At the Movies

I just saw 17 Again. I know, you would never expect me to see that. I was dragged along by my friend Ellen. What I said to her when the movie was over was, "It was cute, I laughed, and I'll never see it ever again." Oh and, "Let's make sure this is the last movie in which Michelle Trachtenberg plays a high school teenager." Most of the funniest parts were in the trailer, aside from the screwball romance between the principal (Jan from The Office) and Ned, who is Mike's (Matt Perry/Zac Efron) best friend. Efron gave a solid performance, and has really found his niche as a dancing basketball player--alas he did not sing. And Perry hardly had any screen time at all, which was a shame. Anyway, it wasn't horrible, in fact it was half-way decent. So when there aren't a lot of good movies coming out this time of year, one could do a lot worse. Of course one could do a lot better too.

So who needs a movie? I also found myself in the movie theater last weekend watching Adventureland which I rather enjoyed. Some people have said that it reminded them of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. I myself did not think of that for one minute while watching Adventureland but I suppose it's in a slightly similar vein. N&N was an odd and delightful romp through NYC with Michael Cera doing his usual shtick. Adventureland is not the uproarious Apatow-esque film the trailer portrays it to be, but an indie coming-of-age story that is more or less a comedy of sorts. Both have excellent soundtracks. The characters, which could easily have been archetypes, are fleshed out and therefore more interesting. Kristen Stewart, who I fell in love with in Speak, is excellent and has a promising future ahead of her. And while there are some laugh-out-loud moments, most of the humor was quiet head chuckling. Anyway, I would recommend Adventureland as a film well worth seeing.

I got Frozen River from my Netflix last week, and it was a good film. Melissa Leo really carries that movie with an amazing performance. Kate (and Meryl) deserved the Oscar, but Leo was rightfully nominated. The movie shows us an America we hardly ever see in film or fiction, and it is harsh. It is a completely naturalistic movie about a hardscrabble life. And yet it also works as a thriller. Leo unexpectedly finds herself transporting illegal aliens across the American-Canadian border over a frozen river that is part of the Mohawk tribal land. We find ourselves on the edge of our seats, cheering for Ray (Leo), who's single mother trying to make ends meet. It's a film about race, immigration, poverty, and most of all, the story of two mothers' resilient love for their children.

I also just watched Grande Ecole from Netflix. It was a really interesting film that I'm still not sure I understand. It is French after all. The one warning I would give is that this movie has a lot of skin (which I of course I enjoy!). It reminded me a little bit of Dangerous Liaisons (or Cruel Intentions) and it's a story of race, class, sex, and education in modern France. But mostly it's about desire. Paul has been accepted to the Ecole Normale Superieur--one of France's most prestigious and exclusive schools. He has a girlfriend Agnes, who is a student at a sister school, but also falls in love with his roommate (Louis-Arnault), and carries on a sexual affair with young Arab man, Mecir, who works for the school. The script is intelligent, erotic, and literate--lots of Foucault--and the actors all do a lovely job. Especially Gregori Baquet (Paul), Alice Taglioni (Agnes), and Salim Kechiouche (Mecir). It was a very interesting film about the transference and consequences of desire as well as a film about contemporary French society, but in the end I am not quite sure what to make of it. Nevertheless, I think it's worth checking out.