x men: the last stand

fighting mutants!! the sign of the x!! by any means necessary (actual quote from movie)!! it went something like this: last x-men jean grey died in the water. this episode, she comes to life, but she is now evil! (pet cemetary for humans). she turns all veiny and makes nice people explode. also, scientists that live on alcatraz have invented a cure for mutants. some mutants don't want to be cured but...others do? so they fight the mutants that want to stop the cure, killing and destroying tons of their fellow mutants in the process. seriously - if anyone of my vast readership made sense of this plot, I would love to hear from you.

scary movie 4

is it funny? there are a couple of chuckles, drinking a Newcastle Brown Ale helps, and it's better than studying for the bar.

wal-mart: the high cost of low prices

this documentary is completely overwhelming. each 10 minute segment would have been worthy of a full film in itself. the expose covers factory conditions in China, relentless attacks on attempts to unionize, brutal crimes that take place in Wal-Mart parking lots, sexism, racism, poverty wages, Wal-Mart's insistence on its employees using state assistance like medicaid and food stamps, and more jaw-dropping facts. it made me cry and feel inspired. everyone should see this movie.

the mudge boy

I've been looking for this movie for a few years - it finally came out on DVD a couple of weeks ago. it's a story about a farm kid coping with his mother's death by wearing her clothes, putting chicken heads in his mouth and exploring his sexuality. Emile Hirsch is great as the confused kid and Tom Guiry simply exudes rural masculinity. this is an odd one, but a good one.

water

this movie is so beautiful that it almost makes you forget how sad it is. almost. the film begins with a father waking up his little girl to ask her if she remembers getting married (which she doesn't), informing her that she is now a widow, then sending her away. from there, the plot thickens. the cast is wonderful and the 1938 period setting is both bleak and gorgeous. watch it, but bring kleenex.

kinky boots

although the idea is somewhat cute and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Lola makes a ravishing drag queen, this movie doesn't work because it's all about Lola and everyone but the filmmakers know it. there's this pesky plot about a british man trying to save his dad's beloved shoe factory, putting his ill-advised relationship in jeopardy, that no one could possibly care about. the only hostility directed at a black, ex-boxing, drag queen in a small, white, English town is easily resolved with a few kind words and a thrown arm wrestle. it's hard to muster up any kind of emotion for such an extreme suspension of reality, but the drag number on the runway is quite fabulous, and almost makes up for it.

art school confidential

I apologize to my avid readers for the long break in entries due to my having to graduate from law school. now that that's over with, let's get back to what's really important. maybe it was the extreme movie deprivation I was undergoing, but I REALLY enjoyed Art School Confidential. it also helped that, as a child, I was dragged to many an art class with nude models and art students who often seemed to be caricatures of themselves, like the folks in this film. and my sister went to a Fame-like high school. but enough about me. Terry Zwigoff reunited with Daniel Clowes (Ghost World). John Malkovich as a completely self-centred, perverted yet almost likable art instructor. Steve Buscemi, obnoxious as ever. Anjelica Huston, elegant and mysterious. Katherine Moennig (Shane from The L Word), always hot. Jim Broadbent, completely mad. it's kind of a comedy, kind of a thriller, mostly a big jab at the art world, and it all works.

mission impossible 3

I can't remember the other Mission Impossible movies, and if I don't finish this entry soon, I won't remember this one either. I was most excited about J.J. Abrams directing, and his touch was definitely there, with a lovely cameo from Greg Grunberg, brief appearance by Keri Russell and big chunks of the movie that felt like Alias, except I'll take Jennifer Garner as an action hero over Tom Cruise any day. Michelle Monaghan is a new favorite, but her talents were wasted in this one. Johnathan Rhys Meyers is a much older favourite, but equally under-utilized. Philip Seymour Hoffman was a very boring villain. the plot was something about finding a dangerous weapon before an innocent girl gets killed. or maybe that was Mission Impossible 2?

wicker park

I watched this one because Paul McGuigan, who directed Lucky Number Slevin, also directed this. in light of the twists and turns of Slevin, I was expecting more of the same. this expectation led me to be fairly intrigued for the first hour. unfortunately, at the start of the second hour, the 'mystery' is solved, and then nothing else happens. it's basically an overblown romance with nothing really standing in the way of the lovers' happiness, which is formulaic death in the genre. Rose Byrne is very cute and pouty and Jessica Pare is always hot (and Canadian) but they weren't enough to save this movie.