Three mini movie reviews

I have celebrated my return to the US with a glut of movies, though I still missed one I can't wait to see (The Lookout). I don't feel like pulling a Mannion and writing up long and thoughtful posts about each, but I have slightly longer than sound bites that I thought I'd share instead.

Thursday night my brother and I went to see The Host (Gwoemul). I knew when I first read press about this movie that I would have to see this with family. My mother taught her children at an early age to love monster movies, Godzilla most of all. My brother probably inherited most of this love for monsters more than my sister or me, so besides proximity, he was the perfect choice as movie partner.

The Host is a Korean monster movie surrounding a family of misfits: a grandfather, two sons, a daughter and a granddaughter. The granddaughter seems to be the only put together one of the lot. Her father is narcoleptic loser who works a food stand by the Hahn River with the grandfather. The other son is a college grad with no job and the daughter is a world class archer who only ever manages bronze. There is a monster that comes out of the river and kills a bunch of people and captures the granddaughter. The misfits fight against many odds to try and rescue her.

People, see this movie. I laughed, I cried, I got really scared. The monster itself was awesome. It's amphibian and had a prehensile tail, which means it could swing beneath bridges as well as run really fast. The acting is great. The family is hilarious and stop at nothing (truly) to get the daughter back. Running underneath this all is a commentary on American military arrogance that is spot on. What more could you ask for in a monster movie?

Sunday night was my true glut of movies. I went to see The Namesake with my friend Allison. The movie is directed by Mira Nair (who I think is hit or miss within her movies) and based on the book by Jhumpa Lahiri. I hadn't read the book, but have read The Interpreter of Maladies. Allison had read the book and was looking forward to the film.

The story is told in two voices, from the parents' perspectives and from their son's. I had read that the actors who played the parents (Irfan Khan and Tabu) were wonderful, but the other side lacked the same depth and emotion. I found that to be very true. The story of how the parents came to be married and learned to love each other was beautifully shown in small moments, in looks and slight touches of the hand. Kal Penn, who played the son, was a little heavy handed in his acting, especially when balanced by such soft touches by the actors playing his parents.

When I got home from The Namesake, Natasha and I ordered The Wind That Shakes the Barley onDemand on cable. We had planned on seeing it at the Music Box, but figured we'd be more comfortable in our pjs on our couch. Man. What a way to end Easter. It's a beautiful movie. The acting, directing and cinematography are all beautiful. Cillian Murphy kills me, as usual. But god, is it dark, with humanity at its worst in many ways. It tells a story of how the Irish revolution tore apart Ireland, especially one family. Good movie with a bleak story.

Partially cross-posted at New Critics.

Comments

[Jennifer]

Wow! I was able to read about 3 intriguing movies in less than a minute! No, you did not pull a Mannion. It was just like the sample spoon at Baskin Robbins. Sometimes you want the waffle cone, loaded with scoops and sometimes the mini-spoon is just right. :)

They all sound intriguing. I'm curious about The Host... I haven't seen a good monster movie in awhile.

[Sharon]

Interesting comments on movie,The Namesake. Did you catch the review in Sunday's Trib? If not, I'll pass it on. The reviewer is a white woman you married a Pakistani and had a personal take on the movie.

[Natasha]

So my co-worker, who is Korean, said that "The Host" got terrible reviews and tanked at the box office in Korea. She said that she thinks the sensibilities were not very Korean, which is intersting.

Also, linking to the Wikipedia site brings you the pictoral example of the mantled howler monkey. Made my day. So I assume you can have a prehensile schnaze? If I could evolve a body part, I think that I would want a prehensile nose.

[Claire]

Natasha, that's weird that your co-worker said that, because according to the Wikipedia article on it, it's the highest grossing S. Korean film to date!

PS: You would look awesome with a prehensile nose. :)

[stacey p]

hi hi!! i think it's totally fine you didn't run up to loren and give him a hug and smooch right there on the street corner. to tell you the truth, when i'm not in the mood to make small talk, i hide anywhere available, even if i haven't seen the person in a long time. no worries. also, i REALLY want to see the lookout. i finally saw pan's labrinth tonight. SO good and SO sad. you should see it if you haven't already. miss you always.

[Claire]

haha, Stacey, I agree that probably wouldn't have been a good idea... especially as he was holding some girl's hand! I can't see that action would have been appreciated. :)

Miss you too! You're birthday is next week!!

[Lance Mannion]

"Pulling a Mannion"???

I've been noun-ed.

Maybe I'll go from there to being verb-ed.

Hey, did you see what Claire wrote about The Namesake? She really Mannioned the hell out of it, didn't she?

My goal from here on out is to make my movie reviews no longer than a haiku.

Nice takes on the movies, Claire.

[Claire]

Well, Lance, I guess it was about time. :) Though what do you think "being Mannioned" would be?

Please don't make your movie reviews as long as haikus. They are great as they are! I just don't have the stamina to write them that long myself.

(And thanks.)

[Adorable Girlfriend]

Yeah, where has Lance-a-roni been?!