So driving through town yesterday was a pain in the rear, courtesy of the Scream 4 production rolling to shoot some scenes. The bad news is that I missed Alison Brie. Le Sigh. About a week ago I noticed workmen constructing the most ghetto addition to one of the restaurants in town. In the parking lot next to the restaurant they were building a wood frame, but they were putting it atop the concret of the parking lot. Any layman will tell you that’s all sorts of crazy. Well, turns out it was for the police station in the movie, or at least, the external shot of it.
Also, slow on updating this month. It’s crunch time at work. Going on my 10th straight day at the office. Argh.
Goonies never say die, right? It’s official: This town is cool. Well, any town that will show The Goonies, in a theater, during the 25th anniversary year is officially awesome.
Also, pic taken with iPhone 4. Compare and contrast to The Very Last iPhone 3G Photo I’ll Ever Take. Definitely sharper.
I feel like I need to give this movie a do-over because I fell alseep about 2/3 of the way in. It was actually engaging me, but the problem was that I’m still exhausted from my whirlwind trip to Michigan (see the following post) and the combination of the dark theater room combined with a lot of dark scenes just killed me. Still, I remember enough to know that this quirky movie is definitely not for everybody. The humor is hit and miss, not to mention very subtle at times. “Inspired by a true story,” it says at the beginning, it’s difficult to make out just how much of this is for real and how much is fantasy. I have no doubt the military must have blown some cash in the 80s on trying to develop paranormal warfare, but the truth is probably weirder than we can imagine. It did feel awfully weird that this movie begins in Ann Arbor, where I just was on Friday. It’s a sign.
Saw this Friday night and it’s a fantastic movie about a young British schoolgirl who gets caught up in a whirlwind affair with a much older man. Sounds kinky, yes, but it’s fascinating watching Jenny (an outstanding Carey Mulligan) wrestle with the temptations of a easy life, especially when compared to the day-to-day drudgery of school and family. Mulligan is a revelation, and it’s clear as to why she’s a favorite going into the awards season. The rest of the cast is spot on, including Alfred Molina, Olivia Williams, and Peter Sarsgaard as the older man. The movie portrays 1960s London effortlessly, and its Paris sequence is like a love letter to France. A definite recommendation.
I haven’t ventured to the theaters in more than a month, such is the sad state of late summer fare. But Zombieland got me to commit, and I’m glad I did. What a joy of a movie; not a farce, but more of a smart, witty satire about being a handful of badasses in a world overrun by zombies. I’m glad I’m on my exercise regimen because I clearly intend to follow the movie’s first rule: cardio. You’ve got to maintain a good pace to keep ahead of the zombie horde. I’m already up to speed on the second rule: double tap. I always pull the trigger twice on someone.
There’s some brilliant lines going back and forth in this movie, as well as a willingness to embrace the R rating to deliver characters that talk like how real people would probably talk like if being assaulted by a zombie apocalypse. Well, incredibly pop-literate people, but I think that’s why it’s so much fun. The zombies will kill off all the dumb ones; the ones who know how to survive are smart enough to enjoy great conversation.