Quick Takes

I have been to several movies in the past month, but I rarely have time to blog about them these days. (I read books, too, but hardly anyone else these days seems to care about that activity. Try talking to someone outside of an English department about a book you recently read and see what happens to you.) In the interest of sharing, here are some random thoughts on recent films.

I really enjoyed Easy Virtue. It's better than the reviews it received. Jessica Biel plays an American race car driver who falls in love with and quickly marries the son of an aristocratic English family (of course, that phrase could be redundant for the movies). The family, headed by that always reliable charmer Colin Firth and the witheringly funny Kristin Scott Thomas, seems to be rather traditional and conservative, at least if Scott Thomas' Mrs. Whittaker is any example. The movie is based upon the Noel Coward play, and I love his ear for dialogue. There are some great moments of slapstick here, and several scenes where characters analyze each other with scalpel sharp tongues--witty stuff. I'd also like to praise the music, all done in the style of the 1920s and 1930s, including a musical hall version of the 1976 classic "Car Wash." I downloaded the songs as soon as I got home from the theater.

The Hangover has gotten a lot of press this summer, and frankly, I was a bit underwhelmed by it. Yes, it's pretty funny, but that's mostly because of the situation, not because of, say, the actual dialogue, which is rather cliched. It's just a "bad trip to Vegas" movie with a veneer of cleverness over it. I did like the performances by Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis seems like he's in another movie altogether, which really works here, oddly enough. Any movie that manages to get mileage out of a cameo from Mike Tyson can't be all bad, but can we please stop with the "fag jokes" already? I'm so bored with having comedies, in particular, resort to using such stupid humor.

My Life in Ruins stars Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame. Here she's a former university professor reduced to giving tours of the Greek islands. Of course, most of the people who wind up on her bus are what they used to call "ugly Americans," and they fit every stereotype you could imagine for tourists. I will admit to being temporarily intrigued by the fellow who's an IHOP manager, but then he started talking about syrup and lost me. The real reason to see this movie--other than a few fun moments with Richard Dreyfus--is Vardalos' co-star, Alexis Georgoulis, whose character is the sadly named Poupi Kakas. He starts out as the scary looking bus driver and turns into the hot Greek stud by movie's end. Hey, at least, you'll have something to look at besides ruins. It's all a cliche, frankly, but Nia and Alexis actually made an appearance at the screening I attended to answer questions and promote the film, so I'm willing to forgive them this time. It's all relatively harmless fun, and the scenery (of all kinds) is quite beautiful.

Sex Positive is a documentary about one of the three men credited with creating the concept of safe sex. His name is Richard Berkowitz, and he's an intriguing central figure. He isn't an easy interview by any means, and he's always changing his mind about comments that he has made. He's sometimes brazen about his past, and at other times, he doesn't really want to talk about some of the things he's done. The other people who are interviewed seem to appreciate and accept just how difficult Berkowitz and his colleagues, Michael Callen and Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, had it when they tried to convince gay men in the 1980s to try, for example, using condoms. This is a significant historical document of a specific time in our history, one that is not frequently discussed for any number of reasons.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is one of the most unnecessary movies released this year. It's a remake of a 1974 film which was perfectly fine as it was. There was no real need to make a new version of this film because none of the updates to the story really contribute to its being more interesting. The lead performance by Denzel Washington is good, but the other lead actor, John Travolta, is in fun "ham" mode in this one. I could never quite figure out why his character looks the way he does: the haircut, the tattoos, everything. I kept thinking it was supposed to be some kind of ethnic representation, but the film takes you off that path pretty quickly. Rent the original instead. You'll have a better time.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is truly a silly movie. I suppose it could serve as the perfect example of a popcorn movie, no substance, all style, just like everything director Michael Bay does. The explosions were frequent but not too loud, thankfully. Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox are fine if a bit bland as the "heroes," but I'd rather watch sidekick Ramon Rodriguez. He's at least interesting. I have never seen all of the first Transformers movie, and I wasn't a fan of the TV show either. I don't even know when the show as on the air. Still, if a friend invites you and you want to get out of the house for a few hours, I suppose this is harmless enough. After the show, I overheard a young boy say it was "the awesomest movie ever." I'm glad he had a good time, but it does make me wonder about the future of America if he's any example. And I still want to know how the robots can be almost five times as large as the cars or trucks from which they transform. Yes, I know I'm not supposed to puzzle over questions like that in a movie like this.