Three Movie Sunday

Maybe the last three movie Sunday in awhile, since I should be working by next Sunday. Joined by my movie buddy Steve, I saw:

MARIE ANTOINETTE

We saw this first because we suspected it might suck. Much to my surprise, I actually liked it, although it was longer than it needed to be. Beautifully shot, gorgeous costumes, and even Diaper-Face herself does a decent job. It’s enjoyable simply because it’s not a standard historical biopic. My boy Mathieu Amalric even has a part in it! Only about two lines, but still…
I didn’t even have a problem with the 80s New Wave music, it was used well for the most part and seemed to fit somehow. Occasionally it was a little distracting (I hear New Order and I really have to sing along). The score was excellent too – overall not a bad way to start movie day.

BABEL

Another surprise, because I was prepared to be underwhelmed. It’s not a staggering achievement like Amores Perros, but it’s a damn good film nonetheless. He squeezes some excellent performances out of the actors, and the cinematography is stunning. One scene in particular, the nightclub scene in Tokyo, was really outstanding. Gael Garcia’s part is quite small, but it’s a juicy one – a greasy Mexican who gets wasted on cerveza and shoots his gun into the air! Finally! Even as a greaseball, he’s totally cute. Gonzalez Innaritu’s use of non-linear storytelling is well known by now, but he still has a few tricks up his sleeve for this movie. Definitely worth watching.

FLUSHED AWAY

I wanted to see The Queen, but Steve convinced me to see this. I never, never, ever go out of my way to see children’s movies, unless there are talking baby pigs involved. This was actually not bad, some good British humor, clever little visual tricks and a fun story. It was nice to see something like this for a change, but children’s movies and animation are two things that I’m not a big fan of. The kids around us seemed to really like the movie as well. Also, a bag lady came in with apparently all her worldly possessions and sat down a few seats away from us. It was a little confusing – I’ve never seen anyone bring so much stuff into a movie theater before.
On our way out, we saw the masses lining up for Borat – apparently the showings are still out of control and sold out.