Movies seen recently
Apr. 21st, 2009 10:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariNetflix continues to increase my movie watching.
The film version of Notes on a Scandal is pretty faithful to the book, and the casting and set design is absolutely perfect: Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy. The more objective perspective of the movie does make it clearer what Barbara really is, though. I didn't have a problem with it, but I wish that they had preserved the much creepier ending of the book.
The third Mummy movie was complete fluff, but fairly fun to watch - nice cgi, pretty scenery. However, it suffered from the same problem as every other American-made movie featuring Jet Li and/ or Michelle Yeoh: it slowed down the kung-fu fight scenes. One of the things I love about both of them is their graceful speed, and to take that away utterly misses the point.
North by Northwest was wonderful - there's a reason that Hitchcock is widely revered and that this particular movie is considered a true classic. I loved the combination of suspense and wit. I also really liked the way that van Damme's nationality and political activities were kept quite vague. I'm sure that at the time the film was made, it was meant or assumed that audiences would think he was some sort of European Communist. However, I think that this vagueness helps to keep it from seeming dated for those of us watching it well after the end of the Cold War.
The film version of Notes on a Scandal is pretty faithful to the book, and the casting and set design is absolutely perfect: Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy. The more objective perspective of the movie does make it clearer what Barbara really is, though. I didn't have a problem with it, but I wish that they had preserved the much creepier ending of the book.
The third Mummy movie was complete fluff, but fairly fun to watch - nice cgi, pretty scenery. However, it suffered from the same problem as every other American-made movie featuring Jet Li and/ or Michelle Yeoh: it slowed down the kung-fu fight scenes. One of the things I love about both of them is their graceful speed, and to take that away utterly misses the point.
North by Northwest was wonderful - there's a reason that Hitchcock is widely revered and that this particular movie is considered a true classic. I loved the combination of suspense and wit. I also really liked the way that van Damme's nationality and political activities were kept quite vague. I'm sure that at the time the film was made, it was meant or assumed that audiences would think he was some sort of European Communist. However, I think that this vagueness helps to keep it from seeming dated for those of us watching it well after the end of the Cold War.
