I was very impressed...

...by the trailer to The Soloist, playing before Burn After Reading. I was expecting the movie, based on the description alone, to be ridiculously sentimental, saccharine mush, but it doesn't look that way from the trailer (though the mention of Julliard and homeless together still puts me into a panic over shitty-ass August Rush). I should have known: RDJ don't do crap, right?

Milk also looks great. If it's as good as the trailer implies it is, hopefully it has all the success of Brokeback Mountain...

Finally, The Brothers Bloom looks like a riot. Or rather, Rachel Weisz does in it. Another Best Supporting Actress Oscar? Unlikely, but we'll see.

And, of course, here are the trailers:

Milk:

The Soloist:

The Brothers Bloom:

(New Jersey jokes are always funny.)

Conversations with my non-movie-snob housemates.

Me (in Housemate #1's room, for some reason): (sees Housemate #1 has August Rush) Oh lord, that movie was awful.

Housemate #1: Yeah, it really was. And it was nominated for an Oscar, so I thought it'd be great.

Me: Huh?

Housemate #1: Well, aren't only good movies nominated for Oscars?

Me: ...oh, honey. There is so much I need to teach you.

On a related note: does anyone know anyone who liked August Rush? I mean, that's the way it should be. It sucked. But movie snobs hated it, regular ol' movie freaks like me hated it, casual moviegoers hated it, people with moronic movie taste hated it. Actually, I'm like 90% sure that if my dad ever saw it, he would love it. Which is unforch.

The worst thing about August Rush...

...and trust me, there are many, many, many things to choose from, but the absolute worst thing about that movie is the fact that it is near-unbearably cheesy, sentimental, and cliche-ridden, and then it denies you what the entire movie has been leading up to: Evan's reunion with his parents. The movie is clogged with syrup, but it doesn't even give you the catharsis that syrup demands. It's like...it's like...it's like having sex with someone really hot but that you hate and then it turns out he or she is terrible in bed or something like that. Yeah. Great metaphor...

Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys-Myers sure are a pretty couple to look at, but it doesn't even begin to make up for the sheer suckiness of August Rush. Blarrrrghhhhh. Awful.

the only 2007 movies i've seen between september 1-now.

no reservations: absolutely harmless, but the ending makes it compare - unfavorably - with ratatouille, a far superior film. B-

el orfanato (the orphanage): it's getting overrated by those who have seen it. it's like some strange combo of the sixth sense and the ring. also, the first-time director seems, at times, to be a little bit like "LOOK AT ME!!! I'VE GOT A CAMERA!!! WHEEEE!!!" (this is like last year's last king of scotland, though not nearly as bad). still, belen rueda is great, and it's certainly solid. B

fracture: why did nobody tell me this was terrible? ryan gosling is okay but his part is terrible, anthony hopkins is just kind of like "hey...remember that silence of the lambs movie? i think i'm just gonna do that again." the twist is silly. it isn't painful, but it's bad. C-

superbad: okay, i think i need to see this in english before i judge it (with the slang and whatnot, i could understand about 90% of it in spanish, but a lot of things probably don't translate directly), but i did think it was funny, if a little too crude at times (the blood, ewwww.). B

enchanted: okay, it's a little too disney-perfect, but i found it simply magical and absolutely wonderful. 90% of this is due to amy adams, who i now worship. WOR. SHIP. you have no idea. A-

august rush: i read some review that said "the worst film that will make you cry this year." i disagree even with the latter...it's supposed to make you cry, but it's just so generic and not-particularly-well-acted that it doesn't. D+

sweeney todd: i don't feel, at all, like it's tim burton's masterpiece or johnny depp's best performance (those are both ed wood), but it's still very strong. it's hard to ruin source material that good. B+

atonement: i didn't think i would like it as much as i did. it's beautiful, and that ending - heartbreaking. i see how it could be considered a little cold, but that last scene...amazing. james mcavoy finally gives a performance that makes him live up to his hype. A-