Movie #36 - Atonement

Atonement

Universal Pictures
2007 - Rated R - 2 hr 3 min
Director: Joe Wright
Starring: James McAvoy, Keira Knightley, Romola Garai

I'd never seen this movie before and I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. I'm 50/50 on the lead actors, typically scared of books-turned-film, and I also had no idea what this was about.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one, however. Enough to go and read the book, I think.

Keira Knightley didn't annoy me and I think I might actually be a James McAvoy fan now. These two were well suited to each other and you really believe their relationship is real. Add one meddling 13-year-old with strong (though false) convictions. And this would-be chick flick becomes a drama about life, betrayal, and how sad life can really be sometimes.

If you haven't seen this because you think it's all about love and sex, please just watch it. I applaud Ian McEwan for being so real you want to punch him in the face. We all have something we regret in life (none of us as badly as Briony, that meddling teen--I hope), but on some level, we can all relate to that deep down in your bones desire to make amends.

Movie #35 - Assassins

Assassins

Warner Bros Pictures

1995 - Rated R - 2 hr 15 min

Director: Richard Donner

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Julianne Moore

Mike loves this movie, but I gotta be honest, I think it would be more fun to watch it back in 1995 (when the "hacker" technology was still current) or as a guy. Something about Stallone vs. Banderas gets lost when you're not enthralled by gratuitous car chases and shoot outs.

One assassin versus another - good premise. How does Julianne Moore get involved? Why? Probably just to keep this movie from being 100% testosterone-infused, muscly madness. It's not a bad movie, just not my cup of tea. I'll admit it... I was a bit bored.

Movie #34 - As You Like It

As You Like It

BBC Films / HBO Films

2006 - Rated PG - 2 hr 7 min

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Alfred Molina, Kevin Kline, Romola Garai

Shakespeare remakes with a twist are usually fun, and this version from Kenneth Branagh doesn't disappoint. I love Bryce Dallas Howard (in this and in basically everything) and she is the perfect Rosalind. Having just seen this staged last summer, watching the film in its Japanese setting is an interesting experience. I always enjoy watching these classic, well-known lines of dialogue spoken in new settings.

As another one of Shakespeare's gender bending plays, As You Like It is filled with mistaken identities, confusion, and miscommunications. It's a comedy, so you don't have to watch everyone die at the end, and of course - there's a marriage (or a few) to make everyone happy. Enjoy :)

Movie #33 - Art School Confidential

Art School Confidential

Sony Pictures Classics

2006 - Rated R - 1 hr 42 min

Director: Terry Zwigoff

Starring: Max Minghella, Sophia Myles, John Malkovich, Jim Broadbent, Ethan Suplee, Anjelica Huston

Here's a weird one for you. This movie takes a satirical look at just how far art students will go to please their teachers, sound really smart, and be the next big thing. John Malkovich is great as the over-the-top, triangle-painting art teacher. Max Minghella is the perfect suburbanite turned ambitious art student. And Jim Broadbent is just a crazy, depressed, has been. There's even the official art groupie girl who gets passed around by artists like an old, rusty paintbrush.

If you've ever made fun of modern art, you'll take some comfort (and get some laughs) from this flick. But don't let the lighthearted approach fool you. This movie takes some dark turns that might surprise you. I love this one - it's a fun watch.

Movie #32 - Armageddon

Armageddon

Touchstone Pictures

1998 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 30 min

Director: Michael Bay

Starring: Bruce Willis, Billy Bob Thornton, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Steve Buschemi, Owen Wilson, Michael Clarke Duncan

I was never really impressed with this movie. To me, it was just one of Michael Bay's early attempts to destroy the earth. This movie also doesn't know what it is. Action? Adventure? Love story? There are moments when it feels like a chick flick. And since it has a (sorta) happy ending, maybe it is a romance.

Perhaps the most annoying part of this movie is the narrow viewpoint it gives viewers. The world is going to get hit by a giant meteor and "life as we know it will end." You would think such an event would inspire a global collaboration of some kind... but since this movie is so quintessentially American, obviously the US has to do something to save everyone. Instead of watching different cultures to come together, oil rig workers and NASA scientists must learn to get along. And Liv Tyler is pure uselessness in this movie.

Don't get me started on the stupid plan they have to blow up the meteor. Drill into it and blow it apart with a nuke? Would that really even work? I demand a Myth Busters episode for this.

Anyway, I never really bought into all the hype about this movie. Now, 12 years later, I still feel like it's overrated and extremely unrealistic.

Movie #31 - The AristoCats

The AristoCats

Walt Disney Pictures

1970 - Rated G - 1 hr 19 min

Director: Wolfgang Reitherman

Starring: Phil Harris, Eva Gabor, Sterling Holloway

If I ever understood what this movie was about when I was a kid, then I had definitely forgotten since. In fact, I probably would have summarized the plot as "about some kitties who are rich," not even close to the actual storyline. Does anyone know what this is about? No? Nobody? Allow me to enlighten you on the dumbest of all Disney plots.

Duchess (mama cat) and her three kittens are set to be the heirs to a rich, old woman's fortune. Her butler thinks he should get the money, not some stinkin' cats, so he drugs the cats and drops them in the countryside. He doesn't kill them, just abandons them somewhere. The cats meet a street-wise alley cat, some crazy jazz cats, and travel back to the mansion where all is uncovered. The end.

What? Really? Thank God Disney discovered fairy tales a la Christian Anderson (etc) or all their movies would have been lame.

Still, it has kitties so Awwww! Cute!

Movie #30 - Apocalypto

Apocalypto

Touchstone Pictures

2006 - Rated R - 2 hr 19 min

Director: Mel Gibson

Starring: Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez

Another Mel Gibson movie where no one speaks English? You got it! This time, we're watching the Mayans deal with the violent end of life as they knew it. Tribes are being overrun, villages pillaged and burned, plagues run rampant, women are violated, children are slaughtered. It's all gruesome and uncomfortable, and it's all subtitled for your viewing pleasure.

To be fair, I enjoyed watching this 2+ hour foray into an ancient culture, about which I knew very little. The plotline, which follows the fate of post-attack villagers, is full of action, adventure, and really disgusting "realism." Our main character is taken prisoner, while his preggers wife and son hide out in a hole. He promises to come back, but anything and everything tries to keep him from getting there. On the way, all kinds of wild, crazy things happen. Like beheadings and divine eclipses. Ever wanted to see a man get mauled by a panther? You're in luck!!

Ugh, Mel Gibson. Ugh. Yet, as uncomfortable as it sometimes is to watch, it's educational... and harrowing. Despite my better judgment, I didn't hate this movie. I actually found myself well absorbed into these characters and this plot.

Movie #29 - Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons

Columbia Pictures

2009 - Rated R - 2 hr 18 min

Director: Ron Howard

Starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor

Like The DaVinci Code, I was glad I read the book before I saw the movie. The books are better, but I can't say I'm surprised. It's hard to improve on a Dan Brown adventure. Also like The DaVinci Code, Angels & Demons centers on Robert Langdon, the world's leading symbologist, on another adventure rooted in Catholicism (and it's surrounding -isms). This time, it's the Illuminati out to get the Church, and Robert has to save the day (and Vatican City).

Unlike The DaVinci Code, the movie is well adapted from the book, rarely chopping out huge sections of action or dialogue. It also doesn't seem choppy. Oddly, this book is written as a prequel, but since DaVinci came out as a movie first, they chose to turn this into a sequel. It's not a plot point, but I know some Langdonites were irritated by this.

Overall, Angels & Demons is my favorite Langdon adventure, both in the written and visual artforms. I definitely recommend reading both titles (and the new one, The Lost Symbol) before adding this to the Netflix queue, however.

Movie #28 - Anchors Aweigh

Anchors Aweigh
Metro Goldwyn Meyer
1945 - No Rating - 2 hr 23 min
Director: George Sidney
Starring: Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Kathryn Grayson

It's been so long since I've since this 1945 classic that I couldn't really remember the plot. Frank and Gene are sailors on a 4-day leave, on the hunt for some hugs and kisses from the ladies of Hollywood. Instead, they end up helping a young boy running away from home, hoping to enlist in the navy. He's an orphan and lives with his Aunt Susie, a stunningly beautiful (of course) aspiring actress. A weird love triangle ensues, lots of singing and dancing results, and all is resolved with the happy fervor of a Shakespearean comedy.

This is the famous musical that features the revolutionary Gene Kelly dancing with the animated mouse scene. It was so impressive back then, now it's just impressive to watch Gene Kelly float across the screen. Wow, could he dance!

Anyway, movies back then were something else. They were longer, since audiences could actually stand to watch a five-minute segment of the orchestra playing a song (yes, that's it, just the orchestra), and the sexism abounds... But it's like watching a moment of our American history. For that reason, I love watching these two sing and dance in this movie!

Movie #27 - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
DreamWorks
2004 - Rated R - 1 hr 34 min
Director: Adam McKay
Starring: Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner, Fred Willard, Seth Rogen, Danny Trejo, Kathryn Hahn

Oh, I looooooooooooooooooooooove this movie. Watching it again was just fun for me, quoting all my favorite lines and singing along with the four-part harmony to "Afternoon Delight." I just got to sit back and enjoy Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, and David Koechner be absolutely weird (and 100% bought-into their characters). In fact, that's probably what makes this comedy so awesome - you really believe they are these outrageous 70's era newscasters.

Oh yeah, and you get to add a little Fred Willard (and a brief moment of Jack Black).... sweet.