Movie thoughts
Last night, Brooklynne and I watched Capote. I expected the movie to be good, but it was actually much more entertaining than I thought it would be. I guess I make that distinction alot. There are movies that are great works of art, but you would only watch them if you intend to "appreciate" what the filmmaker is doing, without really being entertained. On the other extreme, there are movies that are extremely entertaining, but have little or no greatness other than their entertainment value.
Well, Capote was dark and depressing, but it scored high on substance, and better than average on entertainment. I'll give it a B+.
We also recently watched Training Day. I knew nothing about this movie going in and I would not recommend it to anyone. This film is dark and depressing too, but there's nothing redeeming about this one. The movie offers nothing new in its substance and is overly violent and terribly pessimistic. At the end, I wished that I could have those two hours back, as well as any good feeling I might have had when I began watching. To me, if a movie has no uplifting qualities, it better be a fine piece of filmmaking. I give Training Day an F.
So, two questions for my readers: what makes a great movie, and if you just wanted a no-thought movie for a fun, relaxing Saturday night, what would be your top pick?
Also--for Brian--will you be having your annual Oscar pool this year?
Read more about:
Entertainment7 Comments
Leave a comment
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Movie thoughts.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.milestravis.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/130
About Training Day, albeit the violence, depression, etc., did you agree that Denzel deserved the Oscar for his acting performance?
We recently watched 3:10 to Yuma. It was as violent as one would expect a 2008 cowboy movie to be, and any of the women who watched it because Russell Crowe was in it certainly did not get a feel-good girl movie, but I really appreciated the depth of the characters and thought it was a very entertaining movie. The movies that I like the best are the ones that I continue to think about and talk about afterwards. I also really liked the score and the way the movie was shot. I thought that the filmmakers did a good job of paying homage to the Western genre without being cheesy or anything. I would say more to qualify this review, but I have a hardline stance about not giving things away, and my other comments would give some info. about the ending that I wouldn't have wanted to have before I saw it. If anybody else has seen the film, I'd like to chat about what you thought (especially Evan or Dad since y'all have seen a lot of cowboy movies).
If I had to pick movies for a fun movie night, not heavy at all, I would pick "What About Bob?" or the first "Austin Powers."
I was not a fan of Training Day either, and to answer Elizabeth, I didn't agree with Denzel's Oscar. He is just chewing on the furniture in his award winning scene at the end.
And yes, I will be doing some form of an Oscar pool.
As for question 1, I think there are a lot of different things that make a great movie. What makes Casablanca great is different from what makes Apocalypse now great or what makes Caddyshack great.
I think my pick for a fun, relaxing Saturday night is Breakfast at Tiffany's.
I fell asleep during Breakfast at Tiffany's, but I think it had more to do with how tired I was than anthing about the movie. I need to see it again.
I wanted to see 310 to Yuma too, but I'm maxed out on violence right now, so perhaps I'll put that one off a little while. Happy thoughts....
I can't remember who Denzel was up against....
Russell Crowe, A Beautiful Mind
Sean Penn, I Am Sam
Will Smith, Ali
Tom Wilkinson, In the Bedroom
WINNER: Denzel Washington, Training Day
I didn't know this info; I looked it up. Of the others, I only saw A BEAUTIFUL MIND, but Russell Crowe was very good in it.
Oooh. I had forgotten about I am Sam. That was REALLY good.
Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind or Sean Penn in I am Sam should have won over Denzel... hands down. I never saw Ali, but I love Will Smith, so I would put him up there above Denzel too! I HATED Training Day, it was HORRIBLE! I likve Denzel, but seeing him as a BAD guy was just plain unpleasant! Not to mention that Miles is right, there was ZERO redeeming qualities about that movie!
Fun Saturday night movie? ummm... Blue Streak! I love that movie!