Banal, boring and waayyy too long …
As I have mentioned here on many occasions, there is only one cinema here in Sevilla that shows films in their original version (not dubbed into Spanish) so there is usually a very limited selection of English films. So imagine my surprise when I saw that there were four films in English showing this weekend that I’d heard good things about: Benjamin Button, Revolutionary Road, Frost/ Nixon and Doubt. And then early yesterday afternoon I got a message from Flor, inviting me out to a movie and asked me to choose between Benjamin Button and Frost/Nixon (she’d already seen the other two) … and, just like always happens with supermarket queues, I chose the wrong one!
But in spite of almost falling asleep and fighting off leg cramps during the film it was a lovely evening. Flor and I met at the Plaza Nueva and had a nice walk down to the cinema, and afterwards we went out to Merchant’s Malt House for some Irish nachos and a couple of drinks. It was pretty crazy in there as the big match between Bétis and Sevilla had just started and I was quite impressed to be having my second girls’ night out in a month.
Has anyone else seen this film and liked it (other than FFE)? Flor told me she’d been pleasantly surprised by it, so it’s probably just me. I can’t actually remember the last time I saw a film that really wowed me. How about you?
Looking forward to seeing Doubt next…
casa azahar 
Yeah… I haven’t seen it but I thought “interesting premise”… All the reviews after it being nominated for the Academy Awards were basically… long, boring, “Why?”, and “the only reason it was nominated was for the special effects and make-up”. NOT Academy Award material.
I don’t intend to see it, even on video.
Doubt sounds good, although, I did hear several reviewers say that it never loses its feeling of it being a stage play. It needed the shed that.
Check out what a friend found yesterday in her groceries….
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Interesting. You’re the first person I’ve heard not like Benjamin Button. I saw Frost/Nixon and it was really good and I’m hopefully going to sit down and watch Revolutionary Road this weekend.
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I was already hoping that Slumdog Millionaire would beat BB in the BAFTAs tonight.
Haven’t found Brad Pitt appealing in anything he’s done.
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I’m with you, Shawn. I found it to be pretty underwhelming also. They could’ve done a lot more with the premise, but the film wound up being a little flat, which I attribute to Brad Pitt’s acting. He’s like Julia Roberts in that he seems to always act the same character no matter what role. Boring.
Como anda, mami? Te sientes bien estos dias?
Besos,
M
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Even at the grocery store I see headlines about brad and his family. I turn on the news, THE NEWS and I see stuff about brad and his family. Enough already.
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I don’t go to movies much. The last one I watched was a DVD of Drop Dead Gorgeous. We also watched a couple of documentaries, both well done and full of information to give you pause and make your blood boil. One is called “Jesus Camp” and the other was “Who Killed the Electric Car?”
At least I don’t have to worry about whether or not to watch Benjamin Button in a couple of years.
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I suspect when read as a short story (am i right in thinking it’s an F. Scott Fitzgerald story?) the idea is pretty good, but it is a very literary idea. Can’t see how you make it work as a film.
But I think I have to come to the defence of Brad Pitt, who does get labelled into the showbiz/celebrity thing whilst remaining a pretty good actor (although he has a wretched history of choosing bad vehicles). At his best – Se7en, Twelve Monkeys, Seven Years in Tibet, Fight Club, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and the simply excellent Assassination of Jesse James he is one of the best actors of his generation.
Like Michael Caine and Nicolas Cage he has a nasty tendency to dial his performances in but when he’s good, he’s very, very good.
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Aaack, it was just so full of “profound nuggets of wisdom” such as you might find inside a Hallmark card or being spouted by Oprah … and that hummingbird! That really took the cake. Used not only once but twice … gack!
Blues, you can defend Brad Pitt all you like, but I’ve never seen him do anything exceptional (and I’ve seen some of the films you mentioned).
*waves to Mikey!* Hey honey! Estoy más o menos bien … we’ll talk soon, okay?
Mudhooks, the fact that Doubt doesn’t lose it’s “stage quality” wouldn’t bother me at all. I’ve seen other films like that and, when done well, that quite works for me.
I dunno … when I watch films like Benjamin Button I can’t help but feel somhow insulted.
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I thought Brad was brilliant in Burn After Reading. That’s a movie I highly recommend.
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I really liked the movie thought the concept was different ending as most are stunk.
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I actually liked Benjamin Buttons, but I’ll admit it was quite long. I’m not a fan of Brad Pitt but I thought it was alright. Mind u I dont go to the movies, so if I were to have; I would not have wasted money and would have waited for it to come out on DVD. The other night, I finally got around to watching Slumdog Millionaire. Now that’s one I would recommend! Some of the images were disturbing but overall I loved it.
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I loved Frost/Nixon so if you get chance to see that, I’d recommend it. I decided to avoid Benjamin Button on the strength of the TV trailers… 😉
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I wasn’t (personally) concerned about Doubt coming off as too “play-ish”. That was the opinion of one or two of the reviewers I heard talk about it.
There was also some crap about Meryl Streep playing Meryl Streep in everything she does. I happen to like Meryl Streep.
I am rooting for Slumdog Millionaire, though I haven’t seen it, yet. Mostly because I am tired of Hollywood giving the award to any American film whether it sucks or not because they don’t know what to make of “foreign films”… or because it has over-the-top special effects.
I think a film should win for its acting and overall quality, not because of how “amazing” the effects were.
If they can’t pronounce the actor’s name, forget about him/her winning ANY of the big awards.
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I haven’t seen BB but have seen the other three and they’re all excellent!
Also loved the two documentaries the HMH mentioned. Jesus Camp is truly scary
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At the risk of sounding disloyal (since Brad Pitt comes from the fair city of Springfield, MO — just down the road from here) I have never understood the big deal about him. Perhaps I am just too old for the boy toy stars. I also did not like di Caprio either, although I confess to warm thoughts about Matt Damon.
I just don’t have time to keep up with these people and their twisted up over-the-top expensive lives. I just don’t care. Maybe if one of them would give me a million bucks, which I could then live on for about the rest of my life, I might care. For a couple of minutes.
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I’d like to see Burn After Reading, WC. Missed it when it was here at the cinema, so it’ll have to be on DVD.
And also the documentaries that you mentioned, hmh. But Matt Damon??? Eww…
I reckon that Slumdog millionaire will show up at the cinema here soon – really looking forward to that one.
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Well, I am a little behind with my movies but since you are asking, this weekend I saw “The painted Vail” Tha movie really wowed me. So intense, under the skin, sober and yet entertaining.
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I remember that one, Mick. Yeah, it was pretty good. But I still can’t remember one that’s wowed me recently.
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You are the second person in as many days that have said this. I still think I may add it to my netflix queue.
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Check Out My Movie Trailers on Youtube!
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