4 Movies in 3 Days

With the kids being gone, I’ve been able to watch a lot of movies since the TV is not being commandeered for such lofty programming as “iCarly” and “Fairly OddParents.” YAY for non-kid programming! Also, not having the kids here means that Denis and I can go to the movies without having to pay a babysitter – always a plus!

1. Sherlock Holmes – I had wanted to catch this in the theater when it came out, but didn’t get to. But it was so worth the wait. I’ve always adored Robert Downey, Jr. and thoroughly enjoyed him here. I can’t tell you how happy I am that he has overcome his addictions and continued to be such a wonderful actor. He’s just wonderful. I was impressed with everything about this movie, especially the direction. For a moment I thought this was being directed by Baz Luhrman because of the distinctive style, but Baz tends to have a real frantic style to his direction, and this one wasn’t frantic it was just really well done. Turns out, it was Guy Ritchie who directed it – which makes total sense. He’s another director who pushes the envelope, but without being annoying like Luhrman can become (see “Moulin Rouge” for an example of his more horrific directing). “Holmes” is a movie I’ll probably own at some point.

2. Invictus – Clint Eastwood makes good movies. He just does. He knows how to tell stories, and tells them very, very well. “Invictus” is no different. Set in 1995 during the Rugby World Cup, it tells the story of newly-made President Nelson Mandela struggling to create a Rainbow Nation in a racially divided South Africa. Morgan Freeman (another person for which the word “excellent” just doesn’t quite cover it) starred as Mandela, and Matt Damon as the captain of the South African rugby team. This was a lovely, low-key, yet inspiring movie. Will I own it? Probably not, but if I see it airing on TV, I know I’d stop to watch.

3. Eclipse – Sure, go ahead and make fun of me for going to see “Eclipse.” I can take it. I went mainly because I’ve read all the books and feel I should see all the movies, too (bad as they are). I was mildly surprised by “Eclipse.” Bella wasn’t nearly as mopey and annoying, Edward wasn’t nearly as sulky and annoying (mainly because it was played for laughs this time around), and Jacob is just hot. *lol* The only bad step was putting Edward’s line about “does he own a shirt?” so early in the movie. They should have moved that line to the scene when Jacob approaches the tent on the snow-covered mountain. That would have been a much better place for it since at that point we’d seen Jacob sans shirt at least half a dozen times. Do I recommend the movie? Only if you are a Twilight fan. Otherwise, you’d be wise to stay away. *lol* This is not quality film-making.

4. Inception – what IS quality film-making, however, is “Inception.” WOW. I heart Christopher Nolan (the director/writer of this movie). It’s hard to believe he’s only done a handful of movies because his artistic legacy is already so big (“Memento,” “Batman Begins,” “The Prestige” (which, if you haven’t seen it – GO RENT IT NOW), and “The Dark Knight”). “Inception” is no exception. It’s truly awesome. Denis and I debated about the ending, which is no doubt what Nolan wanted. Denis felt that didn’t NEED to be the ending, and I insisted that that’s what Nolan DOES. It’s his thing. Either way, I loved it. LOVED IT. I can’t wait to see the “Making Of” feature that shows how they did the anti-gravity scenes with Joseph Gordon-Leavitt. And I WILL see that feature because I WILL be getting the Blu-Ray version of the movie when it comes out. It’s just fantastic.

I’ve watched other stuff – “Speed” (as part of my watch-every-movie-I-own challenge) and “The Right Stuff” (we may not have landed on the moon, but I love space movies) being two of them. I’ve also finally finished the first season of the 2005 Doctor Who season starring Christopher Eccleston. He was such a great doctor that I’m sad he was only in it for one season. I’m as reticent about the David Tennant doctor as Rose was in the first couple of episodes! Eccleston and Billie Piper (who plays Rose) had such great, great chemistry together. I just don’t know how Piper and Tennant can ever match that. And oh, how I adore Captain Jack Harkness. I thought he was only in 2 episodes of Season 1, but he was actually in 5-6. No wonder he got his own show. He was awesome in “Doctor Who” and it’s no wonder he became such a fan favorite!