June Movie Watching

June was a busy movie watching month for me as I saw eight films theatrically, as follows:

The Hangover. Unfortunately it never "quite" took off as the "action" was off-screen during the night of debauchery. However, there was just enough spark in the recreation of events and a few good laughs to make this a solid recommend-- and the best end credits of all time.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3. What a waste! What particularly stings is the original movie had such a masterful ending-- and the ending to this one was laugh-out-loud idiotic. Side note: On the electronic sign above the theater, was the abbreviated: The Taking of P-- Ha!

Moon. Wished this was better, but it kept my interest and was a nice antidote to the usual summer movie fare. Sam Rockwell just can't find that "big" movie.

Drag Me To Hell. This movie has been wildly overrated. And I did enjoy it to an extent, but it all seemed lazy. When I was walking out of the theater I heard I guy say, "I'm trying to remember who told me this movie was good."

Whatever Works. Well, this was the one last hope that Woody could have a third good film from the '00s-- and it didn't happen. Loved Evan Rachel Wood (so different than in The Wrestler) and Ed Begley Jr. (funny!).

Food, Inc. Made some interesting points, but I think it didn't stretch itself as a feature film work.

The Hurt Locker. Not a 100% bona fide classic, but excellent nonetheless. Didn't like the ending, nor the tacked-on "day X" titles but it had a compelling story line and a solid lead performance. Everyone is clamoring to say that Kathryn Bigelow is the unsung auteur, but I suspect she just is a reasonably talented filmmaker who this time got lucky.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. What can I say? The critics are trying to outdo themselves with clever ways of bashing it. The fans, in terms of $$$ have spoken. Me: I was a little bored by it (as with the first) but thought it was OK overall. Actually could have used a bit more Megan Fox! I'm not going to throw stones, because I just don't care that much.... but IRON MAN is the franchise for me these days.

On TCM, watched: Tarzan, the Ape Man (1932)-- really good, if a bit lengthy (made long by such things as weird five minute Cheetah monkey sequence) and David Copperfield (1935), well cast but unfortunately overrated, I love the book but it IS perhaps unfilmable.