What I watched this week 5/4/08-5/10/08

Mutual Appreciation-kind of unbearable. I can take films that have very little plot and I can enjoy movies that consist mostly of people talking, even if they aren't talking about anything terribly fascinating as long as it is relatable, but this was just a mess. Basically it's pretentious hipster New Yorkers reveling in how awesome they think New York is. If the characters were supposed to be unlikable and the purpose of the film was to present the obnoxious trend of twenty and thirty something hipsters flocking to NYC, then it succeeded, but I did not enjoy it and would not recommend it.

Gandhi-I watched this the day after I watched Mutual Appreciation and talk about a contrast! I can do long epic biopics if the subject matter is compelling and Gandhi's story certainly is (on the other hand, Lawrence of Arabia made me want to gouge my eyeballs out!) I can't believe that it's taken me so long to see this, and actually it also shocked me how little I knew about Gandhi prior to watching this. I think I would have to see it again to judge it's merit as a well made film, but I feel like when the story is so powerful, its most effective to keep the telling of it simple.

Trouble in Paradise-enjoyable classic about two thieves who fall in love and the wealthy and beautiful perfume executive who comes between them. The two leading ladies, Miriam Hopkins and Kay Francis were gorgeous and a pleasure to watch but I had a hard time seeing what was so charming and irresistible about Herbert Marshall as the "dashing" Gaston.

I also rewatched There Will Be Blood, which just gets better every time I see it, and No Country for Old Men. The actual experience of watching both of these films in the theater was drastically different from watching them at home. Hopefully I'll have the chance to see them both in a theater again some day.