Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Film #10

This film is the cinematic interpretation of one of my all-time favorite books. Favorite in the sense that you will laugh, you will cry, you will appreciate the spectrum of autism like never before.

Without having to be told Oskar has Asperger Syndrome, like they feel compelled to tell you in the movie.

Let's skip the platitudes, shall we? I mean, it was a good movie, a nice rendition, and I totally cried, so it clearly hit most of the right emotional notes.

But it wasn't how I pictured it.

Thomas Horn was convincing as a precociously intelligent, socially awkward child struggling with the anger of grief, but he was not how I pictured Oskar in my mind.

His performance, however, was forgivable, as it was believable and I liked him by the end. More egregious was the Hanksing of the novel.



Look, I love Tom Hanks. I really do. But putting him in a quasi-serious drama is about as sensible as putting Jimmy Stewart in an action movie. You feel me?

Still, he's not really that bad here, just strange casting. Because let's face it - even though she married that philandering asshat with the motorcycles, there is NO WAY Sandra Bullock would ever end up with a Tom Hanks in real life.

Except, I guess that Rita Wilson is sort of like an older, less precious Sandra Bullock, so maybe it's just my own personal biases here.

Whatever.

The best part of the movie is Max Von Sydow as the Renter.



For a man with no lines, he certainly was pretty damn good.

And Jeffrey Wright, who I think deserves an Oscar (not an Oskar, 'cuz that would be creepy) just for showing up to play in any movie.

Good but not great interpretation of a book that is so clearly visual that it might actually transcend film.

The Lady Vanishes - Movie #1

I anguished for at least 16 minutes about what my first new movie of 2012 should be. In our house, particularly on New Year's Eve, it was not uncommon to have an Alfred Hitchcock movie marathon. Perennial favorites include: Rope, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, Vertigo, North by Northwest, The Trouble with Harry, Lifeboat, and Rebecca. These films were staples in my cinematic diet for a very long time, but, for some reason, I never ventured too much past them in terms of my Hitchcock edification. Sure, I've seen The 39 Steps, Psycho, Strangers on a Train, and The Birds. Heck, I'd go so far as to say I've seen most of the Hitchcock oeuvre...but I'd never seen The Lady Vanishes.

Until now.

For some reason, I had it in my mind that The Lady Vanishes would be a dull, slow-moving little thriller, a mix of foreign espionage and static characters. There's some of that here, but it's also witty, comical, and tongue-in-cheek. Lots of typical Hitchcock-isms - an interesting combination of suspense and screwball comedy. it's a love story, sort of, a mystery, in part, and a slice of fluffy cinematic cake at its heart.

The leads are not the typical Hitchcock stereotypes - well, at least not the female leads. I'm better versed in the Grace Kelly, tragic-blond-bombshell/girl next door thing Hitchcock fetishes in his later films. Here, we've got Iris, played by a plucky Margaret Lockwood, who is a wealthy young woman, traveling the far-reaching, fictional corners of the world. Gilbert, as played by Michael Redgrave, has the lank of Jimmy Stewart and the haughty wink of Cary Grant. These two are tasked with carrying the movie, both the disappearance of the adorable Miss Froy (May Whitty) as well as their burgeoning love on the train of foreign terror.

Apparently, these two lovebirds are the precursors for Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in Speed.

It was not, sadly, my favorite Hitchcock but it was highly enjoyable, a nice blend between funny and suspense to keep it engaging. Fairly predictable but worth watching for the McGuffin, the cameo, and these two fellas who carry the bulk of the comic relief and do it admirably:

resolved

<---Jane Austen hair/Madwoman in the Attic eyes/Exhausted New Mom glow

I've been struggling with pinpointing exactly what needs "resolution" this year. I definitely want to keep my house cleaner and better organized. Less cluttered, more civilized. That old chestnut. I'd also like to do some "personal" cleanup - by which I mean a haircut, some weight loss, and eyebrow pluck, and maybe another teeth cleaning. Nothing fancy. Let's not get all crazy now. But I guess I'm looking for something that speaks a little bit more to my emotional state of mind.

As a mom of two young kids and a full-time teacher of literature, I don't find myself with a ton of "me" time. And, even before I had kids, I still didn't really know how to fill that me-time effectively. I slept more, watched more bad television, worked out more, and drank more Diet Coke. Occasionally, I blasted bad music and sung along to it like a demented sideshow act at a circus. I still do that now; however, the music is mostly inspired by an evil purple dinosaur whose very name is an anathema to me.

The hubs and I oft joke that we should have cured cancer with all the free time we once wasted. I guess these days I just want a little more bang for my free time buck.

Part of that need will be met this year by that book/movie challenge I posted about yesterday (which I'm inordinately excited about), but I feel like I just need to be better about trying new things in general.

There's got to be more to life than just work, family, and Facebook. Right?

See you on the flip-side.

50/50 Challenge

so...i love reading. i do. more than i love candy corn, democratic ideals, and the color cerulean. it's up there with diet coke, swedish fish, and sleeping children in my book. and movies, they're not half bad either.

a friend of mine introduced me to the 50/50 challenge (you can read rules here: http://www.fiftyfifty.me/) and i'm totally in. i've desperately wanted to improve my movie viewing in the new year (it's tough with young kids, but there's a whole body of work featuring ryan gosling's body and it ain't gonna watch itself, you dig?). this seemed to be the best way to hold myself accountable and to get myself to do something for me consistently each week.