Mrs. Brown (1997)

It seems I am on a biopic kick. Not on purpose. It just happened. This is my favorite of the three I've seen this weekend. It's a very moving story. I found myself very pulled into it emotionally - I *cared* about what was going to happen to the Queen. The interactions between her and Brown were fascinating - they didn't feel oversentimentalized or contrived. Well scripted, well acted, well done all around. 4 stars.

Best Part: I've always been impressed by Judi Dench, but seldom moved by her - but her Victoria is fantastic.
Worst Part: Nothing comes to mind, really. I'm sure there were parts that could've been improved, but nothing was overtly bad.
Flickchart: #430, below Homeward Bound and above Lord of the Flies.

Nowhere Boy (2009)

Biopics are pretty hit or miss for me, but I really enjoyed this one. The characters were interesting to watch and, even though I'm only a casual Beatles fan, I loved seeing the story of Lennon's first foray into rock and roll. There aren't really any moments that jump out as being truly outstanding, but it's very solid. I feel like I could watch it again and have exactly the same reaction to it, no matter what. 4 stars.

Best Part: The acting was very natural. It was so easy for me to forget I was watching a movie at all and feel like I was just watching people live their lives.
Worst Part: The scene where Julia and Mimi and John all have their big confrontation was the one scene that didn't work for me - it had some awkward dialogue in it that kept pulling me out of the story.
Flickchart: #679, below Forgiving Dr. Mengele and above No Highway in the Sky.

Marie Antoinette (2006)

This is a period piece but feels extremely modern. Not just because of the use of modern day music to create the soundtrack, although that is the most obvous example. The dialogue feels modern, the characters feel modern, the acting feels modern. The story kept reminding me of one of those rags-to-riches stories about rock stars or actors suddenly achieving fame and then spiraling off the deep end due to not knowing how to handle their fame. Usually I dislike an anachronistic tone for something set in a specific time period, but it was oddly effective for me this time. However, the movie stays curiously distant from the actual emotions of any of the characters, and as the credits rolled, I couldn't tell you for a second what any of the characters were actually *like*, only the public face they presented. I'm not entirely sure yet whether this distance helps or hinders the movie. I tend to like strong characterization, stories that delve into characters' minds, but in spite of the movie giving me almost none of that, I found I enjoyed it pretty well overall. So, essentially, this movie did two things I hate in movies and managed to make me kinda like the movie anyway. Impressive. 3 stars.

Best Part: Jason Schwartzman is FASCINATING in this. I really wanted to hear more of his story.
Worst Part: ...Actually, it's connected to the above. I *do* wish we'd had a little bit more to play with in terms of who the characters were. While that's a personal preference - I think the movie works fine without it - I was left wanting to know who these people were and feeling like none of my questions had been answered.
Flickchart: #954, below Minority Report and above Wordplay.

Bridesmaids (2011)

I am generally very bored by femalecentric movies, and almost ALWAYS by femalecentric comedies, so it was definitely a nice surprise when this turned out to be fairly entertaining. However... along with the surprise was the disappointment that it wasn't funnier. I had kind of expected it to be an all-or-nothing thing; I'd either be totally bored or think it was hilarious, and instead it just settled in a middle-of-the-road pleasant comedy place. It's got quite a few good moments, yes, but goes on too long and also includes several laughs that just don't work for me at all. Very much in the middle on this one. 3.5 stars.

Best Part: My biggest laugh was her sleazy boyfriend thinking he was such hot stuff: "Can George Glass do this for you?" "Probably."
Worst Part: As I said, it all went on a little too long. I was ready for it to end about 1 1/2 in, but there was still a good 40 minutes left. That last 40 minutes dragged on foreverrrrr.
Flickchart: #419, below Shall We Dance? and above Evita. That is much too high, but it's partly to do with the fact that I've got The Tree of Life and Evita ranked too high. I should fix that.

Faces (1968)

Longest two hours of my LIFE. This movie is 70% awkward close-ups of people giggling, 20% awkward close-ups of previously giggling people suddenly yelling, and 10% I don't even KNOW what's going on because everything is out of focus or someone's arm/head/furniture is in the way. The final 15 minutes were almost an interesting story, but SO not worth the first painful hour and 50 minutes. Well, at least watching this broke up the streak of 3 1/2 star movies I was on. 1 star.

Best Part: Like I said, the last 15 minutes were kind of an interesting story. Chop everything else and make that a short film and I would almost enjoy it.
Worst Part: I just... couldn't follow the progression of the story. Either visually (I HATED that there were so many out-of-focus or obscured shots - it must have been a stylistic choice, but it was obnoxious) or emotionally.
Flickchart: #1634, below The Ultimate Gift and above Bean.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

There aren't a lot of differences between the original version and this American remake, but I found myself enjoying it a bit more this time around. Part of it was, I'm sure, was that the complicated and character-heavy plot was much easier to follow the second time around. Secondly, Lisbeth seemed much *younger* in this one. Noomi Rapace had a deep self-assurance about her that always made her seem like she was in control. While Rooney Mara taps into some of that too, you really do get the sense that she's, above all else, a young woman who has no idea what she'd doing with her life - but great instincts that she follows through on. She seems extremely vulnerable and extremely strong simultaneously and becomes a much more interesting character. Overall, stylish, well done, and worth seeing. 3.5 stars.

Best Part: I *adore* the last few minutes of the movie, where Lisbeth goes to give Mikael his gift. Just beautifully done.
Worst Part: I just don't like Daniel Craig. I didn't like him as Bond, I don't like him in this. I am bored by him. While Michael Nyqvizt in the original was fascinating, Craig just never strikes me as anything more than a typical action star.
Flickchart: #643, below The Dresser and above Notes on a Scandal.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

I really, really hate war movies, so it's saying a *lot* that I found those movie mostly interesting and overall very touching. The fact that the story was so very personal probably had something to do with it - I really felt like it was about seeing the people deal with war, rather than a Movie About War. It's one of the few war flicks where I *have* felt it was a personal story, and I really appreciated that. It's not going to live in my top 100 of all time or anything, but it's a very solid effort, especially for a genre that I have to work hard to watch. Well done. 3.5 stars.

Best Part: Tom Hanks' monologue about who he was before the war was very moving. I especially liked his line that was something like, "Every time I kill a man, I feel further from home."
Worst Part: I felt like the bookend bits about grown-up Matt Damon were unnecessary. He's so clearly not the main character throughout, but throwing focus to him at the end made it feel like maybe he was *supposed* to be.
Flickchart: #766, below Death at a Funeral and above A Hard Day's Night.