Movie #250 - Hamlet 2

Hamlet 2
2008 - Rated R - 1 hr 32 min
Director: Andrew Flemins
Starring: Steve Coogan, Elisabeth Shue, Catherine Keener, Joseph Julian Soria, Skylar Astin, Phoebe Strole, David Arquette, Amy Poehler, Melonie Diaz

Oh my God, I love this movie so much.  It's one part Waiting for Guffman and one part Napoleon Dynamite all grown up.  Awkward and lame high school drama director tackles his inner demons by rewriting Hamlet with a happy ending? Done.

The kids in this movie are also fantastic.  Epiphany's racist, Rand's in the closet, and Octavio's a secret genius, mistaken for a troubled, "ethnic" youth.  As they work together despite their differences, and their director's life falls apart, and the school bans the show, you're never in doubt that the show will go on.  It's just funny to watch how they'll get there. 

Maybe I love this movie because I'm a theater person. But I'm pretty sure it's hillarious even if you don't know which direction stage left is.

Movie #248 - A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
2006 - Rated R - 1 hr 50 min
Director: Dito Montiel
Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Dianne Wiest, Shia LeBeouf, Julia Garro, Channing Tatum, Rosario Dawson, Chazz Palminteri, Eric Roberts, Scott Michael Campbell, Melonie Diaz

I don't even know where to begin.  This movie disturbed me, and I'm not sure if that was the response they're looking for.  Robert Downey Jr plays the author, Dito Montiel, and Shia LeBeouf plays the young Dito in 1986.  Based on a true story, Dito deals with plenty of personal tragedy throughout his troubled past.  Lost loves, the deaths of friends, a distant father... all the cliches.

As a story goes, there's not much resolution here. You watch this movie and come away with very little.  It makes me wonder why the story is told, you know?  As the movie goes, the acting seems forced at times. And the F word, which doesn't usually bother me, appears at least three times in every sentence.  It's hard to feel compassion for any character in this contrived drama... I guess I didn't get it.

Movie #62 - Be Kind Rewind

Be Kind Rewind
New Line Cinema
2008 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 42 min
Director: Michael Gondry
Starring: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Mia Farrow, Melonie Diaz


Alright, first of all, this movie is not as funny as the previews made it seem. True, the Ghostbusters filming and some of the other moments between this unlikely duo illicit a chuckle, but for the most part, I wasn't laughing.

That said, the movie's not bad. It's just different from what I expected it to be, and when that happens, it takes my brain a moment to go, "Oh, hey. I liked that in a different way than I thought I would." So I do like this, and it's heartwarming save-the-town, preserve-VHS-tapes message. It's fun to watch, for sure. But pretty calm for a Jack Black movie.

It's not one I'll watch over and over, but I liked it all the same. And even though the ending is a bit weird (it just kinda stops...), I'm glad they didn't try to keep going. Everything you need to see resolved is resolved. Good for them for just ending it where it needed... even if it's a bit awkward.