Monday, January 5, 2009

Movie reviews

I would certainly prefer to have another two weeks off from work but am feeling fairly renewed after having a low key 5 days before starting work again. Plus I've officially reached the third trimester now that I'm 28 weeks preggers. Woo hoo! Although can they really be called trimesters any more considering pregnancies are actually 40 weeks? Does that mean the first trimester is longer? Why are these the things that keep me up at night?

DH and I had a friend in town this weekend (Hi Janusz!) which was nice, especially for DH. He does love his guy friend time. We played a few games of Monopoly (old school version) and DH did terribly. It doesn't help that Janusz and I landed on Free Parking about 8 times each. I think DH got it once. That hurts.

Because the final stretch of the vacation was so relaxing, I had a chance to catch up on a couple of movies I've been meaning to see: Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Iron Man. Both were very good, although very different. DH and I love How I Met Your Mother and think that Marshall (Jason Segel) is the best character on the show. So when I heard that Sarah Marshall was coming out, I knew I'd have to rent it. The opening scene with full frontal nudity was awesome. What a way to have a break up! I love Kristen Bell so it was great to see her in a leading movie role. Now why can't Rob Thomas drop everything and make a Veronica Mars movie? The best part of the movie was that the relationship wasn't totally one sided. Sarah wasn't just the terrible dumper and Peter the entirely sympathetic dumpee. And the supporting actors and characters were a riot. I definitely recommend you add this movie to your NetFlix list.

Iron Man was a good solid action movie. Robert Downey, Jr. was a very good choice as the hero although it was a waste of Gwyneth Paltrow's talents. I liked Tony Stark the best as a playboy. When he started being all altruistic it wasn't as much fun. The action sequences were well done but I have the same complaint I always do when I watch action movies. It is really necessary to have a 15 minute action sequence? After 5 minutes of punches being thrown and things exploding, I get it! Perhaps I am just getting old and can't take the loudness of those scenes. Another movie to add to your queue...

DH and I are not very big movie people primarily because our tastes are wildly divergent. He likes movies like Blood Diamond and I would prefer films like 27 Dresses. I think it's because I watch so many more serial TV shows that require an investment in brain power (Fringe, CSI, etc.) and I don't need that in movies too. I also hate how long movies have gotten. What happened to the 90 minute movie? That's a perfect chunk of time. Now I am lucky to find a film that is less than two hours long. Who has the time, energy or patience for that? Although, I will say if a film is done well, time doesn't matter as much (see The Good Shepherd or Forrest Gump).

Any light hearted movie recommendations for me to stock up on when I go out for maternity leave? Or if you have any deep movies that DH should watch, feel free to pass those title along.

4 comments:

LauraC said...

If you liked Sarah Marshall, Superbad and Juno were also great. I'm way behind in movies as we use Netflix to catch up on tv shows.

Natalie said...

I saw SemiPro the other day with Will Farrell, a severe disappointment compared to the genius of Elf. I would highly recommend netflixing seasons one and two of 30 Rock. Other movies in my queue at the moment: Vantage Point, My Date With Drew, Definately/Maybe, Freaks & Geeks, Entourage, Made of Honor, What Happens In Vegas, and The House Bunny.

T. said...

I totally agree on Semi Pro! And I had such high hopes too! Loved Sarah Marshall, and definitely rent SuperBad if you haven't seen it yet. What else...I saw Dan in Real Life last week and thought it was pretty cute. My taste usually runs to the Blood Diamond type, but I do enjoy the lighter movies too. The best movie I've seen recently is Into the Wild.

A. said...

The Legend of Ricky Bobby was surprisingly good/funny. Some lines that M. and I will be trotting out for some time, I'm sure.

For your maternity leave, I highly recommend the idea of stocking up on TV shows you've been meaning to watch. One hour shows are particularly good, because after cutting out commercials they nicely fit to the rough length of a newborn breastfeeding session (about 45 minutes). Also, I DVR'd Ellen each day so I could watch it when I was home with Finn. Good stuff.