Bright Star

Bear with me on this one, cause I still haven't quit sobbing.

I've always been a "less is more" kind of girl when it comes to love scenes in movie. This one is a perfect example of why. As they stroll along, barely touching except for their intertwined fingers, there is an almost palpable longing. A stolen kiss, or a furtive glance bespeaks more passion than all the raunchy sex scenes in the '80s.

Bright Star is a movie about John Keats, played by Ben Whishaw. But make no mistake, the star of this movie is Fanny Brawne, as played by Abbie Cornish. The fabulous Cornish makes you feel every soaring height and every crushing low. Keats seems almost to be a supporting player in his own story.

I don't think I'll be giving anything away here by discussing the ending, but just in case - SPOILER ALERT!

I see now why Cornish got a Golden Globe nomination for her role here. There is true heartbreak in Fanny's face, as Keats' friend breaks the news of his death to her. She's seems to genuinely want to know the details. At the same time, she is very evidently not able to stand another word. As she wails for her mother, and screams "I can't breathe!" while clutching her chest (sounds contrived I know, but it really does work), I fell apart with her. It just seems so real. Not the polished heartbreak Hollywood usually chooses to show us. Losing a loved one is never polished. There's never a script, so that you say or do the right thing at the right time. It's all you can do, in that moment, to keep your molecules from flying apart. It's about time Hollywood gave that to us. It makes the tragedy all the more real.

I'm not a giant poetry fan. I have some poems that I like (though I can't come up with one off the top of my head) and, 0f course, I've heard of John Keats. But I had no idea of this grand love affair he was involved in until I saw the trailer for this movie. Now I'm curious as to what other juicy stuff I've missed out on by not being into poets. I just might have to investigate this further.

But as to the movie, I probably will own this before too much longer. It was like watching a movie based on a Jane Austen book, but better, because this is based on an actual true story. The movie is achingly beautiful. The costumes, the set design, the cinematography - all gorgeous. There is so much longing, beauty, and tragedy. If you're a fan of period pieces, Jane Austen films, or the Romantic Poets - definitely check this one out.

Public Enemies

I'm old school. The best gangster movie EVER will always be The Untouchables. Forget that Kevin Costner was the lead (this was before he became a douche bag). I have 5 words for you: Robert de Niro and Sean Connery. However, Johnny Depp and Christian Bale aren't too shabby either. Add in a little Marion Cotillard (if you have not seen her in La Vie en Rose, you seriously need to), and I'm all in.

On an aside, every famous person in Hollywood was in this movie. Stephen Dorff, Channing Tatum, Rory Cochrane, Carey Mulligan, Emilie de Ravin, Billy Crudup, Giovanni Ribisi, Diana Krall, Shawn Hatosy, Lili Taylor, and Leelee Sobieski are just the names I recognized.

Public Enemies is the story of FBI Agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) and his attempt to apprehend bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp), while Dillinger is wooing Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard).

This movie was truly a movie for everyone. There were lots of gun fights and bank robberies for the guys to get their action fix and a truly moving love story (of sorts) for the girls to gush over. For me, the star of this movie was Marion Cotillard. I fully believed she was a half French, half Native American girl swept up in a love affair with a dashing ne'er do well. Christian Bale also did a top notch job as a conflicted FBI agent, torn between ethics and his desire to get the job done. He faced a Machiavellian decision - does the end justify the means?

There is a particular scene when Marion Cotillard's "Billie" has been captured and is being "interrogated" by an agent. This "interrogation" involved him verbally and physically abusing her in an attempt to get her to tell them where Dillinger is. Christian Bale's character, Agent Purvis, rescues her from this degradation, and when she is too weak to walk, carries her out of the room himself. I thought this particular scene spoke to the kind of guy that Agent Purvis was.

While this movie blurs the lines, and almost makes him the "bad" guy, he really was the hero of this story. Hollywood likes to make outlaws of yesteryear, but it must be remembered that there was nothing romantic about robbing banks and killing people.

This was a good movie. Not great, but good. If you have a free afternoon, definitely check it out. There are a lot crappier ways to pass the time (In the Name of King, anyone?).

Little Miss Sunshine

I don't know anyone like any of the people in Little Miss Sunshine. I haven't experienced any of the experiences in the movie. But despite all of this, somehow, while watching it, I felt like I was watching home videos of my own family.

The film revolves around the family of Richard and Sheryl Hoover (Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette) of Albuquerque, NM. This includes their children Olive (Abigail Breslin) and Dwayne (Paul Dano), Richard's dad Edwin (Alan Arkin), and Sheryl's brother Frank (Steve Carell). Dwayne has taken a vow of silence until he achieves his dream of becoming a fighter pilot. Edwin is a heroin addict. Frank is a suicidal gay Proust professor. And Olive is a semi-chubby, plain, normal child with dreams of becoming Little Miss Sunshine. The entire family takes to the road in a tempt to get Olive to California and the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant.

The quirks of this family make this movie feel real. Not some Hollywood version of what family should be, but actually a real family. The Hoover family can barely stand to be in the same room with each other, yet when the chips are down, they turn to each other. This is to me the core of what a family is. People that you don't necessarily like a lot of the time, yet you know you can turn to them. They don't necessarily make things better, but they do help in their own ways.

There are some funny moments, and some sad moments, along the way to Olive's dream. But these things only serve to illustrate how the family loves one another, even when they can't even seem to speak civilly to each other. For anyone who, like me, does not have the Beaver Cleaver model of family, I'd say this is definitely one to check out. And I'll leave you with the perfect summation of this movie, from Sheryl Hoover herself - "Whatever happens, we're family." That just about says it all.

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale

A couple of months ago, I got a series of texts from my sister about (as she said) "the worst movie ever". I of course thought she was exaggerating. I was wrong.

Have you ever seen a movie so bad, that it was like a work of art in itself? That's what we have here. Starring Jason Statham, Burt Reynolds, Ray Liotta, John Rhys-Davies, Claire Forlani, Lee Lee Sobieski, and Ron Perlman, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale is your standard fantasy fare. It should be good just on the acting alone, but the production values are actually pretty good also. I can only assume that the director, one Uwe Boll, is the worst director ever.

Maybe I'm being unfair. Maybe it was a fluke and his other work will redeem him. But I'm not sure I'll be able to bring myself to watch anything of his again. Or maybe I will, because like I said before, the horribility of this movie was like an art form in itself.

For those of you still interested, the plot follows a king (Burt Reynolds) being betrayed by his nephew (and next in line to the throne), played by Matthew Lillard, and a mad wizard (Ray Liotta). The king's wizard's daughter (Lee Lee Sobieski) has conveniently been conducting an affair with the aforementioned mad wizard. (I for one find it hard to believe Lee Lee Sobieski would look twice at Ray Liotta, but that's just me.)

Meanwhile, a lowly peasant called Farmer (Jason Statham) has his wife (Claire Forlani) abducted by the mad wizard's Orc-like army, after they kill his young son. Farmer, his friend Norick (Hellboy himself, Ron Perlman), and his wife's brother (played by Will Sanderson) try to get her back and come across the forest people, led by Elora (played by Kristanna Loken - who by the way was the lead in another terrible, terrible movie known either as Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King or Ring of the Nibelungs).

Sound convoluted? Well, it is. But it's way too easy to figure out where things are going. There's no suspense or WTF? moments (speaking of, check back for my Burn After Reading review). It feels like it's all been done.

So if you're into masochism or feel the need to do penance, check it out. Or if you just want to laugh at something so bad, it's beyond definition, check it out. Otherwise, skip it.

Update (or Get Off My Case)

I apologize for my lack of posts in the past few weeks, but the Holidays are a ca-razy time around my house. Added into the mix, I've now had a headache for the last month, so my artistic(?) ventures have been put on hold for a bit.

Looking ahead, I have reviews for the movies (500) Days of Summer and In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale, the books Inkheart and Stone of Tears, and a couple of television shows I can't live without (Glee anyone?).

So stay tuned and let me know if you have any particular faves I should check out too.