Summer movie round-up

In case you didn't know, I see crappy movies with Risa. Why she allows me to accompany her is beyond me, but whatever the reason, she and I have seen many a catastrophe. The only movies that come to mind are The Family Stone, Little Black Book, and The Count of Monte Cristo. Of those three, only the final was stomachable. Most recently we went to see The Lake House. We even got Maria to join us, which was a real joy. The three Montana schooled kids at the movie theater--that alone made the experience enjoyable.
As for the film, I was predisposed to hating it. Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock--gross. The film, however, surprised me. Sure, the gimmicky mailbox from the future felt contrived. Sure, the questions raised by time-travel are never dealt with, but I didn't hate this movie at all--which is saying quite a bit. You could definitely do worse.

Next up, Pirates of the Carribean. Uh, yeah. Two and half hours. Are you freaking kidding me? For that? In two and a half hours you can't further develop characters? You can't resolve anything? And where's the swashbuckling? Matt, Steve 2 and I went to see it in a packed theater and, of the three of us, only Steve 2 was entertained. I'm fine with jokey stuff like the wooden eyeball and the dog with the keys. I'm not fine with stringing together a series of jokes and calling it a story. Save your money. More importantly, save your time.

And finally, A Scanner Darkly--
In continuation of the birthday weekend, a whole group of us went to see Linklater's latest animated film. I have been looking forward to this film for quite some time. First of all, the film is absolutely gorgeous, especially if you can let go of the fact that those Charles Schwab commercials ganked the style. Secondly, the film utilizes Keanu Reeves' robotic/monotonous delivery to its advantage. I thought Winona Ryder gave a really great performance, and I also thought that she looked better than she has for a long time--I don't mean that cattily, either. Sure, she was animated, but there was something luminescent about her. So I searched for production stills, and its true--she looks absolutely great (pictured right). I haven't read the story since--damn, its been a long time--maybe freshman year of college. The film really didn't bring the essence of the book back to me but instead created an entirely new milieu. Risa was somehow hornswoggled into attending the film with us. I think she would probably describe the film as, "Dumb as shit." So, not for everybody, but I enjoyed it.