We have a subscription to Netflix, a useful relic from when Meg lived alone and had no TV or internet. One of Netflix's greatest features is its "Streaming" services which allows you stream movies via a Wii instantly. The reason I like Netflix so much is not the ease of use; rather I love being able to watch any movie anytime, especially mediocre and bad movies. For those of you who don't know me well, I absolutely love bad movies.
On occasions, however, I do like to mix in a good movie - it kinda makes the two hour investment worthwhile. I had that urge about 10 days ago and decided that it was time for a good movie. After three attempts, we were still searching for a good one. We tried Valentine's Day, the "sequel" to Love Actually - a movie I actually like. That sucked. Next we tried The Code, a Entrapment-esque pic that starred Morgan Freeman and Antonio Banderas. While not bad, it was just marginal at best - nothing ground breaking here, just a rehash of a story done many times over. Lastly, we tried The Invention of Lying, a third movie with a good cast. Yet again we were left wanting; something about Ricky Gervais' English form of comedy just didn't translate well into American.
Everything changed last night; after about a week of searching, we finally picked a winner: Slumdog Millionaire. It only took us two years from its initial release, but we finally got around to seeing the movie that everyone loved back when. Neither of us are movie critics, so I won't try to overly analyze the movie beyond to say that it's well written, well acted and enjoyable (it's amazing how many films satistfy the first two criteria, but seem to come up short on the third). It definitely was worth the 2.5 hour investment, especially considering how busy I've been since classes actually started (more on that in the next post).
I, on the other hand, don't enjoy bad movies. While Mike is slaving away at school, I've been able to watch a few movies on my own. This past week I watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, based on the bestseller by the same name. It was all in Swedish (Anna, you should def see it) and was superb (but a little violent). Almost lived up to the book, which is always tough to do.
ReplyDeleteDon't hold "The Invention of Lying" against Ricky Gervais, it was an abysmal movie because it was utterly crap not because of his "English form of comedy". Granted he had a lot to do with the creation of said movie but I like to think he was just out of his mind at the time. Probably rolling around in all the cash from The Office syndication. Check out the original Office or Extras. Or his stand up comedy.
ReplyDeleteAlso the insipid "Valentine's Day" should never be, and is in no way linked to the awesome "Love Actually". Lies Mike, Lies. I recently saw "The Ghost Writer", which I would recommend. Also "Kick-Ass" was great if you are ready for some Kill Bill-esque violence (most of which comes from a 10 yr old girl).
Megan, I also thought the Swedish movies based on Stieg Larsson were great. The second one is even better. I think the actress playing Lisbeth is perfect.
Oh man, sorry about the essay like comment. But that's what happens if you tarnish Mr. Gervais. Obviously.
Mike and Meg at the Movies! I want more movie reviews! This is great... Maybe next week it could be Avatar? Or Iron Man?
ReplyDeleteIt would be even better if it was Siskel& Ebert style, and both weighed in on the same film.