I am trying to take a little mental holiday in preparation for a season of nuttiness that will probably require me to brush up on more arcane rules of procedure. I went and saw Tron tonight with CG. It’s in 3-D which is pretty cool. The story is okay (picture The Dude as the Creator of the Universe who fucked everything up) but the graphics totally kick-ass. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I have to see True Grit to fully satisfy my Jeff Bridges jones.
There seems to be some decent movies out for a change. I usually see no more than one movie in a theater a year unless I see a bunch at the Philly Film Festival. I just don’t think Hollywood makes good movies anymore. They should go back to the 1970’s and let the lunatics run the movie studios again.
Hollywood makes a few good movies every year, but it is not the only producer of movies. Keep an eye out for independent films like “The Kids Are Alright” or foreign films. Are there any revival movie theaters in your neck of the woods?
Tron: Legacy was MUCH better than I thought it would be. I actually wound up caring about what happened to the main characters. I actually had a story and wasn’t just all about the visuals. The showstopping bar/club scene with Michael Sheen was an instant cinematic classic.
True Grit was incredible and was my 3rd favorite movie of the year behind Inception and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
I hope to see True Grit and The King’s Speech soon. I have heard good things about both films. I also want to see the Black Swan. I saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo late in the year and thought it was one of the best movies ever, but I heard less-than-glowing reviews of the second one and didn’t see it yet.
Politics over the past year especially have been really emotional and while I liked the general outcome of the lame duck session and feel good about the way Obama has come along, I am worried about the next two years. It’s going to be ugly. I think ahead to how the Republicans and Tea Partiers are going to jam up the works regardless of the benefits to the majority of people in this country, simply out of spite, and it makes me queasy.
Enjoyed TRON: Legacy. Watched the original the week before seeing it and thought it was a very good follow up.
I also strongly recommend Black Swan. That will likely get an Oscar nomination for Aronofsky and a win for Natalie Portman. Really all-around strong film.