One of the unintended consequences of my bouncing back and forth from coast to coast in the last two or three weeks, was the opportunity to watch not only more movies, but more bad movies than I have seen in the last two or three years.
And since I had to suffer as a captive audience at 36,000 feet, some of Hollywood’s most banal, most of which I actively avoided first run; it’s only fair that you should suffer with me! Here's a sampling:
Mama Mia: This movie was not released, it escaped! The plot, if you can call it that, is a girl on the verge of her marriage wants to be given away by her father. Only her mother slept with three different men around the time she was conceived and she’s never met him, so she invites all three to the wedding, unbeknownst to her eponymous mother.
The score consists of Abba songs loosely woven into the plot. The deft screenplay goes something like this: Insert Abba song here.
Unless you are a huge Abba fan, lover of musicals and mindless sitcoms (preferably all three) there’s a good chance you will not like this movie. When I saw it, there may have been rumblings to rush the cockpit and take whatever means necessary to make the movie stop. I recommend additional sky marshals if the movie is ever shown on an airplane again.
Journey to the Center of the Earth Brendan Frasier stars as an affable young man who finds love and dinosaurs in the center of the earth. Extreme suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy this movie, so small children and graduates of government schools should enjoy it.
Henry Poole is Here Luke Wilson as an affable young man who finds love and an image of Jesus in the waterstain of the stucco of the house in suburbia where he has come to seek the meaning of life. This is by far and away the best movie of the latest aileron crop of movies. Thought provoking and clever, particularly effective was the director’s use of the invisible wall, as you were treated to the wall’s eye view of the people who came to study the stain.
I remember seeing the trailer for this film, and wasn’t inspired to see it. Sans car crashes and chases, it must have been a challenge to capture its essence in a trailer. They failed.
It starts a little slow, but definitely worth a trip to Blockbusters for a quiet evening in.
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 Since I somehow missed Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1), there may have been some nuance of relationship that I missed. I must say, that this is one of my top ten favorite movies with the word “Sisterhood” in the title!
This is a pleasant little film, heavy on the estrogen. And guys, despite the fact that three of the four major characters are out of the aforementioned pants at any given time, there is no nudity in the film, other than some beefcake provided by a male art model.
Not bad as far as “chick flicks” go
Swing Vote Kevin Costner as an affable apolitical ne’er do well, Bud Johnson, whose single vote will decide the future of the free world. I personally avoided this movie more actively than the rest. However, it was the most surprisingly pleasant. Based on a highly improbable circumstance where the aborted (no pun intended) vote of one man will determine the outcome of the US Presidential election, Swing Vote has a charming cast of characters, starting with Bud’s 12 yr. old daughter Molly, played by Madeline Carroll.
The movie skewers politicians who will do anything to get elected and the news media who would do anything to garner ratings and get a story. Throw in a little morality play of an apathetic voter and you have a pleasant evening’s entertainment!
Well, that’s all for now. Rent the DVD’s at your pleasure or peril, but don’t say you weren’t warned! Heh.
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