Lately: Movies

About the middle of July, I got really busy, and suddenly all the movies I'd been looking forward to finally came out. I'm still playing catch-up, and commercials tell me I have more coming down the line. This post contains MASSIVE SPOILERS for Harry Potter, District 9, and Inglourious Basterds.



Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Since I'm not fond of the book, I didn't have very high expectations for this installment of the series. Overall, the plot had issues, but there were good character moments and great production values. Just by virtue of being a film, and thus shorter, the movie already had a leg up on the plot front, and it was smart of them to add non-canon elements to help; that said, it didn't avoid the basic (boring) pattern of the book. But Jim Broadbent as Slughorn was amazing, and HBC stole every scene as Bellatrix. Also, Harry on drugs, ahaha. The film was more visually stunning in the big and small scenes than we've seen yet. In sum, perhaps not one I'll watch again, but not a waste - especially since I saw it in a theatre full of fans.

District 9: It's sometimes said that there's nothing original in storytelling anymore. Films like District 9 prove that wrong. Sure, it had familiar elements, but the whole was unique, unpredictable, and utterly engaging. It really takes you on a journey. It lost me just a bit towards the end with the deus ex alien suit, but that's totally dismissable in face of the rest of the awesomeness. And situated in context, wow. Highly recommended, though possibly not for the squeamish.

Inglourious Basterds: (I really like typing the title.) Nobody makes their mark on a film quite like Crazy Quentin Tarantino does. You wouldn't have to know much about film to recognize one as his. I enjoyed it - entertaining most of the way through (save the too-long bar scene up to right before the shootout), original crazycakes characters, and a whole lot of violence and death in the way that doesn't bother me. I can take gun and knife violence anytime (body parts getting out of postition is another story) and disagree with the people complaining about its target in this one. And I really liked the character Shoshanna - Mélanie Laurent was my favorite actor in the movie. I hope her performance and that of Christoph Waltz get recognized. Recommended viewing if you like don't mind a little historical irreverance.

Still need to see (both out and coming soon): Julie & Julia, (500) Days of Summer, 9, The Informant!, Splice, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, Fame. And that's just through September.