It's Just a Manic Movie Monday

This post is all about the movies!!! Before I get to that, did anyone watch the NBC presentation of the Golden Globes last night? I did not, but I don't suppose anyone missed much, as the paper gave it a poor review today. What, without the red carpet hooplah, and actors not getting all dressed up and sparkly - who cares? Seriously, it wasn't exactly well promoted. What advertiser would want to spend millions on spots announcing a show that was more of a non show? I hope this writer's strike gets resolved before the Oscars....Now, that would be a real shame not to have an Oscars ceremony...

The Secret Life of Words is a video that I really liked. Tim Robbins is in this movie. He’s such a good actor. Anyway, Hannah (Sarah Polley) is a very introverted factory worker who has never taken off any time from work. Her boss makes her go on a month-long vacation, and she happens upon a situation that results in her spending her time off on an oil rig taking care of an injured man (Robbins). It’s a character driven story. I thought it was pretty good.

I watched The Libertine, with Johnny Depp, Samantha Morton and John Malkovich. Depp plays John Wilmot, the Second Earl of Rochester, who lived in the late 1600s in this story based on fact. Wilmot, an author and poet, is an unlikable character. He was rather a sex addict. His father was very loyal to Charles II, but did not live to see the Restoration. In honor of that loyalty, Charles awarded monetary support to Wilmot. Unfortunately, Wilmot penned and produced a satirical play about Charles and fell out of favor with the King. He fell into illness and depression and succumbed to syphilis at a rather young age. Karma, as they say, is a bitch.

Paris, Je T’aime is a collection of 18 vignettes, each set in a different part of Paris. Each have been directed by different people (big name directors) and have different actors starring in them. Some were good, some were not so good. Some were poignant, some stupid and some without point. Lots of good actors involved – Fanny Ardant, Juliette Binoche, William DeFoe, Steve Buscemi, Nick Nolte, Gena Rowlands, Natalie Portman, Elijah Wood – just to name a few.

Deck the Halls, starring Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito, was okay. It is a Christmas movie, about a couple of neighbors who try to outdo each other with the decorations. There were some funny parts, and it is a season-appropriate film, but I am definitely glad that I watched it on DVD and not in the movie theater.

Atonement won the Golden Globe for Best Picture in the drama category. It was good, but I'm not really sure if it was Best Picture good. Anyway, Kiera Knightley (Cecilia) and James McAvoy (Robbie) star in this period piece set in England before and during WWII. Briony, Cecilia’s little sister, witnesses something that she misinterprets. It ends up destroying some lives. That actress playing the youngest Briony is really good. I really liked this movie. My only complaint was that they could have cut out about 30 minutes of the war stuff, because it really dragged some there, but…what the hey…I had nothing better to do.

Merry Karma out.