my take on a couple movies we recently watched

The Sentinel

After months of just watching movies on DVD, Ryan and I decided to have a theater-movie-date-night yesterday. There were four picks - Inside Man, Thank You for Smoking, Lucky Number Slevin & The Sentinel; and I'd wanted to watch Lucky Number Slevin but gave in to Ryan's choice - The Sentinel. It's an action packed movie that starts off as a complex mystery, but devolves into an implausible chase movie leaving us wondering why the plotters are trying to kill the President. A thriller that begins well but middles and ends less well. The Sentinel is not half bad, but it's not nearly as good as it could have been. I guess I should have convinced Ryan harder for my movie choice!

Hostel

It's a nasty piece of work, and work it does. It is a small classic of its awful kind! The plot is simple (or as much of it as I can tell you without ruining any surprises); attractive young people on a mission to have as much fun - and as much sex - as possible, they move from nightclub to brothel to hostel and back again, surrounded by the most beautiful women they've ever seen. What unfolds in the film's later moments is both shocking and provocative (I don't want to say what happens, but it does involve a table full of sharp, rusty instruments and power tools), although most of the violence is actually off screen. There isn't really much suspense or scariness in this film, but it is seriously nightmarish because it is more artfully horrific than the usual gore flick that I enjoy watching! This is an intense, adults-only movie that's disturbing to watch. But if you are a fan of true horror, it's definitely a trip you'll want to take. Even if this type of entertainment doesn't entertain you, you have to admit, it's pretty slickly done!

In Her Shoes

"I carry your heart with me (I carry it in my heart) I am never without it (anywhere I go you go, my dear..."

It's totally a chick flick - the good kind of chick flick, about real women with real problems that other real women can identify with! In Her Shoes" is a surprisingly refreshing, emotionally focused story of two sisters who share nothing in common - other than the same shoe size - but who ultimately learn the value of family and come to understand the special bonds of sisterhood. The plot concerns serious sibling rivalry, mental illness, old people, and good poetry. Though it runs on a bit long and has the occasional lapse of credibility, this is a must-see for anyone who's ever been part of any family and recognizes the unique, complex, often inexplicable bonds that hold it together. The movie had me laughing and crying at about the same time!

Brokeback Mountain

Based on Annie Proulx short story, Brokeback Mountain is about two young cowboys meeting on the job and, amid a great deal of confusion and denial, as well as many passionate declarations of their undeniable heterosexuality, fall in love, then drift apart and start other lives, and finally they come back together and share their closeted passions. I had heard that the movie is long, depressing and difficult to watch, but I wanted to see it. Indeed...it is truly a haunting and complex story that explores the strength and fragility of love and it is told so masterfully, and the emotions evoked so completely, that I'm more overcome by what a good film it is than by how "sad" certain elements of it might be. Plus, there's that final scene, which is so sweet and disarmingly tender...love does indeed conquer all!