15 August 2010

The Girl Who Played with Fire (2009)

Pretty good overall. Noomi Rapace was awesome, again. And in the first few seconds of the movie it became clear that I’d misjudged the ending of the last one by a lot. All kinds of kick-ass going on in this movie, and no watered down B.S. romantic imperatives. What a relief.

The Girl Who Played with Fire, just like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, will make you consider what it means to watch brutal violence, specifically against women, on the big screen. Not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely difficult to watch at times. Worth the effort for the story and the compelling lead character.

Go see this (and rent the first one too) if you can, before Hollywood churns out its sure to be disappointing adaptation.

11 August 2010

Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

Pretty funny, but not really the type where you’re laughing hysterically every three to five minutes. More like a chuckle every ten to fifteen minutes.

Questionable use of the word schmuck: the people in question aren’t really schmucks at all; they’re just sad-ish oddballs lacking in social aptitude.

Also, while the peripheral characters are interesting and definitely unique, you still have to suffer through yet another Paul Rudd playing a guy who used to be nice, became a jerk, and now has to win back his sweetheart by being nice again storyline. Ugh.

Overall, I’d say Dinner for Schmucks is worth a rental. Mostly for the seriously wonderful lovely mice taxidermy tableaux that Steve Carell’s character dedicates his time to, and also for Jermaine Clement’s (of The Flight of the Conchords) well done satire of a pompous artist who photographs himself in animal costumes. Highly silly. I approve.

10 August 2010

The Runaways (2010)

This based-on-a-true-story film about the formation of the all girl rock band The Runaways was kind of a letdown, but that wasn’t particularly surprising given the criticism it already received, both when it made the festival circuit and when it was distributed more widely.

I was hoping that critics had been unjustified in rating it so low, but sadly they were right. It was a pretty boring movie overall. Eyebrow raising, considering that the story it tells (of how Joan Jett and company were brought together to form a rather groundbreaking band) is actually pretty interesting in and of itself. It just wasn’t served by the filmmaking and the way the whole thing was put together.

What I did like, however, was Kristen Stewart’s performance. Finally breaking away from the moody teenager romantic angst figure that she’s been associated with so far, Stewart actually convincingly portrays Jett in presumably accurate fashion (Jett herself has been quoted as saying Stewart actually became her for the film)*. Anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I’m already a fan of Stewart for various reasons, but I think here in The Runaways Stewart’s performance can show that she’s actually a quality actor to those who aren’t on Team Bella.

Maybe rent it if you’re interested in the music history already, or if you’re really keen on seeing Kristen Stewart make out with Dakota Fanning. Overall- meh.

*I don’t remember where. Most likely in an interview in Entertainment Weekly.