film flam: stranger than fiction, 300, for your consideration, the holiday

i seriously haven’t watch a single movie since the oscars onslaught, but this weekend was icky weather. plus josh and i had date night(!) so we went to the theatre.

stranger than fiction – great premise. the actors are perfect. the script is quite clever. there were some really sweet moments. i had to watch maggie gyllenhaal yell “tax man!” twice because it made me laugh so much. i worried that it might try to be charlie kaufman-esque, but it didn’t go as far into the realm of weirdness. it’s perfectly quirky and perfectly enjoyable.

300 –  rowr. i am like a frickin’ 14-year old girl about this movie. i can’t stop gushing about how beautiful all the super-buff men are in it. my scottish boyfriend gerard butler is quite good as king leonidas and has some really nice gams and, come to think of it, teeth. oh and the 8-pack tummies…sigh. i know i’m embarrassing myself, but i just cannot stop. plus the movie is absolutely visually stunning. it looks like a graphic novel without trying too hard, which i thought sin city (also based on a frank miller graphic novel) was sometimes guilty of. i was nervous about the violence, but it is choreographed and shot so well that it feels more like dance, except with lots and lots of blood. and who knew watching a man cut off another man’s arm could be so hot? the movie is very entertaining even though – after a quick look at ancient greece on wiki – they simplified the story of the battle of thermopylae, but it’s a movie not a history class. some of the non-soldier scenes are on the clunky side, but the buff battle scenes totally make up for it. i’m hoping to see it again on imax. nigel count: 1.

for your consideration – i am now even more annoyed with little miss sunshine and that little girl getting nominated for best supporting actress after seeing catherine o’hara in for your consideration. she’s funny and sad and smart. i enjoyed every second she was on the screen. also great was jane lynch, who had to embody a entertainment tonight mary hart-type hostess while fighting to get a word in edgewise with the hilarious fred willard. unfortunately, the movie falls short of the pee-in-my-pants comic brilliance of waiting for guffman or best in show. the set up is kind of genious, but so much of the film feels like a wasted opportunity.

the holiday – i wanted a mindless romantic comedy, a diversion for a wet and cold afternoon. i wasn’t totally satisfied. first, i need to say that no romantic comedy should ever be longer than 100-minutes. there is no reason for it. if it takes 2-hours for the protagonists to get together, it’s no longer funny. there are things that happen in romantic comedies that can be overlooked. a couple of coincidences are forgivable. the quirky best friend is overused, but acceptable. predictability is not really okay. and boy howdy this movie is predictable. on the other hand, the characters are charismatic and there are some sparkly moments. i love seeing eli wallach working. jude law is pretty cute even though i don’t think he’s aging as well as anticipated.