Movie Reviews

I saw two movies over the holiday weekend. Last Wednesday, I ditched out of work early to watch Walk the Line, and seeing Joaquin Phoenix play Jonny Cash is far superior to pipetting any day of the week. He was fantastic in the role. I have a thing for men with scars and bad teeth (which is strange but not nearly as weird as someone I know whose ideal man is balding, has a pot belly, and is cross-eyed), and Joaquin Phoenix certainly fits the bill. Reese Whitherspoon did nicely as June Carter, and, as you've probably heard by now, both actors did their own singing. I'm less familiar with Carter's music than Cash's, so Reese sounded good to me, but Joaquin nailed it. I can't even imagine the movie with someone else in the lead role. I highly recommend it, not only for the performances of the two leads, but if you're a music fan at all, it's fun to see the other music icons of the era, like Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis, pop in and out of the plot.

The second movie I watched was Me and You and Everyone We Know, which follows the intertwined stories of several people whose lives intersect in various ways. I find that with most movies that consist of a series of subplots (Love Actually as an example), I really like a few of the characters and their stories but don't care as much about the others. In this case, the one character who didn't interest me was the one played by the film's writer and director, Miranda July. The peripheral characters were much more enthralling, especially all of the kids- two brothers whose parents are getting divorced, an awkward neighbor girl with a hope chest, and two slutty teenage girls tormenting a local bachelor. They come across as believable real kids, not child actors the likes of Dakota Fanning. The movie is an odd one, with some parts weirding me out a bit (like the dad lighting his hand on fire), and some parts making me laugh out loud (I won't spoil it, but it involves the word "poop"). I enjoyed it, but I hope M. July stays behind the camera for her future movies.