I've fallen behind in my movie reviews.

Seen 2 in the last 2 days:

1. Gran Torino (Krikorian, yesterday)
Definitely good. But not overwhelmingly good. Not even "slightly watery eyes" good. I just enjoyed it, and was surprised by the large amount of humor in this fairly intense film. Granted, most of the humor comes from laughing at Eastwood's blatantly racist comments, but hey, it's definitely better than nothing. I also really liked that this movie seemed quite realistic in the way that Clint Eastwood's character doesn't change into a saint overnight.


2. Wendy and Lucy (Academy, today)
Saw this for $2, and I hate to say it, but I'm kind of glad that's all I paid. I definitely was glad to have seen this film, but, as I was prepared for, nothing really happens. So you kind of just have to sit back and be patient. It kind of feels like you're in the movie with Michelle Williams as she's trying to find her dog, Lucy. But towards the end, I couldn't help sobbing a little. And I did feel like I could relate to Wendy (Williams) a lot, just in the way that single young women can be treated by society (not that we are necessarily wronged, but just that people do sometimes have a certain way of judging us).

GOOD MOVIE!

I just watched In Bruges.  And I really enjoyed it, despite having to leave the room during some of the extra-violent parts.  I suppose I'm becoming a little more accustomed to violence; I've actually been able to admit enjoying, and recommending, some relatively violent movies (The Beat My Heart Skipped, Slumdog Millionaire).

I guess the deciding factor is whether the violence seems gratuitous, and it doesn't in In Bruges. 

I really liked this film because it has a really different mix of genres.  I suppose it's most clearly a "shoot-em-up" hitman flick, but it's also an affecting story about human relationships, and finally, it's really funny, despite its humor being juxtaposed with a fair amount of disturbing death and destruction.  Even the last lines of the film, which should be sad, make you laugh at the same time.  

Colin Farrell does a great job proving again that he actually can act (I've thought he was a solid actor since Phone Booth, but I think a lot of people don't consider him to be a "serious" actor.)  

All in all, I'd definitely enjoy watching this again (now that I know when to avoid all the bloody scenes); I'll just need to watch a cheesy romantic comedy in the meantime.  Or maybe a documentary about musicians and the meaning of classical music.  (Since I think that's what's next on the Netflix queue.  Thanks, Dad.)

Watched Barton Fink yesterday.  I wasn't sure what to expect; all I knew about it beforehand was that it involved a murder.  The film is extremely quiet and tense, and the murder doesn't happen until about halfway through the film, so I couldn't relax at all!  Not my ideal movie-watching experience. 

Nevertheless, I think I enjoyed the film.  Typical Coens brother mix of macabre and funny.  John Turturro does a great job, and John Goodman was pretty good (although he always annoys me a little bit; I can't really explain why).  

The film didn't really make a lot of sense, but for some reason that didn't really bother me.  Perhaps because Wikipedia told me that it's not supposed to.