At the Movies

1) The Dark Knight Rises.

Christian Charles Philip Bale

A few hokey moments aside (government statue of “The Batman”?  Riiiiight.), it delivers. But enough with the superhero movies already.  Next thing you know they’ll be making Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from Outer Space.  

Oh for f*ck’s sake.

2) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Hello ladies.  My name is Benedict.

More like “an expanded journey full of filler so we can justify three moneymakers in lieu of one.” The Hobbit takes itself too seriously at too many points and is too long by about two and a half hours.  Better off re-reading the book and saving this and the next one for blu-ray or DVD or VHS - assuming anyone still does that.  However, I’ll venture to the theatre again for the third to see the handsome chiseled but alien good looks of Benedict Cumberbatch in dragon form on the big screen squaring off against Holmes’ homey Martin Freeman.   I just love saying that name: Benedict Cumberbatch.  It’s not even a made-up actor name; he was born with that.  Some guys have all the luck ...

3) Killing Them Softly.  

Brad Pitt back when he actually seemed to give a damn.

The best thing this movie has going for it is how little Brad Pitt actually appears in it. Good move, mister director. Good move.  Lots of stylized graphic violence and little of anything else.

4) Beasts of the Southern Wild.  

 Quvenzhané Wallis does something called acting.  Look into it, Tom Cruise.

Very good acting.  Extremely good.  The likes of Tom Cruise nowhere in sight.  The lead actress was between five and seven years old during the making of this movie. Ignore the occasional use of heavy-handed effects that you tend to find everywhere these days, and there’s a good story about people in here.

5) Life of Pi

It's great.

Hm, no snarky remarks here.  Perhaps the Montreal and Indian connections got to me; or the fact that it did have something to do with 3.141592653589793234626 … ; or the continual microsleeps I had throughout; whatever the reason, I really enjoyed this movie.  Enough to make me want to buy the book and read it.  Go check it out.

6) Searching for Sugar Man

Sixto Díaz Rodríguez

I love documentaries, and this one is no exception.  Frankly, if I’d just sat in a darkened theatre for two hours with nothing but Rodriguez’s music playing, it would have been pure bliss.

Still looking forward to …

1) Wrong.  The alarm clock flips to 7:60am.  That’s all I needed.  The awesome original soundtrack is a bonus.

2) Django Unchained. 'nuff said.

***

Before, I go I want to tell everyone about a very bad dream I had the other night.  It was called the seventh season of Dexter.