Ok, so I've been feeling like shit for the last few days. This generally means I sit on the couch complaining a lot while catching up on movies.
The latest Netflix shipment came in on Friday bringing in:
The Sting (1973) **** - Robert Redford and Paul Newman are fantastic as a couple of grifters in depression-era Chicago. Excellent supporting cast (Ray Walston and Harold Gould are great), classic ragtime jazz soundtrack, superb performances and witty gags made for a all-around outstanding movie. It's no surprise that this won the best picture Oscar that year. This is the movie that set the standard for all "heist" movies to come. If it seems like you've seen this one before, you probably have. It's an idea that has been imitated hundreds of times since. Highly recommended.
The Village (2004) ** - M. Night Shyamalan's latest attempt to scare you without a lot of special effects does a 180 degree turn midway through the story and morphs into a love story. Midway through the love story, the plot morphs into a predictable "man vs. nature vs. himself" character study. For those of you who haven't seen it and might want to, I won't give too much away, but suffice it to say that the climax of the whole affair was, well...anti-climactic. I thought the first 30-40 minutes were really cool. He setup a nice mood, a creepy atmosphere and created sympathetic characters in a short time span. There were some frightening moments as well as some genuinely tender ones. Then, suddenly, Shyamalan decides he's Jane Campion and throws us into a plodding, misguided love story meets sociological lesson. Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard were very good in an otherwise disappointing movie. Shyamalan is really slipping.
Alright, I'm going to lay back down on the couch and feel like crap for a little while longer. Next up is We Don't Live Here Anymore with Mark Ruffalo and Laura Dern. A good friend recommended it and then I read a bunch of bad reviews. This doesn't look promising, but we'll see.
Did I mention that The Arcade Fire is really fucking fantastic?
The latest Netflix shipment came in on Friday bringing in:
The Sting (1973) **** - Robert Redford and Paul Newman are fantastic as a couple of grifters in depression-era Chicago. Excellent supporting cast (Ray Walston and Harold Gould are great), classic ragtime jazz soundtrack, superb performances and witty gags made for a all-around outstanding movie. It's no surprise that this won the best picture Oscar that year. This is the movie that set the standard for all "heist" movies to come. If it seems like you've seen this one before, you probably have. It's an idea that has been imitated hundreds of times since. Highly recommended.
The Village (2004) ** - M. Night Shyamalan's latest attempt to scare you without a lot of special effects does a 180 degree turn midway through the story and morphs into a love story. Midway through the love story, the plot morphs into a predictable "man vs. nature vs. himself" character study. For those of you who haven't seen it and might want to, I won't give too much away, but suffice it to say that the climax of the whole affair was, well...anti-climactic. I thought the first 30-40 minutes were really cool. He setup a nice mood, a creepy atmosphere and created sympathetic characters in a short time span. There were some frightening moments as well as some genuinely tender ones. Then, suddenly, Shyamalan decides he's Jane Campion and throws us into a plodding, misguided love story meets sociological lesson. Joaquin Phoenix and Bryce Dallas Howard were very good in an otherwise disappointing movie. Shyamalan is really slipping.
Alright, I'm going to lay back down on the couch and feel like crap for a little while longer. Next up is We Don't Live Here Anymore with Mark Ruffalo and Laura Dern. A good friend recommended it and then I read a bunch of bad reviews. This doesn't look promising, but we'll see.
Did I mention that The Arcade Fire is really fucking fantastic?
VIEW 9 of 9 COMMENTS
I can't say that you're wrong though; I've been saying all year that they needed better than Westbrook to win the whole shebang.
I was also surprised by the Pats false starts; wow, they must've been nervous... and with reason, as Philly's D looked very good. Turnovers were clearly the difference, as usual.