Ben and I recently had a conversation about what we would do with our time if we could do anything we want. I decided to embrace the things we mentioned and incorporate them in to my life as much as possible. Movie watching and discussing was one of those important things to me. So here is a list of the movies I got to watch in January 2013. I began writing reviews for the movies closer to the end of the month, and I will include those reviews here.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Little Birds
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
About Cherry
17 Girls
Django Unchained
Ted
The Bourne Legacy
Silver Linings Playbook (4/5 stars)
An excellent movie.
Bradley Cooper's acting was stand-out, definitely warranting his nomination for
Best Actor at the Oscar's this year. Jennifer Lawrence was good, too, but I
wouldn't have thought Oscar-worthy.
The Good Doctor (4/5 stars)
This movie was intense
and anxiety-producing. Orlando Bloom's acting was understated, which was
perfect for his quiet, boring, self-righteous doctor character. It was
difficult to listen to his doctor mentor, Rob Morrow, as he mumbled every line.
I liked that the movie had two endings, the one the doctor considered and the
one he actually chose. The movie ended with an abrupt cut-away, which was
pointless and just made me think Netflix malfunctioned. Any movie that can
illicit this much emotional response is worth checking out.
Searching for Sugar Man (4/5 stars)
A good movie.
Rodriquez is an interesting character. At the beginning of the movie, he plays
in small clubs with his back to the audience. At the end of the movie, he is
playing in front of thousands with ease. He had no performance experience in
the interim! His knowledge of his fame didn't change him; he continued to work
construction and live in the same small home in Detroit. Some interesting
topics of discussion after watching this movie would be: the role race plays in
fame in the USA in the 70s, the impact of the internet on our lives and our
knowledge, the impact of music on bringing about social change, and how anger,
or the absence of it, can affect our quality of life.
The Paperboy(2/5 stars)
I enjoyed the movie in
the beginning, though it was consistently inconsistent. By the end it was too
needlessly confusing and inconsistent to be satisfying or enjoyable. My biggest
frustration was the mid-scene cuts that cut back in to the same scene but with
things slightly different and never explained. Nicole Kidman's acting is worth
mentioning. It is fun to see an actor cast in a role opposite of the roles she
usually plays. She did it well. Her character was flat, though, and the little
change thrown in at the end seemed abrupt and underdeveloped. John Cusack was
hardly in the film but stood out as a selfish, angry, crazy convicted murderer;
his character was too underdeveloped though to stand-out or emotionally affect
the audience much. Matthew McConaughey was himself-boo! The housekeeper/acting
mother character was really probably the best acted in the movie. She was the
narrator of the story. Her character brought humor and perspective to the film
and story. There were too many pointless characters, for example John Cusack's
character's uncle. He had some sort of commune (?) living in the wilderness
that was unexplained and thus confusing. I found Matthew McConaughey's writing
partner's character to be pointless, as well. His character was a sloppy excuse
at character development that just emphasized the character underdevelopment.
Hotel Transylvania
The kids loved this
movie. The animation and voices were great. It was funny.
I was lucky to see two movies in the theater in January!! So fun! By far my favorite movie this month was Django Unchained. It's not for the easily offended or disturbed, but, oh, it was soo good! Thought-provoking, well-done, and so funny! The worst movie I saw this month was Ted. The most pointless movie I saw this month was Beasts of the Southern Wild. Why it is up for Best Picture and why that terrible young actress is up for Best Actress, beats me!!
