What's in Your Queue?

I am the movie critic for The Little Paper of San Saba (a town without a cinema). I do have a specialty column, What's in Your Queue?, that features short blips on movies I've rented through NetFlix. Christmas and New Year's week were quite entertaining:

Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - the youngest Pavensie kids, Lucy and Edmond, along with their spoiled cousin Eustace take an unexpected trip back to Narnia. They join King Caspian for an epic high seas adventure on the Dawn Treader. They sail to the end of the world to rescue seven lords, banished by Caspian's evil uncle. Fun story and effects. This series has been amusing and it's a worthy rental.

Heathers - this is an oldie from the eighties starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater. High school has its cliques and the "Heathers" are all blonde and boorish. Winona's character skates by with her dark prettiness and sharp tongue. However, she sees that the girls are out of control and enlists the new guy (Slater) to punish them. Well, he's a bit psycho and what was a prank turns into murder and escalates. Heathers is dark and makes fun of high school. It was ahead of its time and now, as a film, stands the test of time. Amusing.


Margin Call - Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, Demi Moore, and Zachary Quinto head this all-star cast into a near Wall Street crash. Big trading company, overextended packages, crazy leveraging and financing. Sound familiar? This film brings our nightmare 2008 economic crash onto the screen. It seems very realistic as the risk department figures out that this financial behemoth has gone beyond its own rules and needs to do a mass sale of epic proportions to perhaps survive. Who knew computer screens could be so compelling? We know what's going to happen and yet we watch this gripping tale of money, greed, and how it is all a game. Wow!


Horrible Bosses - Kevin Spacey again, only this time he is evil, along with Jennifer Aniston, Colin Farrell as worst bosses ever. Buddies Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis), and Dale (Charlie Day) can't leave their miserable jobs, so they decide to creatively eliminate each other's employers. Crazy schemes ensue after advice from con artist Jamie Foxx. This is a funny over-the-top zany movie.

That's what I did with my time, in between reading new goodies on my Kindle, and trying to outsmart my Wii Mii.

What's in Your Queue????

Film Fascination

I am the movie critic for The Little Paper of San Saba, a town with no theater. Nonetheless, a good friend, Cecil, decided I needed a press pass worthy of my title. So far, this has garnered no free movies, no free popcorn - just a few laughs. I don't care. I love the movies and the experience. The concept of NetFlix is cool - discs in the mail or streaming video whenever you want to watch a movie. We even have a big screen and comfy chairs with cupholders. But I am easily distracted and less involved at home.

I enjoy the movie theater experience and agree with a quote from director Werner Herzog (WSJ, 2/23/10). "I'm sitting there in awe and astonishment and I enjoy to be in a place where there are people around you and the curtain opens and the miracle begins."

Superb acting, dialogue, scenery, costumes - there's just nothing like movie magic.

This year the nominees for Best Original Screenplay are:
Mark Boat: The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino: Inglourious Basterds
Alessandro Camon and Owen Moverman: The Messenger
Joel Cohen and Ethan Cohen: A Serious Man
Bob Peterson, Peter Doctor, and Tom McCarthy: Up

All worthy contenders. Writers rule!

Bare Claws

How sweet that the family sitting behind us at the theater decided to treat mom to a movie.

However, perhaps X-Men Origins: Wolverine wasn't the smartest choice with a 4 and 6 year old in tow. As the movie critic for The Little Paper of San Saba, I am concerned for my readership (however small) and try to point out ratings and if there is excess violence, language, or sex. The rating system isn't perfect, but it does provide a guideline. PG-13 for this X-Men flick was a suitable code- teensy language and plenty of violence - and thus not appropriate for two young boys.

There is so much information published these days that I almost believe that folks are immune. Do people read reviews and ignore ratings? Rather like zooming through the yellow light (well, it isn't red yet), PG-13 is a stopgap on the way to R and what's a little blood and gore for youngsters? Having a high pitched voice ask questions throughout the film ( and not using a "we're in the movies, you should whisper" voice) should have sent a signal to the parents that they were in the wrong show.

I do believe in parental control of content. Parents should be aware of movie content for kids and it should be age appropriate. Parents should be aware of books and reading content, and available to answer questions.

And like Wolverine, I wanted to bare my claws in anger at folks with cell phone text screens, and at people who act like they are home watching a video - stop talking. Shut up! That's probably a rant for another day.

I shall close with a portion of my review - Wolverine is a slashing good time. It's a summer no-brainer, and Hugh Jackman flexes the pecs with resounding success. Enjoy this in a cheap matinee with a huge tub of popcorn. However, don't bring your four year-old.

Joanne