(500) Days of Summer

Just got back from seeing (500) Days of Summer. Of all the movies I have seen this summer, this is by far and away my favorite. I realize that may have a lot of impact being the real low-patch of movies that came out this summer. This movie really was great though. This movie quirky, indie non-romantic comedy had a lot of great elements that could have failed but ended up working well.

Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel, this movie tracks the ups and downs of their 500 day relationship. The movie is not chronological as it highlights them getting together, being a couple, and its aftermath. It is fairly easy to understand where you are at in the relationship arc in general. Figuring out where the smaller events fall out can be confusing, but you really do not HAVE to know when you are to get what is happening.

Both of the main actors are great. Zooey can sometimes be a bit much for me, but in this she was more subtle and layered. JGL was fantastic, as always. He was goofy and geeky and caring. I connected with him in that "do I know this guy?" kind of way. The more of his movies I see, the more impressed with him I am. If you have not seen a lot of his post-adolescence movies then rent Brick.

This movie was funny, and light with out being popcorny. My brain never just turned off. Instead I was actively engaged in the scenes and wondering how the movie would truly end. This movie brought surprise after surprise. First time full-length movie director Mark Webb did a really great job. Knowing he a music video director makes a lot of sense because the 3 main character was truly the music. It's indie/alternative but with some 80s classics mixed in. This movie manages to have music from The Smiths and Patrick Swayze among others and make it work. I already reserved the soundtrack at the library, but I'm tempted to break down and buy it so that I do not have to wait.

In closing, please go see this movie. Its movies like this that make me happy to support the indie movie industry.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

After much waiting in anticipation, the 6th movie installment of the Harry Potter series has finally come out. I have to say, David Yates and Company did a really great job with this film. I was by and large impressed with this film adaptation. This is one of the few times I will ever admit to liking the movie version of something more than the original book.

Running at 2 1/2 hours, I accepted this to drag on a bit, but was pleasantly surprised to find that the film did such a great job of drawing you in that the time flew by. They did a great job of cutting out a lot of the exposition present in the book and just getting down to the action. Did this film make major adjustments from the book? Yes, absolutely. But it ended up working out better than I ever anticipated. Never in the movie did I feel irritated or put-out by the changes. If anything, it helped the movie flow much better.

This is also the first time in these films that it felt to me they were remembering to set things up for the next movies. My major problem with this film series has always been one director cutting out plot points needed for the following films because they were not worried about looking ahead. With having the same director for these final 4 films we are finally seeing the set up and foreshadowing needed for the action packed two part finale. Even changes made in this movie seemed to make sense when you started thinking about how it could help fit into the next film. SPOILER:: An example for you: Being now homeless and afraid of attack, I bet the Weasely's will be living in Sirius Black's house. The perfect movie set up for the next film's first Horcrux.

Other things about this movie that impressed: The lighting and cinematography. The film did a great job of showing how dark some of the situations were, but balancing it with warmth and color in happier events. Harry and Malfoy's interaction in the bathroom was all grey, dark blue, and black while the SlugClub parties were red, gold, and brightly lit. Daniel Radcliffe's acting in this was also impressive. So much so that he seemed a little out of balance with his teen counterparts. It did make me very excited to see him take on the heavy stuff coming ahead.

Anything bad I could say about it would really be more nitpicking than anything. The film finale left me with a great feeling of excitement. My only disappointment here is that it will be so long until the next installment.

Movie Rating: A

An introduction

Hello out there!

Welcome to the first Blog by Movie Chic! I have started this blog after finally being frustrated enough by the lack of voiced female opinions in the media when it comes to geek culture. This blog will primarily be movie reviews. Sometimes it will also have DVD reviews as well as tv show reviews. As time goes on I might even convince fellow girl geeks to review movies and such as well.

So...What are some of my favorite movies? Hmmm...Empire Strikes Back, Say Anything, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Little Miss Sunshine, Practical Magic, Slumdog Millionaire, Star Trek (2009). I really could go on here and start listing classics as well, but won't.

Favorite TV Shows? HIMYM, The Big Bang Theory, LOST (huge fan of this since day 1), Kings, Torchwood, Dr Who, Bones, and Top Chef

That is it for now. I am rereading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince in preparation for the upcoming move, so that will probably be the first actual review posting. In the meantime, thanks for stopping by!