Blast this Mulhern and his triplicate blogging!
#39 The A-Team
I was the catalyst to B's remembering he actually saw The A-Team, in my comparing it to The Losers, so I guess I have that going for me. I, too, enjoyed the movie although I don't have an exact memory of the whole plot. In no particular order, I recall (may contain *spoilers*):
- A suitcase of money being scattered in a flaming explosion
- Dark liquor (bourbon?) and cigars
- Betrayal
- Escape hijinks
- Parachuting tank, clearly
- Some airport scene involving maybe a photo booth
- Key kiss
- Bradley Cooper (will wonders never cease?)
#38 Ondine
I had never heard of this movie until Mulhern brought it to the house. This modern fairytale, dreamy and gritty by turns, was done a disservice by my audiovisual setup. The contrast was way off - at times practically black on black - and the dialogue was consistently difficult to decipher. It was almost like the time B watched some British film and ended up turning on the captions midway through because the speech was just too difficult to understand. Ondine also suffered because we ended up watching it over a two-day period. Someone got sleepy. I won't identify said party further.
That being said, I appreciated the inventive storyline, the beautiful setting and the well-drawn characters. Performances in this film were well done - I disliked those I was supposed to dislike and cheered for the heroes despite their flaws. The girl who played the daughter was very sweet, as well, in her quest to keep her selkie mother figure nearby.
#37 Greenburg
This was a movie about which I said, "Yeah, I guess I could watch that." I was ambivalent toward it from the outset, knowing little except for the information shared in the New York Times review, the fact that he complained a lot (preview) and that the movie possessed a certain mumblecore aesthetic (although the term itself is apparently controversial with some of those identified as its practicioners).
I enjoyed the main characters, especially Greta Gerwig. The *spoiler alert* relationship between her character and Ben Stiller's character also rang true to me, with just the right mix of obliviousness, tactlessness, cruelty and kindness appropriate for the individuals and the situations they encountered. Greenberg felt authentic although I wouldn't call it true to my experience.
Like B, I enjoyed Greenburg's complaint letters. They reminded me of the premise of Dear American Airlines, a book written as a lengthy complaint letter, because of the sheer ridiculousness of their scale.
All in all, I don't think I would have ranked Greenberg above some of the others on the list thus far, despite its pedigree. How about Valentine's Day instead?
