Sunday, April 12, 2009

out Friday, 4/10/09

Observe & Report - 3 stars

Very funny and very offensive. Don't go see it if you are easily offended. If you are a prude, stay the hell away! But if you have a good sense of humor and kind find the funny in possible date rape, full-frontal male nudity, a protagonist who beats up cops and skateboarders, you may like this movie. I laughed. A lot.

Hannah Montana - didn't see

Are you surprised? Does anybody give a rat's ass what I thought of Hannah Montana? Exactly. That's why I didn't bother to go see it. Well, that and I really didn't want to go.

Dragonball Evolution - not screened for critics

... so it probably sucks.

The Cake Eaters - 3 stars

Another week, another Kristen Stewart movie. This time she plays a girl who has a neurological muscular disease of some kind. It means she can't walk without help and she slurs when she talks. As one character comments, she talks like she's drunk.

While her mother the photographer exploits her by taking scantily clad photos of her and selling them at the local flea market, she meets Beagle. Beagle works at the cafeteria of her high school. She likes him right away and invites him over to her house. When they are at her house, she starts trying to seduce him despite the fact that her parents are right downstairs. What is she doing, trying to get him killed???

Beagle just lost his mom to diabetes. At the end of her illness, he was the only one taking care of her. His brother was away trying to make it as a musician, and his father just couldn't handle being around her. The other storylines involve Beagle's father romancing Kristen Stewart's grandmother, and Beagle's brother trying to rekindle his romance with the woman he proposed to before skipping town 3 years ago.

The movie moves a little slowly but I enjoyed it. I was a little creeped out by the idea of not only Stewart's mom taking the 'artistic' photos of her daughter, but also the idea of Stewart romancing Beagle. We aren't told how old he is, but there is a bit of an age difference and I'm pretty sure if they have sex, it will be illegal. But the movie does a good job of distracting you from that by making you identify with Stewart. She wants to have sex because she is going to die soon, and she wants to experience as much life as she can before the end.

Oh, and the movie was directed by Mary Stuart Masterson. Not bad for a first feature.

Everlasting Moments - 2 1/2 stars

This movie is about a family living in 1907 Sweden. The father is a great guy when he is sober. He works hard for little money to provide for his family, and he loves his children. But when he gets drunk, he can get so violent that he puts a razor to his wife's throat and threatens to kill her. He also cheats on her.

His wife (Maria) finds a camera and at first she wants to pawn it. The camera store owner convinces her to keep the camera and try taking pictures. She discovers a new hobby, and even manages to make a little money by taking pictures for her friends and neighbors.

Its interesting the way her husband tries to stop her from enjoying her hobby. When he comes home from World War I and finds the house full of clients, rather than be impressed that his wife managed to find a way to make a little money, he freaks out and tells her to get all these people out of his house.

She also forms a friendship with the camera shop owner. We suspect that they are falling in love, even though they never do anything about it. Watch the way Jesper Christensen looks at her and treats her with such compassion. It is a very moving relationship.

At one point in the movie, he goes to jail for assaulting Maria. When he gets out, we wonder if she will leave him or stay with him. She shows up to the jail and he is surprised to see she came. As they walk home, the neighbors start noticing him. They both realize that the neighbors are going to talk, so she does an interesting thing: she puts her arm thru his. Whether she loves him or not, she has decided to stay with him, and she is making a bold announcement to everyone - this is my husband, or something to that effect.

I did like the movie, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. Its a little over two hours long, and you really have to be patient. Most movies get going right away. In this case, the movie stays at the same leisurly pace the entire time. You experience life with this family. If you are interested in movies about other countries and other times, and you have the patience to follow this family thru the years, you may really enjoy this movie. The performances are incredible.

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