Movie #214 - The Fountain

The Fountain
2006 - Rated R - 1 hr 36 min
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Sean Patrick Thomas, Ellen Burstyn, Ethan Suplee

I really want to love this movie.  I really do.  Hugh and Rachel make me want to love their story, with its interwoven threads to the past and future.  And all those references to trees, the Tree of Life, etc.  I want to love this movie, Darren Aronofsky, but every time I watch it, I just can't.

This is artsy and complicated. To the untrained viewer, it's confusing.  In the main story line, Rachel Weisz is dying from a brain tumor and Hugh Jackman is experimenting on monkeys to find the cure.  He's too late, and this huge loss causes a ripple through time into his future life... in a bubble...? With a tree, that/who is Rachel Weisz. Spiritually speaking.  And in the past, he's a Spanish explorer and she is Queen. Also, he becomes a plant.

The Fountain relies heavily on its metaphors and if you suspend reality and just absorb the powerful statement it's trying to make, you'll like it.  The nonsequential plot is fine, if you are watching it to understand Hugh Jackman's character's journey.  Love is a powerful thing that makes us do crazy things. Like tai chi in a bubble.

Just sayin'.

Movie #184 - Enemy at the Gates

Enemy at the Gates
2001 - Rated R - 2 hr 11 min
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Starring: Jude Law, Ed Harris, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins, Ron Perlman

Here's a twisted transition for you.... Enchanted to Enemy at the Gates. But here we are.  World War II. Snipers. Russian war camp.  Yippee!

Once I wrapped my brain around this non-musical, non-animated, non-happy-whatsoever movie, I remembered how much I enjoy it.  Joseph Fiennes has redeemed himself since Elizabeth (for me, anyway) with his character here, who really means well but gets a little too jealous for his own good.  In the end, he's a true friend though and makes the ultimate sacrifice.

This is one of my favorite roles for Jude Law as well, who doesn't get to be pretty in this movie and is not surrounded by flocks of women.  He really gets to act.  And watching his various stand-offs with one Ed Harris (scary, Nazi mo-fo in this, btw) is just delightful, in a very morbid way.  Thrilling? Compelling? We'll go with compelling.

Then there's poor Rachel Weisz, who just wants to help. Then just wants to love Jude Law like any other girl, okay? Leading us to the most awkward love scene in cinematic history. I'm serious. Most. Awkward. Scene. Ever.  But definitely well done.

And that's that. This movie makes me sad, but it's so powerful to watch.  I love it.

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 #130 - Constantine

Constantine
Warner Bros
2005 - Rated R - 2 hr 1 min
Director: Francis Lawrence
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz, Shia LeBeouf, Djimon Hounson, Gavin Rossdale, Tilda Swinton

Here's a creepy movie for you!  Religious thrillers scare the bejeebers out of me, usually, but Keanu Reeves seems to neutralize the scary parts of this movie.  That's actually a good thing, not me making fun of him, because it allows me to really enjoy watching this from beginning to end.

What a twisted premise. What an interesting cast.  I don't know what it is that I like so much about Constantine, but I could watch this almost anytime.  Maybe it's Rachel Weisz. Maybe it's Tilda Swinton's amazing, androgynous Angel Gabriel. But this heaven vs. hell, with humans caught in the middle, movie is dark, dreary, and awesome.

Movie #128 - Confidence

Confidence
Lions Gate Entertainment
2003 - Rated R - 1 hr 37 min
Director: James Foley
Starring: Edward Burns, Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia, Rachel Weisz, Paul Giamatti, Donal Logue, Luis Guzman

This movie has a great cast, which caught my attention right off the bat the first time we watched it.  And since we bought it soon thereafter, you can assume safely that the cast delivers as expected.  This has a great twist-twist ending, lots of mind games between con artists, and plenty of Rachel Weisz being coyly devious.  I kinda love it. And Ed Burns.

I don't want to reveal too much for those who haven't seen it, but this movie keeps you thinking. I always enjoy a good double-cross or triple-cross or who-the-heck-is-working-for-whom kind of movie.  Just watch it sometime and you'll see what I mean.