If you haven’t seen them yet, you really, really, really need to go out and watch these two movies.
Once is a story of music in Dublin, of love, and of chasing your dreams. And it’s completely, madly, absolutely brilliant.
Juno is, of course, the story of a young girl who gets pregnant, decides to keep her baby, and has some insightful, clever, endearing moments along the way.
They’re the two best movies I’ve seen in months, and they both have fantastic music in them. To further entice you:
Glen Hansard - Once Soundtrack - 01 - Falling Slowly
Finally, I retort, “Guh, I don’t even know if I can list 10 television shows.” Yep, that’s me, always ready with a witty repartee.
I’ll try anyway. My top 10 smart television shows, old and new.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Firefly
House M.D.
The Simpsons
Angel
Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Mythbusters
I can only make it to seven, and I almost feel that putting Monty Python on the list is cheating. Then again, Mensa mentioned M*A*S*H, so I don’t feel too bad. That show was awful. And yes, I included three Joss Whedon shows. But that’s because he’s an amazing genius, and his shows show it.
What about you, what’s your favorite “smart” show?
Also, if you have a whole lot more cash than I do, you might be interested in this. It’s times like this that I wish I weren’t dirt poor. No wait, I pretty much wish that all the time.
300 was entertaining at best, and worth watching in the theater if you enjoy stylized battle cinematography. Otherwise, the superb acting of Gerard Butler as Leonidas, and Lena Headey as his queen, don’t do quite enough to pull the film’s head out of its ass and give us something interesting to watch. I enjoyed the sylistic fighting, but I wasn’t invested in it, mostly because I felt like the film kept me at arm’s length the entire time. And I think a lot of that was because of the narration. I would find at times that just as I was getting drawn in to a moment in the film, all of a sudden I’d be slapped in the face by the narrator’s voice, telling me what the character was thinking, describing to me a moment that I could plainly see on the incredibly large IMAX screen.
Following the annoying narration present in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, I’m really hoping that this isn’t going to become a new trend in Hollywood. Some narration is fine: see Chocolat and Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain for examples. Too much narration strangles the story, and constantly reminds the viewer that they are sitting in a movie theater, watching something.
A further, excellent and concise review may be read over here.
