Sunday, October 16, 2011

movies for the rest of the year

Movies I Want to See in Theaters:

The Muppets -- it looks like Jason Segel did his due diligence and made a true-to-Henson's-spirit movie, despite knowing that so-called entertainment writers all over the world can't spell his five-letter surname properly and don't even try to anymore.

Melancholia -- I hate Lars von Trier. Hate, hate, hate. And I don't get Charlotte Gainsbourg at all. But it still looks cool.

The Descendants -- depends entirely on the reviews actually.

Shame and A Dangerous Method -- Fassbender. Mmm.

Ghost Protocol -- Yeah, I know.

Movies I'll Probably Wait for on DVD/Netflix:

In Time -- anyone but Amanda Seyfried and it might have been a theater movie for me
The Rum Diary
Martha Marcy May Darlene
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy -- don't think I'll be able to read the book in time
Arthur Christmas -- unless it gets rave reviews
Sherlock Holmes -- don't think I'll be able to do this AND Ghost Protocol in theaters.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo -- unless I finish the book in time.
New Year's Eve -- probably a double-header with Tattoo. I hear New Year's Eve kills off its entire cast but Ludacris.

Am I missing anything?

Tinkers

Paul Harding's Tinkers won the Pulitzer Prize last year, and I understand why. Sort of. I've been reading it for some time, despite it being a very short book, because it's sort of an experimental book, like a NYU film student's senior thesis, but with less sex. There's a lot of nearly unreadable purple prose interlaced with technical sections, shifts in perspective, men dying slowly, their POV altered by the decomposition of their brains like they were on mushrooms and stuck in Ethan Frome or Snow Falling on Cedars. If you have read and disliked the latter two books, you will undoubtedly find Tinkers tiresome, and, if you loved those books, Tinkers was made for you.
I think my response to Tinkers, more than other books, possibly says more about me than the book itself (possibly not. who knows?). I don't think I like set pieces, which is what it feels like. A set piece of epilepsy and men in the Maine woods. HOWEVER, I rather think Mamet would like it. If anyone knows him, please feel free to pass on the recommendation.
In summing up, I wish I had some kind of affirmative message to leave you with. I don't. Would you take two negative messages?
-- Woody Allen