The one advantage to Wendy's crummy morning sickness is that we're finally catching up on some of the movies we've been meaning to see:
- The Holiday: I didn't have a lot of expectations for this movie, and got out of it about what I put into it. Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet swap houses for a week and fall in love with Jude Law and Jack Black, respectively. There's not really anything unpredictable about this movie, and not a whole lot of hilarity either. That said, there are some really beautiful houses and a couple of cute moments. Not really anything to write home about, but could have been worse (Cameron Diaz and Jude Law's characters are sorta sleazy, though...). (**1/2 out of four)
- Dreamgirls: This movie, however, I had high hopes for, since I like a good musical, and think Jennifer Hudson is pretty great. She didn't disappoint--her performance is natural, charismatic, and worth her Oscar. When she's on-screen, the movie is energetic and emotional. When she's not, it plays a little like a flashy made-for-TV musical, with decent acting and some inconsistent and ineffective plotting. I understand that the movie has a Broadway musical to live up to, but did there really need to be so many songs?!?! The music is good and as singers, the actors were terrific, but I felt like sometimes the songs got in the way of the story. That said, there's a lot of talent involved in this movie, and it was fun to see it on display. (*** out of four)
7 comments:
Oh, My Gosh, Did we watch the same movie? I loved the Holiday and thought it was the Romantic Comedy of the year! I felt like I was watching two movies in one, and I loved it. I'll give you the "trashy" part but the rest was great! Did you see Kate and Jack at the movie store when he was singing movie themes? It was awesome! But I guess I can't say I'm suprised, you like some movies I think are plain old stupid.... ;)
- Michelle
I did like the Kate Winslet/Jack Black (both of whom are always great) storyline, but overall it still felt predictable and contrived--although that seems to be par for the course with romantic comedies. (Besides, since when can an average newspaper writer afford a last minute airplane ticket to LA over Christmas?!?!)
Having said that, I mean no harm to those that liked this movie. I just feel intellectually superior, that's all.
Haha. I saw "The Holiday" as well. I liked the LA part alot and found myself wishing they would never cut to Cameron and Jude. But I think the main reason I liked it so much was the cute little jewish guy neighbor. I thought Kate and Jack's relationship with him was what made the movie worth watching.
As far as romantic comedies go--I thought The Holiday was pretty clever. It had an element of quirky British humor that I loved. Kate Winslet was awesome. She created this kinda innocent, sweet, dorky with love, semi-hyper character. I've never seen her in such a role. I loved it. There was also a little symbolism going on with each of their careers. All of them were creators or writers of some sort. Their careers portrayed their personalities--their strengths and weaknesses. Amanda's life was like a movie trailer: no time to get close to things and no opportunity to feel emotion...etc. As far as being predictable--it wouldn't be a romantic comedy unless it was predictable. It's a requirement I think. I think they should rewrite the movie and have Jack Black end up with Cameron Diaz. Now that's crazy.
Doesn't anyone care about Dreamgirls around here? It was deeeeeelightful.
The music was great, Kristen, but come on...like there weren't some huge gaps in the story? One second J-Hud is flirting with Jamie Foxx, two seconds later they're "dating" and just as quickly he's sleeping with Beyonce?!?! I never thought J-Hud and Jamie Foxx were a believable couple in the first place--what happened to the development of these relationships? It felt like a Reader's Digest "Dreamgirls," only all the songs were left in it...
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