After watching Blue Valentine about 5 or 6 times within my first month of owning it and then re-watching Brokeback Mountain a couple of months ago (the first time I saw it was in the movie theater), I’ve been itching to go on a Michelle Williams streak. I had no idea her filmography was already so long, and while I’m not going to watch some of the films very early on in her career (such as Halloween H20 or But I’m a Cheerleader), I’m anxious to see the movies she’s starred in since her Dawson’s Creek days. One of those movies was Sharon Maguire’s (in just her second directorial effort, following the highly popular Bridget Jones’s Diary) Incendiary.
All posts by bryanbuser
The Quick and the Dead (1995)
I was hoping for a good western movie. I didn’t get it. I was looking for some quality actors to shine in roles I hadn’t seen them in before. I did not find that, either. The talented Sam Raimi’s (Spider-Man, For Love of the Game) The Quick and the Dead failed in many aspects. This movie had never been on my “must-see list” but had been on my “hope-to-see list” for the last 15 years. I was hopeful but not optimistic that I would find the movie rewarding. For a western, I have not much happened in this one. The film was very predictable. It was one of those movies with too many stupid coincidences to take seriously.
Thor (2011)
I don’t know enough about the Thor story coming in, so there were parts of this movie when I wasn’t as confused as I was surprised. I saw Thor after seeing Captain America (even though Thor was released a few months ago). I liked the World War II storyline of Captain America. I also liked the mythology storyline of Thor. However, I was not a fan of the back and forth between and present day. I know that many probably liked this aspect of the movie, but I was so engrossed with the movie’s first 15 minutes that I didn’t want to leave this story to enter “the realm” of the present day.
Wrecked (2011)
According to the International Movie Database, Michael Greenspan’s debut movie, Wrecked grossed under $5,000 at the box office. For its lead star, Adrien Brody (Best Actor Academy Award for 2002’s The Pianist), this is a far cry from the early part of the decade when his movies like The Village (2004) and King Kong (2005) were each earning over $110,000,000 at the box office. Brody has made some terrible movies since 2005. These have included The Darjeeling Limited, The Brothers Bloom, and The Experiment. The trailer for Wrecked looked intriguing enough. I also wanted to know if Brody had the ability to do what Tom Hanks (Cast Away) and Will Smith (I Am Legend) were able to do successfully…star in a movie in which he is (for a majority of the film) the only actor. After watching the film, there is a reason why Cast Away and I Am Legend each earned $233,000,000 and $256,000,000 at the box office, respectively, while Wrecked brought in less than $5,000.
Leaving (Partir) (2010)
Subtitled movies don’t bother me as much as they used to. There used to be a day when I would only watch a subtitled film if someone forced me to watch one in one of my high school classes. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that I seek out movies with subtitles, but I no longer instantly reject them. In fact, before watching Leaving (Partir), I watched two other Kristin Scott Thomas French subtitled movies (Tell No One) e le Dis à Personne and (I’ve Loved You So Long) Il y a Longtemps que Je T’aime. I was a huge fan of I’ve Loved You So Long. I would have enjoyed Tell No One more had I been paying more attention to it. I may be willing to give it another chance one day. This brings up my next point with subtitled movies. If you hope to get anything out of a subtitled film, you’ve got to devote your 100% attention. I did that with I’ve Loved You So Long, and I did that with 2009’s Leaving as well.