What Emily's Been Watching, April Edition (finally)

This is Life's 200th post!
Yes I am totally skirting the fact that we are well entrenched in May.

Gigantic (2008) [R] Hipster vomit. Once upon a time, a hipster exploded and they picked up the pieces and put it on film. That about sums it up, I think. We rented this when Matt and B were in town from a Red Box. We read the synopsis: mattress salesman wants to adopt a baby from China, but his plans go awry when a girl falls asleep on one of the mattresses in the showroom. We read the cast: Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Ed Asner, Zac Galifianakis........ come on! Wouldn't you have rented it too? I like independent movies. I like quirky (it turns out in small, tasteful amounts). I like Paul Dano. What I don't like is when a movie is made that tries so hard to be quirky that it annoys the crap out of you. Done and done. I put the fault entirely on the filmmaker and the screen writer. Just looked it up and it was his first movie. Dude. Knock it down a notch. The actors weren't at fault to me, but they certainly didn't save the film. No one could. The only one that came close was John Goodman, I enjoyed his part. But not enough. Emily doesn't recommend this movie unless you are a posing hipster that has no taste and thinks any indy film that appears quirky is awesome and meaningful. Let me help you out guys- it's totally fin.


Jane Eyre (1997) [NR] Drama-romance. I saw this at the library and figured I might as well. It was ok. It didn't commit any grievous sins. I actually really liked the person that played Jane for most of the movie, at the same time I was scandalized by the dude that played Rochester. Oddly, by the time I started thinking he might be ok, I started disliking her performance. Also, they massacred the scenes when she comes back. No playfulness. No fun. No bueno. Emily can't recommend this movie. Especially when the "other" one exists. BUT you won't die if you happen to watch it.

No trailer, but here's a scene.

Zombieland (2009) [R] Action adventure. This is back in Red boxes and Rob and I wanted to have a movie night and I remembered that Rob didn't watch this with us when we rented it last time. I knew he would at least get a few laughs and find it tolerable. Turns out, he did indeed enjoy it. I really do enjoy this movie. I like the film style a lot, I like the humor a lot. I like the writing a lot. I am not usually much of a Woody Harrelson fan, but he really tickles me in this movie. He is so funny and perfect for this role. I love how he plays off of Eisenburg, and his quest for a twinkie. Eisenburg is great too. I love his rules of survival and how they keep popping up throughout the film. Just very clever and funny. Emily totally recommends this movie if you haven't seen it. There is language and an excess of gore, they kind of go over the top for humor's sake (plus, we're talking zombies here) and I must admit- it is funny.


Never Let Me Go (2010) [R] Drama. Now, this movie was promising and I liked it quite a bit. Here is the problem: It is based on a book, and from all I have heard, a very good book. I have heard that people that have recommended this book (before the movie existed), were very tight lipped about a big reveal at the end. Kind of a "the first rule of Catfish is you don't talk about Catfish" kind of a thing. Well, apparently (and I am pretty positive I know what the reveal is)- the movie reveals the plot point in like the first 25 minutes or so.) So for one thing, the movie takes a different approach then the book. I don't know any different, so it was ok with me. But after seeing it, I can see that as being a pretty shocking reveal at the end. The next thing about the movie, is while watching it, I was constantly thinking: "I bet this is really sad in the book" or "I bet this book is really good". Instead of thinking these things, you should be thinking: "This is really sad" or "this movie is really good". I just couldn't, cause it just never quite pulled it off. My advice? If you've read the book, see the movie. (If so, let me know if you liked the movie). If you haven't read the book, read it, then see the movie. I say this without having read it, I know that's weird, but I REALLY don't recommend the route I took. I guess I just went over my advice on seeing this movie or not. Guess I better read the book, but I really wish I wasn't spoiled. But it may not be too late for you! My guess is that the scenes that the movie tried to pull off as emotional will be emotional and a lot better if you have read it. Otherwise, they just didn't quite make it. Close though- it really was good, just well, I think I've explained myself enough.


The King's Speech (2010) [R] Drama/Biography. Yeah, we finally saw it. Yes, it was good, inspiring, well done, yada yada yada. Do I really need to praise this movie? It's been done and every one is correct. See it if you haven't seen it. Don't be afraid of the swearing scene. Very rarely is there swearing with a purpose. Well, here it is. It is a feel good scene, the character really has a turning point that is important for his growth, plus, it's pretty %$@#&ing funny. Haven't you heard worse walking the halls of your high school? And there is no feel good message attached to that (usually) See it.