Camille and I watched a few things over the weekend:
Memoirs of a Geisha (four of five stars)
Arthur Golden’s fictionalized story of Nitta Sayuri, who tells the story of how she transcended her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan’s most celebrated geisha. The film is wonderfully lush, almost too polished. Gong Li is fabulous as the wicked and spoiled Hatsumomo. As adaptations go, this is one of the better ones. I notice that the movie comes out better when the author is involved in shooting. The same thing was true of The English Patient.
Robin Williams Live on Broadway (three of five stars)
Robin is one of those comedians who you can watch over and over again and still laugh your butt off. Recorded in 2002, this is a little dated, but still hysterical.
Fun With Dick and Jane (three of five stars)
All of the slapstick and wild exuberance that you’d expect from Jim Carrey. He and his wife (Téa Leoni) fall on hard times and resort to a life of crime. If you want some easy laughs, this is a good DVD to rent.
Nine Lives (four of five stars)
A fabulous ensemble cast with nine interlocking stories of women who are trapped in difficult life circumstances. No happy endings here, just another collection of tales reminding us how we are all interlaced, and that every life is a novel no one else has read.
COMMENT
The Almighty said…
Back from Hawaii, I spent late evenings there watching movies on the pay per view rather than drinking. Here’s my reviews:
Hostel (four of five stars): A gleefully disgusting movie suitable only for those who enjoy being gleefully disgusted. Ranks right up there with the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre and the Japanese classic The Audition. Horny American backpackers are lured to a small Slovakian village hostel by promises of hot women, where they become the main attraction in a variation on sex tourism, torture tourism. A classic morality tale.
The Matador (three of five stars): Amusing tale of an aging hitman who befriends a meek, but happily domestic businessman and they learn the tricks of each others trade. Sounds formulaic, which it is, but its well acted, witty, and hits the right buttons for us meek family oriented businessman types.
A History of Violence (five of five stars) Just a great movie, and excellent metaphor for anyone trying to start their lives over. Hot sex scenes as well.
11:19 AM