movie reviews 2010

I started to keep these mini-reviews of all the movies I watched in 2009, either in the theater or from the comfort of my own living room. Once you start something on the blog, you gotta stick with it, so here's to 2010!

5. 2/19/10
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
(DVD)
Oh, what a fun movie. There was humor for adults without it turning into creepy innuendo like so many "kids' movies," so hubby and I were laughing, JAM thought it was hilarious, and Red and Pudge giggled at the visual antics. (When the first cheeseburgers came raining down, Red was in heaven! She is a serious burger girl!) That being said, my favorite line was probably meant for the 9-12 potty-humor bunch- "I mean, look, even Steve is throwing chocolate snowballs. Ew." You'll have to see the flick to get it!

4. 2/5/10
This is Spinal Tap
(DVD)
We had been shamed by a close friend for years for never having seen this movie, so when we were snowed in and hanging out with said friend, we decided to pop it in, and the laughs abounded. Funny, funny, funny. A ton of improvised lines, which are ridiculous and silly and outrageously funny. Can you tell that I cracked up a lot? The song lyrics may have been some of the best parts, but really the whole package is just comedy gold.

3. 1/30/10
Revolutionary Road
(DVD)
This book really shook me, and for the most part, the movie gets to the heart of the story, but it's just a skimming of a sorts. The book portrayed the characters as much more complex, with less of an over-riding push for the reader to side with one character over another as the movie. The book was more devastating, but the movie definitely captured some of the despair and hopelessness these characters experience. Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are superb, and I think that if movies could fully depict everything in a book, these two actors were capable of portraying these characters perfectly.

2. 1/29/10
The Proposal
(DVD)
Formulaic and predictable? Yes. Funny makes up for it? Yes, yes. I knew where this movie was going from the start, but I still giggled along at the one-liners and the humorous chemistry between Sandra Bullock (who I used to get so annoyed with) and Ryan Reynolds (who is hilarious and adorable, and whom I've just realized bears an uncanny resemblance to my favorite singing comedian!). Worth the DVD rental (even better when it's free from the library), and although hubby hemmed and hawed about watching it, he was laughing right along with me. Oh, and watch through the credits for some funny scenes, too!


1. 1/2/10
Up in the Air
(theater)
This was a movie that I enjoyed, that made me feel actual emotions, that had sharp dialogue and both a contemporary and classic feeling to it simultaneously, that I could also comfortably recommend to my mother without having to caution her about low-brow humor or crude language. This felt like a "grown-up" movie- complex and sophisticated, with a subtly encouraging nudge to the viewer to take a good look at our own habits in letting people get close-- or keeping them at a distance. This movie deserves all the accolades it's getting! It's also the rare instance that I've watched the movie before reading the book, but even after only a few pages, I can tell that there will be many differences!



Passing the popcorn,