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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
What Are You Watching? Skip ‘Ghosts’
The summer’s early movies continue to roll out on DVD, but this week’s picks are not much inspiring than last week’s.
Battle for Terra: Nobody cared when this animated film made it to theaters. I doubt people will care that much more even on DVD.
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past: Recasting A Christmas Carol with a selfish playboy in the lead (Matthew McConaughey) could have worked, but the movie never connects because of an utterly pedestrian script bereft of laughs. Jennifer Garner is as appealing as ever, but not enough to make this worthwhile. GRADE: C
Next Day Air: If I were to name this movie based on my interest in it, I would call it Return to Sender.
Observe and Report: Seth Rogen has one of his best roles as a mall security guard suffering delusions of grandeur, and I admire the movie’s willingness to go out on a limb for a laugh. At the same time, I’m not sure the movie always knows whether it’s rooting for or against its lead character. The ending in particular, is a cop-out, pun slightly intended. Still, it’s funny enough to recommend it - but maybe I feel that way because I saw it immediately after Paul Blart: Mall Cop. GRADE: B
What Are You Watching?
Camille: I often do not care for costume dramas like this one, but with George Cukor directing and Greta Garbo pulling out all the stops as a lovelorn courtesan, this movie was an affecting exception. GRADE: A
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: I watched the 1931 version with Fredric March, who won an Oscar for the role(s). It’s a bit primitive by today’s standards, and the Hyde makeup is just this side of silly, but excellent performances by March, and by Miriam Hopkins as the “bad” girl Hyde goes after, sell the picture. Inventive direction from Rouben Mamoulian helps too. GRADE: A-
Johnny Guitar: This maybe the single most bizarre Western I’ve ever seen, with always the always intriguing director Nicholas Ray (Rebel Without a Cause) upending Western stereotypes, pitting Joan Crawford and Mercedes McCambridge against each other and filming the whole thing in florid Technicolor. It’s overwrought but fascinating. GRADE: A-
3:10 to Yuma: I watched the 1957 original with Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, playing, respectively, a criminal and a ranch owner trying to take him into custody. This version relies more on a psychological battle of wits between the leads than the 2007 remake does, and it works very well. However, this is a rare instance where the remake is actually a little better, with more layers to the story and characters. GRADE: B+
What have you seen lately?
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