Saturday, June 6, 2009

Two Thumbs Up

Finally - a movie worth writing about. I feel like the past six months have yielded a dearth of good flicks, which is probably why we haven't seen many since the beginning of the year. The Soloist was depressing - not as heartwarming as the trailers portrayed. Angels and Demons, although true to the book and better than film version of The DaVinci Code, was a bit disjointed and gruesome. Confessions of a Shopaholic served as frivolous fashion fodder, but the plot was too skimpy. Up had an interesting premise and amazing graphics, but still a little too serious for the under-5 crowd. Granted, it was better than Wall-E or Ratatouille, yet still didn't measure up to the fabulous Pixar originals such as Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., etc.

Enter State of Play. A smart political thriller involving intrepid journalists (you knew that would hook me) digging deep to discover the conspiracy underneath a seemingly accidental death. Well-acted, a smart plot and dialogue, and endless layers of intrigue made for a movie that kept us on the edge of our seats for the entire two hours. The scene in the parking garage was one of the most intense cat and mouse sequences I've seen in a while.

Have you seen any good movies lately that perhaps we've overlooked? For example, Andy's family all loved Star Trek, but it just doesn't look all that appealing to me. Are there any summer movies you're looking forward to? Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince can't come soon enough!

11 comments:

Noelle said...

YAY for Harry Potter. You made me smile nice and big just thinking about it. (You guys see a lot of movies...the only one in your list I've seen was the Shopoholic one.)

Brittany said...

You'll have to ask J what he thinks of State of Play next time we hang out!!!

Kaylee D said...

I just realized that HP comes out while we are in Ohio! Are you up for going to a midnight release? I say get a babysitter for Ben or farm him out for the night and let's all go!

Nollie said...

Um, heck yes we'll be at the midnight release. The trick will be to find someone else who won't be at the midnight release as well.

Margaret said...

We just saw Duplicity and I thought it was clever and entertaining.

Kaylee D said...

Saving Nemo? Silly, it's Finding Nemo!

Amanda Morgan said...

We actually saw Star Trek for Steve's birthday. I was with you - just not really interested, but I really quite liked it. Maybe it was the low expectations, or the fact that any James Kirk is better than the original. I was also happy to see that hilarious actor from Run Fat Boy Run playing Scotty.

Sean and Laura said...

You probably already know this, but State of Play is based on a BBC miniseries by the same name. Well worth renting if you have not already seen it. Oh, and I also liked Star Trek.

Bryan and Ellie said...

Thanks for the recommendation. It's been a while since we saw a good movie.

Sarah said...

Nollie, its Sarah McFadden (from the ward). I hope you dont mind but I found your blog through Sara Hicks. Anyway, about the movies...I saw Star Trek (I wasn't excited to see it either) and it was actually pretty good. I know absolutely nothing about Star Trek in general, but I was able to keep up with the plot and was actually interested in it. You should give it a shot! I think I will probably go see State of Play since you gave it such a good recommendation :) See you Sunday.

AMY said...

Yes, I was just recommending this to a friend the other day and said the same thing - that it was a good, all-around "clean" movie with a good plot. We went to the movies to see something else, but missed it, so ended up seeing this one and we were glad we did!