The Interpreter: 2005, dir. Sydney Pollack. Seen at Alamo Lake Creek (April 23).
I wasn’t all that wild to see The Interpreter. I’d read reviews that were lukewarm at best about it. I heard that it was disappointing, slow, predictable, badly cast, and silly.
I was pleasantly surprised. The Interpreter is a solidly entertaining little thriller with a good cast, well-paced and not at all dull or irritating.
It is true that there are no major surprises, and that the movie adds nothing new or innovative to the action/suspense genre, but that’s all right. Every film cannot be innovative. The Interpreter still provided us with a good afternoon’s enjoyment.
Category: theatrical reviews
Bride and Prejudice (2004)
Bride and Prejudice: 2004, dir. Gurinder Chadha. Seen at Arbor Great Hills (March 9).
I couldn’t resist seeing Bride and Prejudice, because I am such a huge Jane Austen fan and I delight in watching all the weird adaptations and permutations of Austen novels on film. Would it be as charming as Douglas McGrath’s adaptation of Emma, would it be as annoying as the recent Mansfield Park, would Lizzy be transformed to someone as passive and silly as Bridget Jones? I had to find out.
I liked Bride and Prejudice much better than Bridget Jones’s Diary or Clueless. It is a successful (and cute) transformation of Pride and Prejudice to contemporary India, L.A., and London. Light and frothy, yes, but fun to watch, especially if you know the source material.
Sin City (2005)
Sin City: 2004, dir. Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller. Seen at Galaxy Highland (April 3).
Sin City is a difficult movie to review. I started writing this review on April 4 and you can see how long it took me to finish it.
I can say that it is one of the most visually impressive movies I have seen in recent memory. It captures a comic-book world better than any other film. It is an excellent adaptation.
But does an excellent adaptation equal a good movie?
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (2004)
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle: 2004, dir. Danny Leiner. Seen on DVD (March 4).
I know, I know. I am always complaining that I never have time to see wonderful little movies like Maria Full of Grace and The Cooler and whatever the hell is playing at Dobie right now … and yet somehow I managed to see Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Not only that, I deliberately and voluntarily rented this movie. I was not forced to see it against my will.
And I have to say that Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle was pretty funny in a dumb-dumb comedy kind of way. I usually avoid dumb comedies because, okay, primarily because I don’t find them funny. I am willing to forgive a lot of things if a movie makes me laugh, like Bad Santa.
SXSW: last day
Saturday was the last day of the SXSW film festival. It started out as a simply gorgeous day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the cat was running around the house hiding my socks.
I didn’t have any movies scheduled until late in the afternoon. My boyfriend and I had a leisurely and very yummy lunch at Gene’s. I had a roast beef po-boy with some fries to help soak up all the delicious roast beef gravy. My boyfriend had smothered chicken and green beans and potato salad and his plate practically gleamed when he was done. I love Gene’s and I only wish the place was open later for dinner, although then I would have even more trouble buying clothes than I do now. (I am dying to try the smothered pork chops, but that means getting downtown for a Thursday lunch, which is not easy for me to do.)
The only problem with going to Gene’s for lunch was that I got home and accidentally fell asleep and nearly missed the movie. I blame the cat, because he snuggled up by me while I was reading and that added to my sleepiness. I woke up, realized how late I was, grabbed my notebook and purse, and dashed out of there in a rush to get to Alamo Downtown, and park, and walk to the theater in time to see Reel Paradise.
SXSW: Thursday/Friday
Two excellent music-related documentaries that I can’t recommend enough:
- The Devil and Daniel Johnston
- The Fearless Freaks
Thursday was mostly a work day. I had to catch up on some projects in the office. Well, I tried to catch up, anyway. I found out that I would have to work on Sunday afternoon, which was disappointing but made good sense (it would keep me from stressing out about my workload on Monday).
Finally, finally around 3 pm I got to leave the office and headed to ACC to see The Devil and Daniel Johnston. I found a fabulous metered parking place right at Third and Red River. I fed it a bunch of quarters (which I had stolen earlier in the day from my boyfriend’s former Laundry Quarter Ashtray) and was just about to walk away when I noticed a peeling and faded sticker on the pole of the meter. At 5:30, the parking spot would be used for valet parking and my car would be towed. Can’t they post a sign for that, or something I could actually read? Arrgh. Fortunately, a non-valet metered space across the street opened up and I moved the car. I had just enough change to fill the second meter.
SXSW: lucky Wednesday
More movies I would particularly recommend:
I heard that The Education of Shelby Knox will air on the PBS documentary series P.O.V. in June (details on the PBS site). I am hoping that Troop 1500 airs on PBS or at least plays in Austin again under the Texas Documentary Tour.
Wednesday did not begin well. It was rainy and chilly outside and I did not relish the idea of parking on the street to see a movie at ACC (Austin Convention Center, not Austin Community College). I didn’t relish the idea of doing much of anything besides curling up in bed with a mug of cocoa.
SXSW: Tuesday with migraine
Tuesday was pretty uneventful. I don’t have a lot to report. I saw only one movie, despite ambitious plans to see three.
I don’t know if the movies are triggering migraines, or if it’s the sudden change in weather having a bad effect on my sinuses, or if I’m stressed at work in the mornings and then when I get to the movie theaters in the afternoons the sudden switch from work stress to theater happiness triggers a migraine. Or what. Maybe I need new glasses. But I sit down in the nice dark theater and I can feel the beginning of a headache. Or a migraine. Or something evil.
And this has been happening every single day. I am not supposed to take a migraine pill every single day, it makes horns grow on your head or your face turn into a blueberry or something.
SXSW: Monday? ai-yi-yi
Update on Dobie Theater parking: If you are going to a SXSW movie at Dobie, you can get your parking ticket validated for up to 5 hours. Which is enough for one movie, but probably not two if you get there early and there’s a long space between the two films. You’d probably have to go out and in again. Still, that’s not a big sacrifice to make for free parking.
I went to Dobie on Monday to see Kissing on the Mouth. I was pleased to see that the screening took place in the Egyptian theater, which is the largest Dobie theater and generally has the best seats. However, it is still a difficult theater if you are short. I had to sit up very straight the whole time and I still had someone’s head in my view in one corner of the screen. This is why I don’t see a lot of movies at Dobie, even though they show great films and the theaters are decorated in a very cool way.
SXSW: lazy Sunday
So far, movies I would recommend that have another screening scheduled during SXSW:
- Stagedoor—Now this is my idea of a good family film.
- The Aggressives—Not at all a family film, but a very good documentary that might not get widespread distribution, so see it if you get the chance.
- The collection of animated short films—More on that later in this entry. Get there early, it is very popular.
Best venue so far: Arbor Great Hills, believe it or not. Although it is a Regal cinema, they are not showing “The 2wenty” before the SXSW films. It is very pleasant to sit in a quiet theater with good house lights before a movie starts. (I wish the Arbor were like this year-round, damn it.) The seats are very comfy, too. It’s a good-sized theater and the out-of-towners are not likely to make the drive, so it’s easier to get good seats.