Snapshots

Brief comments on film by Amy.
Some old, some new.  Domestic films and foreign too.

Maybe it’s the spring time sunshine, but I am pleased to present an almost entirely positive set of reviews to you this month. I have more negative things to say about the previews shown beforehand than the films themselves. What’s up with showing Footloose previews before Hugo, Mr. Movie-Preview-Approval Dude?!?

Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows — I am not much one for action-adventure films but the older boys have been bugging me to see this sequel since Christmas Day, when they returned from the theater with their dad. So over Spring Break, we lucked and found a discount theater that was showing it. Of course, one of my boys (Sam) decided he didn’t need to actually accompany me to the movie and went with his friends to see So We Bought a Zoo. Bailey went with me, but I am pretty sure that was because I almost cried. But I digress. Saw the movie, found it very entertaining. Definitely worthy of a discount theater viewing. As a side note, I may have mentioned before a Sherlock Holmes mystery series by Laurie R. King. Also very entertaining. A good beach read if you are in the market for one.

Hugo — I fear my experience of this one was a bit diminished by the fact that the kids watched it…twice, before I got a chance. So I had picked up bits and pieces while straightening the living room and emptying the dishwasher. Still, it was a beautiful film. Pure and beautiful.

The Hunger Games — So we have been waiting for this film…f..o..r..e..v..e..r! We have been making do by watching the trailers over and over. Jim even read the book in a day and half in order to go with the older boys and I to the theater. (That’s the Spiegel, or more to the point Mom Spiegel, rule—you don’t get to see the movie unless you have read the book first.) When people asked me if I liked the film, I kept saying “If you liked the book, you will like the film.” This maybe isn’t the ringing endorsement it might seem. The movie is good but it is regrettable when filmmakers cower so to book fans that they compromise the movie in order to stick with the book. Learn from Harry Potter and make a good movie that stands on its own. If you do, it will endless loop back and forth as fans of the movie are then drawn to the book and then to the movie, etc.

Crazy, Stupid, Love — Hated it and don’t really have much to say beyond that. I went in loving Steve Carell and still do, but hate, hate, hate it when as my friend said “There is a complete lack of character consistency.”

Honorable and Not So Honorable Mentions — Moneyball: Enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but what is going on with Brad Pitt’s face?  Downton Abbey: Season 2: The writers scared me a bit midway through the season but they pulled it off in the end. Jim is still desperately awaiting its arrival on Netflix. I told him PBS was pulling it off their website, but did he listen?  Pillars of the Earth: Fascinating history lesson but I could have done with so much cleavage. Somehow it takes away from the horror of the raping and pillaging when all those being raped and pillaged are suspiciously attractive. Awake and Up All Night: These are my two new favorite shows. One leaves my mind teetering on the brink of confusion, the other makes me laugh so hard I pee my pants. It’s a messy but satisfying combo.