Summer Movie Recap

It's been hot out there, and my local movie theater, The Somerville, has cold beer and cold air-conditioning. I've caught a few of small summer indies.

The Campaign was not so funny, me thinks. At least I didn't laugh so much, and neither did Charlene. Will Ferrell is a very talented comedian but he kind of mailed it in in this one, not so much his performance but the conception of the performance. It wasn't anything new. Zach Galiafinakis was not half bad as the film's other half, but again, a pretty flat comedy that seems to want to move toward a political/financial satire (a la Trading Places) but doesn't get there.

I did like The Bourne Legacy a lot. You kind of get two movies in one. First, a Bourne flick (natch) with Jeremy Renner filling in very well for the Matt Damon role, but you also get a Three Days of the Condor remake starring Rachel Weisz, who is becoming a better actress every year (and she was pretty good to start out with). There's a scene in a half-finished house about midway through the film which I thought was the best scene in any Bourne film yet. Elizabeth Marvel, in a small role, lived up to her name.

Except for pieces here and there I haven't really liked any of Nolan's batman films. I didn't particularly like this one either but I will say that I enjoyed myself for the first hour, maybe more. It was well-paced with some stylish interiors. I liked the new characters: Anne Hathaway as the never-named Catwoman (come on, Nolan, it's a comic book movie), and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a stand-up cop. When Bane takes over Gotham, however, the movie fell apart. Sloppy and incomprehensible with unexciting action scenes.

Not that anyone cares but I'd like to see Nolan direct a good old-fashioned period whodunit, preferably an Agatha Christie. I think he'd have a great touch with the sleight-of-hand and the not-what-they-seem characters, not to mention scene, lighting, and clothing, all strong suits for him. I'd suggest an adaptation of Ten Little Indians with the original book ending, and not the theatrical-version ending. It's never been done on film. I can already see Michael Caine as the judge and Marion Cotillard as Vera Claythorne.