May 2010 Media Inventory

Being sick for a week and starting spring semester might have something to do with this being my lowest media-consuming month: only 21 movies! On the other hand, 5 books is pretty decent for one month.

Movies:

The Vikings: What a great film! About vikings! The Kirk Douglas-Tony Curtis partnership worked a little better in Spartacus, I thought, but still, this was well worth watching. Lots of good old fashioned bullying, bragging, and brawling, and even a little bit of tragedy too. I hadn't really considered myself a Kirk Douglas fan until this year, but hey, why not?

Barabbus: Despite my fondness for Anthony Quinn and my curiosity over the actual character of Barabbus, I didn't "get" this movie. I wanted to stone it.

Titanic: I get the feeling that I would have been more impressed if I had seen it in 2002. However, it wasn't a bad film (fine, that ONE part...) and still impressed/teared me up some.

Finding Neverland: I went on a bit of a Johnny Depp kick this month, so I naturally enjoyed this film with him as a rather introverted yet endearing English gent. And it has Kate Winslet too, who looked so familiar for SOME reason.

Edward Scissorhands: A must-see film. It's beautifully stylized and so creative and so sweet yet sad (you could easily spend half of it making sympathetic sounds). It's a modern fairy tale! And it has Johnny Depp! (though he isn't really Johnny Depp-ing it here, if you know what I mean.)

Waitress: Not an easy film to watch, but still worth watching. The story and message were a bit complicated (and ok, disturbing), but I felt the characters and circumstances were handled in a realistic yet satisfying way. And it made me want to eat more pies.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail: What can I say? Look at the films above this one - I needed some comedy, okay?

When Harry Met Sally: I'd heard about it for a long time before finally deciding to watch it. A pretty upfront romantic drama but sort of tiresome. I liked Harry a lot better than Sally, but by the end of the movie, I was tired to death of both of them. Thank goodness they finally shut up and got together.

A Room with a View: The best part was seeing Denholm Elliott, one of my favorite talented older English actors (how's that for an editing noun-string nightmare!). I wasn't terribly impressed by the story or the other characters (this isn't completely true: Maggie Smith is always perfect, and I must admit it was kind of interesting to see Daniel Day Lewis as a stuffy Englishman). Stuffy movie-watchers might enjoy, but then again, there is a scandalous skinnydipping scene.

Two Weeks' Notice: Not a great film in any way, but provided me with some much needed comic relief. Lots of Hugh Grant silliness - he's a much more believable idiot to me than Sandra Bullock.

Ponyo: Amazingly creative with almost everything you could ask for in a Hayao Miyazaki film. The plot turns out to have a lame resolution, but who cares about the plot really when you have so many cute, weird, and magical things going on?

50 First Dates: I've forgotten it already.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead: A "brainy" film with a lot of wit and weirdness, but that didn't stop me from enjoying it thoroughly. R and G are perfectly cast, and the verbal and physical interactions between them are priceless. I came off feeling entertained and inexplicably wiser.

Date Night: Meh. Fun, but nothing special. I should have waited for the library to get a copy.

Guarding Tess: Yawn. Losing faith in Nicolas Cage.

Groundhog Day: A thoughtful and humorous film with some really inspirational conclusions. Hey, that's a pretty good description.

Raising Arizona: Hee-larious. Faith in Nicolas Cage restored.

Nights in Rodanthe: I can't really explain why I liked this film; it's just a generic corny romantic comedy with middle-aged people. But I liked it anyway. Maybe it was the beach (have I told you about my love of water?). Or the storm (and you know about my love affair with storms, right?) Or Richard Gere, who is handsome. (for proof of this, see "Rhapsody in August.")

Erik the Viking: Not quite as hilarious as it could or should be (especially towards the end), but still definitely has its moments. The beginning is terrific.

Public Enemies: I was thrilled to see the trailer for this film when it first came out, and can't think why I waited so long to see it. I should have seen it in the theater. But on the other hand, seeing the DVD let me rewind and rewatch so many great parts! The life of John Dillinger is utterly fascinating (you better believe I have pictures of his exhibit in D.C.'s National Museum of Crime and Punishment), so I was only worried about the casting and direction, but both of them held up to par. I usually have a hard time with Christian Bale, but he convinced me as a dogged, confused agent. I had never heard of Marion Cotillard, but she was utterly believable. It was fun to see David Wenham (Faramir) as a gangster. And Johnny Depp was . . . (deep breath, brief, unsuccessful attempt to restrain girly gushing) PERFECT!!!!! I can TOTALLY see why America was enthralled with Dillinger.

Cast Away: I've never considered myself a Tom Hanks fan, but I think I'm starting to relent. The guy can act. And I have never looked at my volleyball the same way since.

Books:

The Poet: We had to pick different genre books to read for one of my classes, so I picked this for a thriller/mystery. It's pretty solid, but not really my thing. I liked the writing and the characters okay, but felt the plot was kinda predictable. Still, it was a good read.

Storm Front: A modern fantasy book for the more mature/geeky YA. More entertaining than the Poet. Sort of conflicted - tried to be funny and serious and dramatic and whimsical all at once. The plot kind of meanders all over the place, but at least I was never bored.

Fractured Fairy Tales: I read this little collection in one day since I needed something to do while riding the bus and walking home. Cute and clever - but read the real fairy tales first. Seriously.

Austenland: Surprisingly creative, entertaining, and believable story. I'm not really into Shannon Hale, but this caught my eye. Such an unusual premise - a modern girl goes on vacation to a strict Austen society? Never mind quibbles about characters or writing (both turned out to be satisfactory) - I HAD to know what happened.

Big Girl: My first attempt at Danielle Steel. Ugh. I was depressed and bored through the whole thing. I was so grateful to see it come to an end that I decided not to care that we never really learn what became of any of the characters. (Fun fact: I ended up titling my review for class "Big Disappointment," but my dad cracked me up by suggesting I call it "Big Hurl.")