Oh, and I'm getting rid of the Youtube clips. Seems less cluttered that way.
Film of the Month: Once (2007)
Directed by John Carney.
Starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.
I've expressed my distaste for musicals in this blog multiple times, and yet here I am, picking one as my favorite movie I saw in July (not to mention All That Jazz, a runner up from June). What's going on? Well, there's a few things that this musical does right that almost all musicals manage to screw up. For one thing, the actual songs don't feel forced at all. The main characters are musicians, and the songs they sing in the film are explicitly stated as songs. Yes, they express emotion and depth between the characters, but they're playing music, not just dancing around and singing dramatic lines. Another positive of Once is that the songs are damn good. Those terrible covers in Moulin Rouge and Across the Universe basically ruined both films for me, and even musicals without original stuff tend to suck (see Repo). On the other hand, these songs are powerful and beautiful. As soon as the film ended, I downloaded all the albums by the two main characters (they are actually in a real band called The Swell Season). On top of all this, Once is just a great story. The characters are engaging and real and the plot is touching. I'm probably jumping to rash conclusions, but I'll summarize everything by saying this: Once might be the best musical I've ever seen.
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About a Boy (2002)
Directed by the Weitz brothers.
Starring Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, and Rachel Weisz.
Man, Rachel Weisz is so sexy. I think I have a problem. Anyways, back to the actual movie. About a Boy is surprisingly good. I always kind of looked down on Hugh Grant movies because they are usually chick flicks and teenage boys aren't supposed to like that stuff. However, after seeing this and Four Weddings and a Funeral, I'm starting to doubt my childhood opinion. These movies are genuinely funny and Grant is funny in them.
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Black Death (2011)
Directed by Christopher Smith.
Starring Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, and Carice van Houten.
If you follow my blog (lol) or check my Great Movies list on Facebook, you already know how much I enjoyed this hidden gem. Check out my review if you're interested, and then check out the movie.
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Boys Don't Cry (1999)
Directed by Kimberly Peirce.
Starring Hilary Swank, Chloe Sevigny, and Peter Sarsgaard.
This movie moves a bit slow at times, and apparently some of the facts from the true story are a bit twisted in the movie, but damn that ending was intense. Amazing acting from Swank and Sevigny. This is a fairly graphic movie, so I'll warn you before checking it out about that, but it's also a really great movie that everyone should see.
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Crazy Stupid Love (2011)
Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.
Starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, and Julianne Moore.
I love smart romantic comedies, and Crazy Stupid Love is definitely that. Check out my review to read more about it. Or just watch it. That's a good option too.
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The Darjeeling Limited (2007)
Directed by Wes Anderson.
Starring Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Adrien Brody.
The best word I can think of to describe how I feel about Wes Anderson is weird. Of the four movies of his I've seen, I'd put Darjeeling as my second favorite, behind the flawless Fantastic Mr. Fox, but I enjoy them all. Darjeeling is hilarious and the leading trio work perfectly as brothers. There's also some great camera work. Don't forget to check out Hotel Chevalier, the short film that precedes Darjeeling, when you see this movie. It's an excellent short film.
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The Great Dictator (1940)
Directed by Charlie Chaplin.
Starring Charlie Chaplin and Paulette Goddard.
I'm glad I finally got a chance to check out The Great Dictator. It's a hilarious caricature of Hitler, made even funnier by the fact that Chaplin made this in the middle of World War II. The man had balls. The slapstick is great, but what will bring you back is his genius take on the Nazis.
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The Jacket (2005)
Directed by John Maybury.
Starring Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson, and Daniel Craig.
The Rotten Tomatoes synopsis says that The Jacket suffers from "style over substance". That may well be true, but only because The Jacket is very cool. I found the content to be quite interesting and substantial, if a bit creepy. Then again, I love time travel movies, so there's that.
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Other (Good) Films From July
Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
Hamlet (1948)
Piranha (2010)
Quills (2000)
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