third time lucky

[calimac]

I collected a few movies from Blockbuster to watch over my dinners alone this week, and have spent the last couple of days reminding myself why I don't often do that. The great thing about a DVD is that I can just turn it off if I don't like it. Two of these films declined to grab me for a full half hour each, and that's enough time that *click* off they went. Third time lucky, though.

The Messenger Well-reviewed enough that I hoped it might overcome the fact that it's about two guys whose job it is to do something exquisitely embarrassing for an observer to watch. It didn't. Worse yet, however, were the scenes where they're off-duty and let their real thoughts hang out. They proved to be, by my standards, such unpleasant chaps that I didn't wish to spend any further time with them.

The Men Who Stare At Goats Failed comedies are a sad genre. This one's problem is that it's framed as the personal story of the reporter played by Ewan McGregor, who fails to raise one jot of sympathy or even interest. Not even the appearances of Jeff Bridges (playing what the Dude would be like, had the Dude joined the Army) and George Clooney, sweating their ways through the script in doomed attempts to be good at it, could save this goat. Er, turkey.

In the Loop Teeters on the edge of incomprehensibility - it's about the US and UK discussing whether to go to war with some country never identified, but probably Iraq - but careens forward at such a pace that it carries itself through. As most of the characters are political staffers, and everybody talks very fast and over each other, it feels a lot like something Aaron Sorkin wrote, except that it's actually funny instead of only thinking that it's funny. Stars the guy who played the gangster on The Sopranos, the guy who played Mr. Collins in the latest Pride & Prejudice (who is much, much better in this), and the guy who played the Angel Islington in Neverwhere, who here swears up the bluest streak in film history.

Comments

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

In the Loop is good to watch with the subtitles on, just so you can keep up with the dialogue.

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

And, unlike with the DVDs of The West Wing, the subtitles keep up with the dialogue.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

The only one of those I've seen is The Men Who Stare at Goats, which (predictably if one thinks of our track record on such matters) I liked a lot.

[randy-byers.livejournal.com]

So you're talking about Neverwhere the TV series? Is it any good?

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

The Neil Gaiman miniseries about a hidden world beneath London, yeah. I liked it, and would like to watch it again some day. There was a certain BBC Dr. Whoish chintziness about the sets and sfx, but I've always found that charming, and the acting was of great variety of styles and mostly good.

[ken-3k.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to suggest that "The Men Who Stare At Goats" was a great film, but I had a fun evening with it. I'm coming to the conclusion that, while I am more of a film snob than the Average Person, I'm much more open in my tastes (or just less picky) than most of my friends. :-/

I missed "In The Loop" and should put it on the list of things to be seen someday.

(( See: outbreak of film discussion over at Twila's LJ. ))

[benjd.livejournal.com]

Sorry you didn't like The Messenger. I thought it was an excellent film, presented in an appealingly understated manner. I agree with you about In The Loop, which was fun to watch. I never saw the staring at goats film; the premise just seemed too weird.