Movie Minute

Well Christmas is finally over and what a merry one it was! If you notice, I did the thing that I hate and didn't blog over the last few days. Do as I say, not do as I do ok!

I've seen loads of movies and I was really pleased with the selection this year. I still have so many to get out to see! I do have a little business to take care of before I tell you about the great films that I had a chance to see so far this holiday season...

First I'd like to start with an open letter to Zoltan Elek who was the makeup artist on Die Hard 4.0.

Dear Zoltan,

While you do have probably the coolest name on the planet, perhaps you might consider an alternate career choice?

When watching Die Hard 4.0 I noticed glaring inconcistencies with the blood and dirt on Bruce Willis' face. Normally, these issues never bother me. However, in this film it happened over and over again in very obvious ways. I'm sure you are great at what you do but I recommend a new assistant or a better method of checking your work! Thanks to you, part of the fun and magic that is Die Hard has died.


Love,

Jen

Ok now that's out of the way, here are some mini reviews of things I've seen in the last week...

No Country for Old Men - The new offering from The Coen Bros is as ambiguous as you would expect, with scenes of terrible beauty and a moral undertone that bites. I really enjoyed this movie more days later when I had time to analyse it. It's not a popcorn flick or one for the faint of heart, but it makes a bold statement on violence in today's society.

4/5 Pensive Stars

Enchanted - Disney making fun of Disney. The blend of live action, 2D and 3D animations are fantastic. The whole story is charming, funny and really works. Great performances all around too. See this if you grew up with Disney.

4/5 Sticky Sweet stars!

National Treasure 2 - Another Disney film, this follow up to the 2004 franchise starter has all the old faves as well as some new faces. It's being slammed by critics who state it's the silliest movie to star 3 Oscar winners. You say silly, I say fun! This wasn't as well crafted as #1, and not quite as entertaining. The middle got a bit confused, and it took a while to really get going. However, it found its charm eventually and soldiered on to a spectacular finish. Stick with this one, the rewards in the end are rich.

3/5 Gold Stars!

PS I Love You - This is based on a lovely little best seller by a new Irish novelist. The story is very cute and I was surprised to see Hillary Swank in this movie...I thought it might be one more suited to someone with less accolades. However, the film is lovely and just your standard romantic fare...though based around mourning and getting over death which is a bit odd and traumatic but slightly enjoyable. So many people hate to talk about death that it was refreshing to see it in this film.

Overall it was quite pleasant to watch with utterly charming performances from 300's Gerard Butler (much less beefy and angry in this film) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (who you ladies might know from Grey's Anatomy) doing his best Irishman impersonation. I don't think this is Swank's genre however, as she struggled with the kissing scenes, appearing wooden and cold when several times the kiss was the whole point of the scene. (Remember old movies where they used to smoosh their faces together and it was still passionate...well Swank did the smooshing with almost no movement and 0 passion) That tended to take me out of the moment, but it's soon forgotten within all the other parts of the story that are far more well done, including cameos by singer-turned-actor Harry Connick Jr and the great Kathy Bates. I was slightly disappointed by PS I Love You but this was still a film I think is worth the price of admission.

3/5 Irish Whiskeys!