Movies August-September 2009

Five Deadly Venoms
I came to this movie out of duty, because it is a "classic" of Asian cinema in America. But then I liked it. The dubbing was awful, but beyond that, the movie is lean and low. It starts fast, and gets where it's going. The who's who plot is so ambitious, I didn't expect the movie to follow through on it like they could have -- it just would have been wildly confusing. But because of that, the gears of the story were in the open. There's no character development or storytelling filigree to distract from how things go down. A major character dies, and you keep on rolling. Superb.

Knocked Up
I didn't find the main story here terribly enjoyable or believable. The performances that stay with me are Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann. Their relationship and interactions and thought processes are fascinating. They're not a great couple.

You know these people? They don't work well together. Their habits and tendencies and preferences fight on a fundamental level -- they drive each other crazy. But they're still hanging in as a couple. They're holding it together through main strength. Fantastic depiction of that dynamic.

Like Pineapple Express, I listened to the commentary track hoping for creative insights, and the string of anecdotes that Apatow and Rogen deliver disappoints a little. But the more I think about it, the more instructive it becomes. It's not class. The learning is between the lines.

30 Rock, season 1, disc 3
Slightly less funny? But only slightly. I feel bad for Liz Lemon that her boyfriend moved away. The commentaries were awful. One person, alone, who basically just watched the episode, laughed sometimes, and complimented every new actor that appeared on screen.

3:10 to Yuma
This was a fine western, and a fine movie. Great characterization. S'funny that the two lead actors in this story set in the American West were British- and New Zealand-born. Also, Ben Foster did a bang-up job as Charlie Prince. I want to see more of him now.

Kung Fu Panda
Sometimes I'm torn, because if I had one really good character, and I made scads of money playing that one good character very well, I would consider it a blessing and a virtue. But When Jack Black does it, it seems boring and lazy.

Miss Potter
Here's what I found most interesting about this movie about Beatrix Potter. There was very little resistance in the main character's arc, and what little came about was mostly solved by other characters. She didn't have an arc, she had a long line, and then a violent bend about 3/4 of the way through the movie. Beatrix Potter in this story was a prettified cipher, and talking to her animated paintings made her appear to the viewer as psychotic rather than charmingly imaginative. Maybe I'm being too harsh? If you're reading these words, I haven't changed my mind yet. The animation was lovely, however. Wish there'd been more of that!

Heroes of the East
Another Shaw Bros. martial arts movie, and another fun kung fu story. More please!