Accepted

Steve Pink's Accepted was about what I expected going into it. It was funny at times, crude at others, but didn't serve much more than a series of laughs. Justin Long's performance was pretty good and probably a highlight of the movie.



5/10

Itinéraire d'un enfant gâté

A Lelouch classic, this film seems to be very typically french to me. The story line is great, bringing together drama and comedy. At the end, I had a lot of questions about what it was proposing.

What made the film so surprising, is that Sam Lion never learns. In a typical american film, he would learn that he's not the center of the world, and his narcicist ways would be corrected - but in this film they let him go. Odd...


7/10

21 Grams

Iñárritu's second part of the triology takes place in the US, but it filmed by a very latino crew. The actors are great: Charlotte Gainsbourg and Sean Penn's performances are both outstanding.

The film was apparently shot chronologically, but afterwards edited in a non-chronological line. This creates a puzzle in your mind, and it isn't until the very end that everything starts coming together and making sense. It first you almost think that the different chapters are set on random play - but then slowly the plot takes shape.

I can't wait for babel. :D


6/10

Amores Perros

Alejandro González Iñárritu's first part of his triology is a strange movie. When I first saw it, I wondered if Crash was based on it. Like Crash, it starts with a car accident, and then goes back ... But just when you think the movie is finishing and you've caught up with the beginning, it keeps going.

I felt it almost a bit long, and almost two realistic in places. Adultery and dogs are the recurring elements. of the movie basically. The harsh realism gives a good picture of Mexico I think. Gael García Bernal does an amazing job portraying the lower-middle class mexican boy.

Class must be the theme of the movie. It starts out with Gael García Bernal and his brother's wife and their story. Then it movies on to a rich couple and their problems, and finally it goes to a man who was rich, and had left it all. I guess the point is that they all have the same troubles: infidelity, fickle emotions, and ... dogs.




6/10

Marie Antoinette

Sophie Cappola's Marie Antoinette is a fun movie. I like her films a lot because they manage of their artsy and surreal feels. Marie Antoinette was a weird mix of history, art, and culture. Though set in 18th century Versailles, the music is current and the acting style is contemporary.

Usually in films like this, the soundtrack includes Air and Phoenix, and some post punk groups like the Cure and New Order. As the parties roar and Crystal champagne flow at the chateau, you if the scenes weren't affected by Sophie and Kirstin's nights aux Champs earlier this spring. The montages are modern and vogue, not stuffy and traditional.

The whole movie feels a bit like a runway show. The designers included on the project did some impressive work. As a film, it definitely gets 9 stars from an artistic perspective. Unfortunately, the content doesn't live up to fashion, music, and montages of the film. I guess it captures the lifestyle of the stars well - and puts in contemporary language. I felt like it spent a bit too much on Marie trying to sleep with her husband, and I would kind of have enjoyed to see more of Marie's life after bastille day.

anyway ...


8/10