three movies

Been watching classy movies these days. Two of them at the theater and one on DVD.

I enjoyed "The Illusionist". It's quite a rare movie. An intelligent mainstream movie. There used to be dozens of them every year, now we're lucky to get this one. It's about a magician who runs into his teenage crush from way back. Only problem, she is engaged to be married to a future Emperor. That's all one can really say. Edward Norton is great and Jessica Biel is pretty good. A fun movie.

I also liked "Volver", an Almodovar movie for people who don't especially like Almodovar movies. There are no gimmicky sequences here, no kitschy scenes, no transvestites. It's a movie about secrets and bonding between women, especially mothers and daughters. Penelope Cruz is so damn good here. How can she be so amazing and sexy in Spanish movies and so annoying in American movies?

"Notes from a Scandal" is also really good. An aging, lonely lesbian who develops a crush on young teacher. She learns that the teacher is having an affair with a 15 year old student. So she blackmails herself into her life. Judi Dench is great as the lonely woman, simply because she portrays the character as a real person and not as a "psycho from hell" we see in so many movies. Cate Blanchett is also great as always.

There you go. Three classy movies that satisfy the brain and are very entertaining.
Anyway I have "Slither" on DVD to watch so I don't become too highbrow.