Movies

Another film I watched on the flight from Detroit to Amsterdam was All the King's Men (2006,PG-13) (ScreenIt! Review). From the Wikipedia entry:

All the King's Men (2006) is an adaptation of the 1946 Pulitzer Prize winning novel All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, which was already made as a movie by Robert Rossen in 1949...The film is about the life of Willie Stark, played by Sean Penn, a fictional character resembling Louisiana governor Huey Long.

It was OK. Nothing special. I give it 3 out of 5.

On the flight from Detroit to Amsterdam a couple weeks back, one of the films I watched was The Last Kiss (2006,R) (ScreenIt! Review). From the Wikipedia description:

The Last Kiss is a 2006 film which is based on the 2001 Italian film L'ultimo bacio, directed by Gabriele Muccino. The film stars Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, Casey Affleck and Rachel Bilson. The screenplay was written by Paul Haggis, and directed by Tony Goldwyn. The plot revolves around a young couple and their friends struggling with adulthood and issues of relationships and commitment. Much of the movie was filmed in and around Madison, WI.

I enjoyed it. Somehow it reminds me of films like All the Real Girls...budding relationships, issues of fidelity and infidelity, etc. Somehow films like that resonate with me. I give it 4 out of 5.

This past weekend I watched Alexandra Pelosi's documentary "Friends of God" (wikipedia entry) on HBO. Though perhaps not openly ridiculing its subject, the film did seem to be a road-trip tour of the freakish elements of evangelical America with little or no reference to its mainstream. For what it is, it was enjoyable. Two segments stick out in my memory. First, the "Christian" professional wrestling. I had heard of this before, but its absurdity was crystal clear upon seeing it on film (which raises the question, shouldn't it have been just as obvious before? Yes, admittedly it should have). Secondly, at one point Ted Haggard (who has a prominent role in the film) is talking with a couple of his church members who brag that their wives, ahem, achieve full satisfaction every time they are intimate. Off camera, you hear the filmmaker say something like: "I've got to go to this church!" I give it four out of five.

• Forgotten Genius, PBS, Tue 8 PM
• They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, TCM, Tue 11 PM
• Futurecar, Discovery ,Wed 8 PM
• The List of Adrian Messenger, Sundance, Sun noon

Tonight we watched Metroland (1997,R). It stars Christian Bale and Emily Watson. The soundtrack by Mark Knopfler wasn't an asset in my opinion. From the synopsis on reel.com:

A man mired in a suburban 9-to-5 existence recalls with frustration the bohemian party life he lived in Paris a decade earlier.

I thought it was OK. I couldn't help picturing each of the characters in other roles they've played...not a good sign. I give it 3 out of 5.