Legion

Oh, Legion. It's been a week since I've seen it and still a smile comes to my face as I recall its delicious campiness. I won't spoil it for anyone, but here are some key ingredients:

*A foul-mouthed grandmother
*the wrath of God
*evil babies
*an evil ice cream truck driver
*Dennis Quaid

Basically, Legion is full of camp and good times (while characters are having apocolyptic bad times). By all means, as a film student, I should look down on Legion and dismiss it as mainstream garbage. But I don't. I loved Legion.

Do I think Legion was a "good" movie? I think it was paced well, and that the technical execution made it bounce merrily along in a pleasing way. I do not think it will be lauded in critical hindsight; but so little entertainment is.

Falling Asleep

So I really like the movies. I've gone nearly weekly since the MJR was built by my folks' house circa 1995. (I was ten.)

But sometimes, I fall asleep at the movies. I sense that this is weird. It's only happened three times--that I know of.

1. Chinatown--this was a midnight showing at the movie theater by my college. And it's a good movie. But it was midnight! When it started!

2. The Day the Earth Stood Still--I saw this with my boyfriend and fell asleep during a long stretch in the second half. Because it was a lame, overlong remake. And I was tired.

3. Transformers--I saw this with my family, my boyfriend, and my brother's ex-girlfriend. And I slept very hard for the second half.

I don't know what my point is in blogging about this, but I feel like I'm weird. I guess it would be more weird if I fell asleep when going to movies by myself. And there is something nice and cocoon like about the darkness of the theater.

Romcoms Worth Watching Many Times Over

So here's the thing about romantic comedies (romcoms): they kind of suck but I still like them. At this point, all a romcom needs to be okay is a strong lead, respectable dialogue, and snappy music. To be a respectable romcom, one that doesn't make you feel dirty in the morning, there's another certain X factor.

In no particular order of quality, here are some clips/trailers from respectable romcoms.

While You Were Sleeping



Pretty in Pink



His Girl Friday, a movie I will watch "anytime, any place, anywhere."



Pillow Talk



Annie Hall



Put them all together, and you have what society has constructed romance to be. Or at least some decent songs with fast talking and a dash of spider killing.

Why Film Dorks Can't See "Nine"

I was really excited about Nine, Rob Marshall’s adaptation of the musical adaptation of Fellini’s 8 1/2. Fellini was my college art house favorite. I love his big characters, his noisy chaos, and the whole raging back story of Fellini’s life. (Read “Fellini on Fellini” if you ever have the chance or inclination. Homeboy had a life.)

Unfortunately, they added on that other half. In no particular order, here are nine things wrong with Nine.

1. Nine is too schmaltzy. The play debuted in the late eighties/early nineties. The is, after all, the time period that gave us Michael Bolton. The songs, with the exception of the excellent/terrifying “Be Italian,” are all forgettable and not so good.

2. Nine is too long. Even though it runs at a little under two hours, it felt eternal.

3. Nine is a “modern” musical. That means, according to Rob Marshall, every song is a figment of a character’s imagination. And that means, according to me, that the arc of the movie completely halts every time somebody sings.

4. Kate Hudson sings the worst, cheesiest, most obnoxious song ever. Cinema Italiano may be the only musical song to ever include a lyric about neorealism.

5. There were ladies in it other than Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard. Judie Dench was cool and all, but Nicole Kidman really could’ve stayed at home.

6. The whole thing felt like a perfume ad. Not so much with the depth, but lots with the pretty backgrounds and soft lighting.

7. There were too many famous people. At a point, it started to feel like old MGM Cavalcade of Stars shorts.

8. Nine revolves around Italian stereotypes without having fun with them. Everyone mopes around like their Italianess is weighing down every life choice. Except Kate Hudson of course. She’s just excited to be in a movie.

9. Nine attempts to make a commodity out of someone’s life. And while I understand movie making is all about commodity making, it seems like you could’ve made a better movie to make money off of a great director.

So in total, see it if you must. Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard are really quite good. And Daniel Day Lewis is the male Meryl Streep. Ridiculously good. But overall, Nine is far less than Fellini deserves.

And to tell the truth, I suspect he wouldn’t have loved it so much. Nine’s kind of a downer.



"The way Contini puts his image through a prism. I feel my body thrill, gives me a special thrill, each time I see that Guido neorealism."

Warm fuzzie childhood movie memories

Dirty Dancing Spice World (I'm not proud) Guys and Dolls (1955) I wanted to be Brando at the age of six. If you add all this up, it probably explains why I felt the need to see Nine. But that's a different issue altogether.