Greetings from the Land of Enchantment

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Seen at the Cinema

Fracture

I agree with Stephanie Z. at Salon that Ryan Gosling is the kind of actor we're going to see from now on. So physical but so natural. So completely believeable--without playing himself (not a Robert Redford).

Anthony Hopkins plays his character in the typical inimitible creepy way. For being such a pleasant man in person (from what I read in the magazines), he can really embody the psychopath. Terrifying.

This movie is very well done. Interesting cinematography--I didn't like all of it--but it was interesting. It felt like an old 40s movie--not noir--but the classic murder mystery, plot driven rather than violence driven. It could very easily have been Gregory Peck and Hugh Laurie.

Highly recommend if you're in the mood for something smart--and a refreshing performance from Ryan Gosling. He's an Oscar winner; it's only a matter of time.

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posted by Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa @ 7:34 AM 0 comments

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

seen at the cinema

Dream Girls

Well--for a musical movie it was great. It's worth seeing just for the performance of the newcomer Jennifer Hudson. Her performance is stunning--and not just the song "You're Going to Love Me" but throughout the entire movie.

Eddie Murphy's performance is a little tired. Too much time in body make-up? And Jamie Foxx who I generally love is too tight in this performance. Beyonce who can so easily go over the top, doesn't and it saves the movie really.

All in all, a good time--if not a perfect dream, certainly not a nightmare.

Volver

Almodovar strikes again. In the early 90s I was the consumate Pedro fan and saw everything he did--and then I phased out, can't really remember why. Maybe it was the once too often reference to S&M in his films? Doesn't matter, because he's back to his luminous form with Volver. Funny--shockingly funny, absurd, stunning and of course, knock-out women in red! Penelope Cruz is great! And the rest of the ensemble is perfectly cast as well. Go see this movie!

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posted by Sat Purkh Kaur Khalsa @ 1:07 PM 0 comments