eye to eye

It always amazes me how people can see things so differently. Most of the time I am thankful for it. This world would be boring and even more competitive if we all liked the same things.

I've been to see a few movies lately, two of which were excellent and two of which were bad. So bad.

Interestingly, the common denominator in all four is that they were well received by reviewers. I just don't get it.

Excellent:

(1) No Country for Old Men
(2) Juno

Terrible:

(1) Lars and the Real Doll
(2) I'm Not Here [the Bob Dylan movie]

No Country for Old Men was fucking scary. The desert backdrop was unbelievable and the silence was a powerful tool to create tension. The bad guy was so scary I still cannot get him [or his weapon] out of my head.

Juno was 'Superbad"-funny, but with heart, and best of all it was not predictable in the way that so many movies are.

Lars and the Real Doll was a waste of my time. Harry spent two hours throwing popcorn at me. I have a high threshold for slow movies. I have what you might call movie-patience. I am known to reserve judgment until the end, always in the hopes that a movie will bring it together or redeem itself in some way. Lars and the Real Doll was a challenge, and inevitably a disappointment.

I'm Not Here was just trying too hard. Most of the acting was mediocre. More than that, I found the characters blatantly annoying. I didn't even think Cate Blanchett did such a great job. It was just eh.