The Foster Family

I give this movie a solid B. Maybe B-. So, not so solid I guess. Nat liked it a lot though. I went in without any knowledge about it except Ed Harris, Viggo Mortenson, and Renee Zellweger are in it, and it’s about a rough town. I don’t think I’ve even seen the preview. Anyhoo, my thoughts beforehand were that it can’t be as tight as 3:10 to Yuma (which I love… but it’s not a typical Western… which might be why I love it). The movie was pretty good throughout. It’s only rated R for a few f-words, and a few shootings I guess, but they weren’t that bloody. I expected the movie to be more hard core, but no one in it is too hungry for blood. I had a realization while watching it that in order for me to like a movie I have to really like at least one character in it. Without Viggo’s character, this movie would have been in trouble. The bad guy was kinda cool, but he was also pretty normal. I like bad bad guys. Like what’s his face in No Country For Old Men. That was a great bad guy. During the movie, my mind also wandered to There Will Be Blood, and how awesome Daniel Day-Lewis’ character is in that. Overall, considering it wasn’t a movie I would have seen without Nat inviting me, it kept me pretty much entertained. Will I run out to buy it for $20 when it comes out on DVD (like I did 3:10 to Yuma)? No. But I would recommend it to people who love westerns, Viggo Mortenson, or who just want to see it. If that’s you, go for it.

I have been wanting to read this book for years now, and finally actually did. It’s crazy! The narrator has his own vocabulary. The book is extremely violent and rough most of the time, but it is written in this made up vocabulary, which kind of disguises the awfulness of what is happening. The writing is very interesting. The story is rough, but you want to find out what happens to the narrator, so you keep reading even though you’re thinking he’s terrible! What’s interesting about this book is that when it was published in the US, publishers chopped out the final chapter, which completely changes the ending! Everywhere else in the world, people read the ending that the author intended (and now the US publishes the complete version as well). I would never see a film version of this. It would be horribly unpleasant to watch. So, if your imagination while reading is more vivid than watching a film, do not read this book… unless, of course, you love violence with all your heart. If you love linguistic creativity, and can handle a narrator with very evil behavior, do read it. It is thoroughly interesting. But man is it rough.

I’m not sure what I expected from this movie, but I was a little disappointed. I like Ralph Fiennes a lot, and Keira Knightley did a good job, but the story starts out interesting, then slows down more and more as the movie goes on. In the beginning you expect her to be tough and maybe heroic even, but then she decides to act very responsibly… which is probably the right thing to do, but it does not make for an entertaining movie. I was also waiting for her to freak out about some things, but she held a lot in. I would have been wailing on people if I were in her shoes. I guess women in the 1770s knew better how to hold emotions in and put up with really crappy situations. The sets and costumes were fun to watch. They probably could have cut out a few of the many close ups of Keira’s face. Overall, the movie is almost good. It is well done, but I just thought there must have been some secret plotting going on, or that she’d explode, or go crazy, but no. It’s possible I should have seen Appaloosa or Quarantine instead.

You know, the previews for this movie have been bothering me for a while now because of the thieving of Juno-like things. But today Nat said let’s go see it and that it got pretty good reviews so I thought what the hey. I give the movie a C-. Michael Cera was the only thing I really liked about it. The main girl is okay, although a little annoying (and I wanted her to be super cool). The story was unique, but I just didn’t care about it much. Nat said the soundtrack was good, but I don’t remember hearing much. The only song I remember was The Cure’s Boys Don’t Cry as Michael Cera’s ringtone.

I was afraid though that they would go too far with the music (since “infinite playlist” is in the title). I thought they’d be droppin’ band names and songs just to show how hip they are. They didn’t. That was wise. Anyway, unless the preview has you REALLY wanting to see it, save your money. It’s no Juno. Not even close. Nat said, “It’s a romantic comedy, so it couldn’t be as well written as Juno.” Which might be true… I can’t think of a well written romantic comedy… but if you’re going to steal the Juno font and the Juno guy, then don’t deliver drastically inferior goods. Weak sauce.