Movies movies movies...

I've been going to the movies a lot lately. Here's some of what I've been seeing, with some random thoughts about them. I'll try not to give spoilers, but do be warned, they may slip in...

Napoleon Dynamite
Ok, so lots of my friends have been telling me I have to watch this movie. I understand that it's very big out west (and by 'out west', I mean Utah and Idaho). I put it on my blockbusteronline list, and waited. Well, it came, and I watched. And now I totally understand why people like this movie. There's not much plot, and it doesn't seem like there's a whole lot to it, but yet, at the end of the movie I was glad I saw it. It's funny, and real in a way most movies aren't. I couldn't help thinking "Brigham Young would approve of this movie" (I know, I have the oddest barometers I use for movies). It did the whole High School thing with the underappreciated non populars and the popular people without being annoying or weird or anything. Just real. And I was glad to see the girl who is Napoleon's love interest--I saw her first on Veronica Mars (which she did after ND), where she still plays a bit of an outcast although a computer genius one.

The Water Horse
My friends totaly ditched me on this one, so I went by myself. It wasn't anything like the book, besides a few common elements like the character's names and the actual water horse. Still, it was a good movie, and I even cried there at the end. It was interesting that they set it during WWII. I didn't really care for the ending. Such a marvelous creature should live for centuries, not a mere 50 years or so. Crusoe was quite fun to watch, too. I think he may have eaten the dog, though...

Juno
I saw this after The Water Horse on Saturday. I hadn't heard much about it, just that it seemed to be quite popular. I read a synopsis, and thought it might make a good addition to my teenage angst collection (I have quite a few books about unwed mothers, go figure). This one was quite thought provoking. I thought the main character had a lot of courage to do what she did, and was really smart about the choices she made after the one, bad choice. I liked that she faced up to what she did, and that she didn't decide to keep the baby knowing she wouldn't be able to take care of it. I liked that she found a responsible couple (or they seemed that way, anyway), and I found her parents reaction believeable. They were actually hoping she was into hard drugs or had been expelled--anything but being pregnant. But they were supportive. In fact, Juno did exactly what the church suggests young women do after they find themselves in this situation. So while the language was a bit raw, and it really was about teenage pregnancy, I really did like this movie. Not sure Brigham would approve, but since he'd probably see the whole repentance aspect of it, he might be ok with it.

National Treasure
This was a fairly fun romp. I rather liked the first one better, but this one had some nice effects and Indiana Jones-like moments. And everyone got a girl in the end, so that was kind of nice. There may be a sequel, though. They opened it up with the President's suggestion. I thought the whole kidnapping of the President was a bit contrived, though. I guess if they've already stolen the Declaration of Independance, they needed something to compete with that. I liked that the bad guy turned out to not be so bad after all. That was kind of nice.

I have a feeling I'll be going to more movies this winter, as long as there are movies worth seeing. And my blockbusteronline is fabulous. I can watch as many movies as I like for really not that much. Which reminds me...

Casino Royale
I rather liked this new Bond. He gets dirty, manages to lose things, even fell in love with the girl. Course, then she had to die, because that's always how it goes, but he also managed to be right where he needed to be in order to save the world. As M put it, he has a lot of cheek. I actually didn't care for Timothy Dalton's Bond, and *gasp* haven't seen any of Remmington Steele's (Pierce Brosnan for all the young whippershnappers), but I liked this guy. Of the old-school Bond's Connery is my favorite, but this guy might turn out to be my all time favorite, if he continues well.

So what movies have you seen lately?