More movies
I've been slacking in my movie-watching lately. I blame the fact that I can barely keep up with my TiVo -- I mean, I'm a month behind on Lost, for crying out loud. I also can't remember the last movie I saw in the theaters.
As always, in no particular order:
16) Cold Creek Manor (Dennis Quaid, Sharon Stone, Kristen Stewart, Stephen Dorff): I ranked this two stars on Netflix. I wish there was a two-and-a-half star option, because I didn't loathe this movie, but there were some completely unnecessary parts, and some overacting, and some generally bad story-telling. I've never lined up my own Cherry Chapstick rating system with any specific guidelines -- as the disclaimer says, I use it as I see fit, based on nothing even resembling structure and/or objectivity -- but I guess I'd give it two Cherry Chapsticks.
17) Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts, Tate Donovan): I saw this in the theaters with Elizabeth, Sarah and Mia, and we all really liked it. It was so cute, and so refreshingly PG. I get so tired of the arguments that the kind of crap put into movies and TV shows aimed at the younger demographic happen, so gee, we might as well watch it -- whatever. Just because something is realistic doesn't make it beneficial or, you know, right. Emma Roberts is adorable, and I really enjoyed watching this again on DVD. Four Cherry Chapsticks.
18) The Jane Austen Book Club (Emily Blunt, Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Maggie Grace, Maria Bello): Couldn't even make it through half of the movie. It was boring and uninteresting and...I just didn't remotely sympathize with any of the characters. The plastic wrapper of a Cherry Chapstick.
19) Juno (Ellen Page, Jennifer Garner, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman): I've written extensively about my love for it. I constantly have "Anyone Else But You" in my head. Five Cherry Chapsticks.
20) Across the Universe (Rachel Evan Wood, Jim Sturgess): I don't know why I even Netflixed this. I don't sympathize remotely with anti-war protesters, or casual drug use, or really, the whole hippie existence in the 60s and 70s. So yeah. Like The Jane Austen Book Club, I didn't even finish it. The plastic wrapper of a Cherry Chapstick.
21) Into the Wild (Emile Hirsch, Kristen Stewart, William Hurt, Hal Holbrook, Marcia Gay Harden): Funny, Kristen's not even listed in any of the reviews or on Netflix or whatever, but her storyline and her character's interaction with Chris is the only one I cared about. As I've mentioned, I just didn't find Chris very sympathetic. I think it stems from the fact that I've lived in forced isolation before due to my depression, and so I honestly don't understand how anyone would choose isolation. Two Cherry Chapsticks.
22) Undertow (Dermot Mulroney, Josh Lucas, Jamie Bell, Kristen Stewart): This was a weird movie. Really, really weird. Really violent and depressing and did I mention weird? I Netflixed it in my quest to see all of KS's movies, and was irritated to find that she's in two 90-second scenes within the first half-hour of the movie. I still don't quite understand the point or the underlying theme or, really, what was even going through the director's mind. At all. The cap off a Cherry Chapstick.
23) The Safety of Objects (Patricia Clarkson, Glenn Close, Moira Kelly, Joshua Jackson, Dermot Mulroney, Kristen Stewart): The first time I watched this last year sometime, I was distracted and didn't get it. I didn't even understand the title. I thought it was disjointed and weird. But I watched it again recently and this time, I, well, really saw it. It's still a little weird and a little disturbing, but I also liked it a lot better. And the title made a lot of sense and was even a bit profound. Two and a half Cherry Chapsticks.
24) The Golden Compass (Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards): I'm not going to suggest that Kevin and Mia see this, and it has nothing to do with the supposed "controversy" over the book. I read the first book and found nothing offensive or controversial whatsoever. However, I was so bored watching the movie. Seriously. It was disappointing, because I liked the book so much. Two Cherry Chapsticks.
25) Cloverfield (Mike Vogel, Lizzy Caplan): I never got around to seeing this in the theaters -- I much prefer Netflixing them and watching them in my PJs at home, anyway -- so I was looking forward to this. JJ Abrams didn't disappoint. I really, really liked it, and unlike some, I wasn't bothered by the jerky motions from the hand-held camera. It just made the suspense more realistic. Four Cherry Chapsticks.
26) Panic Room (Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart, Forest Whitaker): I still don't like this movie very much but I figured I'd at least watch it all the way through. People have said that Kristen was cast only because, at 11, she resembled Jodie Foster, but what very few know is that she was attached to the movie before Foster was. Originally, Nicole Kidman was cast as Meg, and Hayden Panettiere as Sarah. And then Panettiere was replaced by Kristen, and then Nicole Kidman hurt her knee and was forced to drop out. If only that hadn't happened -- I'm sure I would've enjoyed the movie a lot more without Foster. Anyway, now that I've seen the entire thing, I still can't give it more than two Cherry Chapsticks.
Jen's Cherry Chapstick Rating System is in no way scientific, accurate, or objective, and is based on whatever the hell she feels like.
Comments
Cloverfield is next on my netflix queue -- I was disappointed to have missed that in the theater.
As for Into The Wild, I also didn't have a lot of sympathy/empathy for Chris. Sean Penn was a lot more sympathetic to him in the film than Krakaur was in the book.