Somusing

Yes, I watched the TV show The Incredible Hulk when I was a kid, and I liked it. I didn't have high hopes for the movie, but I was still kinda disappointed. It was great seeing Lou Ferrigno in a cameo, and there was one scene where Bruce Banner is sitting by a tree while the original, melancholy theme song played, which I enjoyed. But seriously, how are we supposed to empathize with a giant, computer-generated Hulk? No thanks. Lou Ferrigno in his green paint and weird contacts was sympathetic, but a big cartoon is not. Edward Norton is a pretty good actor, though. And it was fun to see the Lie to Me guy, Tim Roth, as the bad guy, although his super muscular torso in one scene was obviously make-up.

Here's another movie that got lame reviews that I liked pretty well. Of course, the Wyoming characters were stereotypes, but there was some familiar stuff that made me chuckle. For example, it's true that in small towns, a lot of people work several jobs. Also, it's a nice story about a married couple figuring out how to get past their troubles and mistakes, and for once, the mistakes and troubles seem realistic instead of completely retarded and baffling. I liked it.

Seems like this got generally bad reviews, but I liked it. For one thing, it's almost entirely clean. One point. For another, it's not set in New York City. Two points. Third, it's set somewhere crazy cold just like Teton Valley, Idaho. Three points. It really is different living in a place where snow and ice rule for half the year, and I thought this movie captured it pretty well. Sure, the story was pretty formulaic, but the setting and characters made it fun. (And no, I don't actually have a grand point scheme for movies.)

Ivy told me this was not a good movie, but we watched it anyway. There are some very funny parts. Very funny. The idea of a world where nobody lies is interesting and provides some great humor. But that kind of world would look so much different than the one we know, and how it might be different isn't well-explored. There are a couple of stabs at it, but they don't make any sense to me. (Why would total honesty produce a bunch of people who value genetically ideal mates? Or is it supposed to be our society if suddenly everyone told nothing but the truth? No, that's not it, either.) Anyway, definitely some hilarity, but I'm not sure it's worth the time.

This was not great, but the kids liked it.

It's well worth seeing Inception in a theater, and if there were any IMAX theaters 'round these parts, I'd go see it again in one of those. (Is it worth a trip to Salt Lake, do you think? Hmmm... something to think about.) The cinematography and special effects are gorgeous, and there's a little Fun with M.C. Escher that was delightful. As far as I know, nobody's messed with M.C. Escher in a movie before, but that's only as far as I know, which isn't very far. Also, it's nice to see a movie that makes you think a little.

I have now seen this twice and I really like it. Jon and I saw it first and then I made my three oldest boys (ages 11, 13, and 14) study up on King Richard the Lionheart, King John, and Robin Hood, and then I took them to see it on Monday. It was fun to do some reading in advance of my second viewing. I learned some stuff! Hopefully the boys did, too.

I love the relationship between Robin and Marion. It's sweet and slow, a nice change from the usual Hollywood fare, even though the circumstances created in the script might have justified the usual quick leap into bed. (She's been without her husband for ten years! He's been fighting wars for ten years! And they're supposed to be acting like husband and wife!) Also, I like Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.

and yes, I know which road is paved therewith. But I'm pretty sure failing to act on my good intentions of posting on this blog won't lead there. Anyway...

It's time to play catch up again. So here are a bunch of movies I've seen in the last several months:

White Teeth (2002). This was a British miniseries and was pretty good. Of course, I loved the book, and this couldn't reach the complexity that I loved about that, but it was worth watching. Disclaimer: I'm not advocating that everyone go watch it, though. The book is racy and so is the movie. It's foreign, and not rated like our American stuff. It's not terrible, but there's some stuff in it. Just so you know.

Leon the Pig Farmer (1992). I saw this on Hulu (don't know if it's still there). There's plenty of delightful Jewish humor here (a Jewish man discovers that his real father is a pig farmer, and that's pretty funny), but it's a little slow-moving. It may be that it's just showing its age. Movies were slower way back in the early '90s.

Emma (2009). No, we'll never get tired of film adaptations of Jane Austen's novels. Emma was probably my least favorite novel to read, but this is a nice adaptation. Jonny Lee Miller is Mr. Knightley and I approve. I still get uncomfortable at the idea that the older and wiser Mr. Knightley is raising up his perfect bride by chastising and guiding her, but in principle, I don't necessarily have a problem with that. Also, Emma is annoying! But she was supposed to be. But now I'm writing about the book. She's not that annoying in this PBS mini-series.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010). They changed the story quite a bit for the movie, and I don't know why, but it was a lot of fun. We took the whole family for someone's birthday, and everyone enjoyed it, even Jon.

The Blind Side (2009). Very, very good. A great story and very good acting and I love seeing pictures of the real people at the end of the movie.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009). I wanted to like this, and I guess I didn't hate it while I was actually watching it, but it was weird and kind of irritating. Although I did like Mr. T as the cop ("This contact lens represents you! And my eye represents my eye! I've got my eye on you!"). Oh, but I just looked up that quote and saw some other quotes from the movie and I have to rethink my overall impression. And here it is: the end ruined it. There are some really funny lines in this movie (maybe a little too SNL-esque, but funny), but the end was so dumb. I love the book, by the way!

The Interpreter (2005). It hasn't been that long since we watched this, and I'm struggling to remember details from it. Now I remember, and it was entertaining but not memorable. How 'bout that?

Gentlemen Broncos (2009). Oh my. Oh my. I'm not sure what to say about this latest from Jared and Jerusha Hess, the writers of Napoleon Dynamite (brilliant!) and Nacho Libre (not as brilliant but still pretty funny). Gentlemen Broncos is by turn hilarious, disgusting, insane, brilliant, and offensive. I could probably come up with more adjectives. If you are a reader or watcher of science fiction, you should prolly see it. If you have a sense of humor about it, anyway.

After I got over the initial shock of Wait! You're Messing with Pride and Prejudice!, I loved this British mini-series. I think Jane Austen would love it, too. Mr. Bennet, whose first name turns out to be Claude, has the funniest and best lines, for the most part, but there's a lot of good stuff here. As I mentioned, though, if you're a Pride and Prejudice fan, you must be prepared for irreverence and chaos with beloved characters, but things turn out all right in the end. It's fun and refreshing to have something new happen in the story.

I almost forgot that I saw this movie, but I did and it was even in a theater. And actually, it was rather funny and not your typical romantic comedy. Sandra Bullock is a fine comedic actor. It's not a great movie, but it's entertaining.