Three films

After months of staying away from the Cinema, this week i've managed to settle into the cushy, rocking seats with oversized cup holders three times for three films. Here's a recap:

Sunday night, Regal Cinemas Atlantic Station:
GRAN TORINO
Rating: Awesomeness X 1,0000



In limited release until tomorrow, I was completely taken by surprise by the awesomeness of this film. Invited to tag along by a fabulous friend of mine, I admit that I had little interest in seeing this movie based upon the less-than-interesting TV spots I had seen. Boy, was I wrong.

Clint Eastwood, who also directs, plays his emotionally closed off curmudgeon to perfection, simultaneously grouchy and lovable despite the barrage of racial slurs coming from his mouth. More than just another movie about a kid and gang violence, Gran Torino examines the relationships that redefine family and bridge cultures and age--and it does it all without without being preachy (*cough* Crash *cough*). Hilarious and shocking, Gran Torino is a fantastic film and I have rarely been more pleased to be proven wrong.


Monday Evening: Regal Cinemas, Atlantic Station:
THE SPIRIT
Rating:  Move along, nothing to see here



Frank Miller, what happened? You are the mind behind Zach Snyder's 300 and Robert Rodriguez's Sin City. You are even responsible for reinventing Batman as The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan owes you big). So how could you make such a lackluster movie?

Instead of a kick-ass comic book flick, The Spirit is downright boring. Rodriguez knew how to adapt a comic book for the silver screen when he took Sin City bigtime back in 2005, but Miller clearly was thinking more like a comic book artist than a director, allowing for long scenes of little movement accompanied by long-winded monologues. Even could-be-awesome lines like "I'm gonna kill you all kinds of dead" could work under different circumstances, but amongst the rampant cheesiness these quotables are just cringe-inducing.

Visually the movie has several striking scenes, as expected from a writer-artist, however they feel like Sin City leftovers at best, and odd distractions at worst. Campy acting by the typically fabulous Scarlett Johansson and super-bad Samuel L. Jackson only draw further attention to the film's many miscalculations: odd product placements, awkward, lengthy flashbacks and, the biggest offender, updating The Spirit to present day and leaving his world devoid of color. In the lead role, Gabriel Macht is one highlight in an otherwise bland movie, but by the end of the film even he can't save the billionth she-is-the-city-and-I-am-her-spirit monologue. Ok, already, we get it.

Tuesday Afternoon: Regal Medlock Crossing:
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE
Rating: Cinderella's got nothing on this kid



An ode to all the little things we learn in a lifetime wrapped up in an unconventional love story, Slumdog Millionaire is an American fairy-tale set in India. Told mostly in flashback (and done well, unlike The Spirit), the film moves from hilarious moments to ones that are hard to watch, all of which weave together to create the present day scenario--a young man accused of cheating on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. There's a lot of buzz and numerous accolades behind this film and they are all warranted. A fantastic premise and a fantastic director (Danny Boyle) have taken typical themes (boy-finds-girl, boy-loses-girl etc.) and reinvented them to recapture the magic that can only be found in movies. If you go see it, don't leave before the credits--what you see will put a huge smile on your face even if the ending doesn't make you as giddy as it did me.