I'm going to put my movie reviews here. Steve can put his wherever he wants as long as it's not here.

In America

This was also lent to me by Deirdre. I loved it. It made me cry, a lot. It's the story of an Irish family coming to America in search of a better life and an escape from their past. The father wants to be an actor so New York seemed like the place to go. They move into a run down building in a bad neighborhood. They have very little money. They face poverty and hardship. Despite the bad things that happen, the ending is hopeful and realistic. The set decoration was really nice. I wouldn't mind having such a funky interesting apartment, although I'd rather not live in New York to get it. The acting was really great, even from the children. The script was interesting and well written, even if the story it tells is as old as America itself.

Kill Bill, vol 1

Borrowed this from my friend Deirdre. I was not impressed. Nor did I expect to be impressed. I am not really a fan of Quentin Tarantino. I found Kill Bill to be like a cartoon version of a bad kung fu movie, only it wasn't a cartoon (except for that part that was) and rather than being an homage to bad kung fu it seemed to me to be a joke at bad kung fu's expense. The story was unnecessarily convoluted by not showing the events chronologically. This device of playing with time did nothing to enhance or disguise the tired plot. Even shown mixed up as it was, I had no trouble figuring it out. I was not expecting the ending's surprise twist but by that point I was so bored I didn't care any more. I may watch the second "volume" if someone lends it to me but I won't be making any effort to see it.

The Bourne Identity

This is one of my favorite movies. I just had to buy it last weekend before the release of the second one. Especially after reading the book by Robert Ludlum. Although they did sort of forget half the plot when they made the movie, they still made an excellent film. The brilliance of the story is the contrast between who Jason Bourne was in his forgotten past and who he is finding himself to be in his present. The assistance and companionship he gets from Marie serve to further show his humanity which is juxtaposed with the deadly impersonal flashbacks and memories he can't quite remember. Matt Damon is fantastic as the confused, yet determined (and buff) Jason Bourne and Franka Potente is wonderful as the terrified at first, then really just concerned Marie. But maybe my favorite parts of this movie are the fight scenes and the car chases, although I can barely bring myself to watch them speed the wrong way on the Paris motorway. Maybe that Mini should have fallen apart halfway down that flight of stairs but it's the movies so I don't care. And the fights. Everyone says the pen is mightier than the sword but who else has taken it literally. The fact that Jason is searching for information, but every clue must be dragged from the bloody lips of his assailants, makes each fight scene more intrinsic to the story. While many people are killed in this movie, I would hardly say the violence is gratuitous. This is a great action movie with just enough mystery thrown in. You'll be rooting for the good guy, or is he the bad guy? until the very end.

Billy Elliot

I love this movie. It makes me cry. The juxtapositioning of coal mining with ballet is a slice of real life. The cast is great, especially the little boy who plays Billy and his friend Michael. Now that I know a little more about the coal miners strike and Margaret Thatcher, the whole culture clash aspect of the movie is so much more evident. I got it before with the whole "not son of mine does ballet" stuff but now I understand even better that Billy's family is working class and that there is no place for high arts. I enthusiastically recommend this movie, but watch out... it's sad.

Get Shorty

Who doesn't like this movie? We watched it again in Maine with Steve's brother. It's a great story and a great cast. So funny. I love it.

Supersize Me

Okay. The premise: In that lawsuit where the two obese teens sued MacDonald's for their weight problems, the Judge said something about the teens proving that MacDonald's food is not healthy when eaten every day. So this documentary filmmaker decided to find out just how bad it is. The McDiet. For one month, he would eat nothing except what is on the menu at MacDonalds for three meals a day. He got three doctors to monitor his health and he enlisted a nutritionist and a personal trainer to help out as well. At the start, he was a really healthy guy. Very low body fat, good height to weight ratio, good cholesterol and blood pressure and all that internal stuff. By the end... well, you should see the movie. It's a really good documentary. He started off with the basic idea of eating at Micky D's for one month and he filled it in with lots of really startling information about eating in America. He talked about all kinds of stuff, from the Double Big Gulp, to Gastric Bypass Surgery to School Lunches to Government Lobbyists. It was highly informative. The only thing he didn't really talk about was socio-economic causes of obesity. But it was a very good movie despite that and everyone should see it. It'll make you think twice about what you eat. For more information see the website.

The Bourne Supremacy

Did you think, after the above review of the Bourne Identity, that I hadn't been to see the second Bourne movie already? I dragged Steve to it as soon as I could. It was very good. Matt Damon makes a great second appearance as Jason Bourne, fighting again for his life against unknown attackers. Only this time he thinks he knows who's after him. Unfortunately, he's only half right. I wasn't too thrilled by the hand-held camera action they had going on during fight scenes and car chases. It made it hard to follow the action, to keep track of who was where. And the "adaptation" wasn't as good either. The story was much simpler and I found myself not caring as much about the characters after the opening scene. Jason Bourne was much less plagued by an unremembered past for most of the movie; I could hardly tell what he was thinking or feeling or if he was thinking or feeling much of anything. Except sadness. I could definitely tell that he was very sad and determined. I still wholeheartely recommend this movie. It was exciting and suspenseful like any good hollywood action movie should be although it lost most of the mystery that really set the first movie apart. And, of course, Matt Damon is very convincing (buff). I'm going to go read the book now.