Summer Movie Madness

I've seen a lot of movies in the past few weeks and way behind on my bloggin'! More to come later on my trip to IN after I download my pics and see if there's anything great in there to share.

Saw Moon several weeks ago with husband in an outflux of wifely generosity when really wanted to see Away We Go. Sam Rockwell plays an astronaut who's been on a solitary mission for, I forget, three or five years - I don't think I'll ruin it by telling you that he finds a man who looks just like him on the moon (you'll learn that much from the trailer). The story is a kind of mystery with a rather interesting exploration of the concept of identity. It's obviously going for, and I think achieves, a real 2001 vibe, complete with an all-powerful robot that follows him around and talks to him. Rockwell kills.

Away We Go seems to be the indie favorite du jour and was certainly one of the best movies I've seen recently. Featuring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph and written by Dave Eggers - how could you go wrong? Simply amazing supporting cast, including Allison Janney who almost steals the show as an unorthodox mother and friend. For me, it rather wonderfully captured that perhaps universal idea that Everyone Is Completely Bonkers Except Me and partly the ol' I Certainly Wouldn't Raise MY Kids Like THEM. As my friend J.D. wrote on my Facebook: the two leads were, well, they were basically US. True that.

I saw Public Enemies, the John Dillinger film, in Indiana, which was rather appropriate because everyone I know in Indiana has a Dillinger story. When I was a kid my friend unwrapped a gun (!) from a cloth and told me it had belonged to him. An erstwhile uncle claims his grandma had gone on a date with him. (If you've got one, leave it in comments, please!) It's a surprisingly boring movie that rather plods along despite bank robberies and prison break-outs. The fabulous Marion Cotillard is underused. I once again broke my No Movies With Less Than Two Women Rule - and I paid for it! (See also: Moon.)

Saw My Sister's Keeper with my mom and sister with the slightly bizarre but not unusual gleeful anticipation of bawling our eyes out. The promised tear-jerker did contain a few heart-string pulling moments, but, for the most part it was ridiculous, manipulative and contrived. The three of us, quite familiar with the emotional devastation of a family member in a near-death experience called bullshit on most of the film. Also stars Alec Baldwin who I'd been watching nightly in some Thomas the Train thing (also staring a v. creepy Peter Fonda) with beloved nephew - I managed to stir up a few illicit snorts by whispering "See you in Shining Time!" (not quite sure what that even means) at the end of the movie.