Wednesday, December 17, 2008

My 2008 Movie Odyssey - Part XX

My Favorite Wife (1940)
Cary Grant gets his wife who was lost at sea declared legally dead so he can remarry. But as soon as he reties the knot, who should show up but his newly rescued first wife. Hilarity ensues as he tries to muster up the courage to tell his new wife that he wants to stay with his first wife while being suspicious of the strapping young castaway his wife was shipwrecked with (though I did feel sorry for his second wife who gets a bum deal out of the whole mess).

The Lookout (2007)
An unconventional story about a bank robbery, The Lookout has many delightful plot twists as a young man with memory problems tries to make everything all right after he falls in with the wrong crowd.

Rounders (1998)
In a story reminiscent of Mean Streets, Matt Damon tries to help his ne'er do well friend (Edward Norton) get out of debt, but gets deeper in trouble as his friend refuses to show any sort of control in his life. What makes Rounders much better than Mean Streets is that we are given compelling characters, an actual storyline, and entertaining poker scenes.

I Know Who Killed Me (2007)
I don't see why this film got so many Razzie awards. Sure there isn't anything worthwhile about it and the whole thing is dark and ugly, but at no point did I feel like standing up and screaming "You have got to be kidding me! Who thought up this insanity?" like a truly bad movie would. The Day After Tomorrow was a much worse movie and that one didn't even get any nominations.

Burn After Reading (2008)
It feels like a funnier version of Fargo that doesn't take itself seriously. Brad Pitt puts in a hilarious performance as an air head fitness instructor and Frances McDormand puts in a good performance as always. Misunderstandings pile on top of misconceptions leading to a chaotic film that is darkly funny the whole way through.

Coming up next: 2 new animated films and 3 old live-action films.

1 comment:

Randall Knutson said...

I'll have to disagree with you about Burn After Reading. Ryanna and I saw it in theaters and immediately wanted our money back. The lone star was definitely Brad Pitt and his untimely demise. Other than that we sat dumbfounded as we watched a movie that meandered darkly in a way that was neither entertaining nor funny. By the end we both felt depressed more than anything, not the sort of thing I want to pay money for.