Movie: Duplicity

Duplicity could have been a good if it had been edited correctly.  It took a good 30 minutes into the film to figure out what was going on.  Even then it didn't make a lot of sense.  What's more Julia Roberts looked terrible.  It was hard to believe that guy would be interested in her because she was kind of a bitch and she looked kind of dumpy.  To put it kindly, Ms. Roberts is not aging well...but then, who -- besides Betty White -- is?

As usual, if my partner doesn't like a movie, he goes into the other room and plays on the computer.  But I have this anal obligation to see the whole thing through and watch it to the end, that is if I stay awake.  This movie required so much brain work to follow what was going on, I did indeed stay awake.  But, like bad sex, went to bed disappointed, which happens a lot, unfortunately.

Movies that Inspire

There has been only one thing getting in the way of following my dream to be a stand-up comic -- I'm not funny.

But I saw the Southern Belles of Comedy and realized I can do that too:  stand up on stage and say a bunch of stuff that just isn't funny.  Even with Brett Butler, there were very few laughs.  It bored my partner so much he walked away; but as I solemnly watched each pitiful joke I was inspired to follow my dream, and maybe I too can stand up on stage under the scrutiny of bright lights and cameras only to bomb.

Then there's been this other dream of mine to become a filmmaker, and I saw the documentary Objectified which could better used as a cure for insomnia -- but it inspired me too.  In my dreams I make a really great film, but in real life I can't live up to my own standards of perfection.  Objectified showed me (and anyone else who might happen to watch it) that it might be okay to make a really long, boring and pointless documentary -- also to purchase things that are functionally and artistically designed.

Movie: Midnight Express

Midnight Express is a classic and a reminder for Americans to be careful when they're smuggling drugs out of foreign countries like, hmmm, let's say Turkey.  Maybe Turkish justice has improved since the 70's or perhaps this is just one example why that country is not being welcomed into the European Union.

I had actually seen this movie many years ago and forgot almost everything about it.  When you've totally forgotten a movie, you can see it again be surprised, shocked and horrified all over again.  The only thing I remembered about the film was when the girlfriend visits him in prison and showed her boobs.  Those boobs stuck with me all these years.  Instead of full, round breasts, hers were kind of cylinder and she had great big monstrous nipples -- nightmarish tits.  When the scene came and she was exposing her tits, I said:  I remember this!  And then I made a disparaging remark about her breasts.
My boyfriend said, with his tongue hanging out:  Her boobs are fine.
Then I said something like:  Yeah, her boobs could look like a cow's udder and you'd be fine with that.
Then he said:  That could be interesting.
And then we shut up and watched the rest of the movie.

Movie: Inglourious Basterds

When trying to think of something to say about the movie Inglourious Basterds, the phrase: worst movie of the year comes to mind.  Chapter 1, is quite good and lulls you into thinking the rest of the movie will only get better.  Quite the deception.  After watching the film for over an hour, I wondered when and if it would ever end, looked on the Netflix cover to find it was a two and half hour movie.  In my opinion the movie was two hours and fifteen minutes too long.

One scene was so long and tedious I fast forwarded.  Since most of the movie  has sub-titles and I am a fast reader, I was able to fast forward until the end, then put it on regular speed and finished it off before midnight.

In the movie, Brad Pitt played himself as a doofus.  Whenever I see Brad Pitt in a movie or on a tabloid, I always ask myself this question:  How is this guy supposed to be God's gift to women and what does Angelina Jolie see in him?  Okay,  2 questions.  AJ was married to the multi-talented and handsome Billy  Bob Thornton, and then she settles for a doofus.  I do not get it.  But then I don't go for pretty boys.  I go for really, really smart guys.   When I hear a guy talking about his 2 PhD's and work as a nuclear physicist, whew, I'm hot.  I don't care if he has beady eyes and pop bottle glasses, umm, baby.

Movies: "Babel" and "11:14

Excellent movie centering around a rifle.  Different vignettes of people's lives who owned or used it.

Good movies need to be discussed and Babel left me with a major question.  When the father comes home and sees his daughter standing naked on the balcony -- and he knows a man just left the apartment -- the father comes up and they share a tender moment.  Deaf or not, if my father witnessed this, I would have heard:  Get your clothes on!  There would be no hugs, and definitely no understanding.  So what was going on here?  Is there a cultural different I don't understand, was it symbolic of her exposing her entire self to him, or was there some kind of incestuous relationship between them?

The movie 11:14 is similar to Babel -- and why did they title that movie Babel?  The only Babel I know about is the Biblical tower of Babel?  Was it because so many different languages were spoken in the film?

Oh, 11:14 is similar to Babel but it has several vignettes centering around an accident that happened exactly at 11:14.  It is not as good as Babel, but well worth watching if you like vignette-types of movies.  You have to watch these kind of movies more carefully and think a little bit -- that is if they are well done.  Again, maybe I missed something, but what in the world was that girl going to do with that bowling ball?  Did not get that at all!