DVD Reviews4: July - August

Bubba Ho-Tep - nobody
Crap - Ok. I thought it might be good. I was wrong. It was distinctly as average as a movie about a fat man in a retirement village could be... It was no Shaun of the Dead. I gave it a chance, and i'll never get those hours back. Nice atmosphere but not for an hour + 1.5 stars

The Motorcycle Diaries - Gael Garcia Bernal, Walter Salles [D]
Drama, Historical journey - This was a far better movie. Some beautiful cinematography of the different landscapes of the South American continent made a charming backdrop for the main charachters, who are performed admirably and convincingly. A journey that reveals the seed's of inspiration, subtle and honest. This movie could easily have slipped into moments of grandeur but instead shows the passions and ambitions of young men without a path. Curious to see what Salles directs next. 4 stars.

Rushmore - Bill Murray, Wes Anderson [D]
Comedy/Drama - After watching Life Aquatic I was curious to see the back-catalogue of Anderson's films. And Rushmore shows that Life Aquatic was probably always on his mind. It reaches neither as high nor as far as Life Aquatic, but has it's moments. Neither as loud as Life Aquatic, nor as quiet as Royal Tenenbaums which is next on my list. 2.5 stars

I'll Sleep When I'm Dead - Clive Owen, Mike Hodges [D]
Crime, Drama - Good reviews, but not from me. Quiet, overly understated, little context, and it's 'discussion' of the nature of individuals and the struggle to leave or rejoin a lifestyle (which I presume garnered the affectionate reviews) is so far between the lines it's off the page. Oh and I can't stand that woman with the half closed eyes. Old and withered - love interest? WTF?! 1.5 stars

American Splendor - Paul Giamatti, Harvey Pekar
Drama, Comedy, Biopic - Wierd. The true story of a freak, his freak friends, and how he didn't quite make it with his underground comic book about the above. A bizzare script that never takes itself seriously and switches randomly between the actor and the real man. A life - not a story. 2.5 stars

The Girl With The Pearl Earing - Scarlet Johansson, Colin Firth, Peter Webber [D]
Drama, Romance - A beautiful film about an Artist and his Muse in renaissance Holland. Amazing direction and performances guide this film as so much of the drama is unspoken, and is witnessed only through the subtle emotions, and physical inflections the director painstakingly shows us in soft and subtle scenery. Waiting for Webber's next film. 4 stars.

A Very Long Engagement - Audrey Tautou, Jean-Pierre Jeunet [D]
Romance - A pretty film about a fiancee searching for her husband, missing from the first world war. An investigation, with a good performance by Tautou, interspersed with 'Amelie-eque' oddity moments and reminisces of the different charachters she seeks out on her mission. Cameo by Jodie Foster. 3 stars.