I’ll admit, over the past few days I’ve gotten into a groove of watching quite a few movies. Whether it’s the poor weather making it harder to do stuff outside, lack of a computer for a couple of days, or simply the way summer is, I’ve seen five movies over the past four days. Here’s a quick summary of the last five movies I’ve seen and my own rating (on a 100 point scale).
Batman Begins: I didn’t have any expectations going in to this movie. I’d heard from friends that critics “liked it” and that it should be good. Having never seen any of the other Batman movies (at least that I can remember), I thought this would be an appropriate time to start enjoying the series and see the movie that explains his beginnings. Yet another prequel, if you will. I was pleasantly surprised, as after the just over two hour movie ended, I felt fulfilled, entertained, and left with a general good overall feeling, exactly what a superhero movie should leave you feeling like. The acting was good, the dialogue decent, and the fight scenes, settings, and choreography well done. If you’re looking for an afternoon movie to pass your time with no other benefit other than entertainment, it’s worth watching this movie. Grade: 89.
Gunner Palace: On the urging from John, we decided to go see this movie with Greg at the Munson Williams. The only thing I knew about the movie was that it was about Iraq and that it was a documentary. The movie lasted about 90 minutes and was a documentary on the 2/3 Field Artillery that lived and worked out of one of Saddam’s palaces. It detailed some of their missions and way of life, and generally speaking, was a view of a soldier’s life in Iraq. I don’t know how I feel about this movie. At times, I was angry at the way our troops acted. Other times I was angry about the whole war. In other cases, I was angry about the lack of a desire for peace by Iraq’s own citizens. In the end, the movie brought me through many emotions and I left feeling displeased with the knowledge that I lacked the know-how, power, or perhaps even resolve to accomplish something meaningful in this situation. I’d urge anyone to go see the movie, if only to feel the same way and perhaps feel empowered to do something. Grade: 91.
The Aviator: Directed by Martin Scorsese, the movies details the life of Howard Hughes and his eccentricities. The movie is long, over two and half hours, and is quite in-depth. It actually took me three sittings to finish the movie. I was left feeling fulfilled but wasn’t entirely sure why I had watched it. If you’re interested in the history of airplanes, I could see it being an exciting movie, but otherwise, it’s just a time filler. Also, I wasn’t too thrilled with the way Scorsese played with the colors while filmining the beginning part. Grade: 76.
Mean Creek: Based in a small Oregon town, this movie depicts a small town bully and his victim. Sam, the victim, tells his older brother about the bully and the movie shows how Sam’s brother and his friends plan to get back at the bully by inviting him over for a boat trip. However, over the course of their planned trip, all but one of the characters begins to feel sorry for the bully and they decided not to take any action. Unfortunately, as can be expected, something goes wrong and the group are left dealing with the consequences. The movie was very good. Sad, but enjoyable. I’d recommend seeing this movie. Grade: 92.
Primer: I wrote about this movie in my previous post so I won’t go on about it here, except for giving it an overall score. Grade: 87.
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