for him and has already slipped into the fog of the distant past for us. But Bérénice Bejo was just as good as Dujardin, and sometimes even better. Her Peppy Miller was vivacious, effervescent, and so full of life that I kept expecting her to pop out of the scene at any second. Her megawatt smiles and flamboyant dance moves and ceaseless energy were hard not to fall in love with too. But her character had a big heart too, as her occasional tear-filled eyes illustrated well. Seriously, I've said it twice in this paragraph already, but I just fell in love with them both. I don't see how any film lover could avoid succumbing to their sparkling charms. Captivating doesn't even begin to describe Dujardin, Bejo, or the entire film.

I could ramble forever. This is a love letter to the movies, and it bears reading and rereading by cinephiles everywhere. (The fact that audible language plays such a small role makes it even more accessible to film lovers worldwide.)

I can't wait to watch it again. Did I mention I was in love and entirely charmed?

Rating: 5.0

Magic Mike (2012, U.S.)

Yes, I saw this movie. In the theater, no less. But just to be clear, it was my mom's idea, not mine! (And yes, I saw a male stripper movie with my mother. Fun times!) I think the theater experience really added to this one, because I was in a sold out crowd with at least 99% women. I'm not even sure there was one man in the audience. When we left the theater, the three employees waiting to clean up were all young-ish men, and they all had this sweet but knowing grin on their faces. Then when we were in line for the restroom afterwards, the lady in front of me turned around and said, "I sure hope my husband's awake when I get home!" How could you not like a movie with an experience like that?

Really, I did enjoy this movie, and not just for the obvious reasons. There actually was a plot. Mike wants to make enough money (or get a loan from uncooperative banks) to start his own custom furniture business, but when he takes a new guy under his wing, his dreams get farther and farther away. He repeatedly tells people that he is not his job. However, while we do learn a lot about his job and the life that goes with it, I have to say that I was disappointed that we don't learn more about his coworkers. I really like Joe Manganiello and Matt Bomer, but they and the others were hardly more than background scenery.

Still, Channing Tatum would have stolen the show no matter what. (Forget Matthew McConaughey... he was sketchy and old-looking, though perfect in his role as club owner.) Maybe Tatum isn't the best actor in the world, but it's always so hard to tell. He has this inherent charm that makes you like him. I think it lives in his dimples. Anyway, he is also an incredible dancer, and a lot of his performances were really more hip hop than striptease, but mesmerizing all the same.

This one is really one of a kind, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. But the ending kind of ruined it for me. It was way too abrupt, and I didn't like how things ended for Mike or his protégé. When the screen faded to black after the last scene, I thought, "Really?!"

Still, it was pretty good, and I would certainly recommend it to the ladies (and maybe even watch it again myself) to see the magnetic Mr. Tatum dance.

Rating: 3.5

All Good Things (2010, U.S.)

Mom and I were looking for something to watch on Netflix, and this popped up while we were scoping out Ryan Gosling movies. Neither of us had ever heard of it, but it sounded interesting and we liked the two main actors. I really enjoyed the first half or so. They explore the characters and their relationships quite well, and it had all the makings of a complex psychological movie. (In fact, something about it really reminded me of another movie, but I can't think of what it was to save my life. Maybe Fractured? Or maybe one of many psychological films featuring Eddie Redmayne—Like Minds, Savage Grace, Glorious 39? I just don't know!)

Gosling was his usual impressive self, particularly in scenes where he was supposed to be demonstrating signs of some sort of mental illness, possibly schizophrenia. Dunst was also very good, sweet and open and a perfect balance to Gosling. Their relationship was very believable. The disintegration of their relationship was very believable. It was executed simply and effectively, and I liked the subtle flashback method that they used as well.

There was just something about the ending that didn't ring true. It felt awkward and fake compared to the rest of the film, which felt honest and real. I think I would have really liked, or even loved, this movie, but I just didn't feel great about the end.

Rating: 3.5

Brave (2012, U.S.)

This movie was an altogether pleasant surprise. The previews really only give a glimpse of what it's really about (a welcome relief after Dark Shadows). I saw this with my mom, which made it even better because it's really a great mother-daughter movie. While a lot of the story is about girl power and Merida finding her way and being herself, it's also about Merida and the Queen listening to and understanding each other. It was really lovely. I hate to give away more of the plot, because it really was surprising, but suffice is to say there are clever lines, action, unexpected twists, lots of Celtic-ness, and bears!

The music was awesome. It sounded like the type of music you'd expect in an animated family film, but it also sounded very Scottish. It set the perfect tone. I also liked many of the other sound aspects, including the voice actors and effects. You can see little blue things by Merida in the poster; in the movie, they are will-o'-the-wisps that help lead Merida to her destiny. The noise that they made was really impressive—cooing, sweet, eerie, otherworldly. If I ever thought about what a will-o'-the-wisp sounded like, that would be it. Just a slice of how good the sound was. I also liked the animation. Merida's hair was like it's own character, and I loved her horse and little brothers and the bears too. I also thought the scenery, from glens to ancient stone circles, was that balanced blend of realistic and fake that works so perfectly in animated movies.

Obviously, I was impressed. I would recommend it for all ages, and especially for mothers and daughters and Celt-lovers.

Rating: 4.0