At the Movies: Short Takes

I've been watching a lot of movies lately, more than usual.  Nothing too highbrow or challenging, as Phil and I haven't really been in the mood for anything heavy.  I was dispatched to the video store last week for a comedy and when I got home, I told Phil that I'd rented The Last King of Scotland and Scorsese's The Departed.   Just kidding!  Somehow, I think my comedy was lost on him.  :-)

Stranger Than Fiction.  B+.  This is the comedy that I rented in lieu of Scorsese, and Phil loved it--even though in some ways, it's a pretty noir kind of comedy.  It's kind of uneven, and certainly slow in places, but it's a well-written and intelligent movie--certainly anyone who has ever tried to write a novel should watch this movie.  Will Ferrell is convincing as Harold Crick, the milquetoast IRS auditor who finds his life narrated--and, seemingly, his life's course determined--by Emma Thompson, whose voice he keeps hearing in his head. She's a novelist who always kills off her protagonist at the end, as explained by Dustin Hoffman in a great character part; he plays the lit prof who helps Harold figure out  what kind of story he's in.  Maggie Gyllenhaal appears as a sassy and bright love interest when Harold investigates her underpayment of taxes.  Quirky, charming, and unflinchingly self-aware, this is a dramady for the pomo in all of us: what story do we find ourselves in, anyway?

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. B+.  This might have been my least favorite of the HP books, but that's like saying it's the runt in a litter of gorgeous pups, because they're all pretty darn good.  Considering that the novel is so long, I'm impressed that this movie managed to condense a huge and complex plot into a film of just 138.  What's more, director David Yates managed to do this without the dizzying MTV cuts of the 4th film or the continuity problems and plot lacunae of the 3rd (which still stands as the best HP movie in every other respect, I think).  I didn't miss some of the more extraneous subplots, like Ron's Quidditch playing.  There are great performances by Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge (hem! hem!) and Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix LeStrange.  (This would seem to be yet another movie where a director tries his best to make HBC look ugly but fails completely.  See also Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and even Planet of the Apes.)  In all, we enjoyed this movie, and I found that even Emma Watson is growing on me.  I found her far less irritating than usual; she seems to have finally captured some of the warmth and goodness of Hermione as well as the haughtiness.

The Mistress of Spices.  C-.  Gosh, this movie was so very stupid.  I am sorry to say it because I pretty much worship the actress who plays Tilo, the Indian-American spice mistress who is mystically tied to her Bay area spice shop but longs for love and adventure.  Through the usual contrivances, Tilo meets a handsome stranger played by Dylan McDermott, and they fall hard for one another even though his character is self-absorbed and immature.  This movie was written by Gurinder Chadha of Bend It Like Beckham fame, but Mistress of Spices never quite musters Bend It's innocent charm.  There are also huge plot holes and continuity problems with the story.  Still, lots of eye candy here--gorgeous colors, cinematography, and of course beautiful actors.

Once.  A-.  Finally, there's this little indy Euromance.  Phil and I first heard about it from AP film critic Christy Lemire when she was subbing recently for Roger Ebert. (Incidentally, we both think Lemire is the best of all the guest critics they've had on Ebert & Roeper.  She's terrific, smart, and funny--and I think Phil is a little bit in love.)   Lemire called it her top pick for the first half of 2007, so that certainly merits a viewing.  It's not the kind of movie that you need to see on the big screen, and it's in such a limited arthouse release that a lot of moviegoers won't have access until it comes out on DVD anyway.  Basically, it's a Dublin love story between a struggling Irish musician and a young woman who has recently emigrated from Eastern Europe and is trying to get on her feet.  It's a musical, but it's not the kind of musical you are thinking about where characters Suddenly Feel a Song Coming On.  The songs come through their jam sessions, where they discover each other and themselves through the music they create.  It's a beautiful, funny, quirky piece.  The only reason I can't quite give it an A is that the handheld camera work just about drove me crazy. I left the theater with a huge grin on my face but a pounding headache from the jerky visuals.

Comments

[Dave L]

Sarah and I just saw Once last week. Irony so often rules our lives that it's rare to see earnest films anymore. Not that this one is self-seriously about "something"...but it's earnest about its characters. About their lives. And their passions. Reminded us a lot of "Before Sunrise"...with music instead of talking.