Perhaps I'm not one to talk, but Alex' taste in movies occasionally concerns me. During my visit, he couldn't stop raving about the recent Transformers flick. Granted, I never managed to confirm what he actually liked so much about it*, but it worried me as to whether he'd enjoy some movies I was bringing that I consider vastly superior. I guess I needn't have worried, as Alex was duly impressed by both High Plains Drifter and In Bruges. He absolutely loved Blazing Saddles, though he stated he didn't like Madeline Kahn, based on her voice and her face. I mentioned that Mel Brooks was probably looking for an actress that could act, as opposed to the 1970s version of Megan Fox, which lead Alex to leap to Ms. Fox' thespian skills, and it may have been needlessly harsh on my part. I'm not much familiar with her work, and I tend to think pretty highly of Eliza Dushku's skills**, which I'm well aware is not an opinion shared by all, so maybe it's all a matter of taste. Or expectations. Or personal perception. Or something.
Pineapple Express - So what was the message of this movie, because I couldn't really figure it out. Smoking pot is bad, because it brings you into contact with criminals? Pot being illegal is bad, because it's not that ahrmful, except for the fact that getting it requires interacting with criminals? That you have to grow up at some point, meaning you can'ty have a high school girlfriend when you're in your mid-20s? That you should never look a gift friend in the mouth, because friends are the only ones you can really count on to be there for you when things go bad? I'm kind of partial to that one myself, but I don't know whether the movie really supports it.
Confusion on my part about the theme aside, it was a pretty funny movie. I loved the fight scene at Red's house***, and the only time I've liked a James Franco character more were those brief scenes in Spider-Man 3 when Harry Osborn had amnesia and was actually happy. Seth Rogan's early scenes demonstrating his skills at process serving were amusing. If I have a complaint with the film, it's that whole thing with the Asian drug cartel felt needlessly tacked on. I felt the movie could have worked as well if Gary Cole is just a crazy drug dealer killing people who welshed on payment, and now he has to eliminate this witness who partakes of his product. The climactic gun battle would have played out a little differently, but I think having Red make his heroic return earlier could have worked just as well as a troop of Asian drug enforcers.
Paul Blart, Mall Cop - Alex' sister rented it, left it in the DVD player, I was bored, and here we are. OK, this was supposed to be a comedy, right? I did not laugh once. I don't think it's for lack of trying on the movie's part, but I think there was a problem with how they portrayed Paul. The movie starts with him trying to make it through the obstacle course, so he can become a full-fledged New Jersey police officer. Contrary to what you might expect from his build, he has no problems. He scales the wall with ease, swings on the rope over the water, and when he lets go does a flip in the air and lands on his feet. If I tried that, I'd just land flat on my back. The only reason he fails is because his blood sugar crashes at an inopportune moment and he apsses out three inches from the finish line. So he has the skill and the desire, it's just he has an unfortunate medical condition holding him back.
Except the movie then tries to convince us he's a loser that nobody takes seriously, in part because he takes being a mall cop so seriously. Golly gee, how awful that the man shows a little (OK, a lot) of pride in his work. Some people recognize him as a nice guy, but they still don't want to count on him to save the day, he's still sort of a schlub to them. Except I, the viewer, know that as long as he can keep his blood sugar up, he has the physical gifts and the drive to be the hero. So throughout the film, when he's suffering misfortune and ridicule, I'm thinking 'Hey, you folks need to stop underestimating him.' Maybe that's a failure on my part to suspend disbelief, but it really kept me from laughing at the attempts at humor. I felt as though I was watching a less cool, less funny version of Die Hard 2.
Gran Torino - I think I may have laughed more at this movie than I did at Pineapple Express. I know I laughed more at it than I did at Paul Blart. I'd say almost all of the humor came from Walt Kowalski's dialogue with people who were actually his friends, and traded ethnic slurs with him on equal footing (his barber, for example). The scenes where he's taken it upon himself to teach Thao how to be a man were also pretty hilarious, and a little touching. I think it's probably good that Thao's been under the thumb of his mother and sister for so long, since that will probably temper some of the more extreme effects Walt might have had.
This is a movie I need to watch again before I could really coalesce my thoughts, but it was a very good film. Watching Walt's crustiness and harshness prove largely useless in the face of the determined Hmong ladies was amusing, and I think it's important for Walt to see they can possess that inner steel like him, but also are able to be kind and compassionate when it's needed, something Walt struggles with. I like the young priest who keeps checking in on Walt, keeps trying to break through the cynicism, but ultimately seems to realize that you can't force people to change, you just have to make sure that if/when they do change, you're ready to support them. Oh, and don't be surprised if the change isn't as significant a shift as you expected.
One thing Alex and I were both trying to decide was why the Hmong people in the neighborhood didn't seem to maintain their lawns or their homes. Alex thought that maybe in their native lands, they used less permanent structures where you had to rebuild the whole thing after large storms (or the monsoon season), so periodic domestic upkeep wasn't something they saw the point of. Or maybe there just isn't anyone in their families with the specific skills necessary, and they don't know anyone outside their community with the skills. We weren't sure.
* Largely because I didn't really want to hear about the movie.
** At least based on her roles I've seen, which doesn't include Dollhouse for what that's worth.
*** As much as I can enjoy a fight scene between two guys who really know their stuff, it can as much fun in a different way to watch a fight between guys who clearly aren't supposed to have a clue what they're doing. Just a different kind of fun.
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