#60, 6/30 – Swimmers (2005) (vod)
You know, towards the end of this film Merrill (the always awesome Sarah Paulson) says, as plain as can be, “I’m kind of a nut, Emma”. And, really, how can I not like a movie which such an admission at least a little?
And I definitely have some small fondness for it, largely because of the dynamic duo of Paulson and Cherry Jones. Its tone and approach make me think of it as a solid, if unspectacular, relation to my beloved Housekeeping. It’s a weird association in a sense, since the films have very different stories (though some of the themes are similar, come to think of it) but once the connection came into my head I couldn’t shake it loose.
#59, 6/29 – Black Snake Moan (2006) (nqpdd)
It’s been a while, huh?
Yeah, I get like that, where the other things in my life conspire to keep me away from watching movies and I don’t put up too much of a fight. And I probably won’t be seeing very many movies over the summer, but one never knows, I suppose.
I’d seen one Craig Brewer film before tonight, but no, not the one you’d expect. Because, true to form, I’m probably the only person in the world who’s seen The Poor and Hungry (which I loved) but not Hustle and Flow. Go figure.
Alas, I think my timing is poor because I couldn’t quite get into this one. I can see what Brewer and company were trying to do, and I think they may even have been successful, but the movie didn’t really resonate with me for reasons I don’t fully understand. It could be as simple as I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to watch a movie, really. Who knows?
Anyway, this is the kind of thing I’m more than likely to say lukewarm to mildly positive things about in conversations with friends. I won’t bash it, and I’d probably try to defend it if someone I’m talking to is picking on it. But, well, I wasn’t moved.