Christmas Movies

I've seen 4 movies in the last 4 days. That may be a new record for me. But I can't help it that all of the sudden there were a bunch of movies I want to see. Since the fall has been kind of a drought when it comes to good flicks, I indulged a little. I'm just going to attack these mini-reviews in the order I saw them.

The Spirit
Like I said, this was a wierd pick for a Christmas day movie, but it worked. If you're a reader of reviews, then you know this movie has gotten royally panned. Rarely do I disagree completely with the general consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, but this is one such time. Now don't get me wrong, a lot of their criticisms were valid, but it was still a fun movie. I feel like Batman, et al have ruined people's expectations of comic book movies. They don't all have to be super-deep and dark. This film reminded me a lot of Dick Tracy, which I love. The dialogue was hokey, the character's were paper-thin, but it looked cool and I had fun watching it. I felt like someone took the comic book, cut it up, and made a little moving picture of it. Plus, I think the Sin City style of filmmaking is just plain awesome. I hated Sin City. I almost walked out of the movie. I wanted to like it purely because of the visualization, but I just couldn't. It was too graphic and gory and gratuitous. Then 300 came out and I had the same criticisms. I didn't see it, but my thoughts were confirmed by people who did. So I may have overly enjoyed The Spirit because it's a tamer story that let me fully enjoy the awesome visuals.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
I don't have much to write about this movie because I was kind of disappointed. I thought how they aged Brad Pitt was really neat, but that was about it. I didn't care about the characters (with the exception of Queenie); I didn't care about the story; and I got bored halfway through. I realize I'm criticizing this movie for what I let slide with The Spirit, but I feel justified because the former is meant to be a serious, Oscar-contending, character piece while the latter is just meant to be a fun popcorn flick.

Doubt
Ah, Doubt! How I love thee, let me count the ways. This is, hands down, the best movie I've seen this year. I can't find anything wrong with it. The topic was so relevant and thought provoking and the performances were amazing! If you want to see great acting, then watch this movie. There's a scene between Meryl Streep and Amy Adams that involves no words, but it so utterly expressive that I was left in awe. Meryl Streep and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are two of the best, if not the best, actors working today. Give them anything, and they're gonna knock it out of the park. But the revelation of the movie was Viola Davis. She has got to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, or I'm going to hurt someone! I don't want to spoil anything about her performance, but holy crap it was just about the most amazing thing I have ever seen on screen. If you haven't seen this movie, what are you waiting for?

Slumdog Millionaire
Another great movie, this will definitely go down as one of my top movies of 2009. Since you may not be aware of this film, let me give you a little summary. This is an Indian film that follows a young man on India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. He is accused of cheating because he is from the slums and there is no way a kid from the streets could know all of these answers. The movie cuts back and forth between him answering the question on the game show and flashbacks that reveal how he grew up and why he knows the answer to that particular question. The story is just so original and so well directed, and you will walk out of the theater feeling good. If this is playing in your neck of the woods, then please go out and see it.

So there you have it. My Christmas-time movie reviews. Did you see anything you would recommend?