May 20, 2007

Snap Judgements

As I've been thinking about doing reviews of the Netflix movies we've been renting, I was trying to decide the best way to talk about them here. Sure, I'd love to write a nice comprehensive review of each one. But at the rate we're watching them (2 or 3 a week)...well, I DO have a day job.

So I hit upon my new plan. Ladies and gentlemen, I present my newest feature - The 25 Words Or Less Video Review! Don't believe I can do it? Count 'em! I guarantee that each video's review will not be over 25 words long. The first person to catch me going over will receive a special Footnotes prize!

(Editor's note: for the purpose of this challenge, all compound and hyphenated words as well as acronyms will be treated as single words. Titles of the videos themselves will not be counted in the word quota.)

America's Next Top Model: Cycle 1

Humble beginnings. Kimora Lee Simmons was a judge! And OJ had black hair. Kid you not! I knew who won already, but still enjoyed it.

Bad Education

A recent Almodovar film, it lacked the clever punch of Volver. He should stick to women as subject matter.

The Prestige

Way better than The Illusionist! No comparison, really. Hugh Jackman? Always hot. But the ending was a real head-scratcher. ScottE explained it to me.

Wordplay

A documentary on crossword puzzle competitors. Not nearly as much fun as I'd hoped. But the Indigo Girls are in it!

Latter Days

Proof that most gay films suck (in a bad way). Also proof that MTV should not make films.

Queens (Reinas)

A surprisingly witty Spanish movie about the first gay couples to wed. But the humor is all about the parents. You think YOURS are bad?

Margaret Cho: Assassin

Margaret will always be a laugh riot. This show isn't her best, but still offers some hilarious frank observations. Barbara Bush - ouch!

Grand Ecole

Even French gay films mostly suck.

Spellbound

A documentary on the National Spelling Bee. Again - not as engrossing as I expected. But the Bee itself is still a wonder.

Strangers on a Train

A Hitchcock classic with a gay undertone. Not his best. And I will never look at a carousel the same way again.

Quinceanera

One pregnant teen, one eccentric uncle and one gay gang member find a home with each other. Not a bad film, but not great.

Sherrybaby

Maggie Gyllenhaal is an ex-con and ex-addict. Her performance is great, but the film goes nowhere.

The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie

Worth seeing at least 20 minutes to appreciate Maggie Smith, who won the Oscar. The plot doesn't matter all that much.

Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries

Joyous recommended this, and I really liked it. Proof that war really is hell. It's not really sci-fi geeky. Now I'm renting season one!

Well that's the list so far. Stay tuned!

5 comments:

Stef said...

I like the new format! :-)

Yeah, I thought The Prestige was about 10 times better than The Illusionist. I really liked the ending... but hey, I thought I at least *helped* explain it to you in the car! ;-)

And let me add a shout-out to Joyous - I also just rented the Battlestar Galactica miniseries and it was really good! As soon as I finish the 3rd season of Rescue Me (which comes out next week -- sigh, for my Denis Leary obsession) I will attack the whole first season and try to learn who's an evil Cylon!

ScottE. said...

Bad Education: Gael is a cutie!
Prestige: a little mind bender
LatterDays: crap
Queens: FUN
Margaret Cho: FUN
Grand Ecole: Fat Turd!
Spellbound: slow
Quincera: OK
Sherrybaby: Well acted, boring script
BattleStar: Just started watching last night

NEW: THE HISTORY BOYS: not bad, some great moments, Dead Poets Society in the UK.

Anonymous said...

I totally hated The Prestige. I didn't care about any of the characters. Escept Michael Caine. But I always love him.

Not so much on The History Boys, either. I bet it's a great stage play. Cute boys though.

The first season of Battlestar is winging it's way to me as we speak. I'll pass it around as needed. And really it was Terri who recommended it to me. So all hail Terri!

Lady Brandenburg said...

Love the 25 word reviews. I would add my own reviews of Dreamgirls and Notes on a Scandal, which we watched recently, but you'd hate me forever. Friends can't always agree on movies!

Someday maybe someone will explain the end of the Prestige to me. Although now I watched it so long ago, I'm not sure I even remember the ending... just remembered that I said "huh? Wait... oh! But wait... huh?"

DC Food Blog said...

The first two seasons (or cycles) of Top Model were magic. I loved Elyse and her college edumacation. Even more, I loved the dynamic between Beau Quillian, Kimora Lee Simmons, and Janice Dickinson.