Rachel Getting Married

This weekend Mark was away so it was the perfect opportunity to rent a TON of movies. I got to see “Changeling” and “Rachel Getting Married” with two friends during a very late night involving junk food. Two heavy movies for a girls' night, but it worked. And then I also saw “The Other Boleyn Girl,” “Definitely Maybe,” “Penelope,” and “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” Lots of different genres…that’s a good weekend.

“Rachel Getting Married” was the standout to me in this collection. This was Anne Hathaway’s first Oscar-nominated role and let me say, rightfully so. I’ve only ever seen her play the good girl. In this she plays Kim, a recovering addict who comes home for her sister’s wedding. It was almost more of a study on family, rather than a story. There was no heroine or villain in this movie. I could feel pain for each character, and I also felt angry at each character at different times. It was very raw…from the awkward rehearsal dinner toast, to the mother’s withdrawal from her own daughters, to the dad trying desperately to hold his family together, to Rachel one minute hating her sister, but the next minute caring for her as only a sister can. Anne Hathaway was perfection. She’s an actress for the ages in my book.

As a side note, I also really enjoyed the uniqueness of the wedding and the eclectic group of friends throughout the movie. Also, the wedding musicians were always around the house, practicing for the big event, but that provided the movie soundtrack. It was pretty cool.

V For Vendetta

“Remember remember the 5’th of November…”

So after finally viewing “V for Vendetta,” I realize it falls into the category of movies that takes over every male of my generation’s psyche…movies including Gladiator, Braveheart, and of course, The Matrix. What is it about guys and the rebel mind set?…fighting for a cause…etc, etc. Speaking as someone who never wants to hold a weapon in my hand, I suppose I’m glad there are actual Robin Hoods out there who are willing to stand up for freedom and what’s right. Especially considering how crazy our world is becoming. Funny what a serious tone this has taken, all because of a story from a graphic novel. But a good movie, whether it's based on reality or fantasy, allows you to experience something you otherwise wouldn’t, right? Just throwing a quick warning in though, since I know some of the people who read this and take my movie suggestions: it’s slightly disturbing in a holocaust kind of way. But if you’re up for it, it’s worth seeing. Wow Wow Wow!!!

Very politically charged movie…my next job is to talk my non-movie-loving, but political junkie husband into watching this. Maybe my job will be easier than normal, considering 2 of the 8 movies he actually likes are Gladiator and The Matrix. =)

Two Movies I've Recently Seen...

In the past couple of weeks I saw two movies (well, lots more than two, but I’m talking about a specific two here). “Atonement” had a trailer for “Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day” and “Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day” had a trailer for “Atonement.” These are two completely different kinds of stories. I’m not saying trailers always show similar movies to the one you’re watching, but they do tend to show chick flick trailers on chick flick DVD’s, and shoot-em-up trailers on shoot-em-ups…you get my drift. I supposed it mostly has to do with the actual production company promoting their own movies. Anyway, here are my observations on these two movies. Both were based in England. One was a comedy, the other a drama, well tragedy may be a more likely word. Both had superb acting, so I suppose they also had that in common. I love anything with Frances McDormand (my favorite character being the somewhat wacky but conventional mother in “Almost Famous”). I also feel you can’t go wrong with Amy Adams, James McAvoy, Vanessa Redgrave, or Keira Knightly. The thing that stood out the most about both though, was the music. I loved how an old typewriter was used to build suspense by tapping out specific cadences in “Atonement.” And the soundtrack of 30’s jazz in “Miss Pettigrew” is not to be missed.