Movie Monday - 7/25/2011

Agora is a historical drama loosely based on true events, set in Alexandria, Egypt in the fourth century A.D.  It was a time when the Christians and Pagans were trying to stake a claim on their territories. The main character is Hypatia, a philospher, astronomer and mathematician who was widely respected.  She is played by Rachel Weisz.  She has a very loyal slave who is smarter than any of her students, and who has to choose between his loyalties - his master and Christianity.  It is a good story, but very brutal and bloody.  Why can't people just be nice to each other?  That's the central question in my Pollyanna world.  Anyway, if you are into historical dramas with some graphic depiction of the inhumanities man inflicts on man...this movie is for you.

Ramona and Beezus is a cute little movie adapted from the childrens books series by Beverly Cleary. I remember reading them to children while babysitting. Joey King plays Ramona and Selena Gomez plays Beezus.  Their father is played by John Corbett...so, although it is a cute, little kid's movie with a predictable plot, it's a good way to spend extra time you might find that you have.

I liked Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, even despite the inconsistencies to the story that The Kid pointed out to me.  This film is a long way from the warm, fuzzy and heartwarming story of a boy wizard who is finally brought to the place he belongs after a less than warm and fuzzy upbringing.  As one watches the HP films, they get darker and darker, and this one was the darkest of all, but it was the final battle between good and evil.  As I did when I read the book, I really liked the epilogue set nineteen years after the battle.  Again, looking back over the series, I am amazed and humbled by the sheer inventiveness and creativity of JK Rowling's story.  This woman is very talented.  I still enjoy rereading the books and rewatching the movies.  I just love my Harry Potter.

I loved the newest Woody Allen movie Midnight in Paris.  Woody Allen is a neurotic little man, and he writes neurotic characters into his movies.  Sometimes, he plays the main character, but this time, Owen Wilson does, and he could be a Woody Allen stand-in anytime.  My friend Jules thought the story was too superficial and a bit scattered.  That may be...but I didn't have high expectations for a deep story - or, maybe, it was just the thing for my mood at the time.  Without revealing too much, it's about a guy who has long admired the writers of the 1920s and the Paris of that era.  He is a screen writer who has always wanted to write novels. He is in a relationship with the wrong woman which makes his longing for the nostalgia of the past and his associated fantasies more real.  So, he decides to chase his dreams...It's probably the best Woody Allen film I've seen in a while.

And with that, I will take my leave.

MK out.