Catching Up.

Trying to do a better job with recording my movie viewings. I'm drunk right now, so I'll keep it quick.

Changeling (2008)- Proof that Angelina Jolie is the most stunning actress in American cinema. She's not just beautiful, she can back it up. Christine Collins was a real human being, and I accredit Eastwood for entrusting Jolie to bring that to the screen. Despite this, the movie is grim, grim, grim. It's not totally a noir, but the anxiety and distrust is there. The interesting thing about the movie is that its hero is a woman, and we support her from beginning to end. Dark stuff forming the modern times of America. Somber soundtrack, somber visuals.

Doubt (2008) - Here's a movie that seeks strictly to test you and conflict everything. For that, I can only give the movie credit for making those risks. It doesn't try to make a message; instead, it hints at a message, and then throws it up in the air just to piss you off. Say what you will, but I think the great movies always raise more questions than propose answers. The performances are the most memorable part ( the scenery is rather dreary), and I think Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman run away with it. I have a crush on Amy Adams at this point.

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1973)- Unsure of what to make of this one, to be honest. THe movie is competent, and there are some memorable moments, but there's not feeling of satisfaction or enjoyment or anything during this movie. It's almost painful, I think, to see a man get so obsessed with the man who slept with his lover that he takes him along for the inevitable demise. Explain why he wipes out other couples at least 3 times on 3 separate occasions. There's something going on with how the main character feels about relationships and jealousy. The movie deserves another watching, but I'm not sure if I feel like sitting through it again.

Wild at Heart (1990)- This movie has potential, and it knows it. Imagine the Wizard of Oz transcribed into an apocalyptic Beat America, and you have David Lynch's road movie. The movie is very good, but Lynch has a way of trying our patience to the max. The movie just feels too long, like he had a bunch of interesting ideas and ran with it. Nicolas Cage is great, and so is Willem Defoe as a creepy backwoods criminal. I always appreciate a movie where a bunch of artists do favors in order to collaborate with someone they admire. I saw John Lurie, Isabella Rosselini, and others rampaging across this bizarre American wasteland.