Movies, anyone?

I occurred to me that it’s been ages since I’ve done any movie related posts which I used to do quite often. I still watch tons of movies (at least five a week) but ever since we got Belgacom TV, they’re mostly stupid comedies because my sweet pea loves them, old favorites which I’ve seen dozens of times before or blockbusters which I refused to watch in the cinema on account that they were destined to be lame.

And it also pains me to admit it that I rarely go to the cinema these days. I maybe went ten times or so this year which might seem a lot to some, but I used to go two or three times a week. I just don’t get out as much as I used to I guess. Then there’s also the fact that my love for the motion picture has had some strong competition lately from shows like True Blood, Mad Men, Dexter and Flight of the Conchords.

Anyway, here are some favorites from the past few months:

Synecdoche NY, the directorial debut of Charlie Kaufman (who I simply adore) starring the always amazing Philip Seymour Hoffman as a tormented theater director who creates an alternate New York on stage as his magnum opus and then slowly sees his life disguised as his play unravel, quite literally. It’s a strange yet beautiful and mildly depressing movie packed with stunning performances, mindboggling depth and haunting imagery.

The Wrestler has it all really. Micky Rourke is simply stunning as the worn out wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson who is trying to keep his sad and lonesome life (not his mention his body) together. He is training for one last big match but destiny steps in and gives him some painfully unexpected blows. I loved the characters, Marissa Tomei as the stripper Cassidy is equally great and heartfelt, and the atmosphere. Darren Aronofsky once again, show us who’s the man.

Junebug is a comedy – drama about an art dealer who goes to a small town in North Carolina to meet her husband’s family and to secretly make a deal with a local painter. The story is very simple and serene but the characters are wonderful little nuggets of vitality and defeat. Amy Adams especially, is quite simply brilliant as the overenthusiastic and highly pregnant Ashley who is the heart of this painfully perfect family feast.

Brick is a contemporary neo-noir film that won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Based on the hardboiled detective stories of Dashiell Hammett, this movie is set in suburbia and deals with the disappearance and death of Emily, Joseph Gordon Levitt’s girlfriend who got tied up in some freaky shit. The plot, characterization and dialogue are classic noir combined with simple yet brooding visual effects.

The Fantastic Mr. Fox is based on one of Roald Dahl’s children’s books. It was directed by Wes Anderson who I don’t particularly like really. Sure his movies are original, vibrant and have some very odd characters; they just don’t work for me. I guess he’s a bit too absurd for my taste. Anyway, voiced by George Clooney and Meryl Streep among many others, this is an awesome and very funny movie!

Coraline was directed by Henry Selick who also brought us The Nightmare before Christmas and The Corpse Bride. Based on one of my favorite stories by Neill Gaiman, he did a sublime job in bringing this scary children’s story, about a girl who finds a door in her new house that leads her to an alternate and supposedly better reality, to the screen and making it even scarier than it already is. I truly loved it!