Incredibles– While this was by far the best looking animation from Pixar yet (well, I didn’t see Finding Nemo), the plot wasn’t very entertaining. The characters seemed a bit shallow. Superheros have never much done it for me. I didn’t mind watching it, and Joanna liked it a lot.
Closer– A somewhat strange movie with Natalie Portman. Natalie Portman as a strip dancer. I thought it was an entertaining look at human relationships– awfully accurate in some strange hyperbolic fashion. After the credits pronounced it was adapted from a play, things made even more sense. Overall, both Joanna and I liked it.
Green Butlers– A very queer Danish movie that I tried hard not to like. It wasn’t horrible, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it. Entertaining in a very dark way. I wonder if I would have liked it better if I understood Danish. Joanna liked it.
Spartan– I hate David Mamet. I don’t know why, but I really do. This was by far the best Mamet I’ve ever seen, probably because it was written for the screen, not the stage. It was still full of that utterly moronic Mametish dialogue, which means that everything has to be repeated four times. Joanna liked it, but then she’s the one who wanted to rent it. It at least kept me watching. I give it a nice solid C.
Holy Land– A strange little movie about a Israeli Yeshiva student who falls in love with a Russian prostitute. Joanna and I both enjoyed it. While I’ve never been to Israel, it painted an intriguing and probably somewhat accurate portrayal of how strange a place it is. It’s got nudity and sex and guns.
Lemony Snicket– I hate Jim Carrey, but he seems to be in everything these days. After hearing an interview with the author on What do you Know, I had high hopes for this movie. It wasn’t entirely dissapointing, but I didn’t think it was exceptional either. It had amazing visuals, great scenery, and a charming feel to it. But I felt like it lacked soul in some way.
Primer– This movie could have been good if it weren’t bad. They tried so hard to make the dialogue fit a mood that it became almost incomprehensible. Still, it showed promise up until about the last 15 minutes when the plot self-destructs into nonsense that probably managed to fool some viewers (such as my wife) into thinking it was deep, meaningful, complex, and mind-boggling when it was actually just stupid.
Dirty Filthy Love– While far from charming, this was a funny movie about an OCD/Turret’s guy. Joanna and I both enjoyed it, but we don’t know that you would. The scenes with the OCD support group probably made it worth watching on their own.
Saved– An entertaining movie about a fundamentalist Christian high school. We both liked it.
The Last Shot– An FBI agent produces a movie to catch gangsters. It wasn’t a bad movie, but the interview with the real-life agent on This American Life was far more entertaining.