movies of the month - january

Good movies are hard to come by. The barrage of badly written, badly acted, badly directed films actually makes you wonder if it can really be that difficult to get a screenplay picked up. Just looking at what’s come out recently, I could list at least five, but I don’t want to have to gag and type at the same time.

Just think along the lines of poor Tolkien wannabes, pathetic pop star I-can-be-bad-ass acting (hint: the commercial for the movie actually begins with the lines “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” but sadly, they’re not), laughable vampires, juvenile parodies, and dance-offs (why does it always come down to the dance-off??). You get the impression that people are on the sets of movies purposefully not talking to each other, lest someone should point out how much of their lives they’re wasting just showing up.

Perhaps even scarier, though, is that somewhere out there, theaters are packed with people rushing to get good seats for these movies, and even if they could be forgiven for honestly confusing a bad movie for a good one, they really couldn’t be – because half the time they don’t realize it. I know, I know, movies, like any art, are subjective, and that’s totally cool, but people, there’s a line. . .

That being said, I bring you three movies that really salvaged my trust in the film industry (for every 10 crap movies, there’s always a good one). Even though they are in the “January” movie category, I know they were released earlier, but since I saw them in January, then in the “January” category they will remain. Oh, and there are several others that I know could be on this list, but again, these are just from the ones I got around to seeing, so don’t go complaining to me if your beloved Dreamgirls and Letters from Iwo Jima aren’t here.

Pan’s Labyrinth

Wicked. Dark, wicked, magical, and amazing. Set in the Spanish countryside, 1944, during the Spanish Civil War, a young girl named Ofelia moves with her mother to the headquarters of the fascist Captain Vidal, her stepfather of sorts. The acting and the visuals are brilliant. In the midst of a cruel and violent world, Ofelia disappears into a fairytale world with some of the creepiest, craziest characters. Seamlessly melded together, as one world dissolves into the next, Guillermo del Toro leaves you not knowing what to believe. He does it so well, that I almost don’t like him for it. . .

The idea for Pan’s Labyrinth was years in the making, and the depth of it really shows. It’s rough at points, with some pretty bloody scenes, but it was worth it – this coming from a person prone not only to shutting her eyes when scenes get icky, but also her ears (hearing icky might actually be worse than seeing it).

I left the movie in a daze. It reminded me that the world’s a sick place, but fantasy is just as disturbing.

Children of Men

It’s set in the future, 2027, but the genius thing about it, is that everything that happened in it, could be happening somewhere in the world right now, except for the overarching basis of the plot – people can no longer reproduce, so the youngest person alive is a teenager. hehe – but besides that small detail, everything else, not too far-fetched. Clive Owen and Michael Caine both do excellent jobs, and even all cynical, disheveled, and on the verge of being killed as he attempts to safely transport a young woman about to give birth, Mr. Owen still managed to make me laugh. . . and smile and swoon.

Great dialogue and acting all around, combined with the wrenching shots of a ravaged world, keep you wide-eyed from beginning to end. I watched this one clutching the $100 I saved for not buying nachos and a drink at the food stand, and I was okay – I would’ve been too nervous to eat.

The Queen

Whenever I say The Queen was a good movie, I always get an annoying echo with, The Queen?? To which I answer with a very defensive, “Yes!! The Queen!!” I understand that people naturally assume you have to be of a certain disposition and with emotional investment in a topic as touchy as the royal family and Princess Diana to want to see the movie or understand it, but regardless of whether or not you remember the whole incident or know the story(ies) behind it, you’ll agree it is a great movie.

It begins around the time the new prime minister, Tony Blair, is elected and the tragic death of Princess Diana takes place. The movie then examines the royal family’s reaction to what has happened, both behind closed doors and in front of the public, slowly peeling away the layers of stoic royalty, pretentious formality, and public personas to get to the heart of what really might have happened and why. Interspersed with actual footage during the time of the events, the movie touches a nerve with viewers, whether you ever saw those events happen on tv or not.

So yes, The Queen.

I think this constitutes as three blogs in one, so I think it’s safe to say that enough has been said.

As for movies I’m anxiously awaiting – 300 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

That’s right, TMNT. Admit it, you still get excited every time you watch the trailer.

You know you do!!