edmond

I couldn't wait for this David Mamet-written, excruciating movie to end. William H. Macy plays a disgruntled husband who walks out on his wife and starts indulging in various violent racist and misogynist acts that eventually catch up to him. senseless, and no fun to watch. the 'twist' ending is cute, but not cute enough to make the movie worth it. in other news, we got away to Casa Grande mountin retreat this weekend, and lay in a hammock overlooking a very lush mountain for a long time. the plants and flowers out there are breathtaking.

babel

my companion found this movie almost unbearable - he clutched his stomach and winced through the whole thing, and it had nothing to do with the fresh baked cookies and candied almonds from the fine arts cafe. a pervasive sense of dread infused the movie, making it less than enjoyable, but ultimately provocative. Cate Blanchett annoyed me for the first time, but I was happy to spot Elle Fanning two days in a row (yesterday in deja vu). so what's the movie about: the futitility of communication, globalism and borders, existentialism? Inarritu perfectly portrayed the feeling of being an outsider, especially when things go wrong. this is a very good feel-bad movie. if you're watching this in Puerto Rico, be advised that there is almost no english in the movie. most of it takes place in Morocco and Japan - those scenes are subtitled in spanish, and the parts taking place in Mexico aren't subtitled at all.

deja vu

my favourite thing about this movie was that no one ever said the words "deja vu" although at one point, you know that is what Denzel is thinking. on the upside, it's a cool quasi sci-fi thriller, but on the down side, it doesn't actually make too much sense. nonetheless, I never pass up the opportunity to watch Denzel for a couple of hours, no matter what the setting. I like Jim Caviezel too, although he didn't do too much in this. when did Val Kilmer get so fat?

bobby

this movie made me cry. I only realized last year the significance of losing Robert Kennedy, a presidential candidate who would have made real changes in the area of peace and civil rights in the United States. his death marked a turn in American history for the worse, ushering in an era of backlash and losses for the movements that temporarily thrived here in the sixties. most of this history doesn't come across in the movie, but it is a neat little picture of one day in the life of a group of people converging on the time and place of the assassination. the cast is fantastic - although no one particularly stood out for me, it was fun to see a bunch of favourites all doing their bit in this ensemble piece. and speaking of ensembles, how sad to see Robert Altman go. if you missed any of his movies, now is a good time to cacth up.

take the lead

this dance movie is based on the true story of Pierre Dulaine, a ballroom dance teacher who started a bunch of classes in inner-city Manhattan schools. I think I would have enjoyed the movie more if I had known that up front, or at least I would have made a few more excuses for the cliche-ridden plot. the kids are cute and the dancing is fun, but there isn't enough of it. it was a mildly enjoyable watch, but very mildly.

borat

for those of us impatient for the next round of the Ali G Show, Borat provides some welcome relief. although the Borat skits on the show are a little more in depth and hard-hitting, it's always fun to watch him and this glorified skit is no exception. the movie is fun for the whole family - my parents enjoyed it, as did my friend's 5 year old cousin. who doesn't want to see hairy naked men chasing each other and wrestling?

keeping up with the steins

another cute movie. this one is about a boy about to be bar mitzvahed who begins a relationship with the grandfather who abandoned his father at a young age. there is some silly stuff in here about bar mitzvah planners and rival talent agents, but there is also some nice stuff about family and coming of age. Jeremy Piven plays a toned-down version of himself as Ari on Entourage, Jami Gertz pulls off a loving Jewish mother convincingly and Daryl Sabara is good as the bar mitzvah boy in question. Daryl Hannah is unfortunately predictable as a hippie who hooked up with grandpa, but it's still nice to see her.

john tucker must die

this is a great teen fluff movie of the ilk I haven't seen in a while, but always crave. there are a few echoes of The Perfect Man in Kate, our lovely protagonist's relationship with her mom who only dates losers, Jenny McCarthy, the one blight on the film. otherwise it is a perfectly cute movie about perfectly cute teenagers redeeming themselves, learning lessons, and wearing thongs. recommended.

the science of sleep

this movie was a pleasure to watch from its start to its too abrupt end. usually I find dream sequences annoying but these were beautiful, creative and so intertwined with the reality plotline that it didn't matter where one ended and the other began. of course it also helps that I have loved watching Charlotte Gainsbourg in movies since the 80s, and Gael Garcia Bernal is so adorable it doesn't matter how crazy he is, you still want to hug him. I was wondering how Michel Gondry would or could follow Eternal Sunshine of the Sleepless Mind, and now I know - with this gorgeous movie that made me feel nostalgic for the madness I've let go of over the years. I also tried the Fine Arts Cafe fare - it felt good to be munching on a plastic-wrapped $9 shrimp tempura roll and sipping a plastic cup of red wine, curled up in the big comfy seat.

the prestige

I really thought I would like this movie, but I suffered from my chronic problem with these kind of tricky films - I didn't get it. actually, that's not quite right. I think it's safe to say that there are two big reveals (secrets/tricks) in this movie - one was really obvious, so I thought it was very lame that even I could figure it out, and the other one didn't make any sense to me until it was explained later, so I didn't get much out of the already hideously over-dramatic final scene. I like Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, but didn't find either of them overly impressive here. Michael Caine played one of his stock characters and Piper Perabo and Scarlett Johansson were both pretty but not much else. I'm a big fan of Christopher Nolan's, epsecially Following and Memento, so I'm not too thrilled by the recent turn of his career, but I'll definitely keep watching his movies. other weekend adventures included: being doggedly pursued by swarms of mosquitos in Campaleche Forest, being buried in the sand by a massive wave at Tortuguera beach, riding bikes through the trails at Pinones and eating at a biker joint overlooking the sea.

grey gardens

I've been hearing about this movie for at least 20 years, and finally saw it. The Maysles brothers shot this documentary of the life of two reclusive women, relatives of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, both named Edith or Edie. The start of the film shows newspaper clippings stating that the two lived in squalor with no running water but conditions seem to have improved slightly by the time the Maysles arrived. There are many close-ups of the women snacking on delights such as liver pate on crackers and Hershey's vanilla ice cream eaten with a knife. Edith entertains the cameras by singing, Little Edie by dancing. It's sad and funny, so it's hard to know whether to laugh or feel queasy. The commentary helps in this regard - it was the first time I'd ever listened to one, not sure if I like them or not. Good news for me: Hollywoodland, Science of Sleep, Prestige and Borat all came out here today. Look forward to more frequent posts.