Movies lately

I've been on a sudden movie-watching spree for the past week or two, after several months of averaging about one a month.

I've watched:

Reds on 25 April
See review from two weeks ago.
How to Train Your Dragon on 1 May
See review from a week ago.
No Country for Old Men on 2 May
Really liked Tommy Lee Jones as the sheriff, and I like that all of the main characters are smart and observant and tough, but was bewildered by the ending, even after reading a whole bunch of online commentary about it.
Donnie Darko (Director's Cut) on 5 May
Too weirdly slow and off-kilter and mildly surreal for my tastes, though I might've liked it a bit better if Jake Gyllenhaal hadn't spent the whole movie looking vaguely drugged. Good cast, but largely wasted; for example, I was pleased to see Mary "Laura Roslin" McDonnell as the mom, but she just wasn't nearly as good as in BSG. Drew Barrymore as the wacky English teacher was definitely my favorite character in the movie. Best line (from her, talking about Graham Greene): "It gives me no pleasure to deny you the right to read one of the great writers of the 20th Century, but alas, I have not yet been elected queen of the universe, so I must obey the rules and so will you."
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005 version) on 7 May
There was about ten minutes of charming and fun and quite funny movie in this, unfortunately mixed with a whole lot of awful. David Kelly as Grandpa Joe is thoroughly delightful; I enjoyed much of the opening (except for the Indian prince and chocolate castle business), and much of the ending, but I could've done without everything in between, and I found Depp (who I often like) really offputting.

Dragon was by far the winner in this bunch.

Oh, and I seem to have neglected to post about Hancock, which I finally saw on 28 March. I liked it quite a bit; it was charming and often funny. The previews made it look like the whole movie was one long "drunken asshole superhero smashes stuff up" joke, but there's a lot more to it than that. And there were a couple of surprises that I totally didn't see coming. There's a bunch that's left weirdly unexplained, but overall I'd place it among the better movies I've seen lately.

The movies I now have out from Netflix, awaiting my attention, are: Blade Runner: The Final Cut (I bet to someone who hadn't heard of it, that would sound like a slasher movie); High Noon; and Big Trouble in Little China.

Have also seen some assorted TV: the pilot of Friday Night Lights (which surprised me a great deal by being as interesting as everyone says); the latest episodes of Glee and FlashForward; the aforementioned Dr. Who episodes.

I suppose all this helps explain why I haven't gotten various important to-do-list items done yet.

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