Goodbye Cruel Summer

Now that fall has definitely come, I thought I’d recap a handful of the other “summer” movies that I saw and move straight into October. To finish off the summer...

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
There are so many things I’d like to say, particularly about Megan Fox. But I don’t want to waste my energy. I’ll just ask “why”?

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
We went to see this twice to fully appreciate and capture all of the nuances of the film and how it works with the book. Frankly, while I enjoyed the movie, I wish that the producers, etc. had decided to make this book into two movies also (as they are doing with book seven). So much happens in this book that the movie had only a passing reference to what was really the story of the “half-blood prince”.

That being said, I once again think that all involved in the movie did a great job with the interpretation and adaptation of the story. I think that David Yates is a great director (see the British TV series “State of Play”). The only bad thing I have to say about this film is that I wish it had been rated PG-13 so that they could have pushed the story a bit further.

District 9 (2009)
This film was really brilliant. Disguised foremost as a sci-fi film and secondly as a message against prejudice (via apartheid), it actually was a love story. Love between a father and son and love between a husband and wife. I’ve said it before – Brilliant. And if it is still playing in a theatre near you – go.




Julie and Julia (2009)
The story of Julia Childs and her husband, Paul was just lovely. I wanted to read their respective memoirs and letters after seeing the movie because they had such a genuine love and respect for each other. Julie Powell is portrayed as a bit of a whiner and subsequent blog articles I’ve read have pegged her as someone who did this as a publicity stunt (Julia Childs herself thought this).

However, I totally disagree (and so do some foodie critics). If you take a look at Julia’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking”, it is a bitch to follow and cook from – not an easy task and surely not worth spending a year of your life slaving over it if you just want publicity – somewhere there has to be a love of cooking – or why kill yourself over it.

Good for Julie – even if Julia didn’t approve – this story made for a feel good movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. And as usual, Meryl Streep was phenomenal.

Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Most of you know (if you know me at all), that I cannot stand Brad Pitt. I don’t even like him a little – the reasons are multi-fold (and I won’t bore you with them now if you don’t already know them).

But I can stomach him in an ensemble flick and for as many reasons as I despise Brad Pitt, I love Quentin Tarantino – thus bringing balance into the world – well, my world anyway.

What an exciting movie! I absolutely enjoyed this film. If you read about the film online, you will see that there are all types of “Easter egg” info out there re: the origins of the story, etc. For example, Eli Roth (the “Bear Jew” and director of such films as “Hostel”) actually directed the movie inside this movie titled “Stolz der Nation”, a Nazi propaganda film.

When the movie was first released, there was some criticism from Jewish, religious publications that sited the film as “revenge porn”. But seriously, who wouldn’t want it to go down this way? SPOILER ALERT – Hitler, an avid filmgoer is murdered in a movie theatre watching a propaganda film. This is pure genius coming from a man who is also an avid film buff and began his career working in video rental store.

Next up – The Informant!, Zombieland and Whip It. Along w/ a few DVD gems I’ve seen over the last few months. In honor of Halloween, check out the Zombieland trailers at the bottom of this page.

End.