Ok - I recently saw....
GAUDI AFTERNOON - I rented it because I like Lily Taylor and Juliette Lewis. However it was stupid, and poorly written. The acting was ok - but didn't make up for the assinine storyline. I think it was about a manly looking lesbian and a cross dressing gay man fighting over their child...and OH the hijinx. >< Did not work for me.
SHATTERED GLASS - Rented it because I like Hank Azaria, Steve Zahn (both had very small roles) Hayden Christensen (Darth Vader kid) and Peter Sarsgaard (the druggie best friend in GARDEN STATE)
The premise: The true story of a young journalist who fell from grace when it was found he had fabricated over half of his articles
*Really well acted....GREAT acting in fact...however it was long, drawn out, boring, uninteresting.
and.....went to the theatre and FINALLY saw
SPANGLISH
And ABSOLUTELY ADORED it!!!!! Cannot wait for it to reach DVD so I can grab a copy. Adam Sandler - charming and real...can definitely hold his own in a more dramatic role, The Spanish Lead woman - a GODDESS, and also very charming, both the younger actresses who played the daughters were great, Cloris Leachman .... however, stole the movie for me. I was never a huge fan of hers (granted I mostly have only seen her in FACTS OF LIFE - which was a bad show) she was INCREDIBLY funny and GREAT at her role...perfect even....as the drunken mother.
The only downside for me was Téa Leoni - I have NEVER been a fan - I think she over-acts in everything she does (she was OK in THE FAMILY MAN but everything else, /puke) and this was no exception. Yes, I hate her for marrying my David DUchovney, but I disliked her acting style way before that.
Anyway - she is the character in the movie that everyone is supposed to hate - and yeah..it works...but only because she SUCKS (lol) not because she is doing a good job. She has this one scene where she is having an orgasm for what seems like an eternity...it is so overdone (obviously it was supposed to be funny - it wasn't...it was ANNOYING) that I started wondering why it is that I want to act in a world where SHE gets work. /sigh ANYWAYYY
The movie just offers so much. It is a drama, but has definite funny moments (such is life) all of the characters (besides horrid Tea) are very real and believable. It is a story about a dysfunctional marriage, dysfunctional family life, true love, mother/daughter relationships, father/daughter relationships, dealing with change, dealing with success, etc. Seriously it was a beautiful film. I believe it has something that everyone could relate to in it. I cannot really explain what it was about because there were so many different story's within the cast of characters that was happening throughout the film, I just say - I would recommend it wholeheartedly. <3
The characters where unique and freaking funny. This past year has had a lot of small budget quirky movies that are outstanding (Napolean Dynamite, Garden State, Eternal Sunshine, etc.) I hope this is a movie trend that is here to stay. <3 It has been a LONG LONG time since I have seen so many good movies in a row....or maybe I am just getting better at picking and choosing...meh, either way - YAY!
