Here are some of the latest movies I’ve seen, both in the movies and on DVD, and what I think of them. I’m not going to go into major detail on any of them, since I might review them in more depth later, so here’s the “quick ‘n’ dirty.”
The Departed: Excellent, excellent, fucking excellent. This may be because I’m from the Boston area and knew exactly where they were, or at least where they were talking about, most of the time. The psychiatrist (Vera Farmiglia, I think) drove me nuts, though. Her accent was the worst of all the actors, and I felt that she wasn’t necessary to the plot.
Monster-in-Law: I love this movie, even if it’s not exactly quality cinema. Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda are excellent in their battles, particularly Fonda.
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room: I watched this film in my Management class when we were discussing ethics, and didn’t really have high hopes for it. I was, however, shockingly surprised at the level of depravity of the upper-echelons of management at Enron. To be honest, I never really paid much attention to what was going on because I was neither interested not affected, but this documentary drew me in and made me understand exactly what happened.
An Inconvenient Truth: I wasn’t as wowed with this film as I had expected to be. Al Gore is wry and convincing, and I was shocked by a few points, but there wasn’t really anything earth-shattering to me here. I think I had heard so many good things that I was expecting an amazing documentary, but I just didn’t have it here.
The Good Shepherd:Very good, and Matt Damon plays an excellent spy, as he’s proven in the Bourne trilogy. I was a bit disappointed, though, because I was expecting a flashier, Bond-type spy movie, and what I got was a carefully-crafted, twisting-turning journey through the early days of the CIA. I think it needs another view, now that I know what to expect.
Tune in next time, when I might actually have a dinner and a movie on which to report!
MJ said
Leah -
I found the reviews very insightful. You know I’m not an angel, however dropping the “f” bomb for the departed probably was overkill given that they said it at least a million times during the movie.
Do you want to grade the movies with either stars or ABCDF or something more unique? Just a thought.
I love the colors of the page and it is obvious you have done a lot of work. I’m proud of you. I can’t wait to hear about the restaurants!!!
MUM said
First of all, I like the idea. I don’t know if you’ve seen on TV “Dinner and Movie” which has a male and female host who comment on the movie showing and are preparing a meal which somehow relates to the theme or location of the movie.
I do have to agree with MJ-drop the f___ -it’s not necessary. I know I’m your mother and my own language can be a bit colorful, but you can do without it in your reviews.
Does this mean you’ll be cooking up a storm when you get home?! I’ll supply the ingredients if you’ll cook! Love you!
Iron Mike said
Leah Jones! It’s been too long……
I haven’t seen any of your movies except for the Departed, so I don’t have much to say, but I do have an idea for your rating system. Given the constantly rising price of movies, I always thought it would be funny if instead of “stars” or “grades” movies got little dollar signs indicating how much you should be willing to pay to see them. 0 or $ (1) for the worst movies, $$$$$$$$ (8) or $$$$$$$$$ (9) for the best. Good luck, keep writing. –M