Crazy Heart stands out in a year of terrible mainstream American films as one of the few non-disappointments. I'd actually recommend this one to just about anyone. The acting is good. The writing is good. The music is good. I liked it. Go see it. B+
One of my best friends is obsessed with Michael Jackson's This Is It and her enthusiasm mixed with the enthusiasm of my boyfriend's sister-in-law led us to rent it one night. I could see why he wouldn't have wanted it being released since it's not a real performance. There were moments I'd call highlights but overall it didn't really do it for me. This should have been a bonus feature on the DVD of a more ambitious documentary. C
The Ken Russell camp classic Salome's Last Dance imagines Oscar Wilde showing up at a brothel and having all the people in the brothel put on a surprise performance of his play Salome, which has just been banned. It's really a very promising idea but it comes across as very dated and intermittently dull. It was okay. I crossed it off my list. C
Whip It is the roller derby movie directed by Drew Barrymore. I mostly wanted to see it because it had Juliette Lewis in it. I found it really enjoyable. B
All About Steve is a ridiculous comedy starring Sandra Bullock. I watched it because I thought it would be horrible but I thought it was fun. I'll never know why this movie was considered a disaster but Funny People, The Hangover, and Anchorman are considered modern classics or something. It was fine for what it is. C
New York, I Love You was better than I had expected based on the word of mouth. I like little stories like that and I look forward to Shanghai, I Love You. My favorite was probably the one with Julie Christie and Shia LaBoeuf. B
Outrageous! is one of my favorite movies. It's about a female impersonator and his best friend, a schizophrenic girl afraid of the bone crusher, who eventually leave Toronto behind for the Great White Way, or something. Craig Russell is amazing in it and so is the Hollis woman whose name I always forget. A
Body Double is a Brian DePalma thriller from 1984. It's horribly dated and there's not enough Melanie Griffith. There's a great Frankie Goes to Hollywood cameo though. C-
Juliette Lewis was the reason I watched Whip It as well!, and I found myself surprised at how charmed I was by the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you should hold the dated-ness against Body Double; I honestly think it's one of De Palma's very best. That heinous drill murder, the stalking in the mall, the Frankie Goes to Hollywood music video! and that truly bizarre ending all make for what I call a damn fine time at the movies. But you're right, a little more Melanie Griffith wouldn't have hurt.