It's been a while since my last entry and therefore I have a wealth of material to write about. Almost too much as I really have no idea where to start. I guess the best place to pick up is after the last movie night.
So, movie night number 4 came around and the movie of choice was Wristcutters, Goran Dukic's 2006 feature debut. I was once again going in blind as I had never heard of the movie. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised.
I wasn't on the edge of my seat, but I bought in enough to stay tuned in. The characters were likeable. The story, once the rules of this world had been set up, was plausible. The desolate world we were immersed in was believable. There were some flaws, but I can easily forgive them as the overall offering was strong enough to make up for the misgivings.
The protagonist was played by Patrick Fugit, who you may recall from the sublime Almost Famous. I couldn't help but imagine this as a continuation of his characters story from that movie. Maybe he never got the dream life he wanted at Rolling Stone and this is how he ended up. Maybe not!
As always, I don't want to give away too much plot so I'll cut here. If you haven't seen it, you should. It's not going to blow you away, but you will get a lot from it. For me, movies tend to fall in to three main catagories(for the most part). They either entertain, educate or challenge. This movie definitely ticks two of the three boxes.
Moving back in time 20 or so years, I also watched Bill Murray's What About Bob. A somewhat throwaway comedy from 1991. Murray plays an obsessive-compulsive pain in the rear, making life difficult for his new shrink played by Richard Dreyfuss. Again, this is something you should check out.
As much as What About Bob is great, I actually wanted to touch more on Murray than this movie specifically. An actor that, if you're anywhere near my age, you've grown up with. Films like Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Scrooged, Caddyshack etc. He always plays the good guy, even if he's a bad guy(if that makes sense). So we like him in movies. A pretty accepted view I feel.
The point I guess I'm getting to is, if we hadn't developed this subconscious trust for Murray, would his character in Lost In Translation, seem like a sleazeball. I mean, ultimately he's a married guy hanging out with a very attractive young woman. I didn't question this the first time I watch the movie. I guess because I know I can trust this guy. After all, he saved us from the Stay Puffed Marshmallow Man didn't he.
Similar thoughts go out to Broken Flowers, where he seemingly plays an ex-womaniser. Surely if this was a generic unknown I wouldn't care for the guy. "It's his own fault he's lonely" I'd say. But Murray brings his likeability and familiarity to the movie. And it works. I care.
I don't think I'm saying anything revolutionary here. I'm certain the respective directors knew he'd bring this to the roles when they cast him. I'm also certain that this same rule applies to many other actors in roles where we shouldn't really like them as much as we do.
Ok, so before I wrap up, just a couple more notes. I tried watching Syriana and couldn't make it though the first 15 minutes. Terrible. I finally watched We Own The Night and enjoyed it much more than I expected to. Especially the opening scene with Eva Mendes(check it out guys).
Another Year is a must see as we all need somebody like Lesley Manville's Mary in our lives, if we don't have one already. Lastly, the 25th hour. A story we're probably more than familiar with but with Ed Norton and Philip Seymour-Hoffman at the helm, it doesn't fail to entertain.
Ciao!
