My internet pal, Cocktailhag, has a movie review up regarding 2012. Hag enjoyed the movie precisely because it was so ridiculous, predictable, and amusing in a likely unintended way.
Since I have been watching about a movie a day since May (on average, sometimes more), I felt inspired to list a few movies that are similar to Hag’s take on 2012 – movies I enjoyed despite (or perhaps because of) the ridiculous and unrealistic suspension of disbelief required by the audience to sell the premise; or, awful, eye-rolling dialogue that sounds as if it were written by a 29-year old kid who only recently moved out of his parent’s house (and probably was), or because the movie was supposed to be maudlin, sad, tragic, and serious and I, instead, irreverently laughed.
Category 1: Beyond Disbelief
“Unbreakable” with Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson: had me going along with it to some extent until the end when I said, “Oh, for crying out loud!” More loose ends than a cat-shredded afghan.
“Children of Men” with Clive Owen – an interesting premise (although too many unbelievably dodged bullets) but like a bad Stephen King novel, undeveloped rationale and pretty ridiculous outcome.
“Fracture” with Anthony Hopkins playing a brilliant murderer (typecast?) and Ryan Gosling an ambitious district attorney prosecuting the nearly perfect crime. The movie is clever and satisfying until the end when Hopkins’ character does something so stupid, you throw a Beannie Baby at the screen in disgust. If I were in the room with the writers, I would have insisted, “He wouldn’t do that!”
Category 2: Screenwriter(s) should be Flogged
“Lucky You” with Robert Duvall and Eric Bana: such potential, such an exciting and attractive subject (high-stakes poker), such a dog of a screenplay!
“Star Trek 2009″ where’s Gene Roddenberry when we need him?
“City of Angels” with Meg Ryan and Nick Cage – the script sounds like it was plagiarized from random Hallmark Greeting Cards.
Category 3: Are You Serious?
“Valkyrie” – great story, terrible movie.
“Angels and Demons” – it’s another laughably absurd fantasy based on unreadable Dan Brown with Tom Hanks who should know better.
“The September Issue” – this is not billed as a comedy, but it’s very funny, perhaps by accident.
Yippee! A whole list of the “good kind” of stinkers. I would add “The Stuff” and “Q, the Winged Serpent,” both of which feature the incomparable Michael Moriarty.
“Eating Raoul” might make an honorable mention, too.
My husband and I years ago rented _Nostalgia_, a film by a Russian director that’s set in Tuscany, where we were going to be traveling. The film was highly acclaimed, so we eagerly popped the cassette into the VCR (that dates us), only to experience life on the edge of a black hole, where time slllllowwwwws down to a stop. One scene sums it up: an actor lies on a bed while the camera closes up on a faucet dripping for minutes…
Congratulations on The Smoking Diary! Good to find you and your intelligent discourse again. Your blog is beautiful. …from the misfitting days…laurel
How nice to hear from you again, Laurel!
The good thing about getting movies for free (li-barry or online) is that I feel no obligation to continue watching them if they stink!
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Our favorite recent movie is Gosford Park. Very witty and a lot of Cole Porter background music.
Also Mama Mia of which I am addicted the music.
How can we ever prevent the bad ones… as The day the Earth Stood Still. Pah.
Give me some names I can watch! xxoomoire
I saw Gosford Park! It had Clive Owen in it (a new favorite actor of mine) and the usual great British suspects. I enjoyed it a lot and was quite surprised at the ending! Recommended.
I would also recommend “Love, Actually” for the holidays.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/12/11/national/a090153S32.DTL
Spouse murrrrder theater?