The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I know that I liked this movie because I had fun watching it and I have thought about it days later. The images from the movie evoked feelings that are fun to recall.

I also know that for some reason I did not like this movie because at some point I asked myself how long is this going to last? It was not a bladder condition that had me looking at my watch, but a certain feeling of restlessness. Maybe that it what the movie was going for...

It felt like an epic movie that should be filled with profound lessons. Maybe they were there and I just did not see them. There was a lot of storm imagery -- water, hurricanes, war, etc. There were some revelations of secrets long hidden (a universal theme of discovering that things in our childhood were different than we had thought). There was the peculiar oddity of aging backwards (I had heard that Merlin of King Arthur's Court "youthened" as he got older) that was very well portrayed -- Pitt's understated performance gave the experience a context of grace and patience that comes as close to being a message as anything else in this movie. There were "I want to live life the to fullest" lines inserted here and there -- I suppose an existentialist message in the face of hurricanes, aging, and other forces that overwhelm our human experience.

All-in-all, I would recommend this movie -- with the warning that you might not like it, but I would love to talk with you about it after you see it.

Mama Mia

Mama Mia had been well-liked by others so we went to it with moderately high expectations. Audrey liked it well enough, and made comments like "It was cute..." and "It was a little bit silly, but fun."

Steve and Audrey both agreed that the music was fun to listen to. It was also fun to see Meryl Streep looking happy on-screen and hearing her sing surprisingly well. On the other hand, it was a little shocking to hear how poor was the singing of her co-star, Pierce Brosnon. Another shock was the homeliness of Streeps two sidekicks. They obviously were cast to present the star in a more favorable light by the ineveitable comparisons that occur through close juxtopositioning.

Steve thought that the movie was okay, but not really worth seeing except as a favor to his wife. While the more popular songs were entertaining, there were many obscure songs that will not be familiar to most viewers. It did have the effect of reminding Steve that he should re-watch Across The Universe.

Tropic Thunder

This movie is not a chick-flick by a long shot. It was Steve's choice and he found the movie to be filled with enough humor, explosions, cursing, and sarcastic humor to get his attention. Mercifully, the violence was all pretty much the Hollywood-clean-implied variety. Audrey reluctantly agrees that it is a funny movie. She laughed a few times and never complained about the cussing. There is one very graphic description of a sex act that is rather tasteless (in a very funny way) and many people will find it offensive.

Most everyone that sees this movie will agree that the quality of the actors' performances is superb. The cast is talented and they are fun to watch as they play wildly bizarre characters. the movie does a good job at laughing at itself and the stars in the movie (and there are some big ones) join along by not taking themselves too seriously. In that sense the movie is better than many.

Good job, Ben Stiller!

Journey to the Center of the Earth

Audrey and I both thought that Journey to the Center of the Earth was fun-enough to watch.  We decided that it would be okay to take Courtney and Belle to it, but that it would be a better DVD than full-price theater moive.

We are big fans of Bendan Fraser and that is a big part of liking this movie.  Otherwise it was pretty unimaginative, predictable, and relied very heavily on computer generated special effects.  Not ground-breaking, not overly exciting, not surprising, not an award-winner in any sense -- but fun-enough to watch.

Hancock

The previews for HANCOCK looked great. Will Smith is just fun to watch in all his movies, so that alone seemed promising. And the trailers showed very clever scenes that depicted the irony of a super-strong and indestructible man who lacks self-respect and motivation. So the show really sets you up for some expectations like maybe it was going to be something like the Incredibles where the superheroes come to terms with who they are and how to fit into society. And in part, this movie did address that issue.

But this movie is really about something else. It is a clever depiction of the psychologically accurate phenomenon of being attracted, even compelled, to be in the very relationship that causes us the most emotional pain and psychological difficulty possible. The theory is that no matter who you marry, you turn that person into your mother or father or whoever it is that represents the conflicted and unresolved relationship from your youth. There are predictable consequences. This movie shows that phenomenon, including some of the dangerous consequences, in a unique but psychologically accurate way. The ending was lacking, however. It felt like they just had to come up with an ending and were no longer concerned about making it true-to-life, psychologically speaking.

I liked watching the movie. It could have been much better had it carried it's message authentically through to the end. I would rent the dvd and watch it again, probably. I think most will like it.

1776

1776 has become a family tradition in our home. It is a musical telling of the story of the drafting and signing of the Declaration of Independence. Each year around July 4th we like to watch the movie and sing along with the clever, compelling, and even educating songs. This year the girls (Courtney and Belle) both watched it more than once. The role of John Adams is played by the actor William Daniels (known for his turse attitude in such roles as Mr Feeney in Boy Meets World, Dr Craig in St Elsewhere, and the voice of the car KITT in Knight Rider). There may be other recognizable actors, but the characters really steal the attention and the songs capture the mood and the story is incredibly compelling. This movie is highly recommended by all in my family.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

While mom and older sister were outta town on a mini Disney vacation, Belle and I went to see the latest in what promises to be a long line of Narnia movies. It was Belle's second viewing and it was at her request that we saw the show. I would have opted for Get Smart or Wall-E, but timing and a seven-year-old daughter's requests trump my good judgment most of the time.

Belle liked the show. She was excited about the prospect of knowing what was going to happen before I knew it. She also loved some of the characters, I think. It was a story that played into her own fantasies of power and victory.

But I (Steve) am having trouble remembering anything about it to say whether I liked it or not. It is not that I did not see it. I did not step out to use the bathroom or to make a phone call -- I did not even fall asleep -- the show just did not make enough of an impression for me to recall now, a week later, anything about it. I have flashes of memories of scenes, but no feeling other than indifference. I do not even want to try to remember this movie. I guess that tells me what I must have thought about it at the time.

So my recommendation is take the kids to this movie. You could easily make a worse choice, and the kids will like this one. But the adults should not expect much out of this show for themselves.