New-to-me Movies Watched in April

1. Elysium (2013)
2. The Spectacular Now (2013)
3. Mama (2013)
4. The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009)
5. The Lone Ranger (2013)
6. The Ruins (2008)
7. The Host (Gwoemul) (2006)

In summary, with a couple of exceptions, such as The Spectacular Now and The Host (Gwoemul), it was not a great new movie month.

REVIEWS (behind the cut):

1. Elysium (2013)
In the face of a environmentally devastated and impoverished Earth, the wealthy have moved and now live in a resort-style city in space with everything they could possibly need. This had the potential to be awesome with an interesting social commentary, but it just wasn’t, and not even being slightly drunk could elevate my boredom.

2. The Spectacular Now (2013)
I wasn’t expecting this movie. Instead of a light teen romp, in which a young troubled guy meets a girl who changes his perspective and helps him pull himself together, the movie (and I assume the book) presents a story much more true to life. Within ten minutes of the movie starting, it’s clear that the main character Sutter, who claims to live life to the fullest, is on his way to becoming an alcoholic and seems to be a train wreck waiting to happen. His girlfriend Cassidy has left him, but that’s more a symptom than a cause of his behavior. Sutter could easily fall into the realm of loser jerk, but he has a charm, a humor, and a kindness that makes him likeable.

At one point, Cassidy’s new boyfriend Marcus comes at Sutter ready for a fight (because of Sutter’s behavior and of jealousy), but Sutter talks him off and they end up connecting. Compared to Sutter, Marcus feels a lack of cool or fun and is afraid he’s going to loose Cassidy. Instead of insulting or dismissing Marcus, as he could have, Sutter instead reassures him, offers him kindness and graces and tells him not to worry, that everything is going to be fine.

Sutter does meet another girl, Aimee, who viewers would expect to be his true love and mutual savior. As the storyline typically goes: guy meets girl and teachers her to have fun, while girl teaches guy to refocus and get back on the trajectory of his life. But this relationship does not fit so comfortably into that box. Sutter does get Aimee to loosen up, but in a way that’s slightly uncomfortable, because it feels more as though she’s being drawn into his downward spiral rather than love lifting them up. Love is not a catchall solution. Life is more complicated.

What’s interesting about this movie is that there are no villains or heroes, just people struggling to find their way in the world the only ways they can. I find that refreshing for what could have been a cliche teen rom-com.

The movie doesn’t try to prove anything, requires no shine or gloss. It’s quiet, with little or no music throughout and lets the characters unfold and reveal themselves. Resolution is also just out of reach, the ending kind of vague, which worked for me but will probably annoy some viewers.  While I don’t know that I loved this movie, it’s artfully done, well acted, and beautifully filmed. Definitely worth a watch.

3. Mama (2013)
Another movie that had the potential to be cool. In this case, the characters were just too stupid to live. Seriously, if there’s a deadly, murderous ghost in the woods and you KNOW it’s there, then it’s probably a bad idea to go running off into the woods BY YOURSELF. One of the worst horror movies I’ve seen in years.

4. The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009)
This wasn’t a bad movie, per se. It sort of rehashed the fun antics that made the first movie fun, but didn’t quite manage to be as good as the first, which is no surprise.

5. The Lone Ranger (2013)
Yes, it’s racist. Certainly, Johnny Depp once again playing the same quirky character (when an actual Native American could have been cast and brought depth to the role) doesn’t help. It doesn’t even have a great storyline. Meh.

6. The Ruins (2008)
Wow, more racism. In this case, a group of white twenty-somethings travel to Mexico to look for a lost friend. They track him to some old Mayan (?) ruins, where they are quickly trapped by the local tribe and left to die at the hands of

7. The Host (Gwoemul) (2006)
This awesome movie is discussed elsewhere. and falls into the category of one of the best movies I’ve seen this year.

_____