Turn Me On, Dammit!

This film from Norway was not what I expected, in a "why is this so boring" sort of way.  How they managed to turn the premise of this racy indie-like film into something I had to physically hold my eyelids open for is beyond me.  I am struggling at the moment to find something redeeming to say... the actors tried really hard and the shots were borderline beautiful.  Oh, and it had a honest heartfelt message it was trying to get across.

The Switch

Yes, going along with my blog credo I admit to watching this movie.  My excuse is Jason Bateman, I really quite enjoy his sarcasm and witty humor.  But I know I know, that is really no excuse at all to subject oneself to such a terrible romcom, and I know that now.  I have learned my lesson - do not follow me following Bateman off the deep end.  Sometimes you just have to say no.

Looper

I really enjoyed this movie.  Any movie that is so entertaining it distracts me from what should be a relatively predictable end scores high in my book.  Throughout the movie there was a sense of "how is this going to resolve itself" which pushed the pace forward keeping the film moving.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt has been around since the early 90s, but it was not until recently that it seems his movie career has really taken off, and I think he has certainly risen to the occasion.  Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels and Bruce Willis were also pretty good, but the star was the little boy, five-year-old Pierce Gagnon.  This kid was extraordinary.

Anyway, fun times.  You should watch this movie.  Just don't think too hard about the time travel stuff. That always makes my head hurt...

Matador

Normally I am a fan of Pedro Almodovar's unique take in his films, but this one from 1986 was difficult to decipher... some parts were so ridiculous I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be some sort of joke!  Do I read it on the surface and make excuses like "oh, it's a foreign film" or "oh, it's just super dated" or do I attempt to give Almodovar the benefit of the doubt and assume he is making a deeper comment on the flaws in our society?  hmmm...

A film he did a few years later in 1990 - Tie Me Up!  Tie Me Down! (also starring Antonio Banderas) - was very similar to this one; a bit jumpy and disconnected, and thoroughly sexual.  In my opinion his most outstanding work was one of his recent films, the 2011 The Skin I Live In, which had similar themes and the same leading man, and is a fine example of the evolution of a talented director.