NINE
I’ve tried to gather some resolve, but I just cannot make myself go see Nine. Sorry.
IT’S COMPLICATED
The title fits. It is complicated to put this movie in an appropriate context. It’s not a great movie (not as fully realized as Something’s Gotta Give), but I enjoyed virtually every frame. And why shouldn’t I? Writer-director Nancy Meyers has made a fantasy film for women like me (and extending demographically past my mother). …
UP IN THE AIR
I want to like Up In The Air more than I do. Good movie? You bet. Great movie, or best movie of the year? Not by a long shot. The film is well-crafted, clever, and topical, but it is riddled with conflicts. That’s not always a problem, but here I’m more concerned about all of …
FOUR SHORT TAKES
AN EDUCATION I have been a fan of Lone Scherfig’s work since her Dogma 95 film Italian For Beginners (which I show to students when I teach Introduction to Film). Likewise, I’ve enjoyed Nick Hornby’s novels and film adaptations (particularly About A Boy and High Fidelity). With An Education, Hornby is adapting someone else’s work, …
AMELIA and ME AND ORSON WELLES
Sometimes there are movies that you want to like more than you do, movies that despite your desire for more are instantly (or nearly instantly) forgettable. I’ve been meaning to say something about Amelia, but I keep forgetting! Hillary Swank is always fun to watch, and she actually looks like Amelia Earhart. The big problem …