September Media Consumption: Movies

I was going to lump all the media stuff together again, but I'm lazy today and I don't feel like posting that much. Why lazy? Bridget has been sick the last few days and she woke up shouting a new request every 20 minutes last night. She went to flush the toilet this morning, crying with a binky in her mouth, and my powers of intuition went on the fritz for a moment. In that moment, the binky fell into the toilet that hadn't been flushed yet. A sign that the binky needs to go in the garbage? Or...
That concludes the question and answer portion of this post. On to the movies.

Man on Wire (2008). In a fit of hunger for culture, I told Brian, Melissa, and Jeff that we needed to go to the Broadway Theater in Salt Lake to see the documentary, "Man on Wire". It is the story of Philippe Petit, a crazy Frenchman (is there any other kind?) who liked to put cables in crazy places and walk across them. He walked between the towers of Notre Dame and on a bridge in Australia and, most famously, between the World Trade Center towers. The documentary focused on his planning and execution of the crossing between the twin towers. Amazing! The footage from the tops of the buildings was enough to make me queasy. I was moved and inspired (to do what, I don't know) by Petit's story even though he ended up losing most of his friends. The title of the movie is what was written on the warrant for his arrest after he completed his 45 minute "dance" in the air between the towers. It was beautiful, deliciously scary, art at its finest.

The Verdict: If this isn't playing in a theater near you, look for it on video in a few months. It's worth it. Fast forward for a minute when Petit starts describing what he did right after he was released by the police. I'll say no more.

Sophie's Choice (1982). I've heard many a joke that uses "Sophie's Choice" as the punchline. What is everyone talking about? When I saw this movie in the Dish guide, I decided to record it and watch it ten minutes at a time over a two week period. The movie stars Meryl Streep as Sophie, Kevin Kline as Nathan and Peter McNichol as Stingo. Meryl Streep is a Polish woman who is living in New York after spending time in a concentration camp during World War II. Her boyfriend is Nathan, a mad scientist. Stingo is a writer living in the apartment below Sophie and Nathan. (Stingo appears to be in love with both Nathan and Sophie. He could go either way. Not that there's anything wrong with that.) Nathan is obviously psychotic, but for some reason Sophie and Stingo are both charmed by his whims and repulsed by his violent temper without considering that there might be something bigger behind his behavior than him being a mean drunk. I felt like I was watching a stage play most of the time. Not necessarily a bad thing, but that means I wasn't exactly "there" with the story. The flashbacks to Sophie's experiences in the concentration camp were more engaging. They were shot in almost black and white (you know - the muted colors I'm talking about?) and since Meryl Streep was the best part of this movie, the flashback focus on her was a treat.

Of course we came to the "choice" part of the movie eventually. Sophie (in a flashback) is waiting for her camp assignment in a group with other Jews and sympathizers (Sophie is not Jewish). A guard comes over and she tells him she believes in the "cause" of the Nazis and she should be released, all while holding her small girl with one arm and gripping her older son tightly. The guard doesn't care about her story. He tells her she can pick which of her children will be sent to one camp (certain death) and which one will go to the camp with her (Sophie). Sophie insists that she can't choose between them, but the guard tells her that both will go to the death camp if she doesn't choose. She lets him take her small girl, who looked to be Bridget's age. The girl is taken roughly by the guard and we watch her screaming for her Mommy all the way to the train. Gut. Wrenching. I was sitting on my couch holding Bridget (this is how she goes down for her naps and why I watch movies ten minutes at a time while I wait for her to fall asleep). I cried uncontrollably and had to hold Bridget for her entire nap. Yikes.

The Verdict: Meryl Streep's acting in this movie is superb. Don't see it.

Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004). You should all be impressed with my range at this point in the post. I don't even think I should include this one because I get the feeling most of this movie was cut so that it could be on TV. Interesting commentary on race in America. Sad commentary on smart single guys in America. Harold & Kumar are room mates who get high together. One night they are high and decide that the perfect meal would be 30 hamburgers from White Castle. The rest of the movie is their adventures in getting to White Castle in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. My favorite part was when Harold and Kumar leave their apartment and walk down the hall toward the elevator and they realize they've forgotten something. Harold asks Kumar if they should go back and get it, Kumar looks back down the hall for a minute and says, "No. We've come too far."

The Verdict: I hate gross-out comedy and this movie was full of it. The few laughs aren't worth being grossed out.

16 Blocks (2006). Bruce Willis (who looks awful) as a guy named Jack (it's always "Jack" in the movies, isn't it?) and Mos Def as Eddie. Jack is a lazy, drunk cop who is routinely given the jobs no one else wants to do. As Jack is going home from work one morning (he's been at work all night), his captain hands him an assignment to drive Eddie, a witness, from lock up to the courthouse so that Eddie can testify. No problem - it should only take 45 minutes. But then why would they have a movie about it? Jack stops to get some liquor since it's been almost 20 minutes since his last drink and while he's in the liquor store a man tries to kill his witness in the car parked outside. Jack turns into John McClane for a second, drops his bag of alcohol and shoots the shooter before he has a chance to kill Eddie. Nice reflexes for a guy who has been up all night drinking on the job. Jack and Eddie start running through alleys and apartment building to avoid the bad guys who want to kill Eddie before he can testify. Jack figures out that the bad guys are also policemen and that Eddie is the star witness against them. All the usual stuff happens - you think Jack & Eddie are in one place when the bad guys show up, but they're secretly in another place (that happens at least three times). Mos Def is using a cartoon voice throughout the movie and it is a marvel that the bad guys don't find them EVERY time he and Jack are hiding just by following the sound of his voice.

The Verdict: An enjoyable movie with a lot of predictable elements. Don't watch it if you find Bruce Willis attractive because he looks like something you'd sweep your floor with in this show.

So much for a short post. I'm all about helping you decide what to rent, though. That's why I prefer the randomness of catching movies on TV. I feel it makes me well-rounded.