Movie Rundown

I suppose, given my Primeval obsession, I haven't been watching as many movies lately. But here is a list of the some of the ones I have seen in the recent past:

1) The Woman in White (1997) - This movie was, naturally, rather abridged from the original Wilkie Collins novel (which, if you haven't read yet, you should look into). But the parts that it did include were done alright. I don't know if I would call it perfect, but it got the main points rights, and the people I watched it with (who were unfamiliar with the story) also enjoyed it.

2) The Devil Wears Prada - I enjoyed Confessions of a Shopaholic, and had heard that these two were similar. But they were much more different than I was expecting. Frankly, this movie bored me. Performances weren't bad and the story wasn't really, either; it just didn't draw me in.

3) Melies the Magician - This was a DVD with a documentary on Georges Melies (whom watchers of Hugo will recognize as a silent movie maker from back when) and many of his short films. I didn't watch all of the documentary, I confess, as I was short on time when I had the DVD. But most of the films were, yes, magical. Amazing, dreamlike, stirring, intriguing, silly, unique, all that sort of thing fits. Melies was able to do things with film that people don't really do anymore . . . yet he influenced things that we do now. Very intriguing to study and to just watch.

4) New Year's Day - Another movie I watched because Andrew-Lee Potts (of Primeval) was in it, I really enjoyed this one. I would equate it in some ways to Remember Me, maybe with a little of The Bumblebee Flies Anyway. Thoughtful and reckless, sad but still funny, completely innocent yet completely not. It's an indie-type movie. It was the way that it balanced opposites and asked questions and threw questions across the room in rebellion jumped summersaults on the line between tragedy and joy that kept me super-focused the whole time. Not a movie I would re-watch every day, but one I'm really glad I saw.

5) The Help - Although this one had such good reception, I didn't like it terribly. But let me be clear: I don't think it wasn't a good movie. It just didn't interest me much personally. Was the plot too non-relatable for me? Was it the style? I'm not sure. All the same, it was a good period piece with a good message and good characters. Just not for me.

6) Julie & Julia - I enjoyed this movie. The foodie-ness about it was cool since I have my own slight foodie side (in terms of chocolate, that is--check out Chocablog to see my chocolate reviews). I liked the combination of delirium and sophistication, the life analysis and the life enjoyment.

7) Rango - I wanted to like this movie since it's animation with desert animals. What's more cute to a proud Arizonan? But it was only so-so. It had a little experimentation, which was nice to see in an animated movie. But overall, it felt like just a basic plot. Nothing stood out to the point of endearment.