We're doomed.

Star Wars: Episode IV-A New Hope

I was enjoying Star Wars at cardio cinema this week and while I was running on the treadmill, I realized how long it had been since I'd even seen Star Wars. And it's good! So, so good! Star Wars was revolutionary for its time and will be revolutionary forever. Special effects and storytelling techniques made it a trailblazer and contributed to its icon status, along with casting and music.

Star Wars was soooooo well cast, especially with Harrison Ford as bad ass, charming space cowboy, Han Solo. He's charismatic and delivers those one liners like no other. Harrison Ford is an icon, a star. Carrie Fisher is simultaneously bold and sophisticated, she's not your typical princess. Mark Hamil, very very good as a whiny dreamer whose destiny finds him sooner than he thought. He's great at developing his character as the film progresses. Very natural and believable. And James Earl Jones...that voice. The voice says it all.

Viewers now are totally spoiled by special effects. If the latest action or sci fi/fantasy film's effects are not as good as the film that came out last week, we rip the effects apart. For its time, Star Wars' special effects were amazing. Everything looked pretty real, and it definitely amazed me as a kid. But Star Wars is timeless, and the special effects are a part of that timelessness. They are still quite mesmerizing. If I saw them in a film now, I wouldn't complain.

The story is great and the techniques used to tell the story are revolutionary. All the back story is seamlessly woven in. We meet these characters who have history and all this craziness has already taken place. Telling the story out of order was relatively new and just created intense intrigue without distracting from the film on the screen. It's too bad Lucas' writing talent didn't carry over to episode 1-3.

I don't know if I could call myself a fan girl, but I definitely geek out over some sci-fi and Star Wars is one of them. Great storytelling, acting, filming, etc. One of the best films ever made.

Mark Wahlberg in The Departed

First person to appear twice! Seriously, never has a character whose every other word is a curse word sounded so poetic. And he saves the day. Enough said. Put Mark Wahlberg in everything.


Netflix

The Happening-Yes, this movie is 100% absolute crap. But with the plot that it has...it's like a car wreck. I just can't not look.
The Golden Child-Recommended by someone with similar taste to mine, even though I dislike Eddie Murphy.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-Netflix Instant. Must read the book. Must see the movie.

This life came so close to never happening.

25th Hour

Spike Lee has made some pretty powerful films and 25th Hour packs one of the biggest, most powerful emotional punches in my opinion. This film about drug dealer Monty's (Edward Norton) last day of freedom before a seven year prison stint is a masterpiece of human emotion and a gorgeous love letter to New York City.

The performances in 25th Hour are superb, beginning with Edward Norton. He brings a confidence but overpowering vulnerability to the role. He's a good, smart guy who does bad things; you don't want to feel sorry for him, especially in the scene where you see him brush off a man he sold to, but Norton makes you feel sympathy. His "Fuck You" scene is so earth shattering and it takes a truly gifted actor to deliver it. He blames every person he can think of for what happened to him, until he realizes he only has himself to blame. Along with Norton's stellar performance is Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Monty's friend Jacob. His awkwardness is spot on.

Barry Pepper adds to the film's amazing cast. He too brings confidence and vulnerability to his role as a friend of Monty's. His honesty is brutal. His final scene in the film is utterly devastating but he and Norton play together brilliantly. Finally, as Monty's father, the always amazing Brian Cox continues to be always amazing. The female representatives, Anna Paquin and Rosario Dawson, round out this perfectly cast film.

Spike Lee and writer David Benioff worked together so well. Neither could function without the other. Benioff wrote a beautiful story and Lee brought it to life. Furthermore, the use of a post 9/11 New York further adds to the story's theme of making use of what little time we have. Lee did not merely make mention of post 9/11 New York, he thrust us right into the middle of it, with Pepper's character's apartment overlooking Ground Zero. I like the Lee did not shy away from these powerful and potentially controversial imagery. This is a part of New York now, and New York is a character in this film.

Another brilliant aspect of 25th Hour is the relationship between Monty and his dog, Doyle. They are so similar; kind but with bite and steadfastly loyal and protective. The film's opening scene between the two gives great insight into Monty as a person. Doyle is a symbol of Monty, and the way Monty looks and is at the end of the film is exactly how Doyle began. Hopefully Monty will have the same future Doyle was given.

25th Hour has such a strong emotional core and such unbelievable heart. The performances, the script, the direction, everything comes together so beautifully it moves me to tears. 25th Hour is about as perfect as a film can get.

Jamie Lee Curtis in Freaky Friday

We sometimes think of our parents as so uncool and out of touch that they couldn't possibly be us. Well, Jamie Lee Curtis playing a mom who changes bodies with her teenage daughter is certainly an exception. She's totally believable as a teenager trapped in the body of an adult. Everything is very natural. Her mannerisms and behavior is true to teenage form and hilarious, especially when she's a tad over dramatic. I would love to know how she prepared for this role. She was great.

Netflix

Alice in Wonderland-Missed it.
Up in the Air-Love it.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (every season)-Netflix Instant. Time I watched all the seasons and finally see how it ends.