1.24.2010

40. I Could Never Be Your Woman
41. What A Girl Wants
42. Nightbreed
43. Big Fan

I wasn't feeling all that great yesterday so I figured a day of lethargy on the couch would be the perfect cure for what was ailing me. It turned out to be another pretty big movie day. It would have been even bigger if I didn't have to keep hitting the pause button to take care of things. 90 minute movies quickly turn into 190 minute movies that way. Anywho...

Started the day with 2007's I Could Never Be Your Woman. Directed by Amy Heckerling, this flick was shelved for quite some time due to troubles with the production company. It wound up bypassing theaters in the US completely and heading straight to video.

I was pleasantly surprised with this one. In retrospect, I have really liked a lot of Heckerling's other movies so it shouldn't have come as such a surprise. This one stars Michelle Pfeiffer as a television writer/producer who winds up falling for a much younger actor cast on her show. Paul Rudd is the love interest. The cast is great. Pfeiffer is solid and is still beautiful, given her age. Paul Rudd is just funny as hell. The supporting cast is really good too with turns from Tracey Ullman, Jon Lovitz, Fred Willard and Saoirse Ronan being highlights. Particularly Ronan...she's just great. The story ventures into typical romantic comedy stuff but the cast more than makes it work. This one gets recommended.


Another chick flick came next, in the form of 2003's What A Girl Wants. This one stars Amanda Bynes as a teenager who finds out that her absentee father is a British politician. She decides to fly across the pond to meet him. She struggles to fit in and not cause any waves in her father's impending political race.

This one's a decent enough movie. The story tends to veer towards the typical "fish out of water" deal where Bynes has to adjust to living with her father in a whole new country with a whole new set of rules. The cast does the best they can with what they're given. Colin Firth, Kelly Preston and Jonathan Pryce add to the cast in a good way. Aside from that, this one is pretty much hit or miss. If you're a fan of Bynes or the romantic comedies in general, go for it. If not, you can skip this one.

Following the estrogen festival, I moved onto Clive Barker's Nightbreed. This is a movie that I'd tried watching many times in the past but just couldn't get into. I'm not sure if it was the mythology behind it throwing me off or what. I watched it yesterday with an open mind and really liked it. A lot. Basically, it's the age old story of good versus evil but with a twist. The monsters are the good guys and mankind is the antagonist.

It's kind of hard to sum up Nightbreed in a couple of paragraphs. Originally, writer/director Clive Barker intended to film a trilogy. However, the studio releasing this movie had no idea of how to market it. Viewing the trailer, they made it seem like a standard slasher flick when in reality, this is about as far removed from that as possible. The movie poster was pretty bad as well, showing a collection of the monsters in the film. Due to these factors, the movie bombed at the box office and the remaining films were scratched. Rumor has it that there is a 145 minute director's cut out there but only time will tell if it ever gets released or not. While I'd love to see it, I'd be surprised if it ever sees the light of day. Overall, even though this version is kind of hacked to pieces, it's still well worth seeing. The creature makeup and effects are pretty cool and the story is interesting.


We wrapped up the evening with Big Fan. This 2009 flick stars Patton Oswalt as Paul, an obsessed New York Giants fan. His life consists of working as a parking garage attendant, watching football and calling in to a local sports radio show. One evening he and his friend stumble upon Paul's favorite player Quantrell Bishop. They want to introduce themselves but aren't sure how so they wind up following them to a Manhattan strip club. It's there that things take a turn that affects everyone's lives.

First off, IMDB lists this as a comedy but to me, it'd fall into the drama category. This is a really good movie. It's not exactly action packed so anyone looking for that can go elsewhere. It's a slow paced flick that shows hos obsessed some sports fans can be. How far would you go to protect your favorite team? That question is answered here and honestly, it's kind of scary. The lengths that Paul goes to to ensure his beloved Giants succeed go far beyond obsessive. And in doing so, he winds up completely alienating his family and loved ones.

This flick is dark as hell. Patton Oswalt shows his acting chops here in a great performance. I'd never had guessed he would be capable of it honestly. First time director Robert D. Siegel does a solid job here as well. I'd definitely recommend checking this one out.