Games

So,I've finally managed to catch some movies on DVD.

The Lookout-I wondered why Isla Fisher's character completely vanished after the third act,but that's not a big issue.The thing that really bugs me is Gordon-Levitt's performance-kudos to the guy making brave career choices with the small indie flicks but I think he's rubbish as an actor-here he faces the challenge of playing someone with a mental disability,and he does it so forcefully in this painfully obvious self-concious manner,as if every minute on camera he's dictated by a 'Things my character is supposed to do & be'' checklist,coupled with a message beeping loudly through his mind:I AM ACTING ACT WELL I AM ACTING.Now act special.Now laugh,but like a special person.Now say this,do that,act frustrated,oh,remember you're a bit off in the head.Aside from that,the film's solidly supported by an intriguing story that relies on certain contrivances,but then again most crime thrillers often do so (to a certain degree) and the tight script more or less makes up for the small missteps.

Waitress-Sweet & charming,but also tediously conventional.The main story's often put aside to make way for a couple sideplots-all of which aren't too disruptive,are individually interesting & tie up together very nicely in the end-the downside: the main story has little meat to it & the movie as a whole feels too light.Plus I hated the way the bloody birth at the end just ironed out everything so abruptly.It's like they make all this fuss about building a complex web of problems only to have the main character give birth to finally be able to sum up the courage to do what she's technically supposed to,and how everything else unrealistically self corrects around the same time-it's just so fucking brainless.

The Nanny Diaries-Not as bad as I imagined.It's formulaic to the bone,running on endless cliche's-the workaholic mother & father,absent parents to a nasty troublemaker,then the clueless nanny comes along only to find all this domestic turmoil,from which she eventually learns stuff about life and so does everyone else etc.But Scarlett Johansson is terrific here.Well,not terrific terrific-but I think she works great with everyday characters,those which allow her to breath easy and not be all wound up.You know,simpler roles.She was great in Ghost World & Lost In Translation-compared to her heavier stuff: like Girl With a Pearl Earring,The Island or The Black Dahlia,in which her presence felt awkward and her acting pedantic.But those were bullshit films anyways.So yea,Laura Linney's typically reliable but it's Johansson's surprisingly decent performance deserves equal praise.

Bug-It spends a whole hour on the build-up alone,but that proves useful later on-because what makes the idea of how much damage two extremely paranoid people can do is further heightened by having a clear backstory that unravels at just the right speed.At first it's a bit hard to believe and completely ludicrous,but then all the madness only makes the characters more interesting and most definitely mental,nothing in-between.Ashley Judd gives an unnerving performance,and I'm glad she's making much less crappy cop movies nowadays.

Yeap,that's it for movies this week.

+Link to the trailer for Funny Games.It's a bit violent,but you have to see it.