confessions of an amateur cineaste

I don’t know why, but I’ve been woefully out of the upcoming film loop lately. (Those of you who read my regular blog can feel free to take a moment to DIE LAUGHING now.) Seriously. When I went to see The Illusionist, I saw the trailer for The Prestige, and until then I had never heard of it. Yeah. I know. I must have some sort of card I should turn in.

I flailed all over the place when I saw the trailer, though, and since The Illusionist didn’t do much for me it just kicked up the anticipation that much more. Then I learned that it was based on a book, which I hunted down and devoured and then, well, it finally came out. And I loved it. It’s changed from the book, but it’s still about these men and revenge and obsession and yay. It’s beautifully adapted and shot, and haunting in all the best ways. -And- it was made within the studio system, I think. There is hope!

* Infernal Affairs was a rewatch. Tony Leung owns my soul. His eyes, man, they just kill me. I had seen this at SIFF a few years back, but there were focus issues, so it was great to see it again. I’m still unsure about seeing the American remake any time soon.

* Duck Season had been well-reviewed during the five minutes it played Seattle. It’s the epitome of a small film: two fourteen year old boys have the apartment to themselves for the day. They play video games and have encounters with a neighbor & the pizza man. That’s about it for the action. And it is -fantastic-.

* Into the Woods is made of awesome.

* The Sea Inside stars one of my secret boyfriends: Javier Bardem. It’s based on a true story of a man who fought 30 years for the right to die, which is particularly interesting to me since I recently read The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, so my head is kind of exploding on related issues. But anyway. It was moving and gorgeous and worth the wait.

* Newsies did not do much for me, but I have been on a roll with Christian Bale of late, so there you go.

And finally, not Netflix, but The Bourne Identity was on tv this weekend and man, I love that movie. Brilliant cast, too. hey! They’re filming the third one! -Awesome-.

Hey, it was a nine hour flight! I didn’t watch anything all the way through on the way over, because I am fond of sleeping, but on the return…

I was pretty excited to see Driving Lessons in the in-flight magazine because hey, it has Rupert Grint and I am only human. It was cute. The trailer looks as if it is trying to be Harold and Maude, but it isn’t really. And you have to love a film that casts Rupert because the director thought HP was underusing him. Damn right.

Then I switched over to The Devil Wears Prada because I had enjoyed the book. It’s really unimaginatively shot, and changes from the book were odd and didn’t ring true, but hey, Meryl chewing the scenery is always fun.

Finally, I watched The Break-Up, mostly because I remembered that the Old 97’s appeared in it. It was better than I thought it would be without actually being good. So, there you have it.

Oops. I’ve been keeping track, but it’s hard to remember to post when I’m not seeing things in the theater. I’m hoping to hit The Prestige this weekend at the very least, so let’s clear out this text file, shall we?

* Muriel’s Wedding I hadn’t seen in -ages-. It’s awesome. We all know this.
* Shakespeare Behind Bars is a fabulous documentary on inmates in a Kentucky prison who have an acting troupe. The film covers their production of The Tempest. Just fabulous.
* Swing Kids, oh man. I need to hunt down the soundtrack. I know it’s hiding in my apartment -somewhere-. It’s not actually a -good- film, but it has pretty boys dancing, and sometimes, that’s all you need.
* I might be the only person I know who -loves- Sideways. I am okay with that.

Oh, yeah! I had a Nicole Holofcener marathon. Walking and Talking is the movie that introduced me to Catherine Keener, so well done. Also, remember when Anne Heche wasn’t crazy? This is such a lovely little film. She followed it up with Lovely & Amazing, which was brilliant and moving. But then? Friends With Money, where actresses I really like were quite wonderful at playing characters I didn’t actually care about. Disappointing.