Movie #159 - The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada
2006 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 49 min
Director: David Frankel
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, Adrian Grenier, Tracy Thoms

Yay, a chick flick!

I love this book. I love this movie.  The cast is fabulous, the clothes are amazing (and I'm not even into couture), and Meryl Streep deserved every inch of that Oscar.  The best part about this movie is how true it stays to the book.  The ending's a bit different, but I was happy to see some of my favorite bits make it in, like hunting down the unpublished Harry Potter book or picking up the dog from the groomer.  Emily Blunt is also a great page-to-screen success, capturing the character of Emily with every fiber of her being.  And yay for Gisele Bundchen, who apparently tried to have an acting career before popping out kids for Tom Brady.

Yes, it's a chicky movie.  It's a good one, though.  Who doesn't appreciate a good story about the struggle between good and evil, the little guy standing up to the goliath, the unsung hero standing up for herself? We can all relate to having a nightmare boss, and after watching this movie, I bet the one from your past doesn't hold a candle to Miranda Priestley.

Movie #158 - Desperado

Desperado
1995 - Rated R - 1 hr 44 min
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Cheech Marin, Steve Buscemi, Danny Trejo

Want to watch Antonio Banderas play some killer guitar? Check!

Want to watch him kill men with guitars? Check!

Want to watch him and Salma Hayek make sweet love then play guitar? Check!

So this movie is what it is: a story of revenge, a story of a bad-ass musician who doubles as an expert gun-slinger.  And also a story of drug busting, kinda.  There's lots of sweat and dirt, many bullets, and a fantastic body count...also some fantastic bodies. Just sayin'.

It's fun, easy to follow, and has lots of action.  It's a guy movie, which is not surprising since Robert Rodriguez directed it.  And oh hey, Quentin Tarrantino's in it too!

Movie #157 - The Departed

The Departed
2006 - Rated R - 2 hr 31 min
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Vera Farmiga, Alec Baldwin

As expected, this movie's kind of a big deal around Boston.  And with all that swearing and gunfire and all those accents, I can see why.  It's about Boston, crime, double-crosses.  It's all the stuff we love and it's in our hometown.

Watching this movie's like playing a game of "guess who practiced their Boston accent today."  Some of these actors are really good, like Alec Baldwin.  Some of them were born here, so they'd better be good, like Mark Walhberg and Matt Damon.  And some of them get by okay, like Jack Nicholson.  It's jarring at first, how strong all of them lay it on, but after the first half hour you forget about it.

Then, of course, in the last half hour, it's now a race against death.  This movie has all the blood and murders of a Shakespearean tragedy.  But the way half the cast gets mowed down gives new meaning to "sudden death."  Yikes!  Someone's talking and everything fine one minute and then BAM! Bullet to the forehead. 

From beginning to end, a whole 2 1/2 hours later, it holds your attention and keeps you scratching your head.  Who's working for who? Who's gonna die next?

It makes Boston look pretty bad ass, I must say.

Movie #156 - Definitely, Maybe

Definitely, Maybe
2008 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 52 min
Director: Adam Brooks
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Rachel Weisz, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher

Ryan Reynolds as a charming dad who loves his daughter is like porn for women, for starters.  How on earth he's in the middle of a divorce is beyond me.

The interactions with that daughter (Abigail Breslin) are adorable.  She begs for the story of how he met her mother and then interrupts with her advanced-for-her-years commentary on the subject.  Calling your dad the "man version of a slut" is a joy most daughters never experience.  And counseling your dad on repairing his broken love life is another such luxury.  Both are handled expertly by Reynolds's Will Hayes without faultering.

So who will it be? Rachel Weisz, Isla Fisher, or Elizabeth Banks? You get to root for your favorite, see if you can guess which woman is his soon-to-be-ex-wife and which one is the one that got away?  And can he stop her from getting away again?

It's cute, it's funny, and it's a great one to watch just in time for Valentine's Day next month.

Movie #155 - Death to Smoochy

Death to Smoochy
2002 - Rated R - 1 hr 49 min
Director: Danny DeVito
Starring: Robin Williams, Edward Norton, Catherine Keener, Danny DeVito, Jon Stewart, Pam Ferris, Danny Woodburn, Harvey Fierstein

I saw this movie in the theater, loved it, and was promptly disappointed with its lack-luster reviews.  It's a dark comedy. It's an "expose" on the seedy underbelly of kids TV programs.  It's comedic genius, is what it is.

In my opinion, Williams and Norton and Keener give their best performances in this movie.  Rainbow Randolph is Williams's best character, by far.  Edward Norton is refreshing as a kids show host/purple rhino with a history of anger management problems and a penchant for organics.  And Keener's dry wit is perfectly timed.  For me, the cast is what makes this movie so good.  When all three are in the same scene, I'm laughing the whole time.

This might not make you feel great about what your kids are watching, but it will make you laugh. Highly recommended.

Movie #154 - Death Becomes Her

Death Becomes Her
Universal Pictures
1992 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 44 min
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini

Oh boy, this one was fun to revisit.  I feel like I only caught this one on TV in bits and pieces until I recently got my hands on this copy.  I suspect this might have been the first time I've seen all the scenes in a row. 

Bruce Willis in his least flattering role is adorably hopeless, until these dead chicks push him too far.  Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, locked in a life-long feud, are so selfish and disillusioned that you almost feel bad for them. Almost.  An eternity stuck together, trapped in your own rotting body? Well, as long as your brows are done right, I guess.

Movie #153 - Death at a Funeral

Death at a Funeral
2007 - Rated R - 1 hr 30 min
Director: Frank Oz
Starring: Matthew Macfadyen, Peter Dinklage, Ewen Bremner, Alan Tudyk

Oh, I love this movie.  Another Brit comedy, this original version (recently remade with Tracy Morgan and Chris Rock) is both witty and poignant, and filled with perfectly timed and appropriately awkward comedic moments.

Alan Tudyk accidentally high on drugs, naked on a rooftop? Priceless.  A sexually promiscuous, gay dwarf with a naughty secret, tied up in the corner of a study? Awesome.  And an unexpected viewing of the corpse (several times)? Totally necessary.

Just watch this one and enjoy.  It's a celebration of life, death, the stuff in between, and dysfunctional families all rolled into one.