Summer Movies!

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I've managed to see three movies thus far this summer.

Knocked Up -- chick flick dressed up like guy film. Despite all the raunchy stupid stuff, it is a sweetly romantic film at its heart, which is okay--I like a good romantic comedy. Thumbs up!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix -- very dark, and the most overtly political film yet, which is not surprising since it is based on the first post-9/11 Potter book. One of the major themes it addresses head-on is the danger of allowing fear to justify the establishment of a police state. Sound familiar? Warning--barely a kid's movie. Thumbs up!

Paprika -- adult anime (subtitled). An astonishingly beautiful and surreal film by Satoshi Kon, the director of Tokyo Godfathers. Like a cartoon of some incredibly weird lost Phillip K. Dick novel. You may have a hard time seeing it in theaters, so look for it when it hits DVD. Thumbs up!

Things I'm totally NOT interested in seeing: the new Fantastic Four film, any of the current crop of gore-porn, Evan Almighty.

Remember, your mileage may vary.

Comments

Dan Brekke said…
You're an adventurous filmgoer. I think the last first-run movie I went to see was "The Queen," and it was some time after it came out. Loved it, though (I think I'd like Helen Mirren in absolutely anything).

I've gotten the impression "Knocked Up" is OK, but the whole marketing approach, starting with the title, turned me off. I see way too many dumbass 20-somethings carrying on in real life to want to pay to see any on-screen (this coming from someone who has watched and enjoyed most of Adam Sandler's schlocky oeuvre).
1:21 PM
Dr Ralph said…
I felt the same way you did about "Knocked Up" initially; a little dumbass-ery goes a long way, and that was the marketing hook. Seth Rogen had been enjoyable in "40 Year Old Virgin" so I was willing to chance it. The sweet-natured side of it was what made it enjoyable.

I must say, D, whose idea it was to see it, guffawed hardest at the really stupid stuff--normally she's a Merchant Ivory sort of film-goer.

We saw "The Queen" in the theater, too - really enjoyed it.

About the only kind of film I draw the line at is gore-porn: stuff like Saw, Hostel and the like. I have a fairly low squeamish quota so anything that sounds the least bit slasher/horror-like is off the list.

But to each his own--that genre is a place where a lot of young directors get their start.
1:23 AM
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