movies i saw this year that sucked.

i'm a movie geek. the other night at a show with a friend there was this cool audio loop being played before the band took the stage. i leaned over to my friend, 'that's from blade runner,' i told her. she gasped, 'oh yeah!'

i regularly watch movies as a means to chill out, transport myself, and simply to examine someone's interpretation of the human (alien or the undead) experience. i generally avoid the brainless, commercial movies hollywood cranks out every few months. those riddled with cliches, stereotypes, and superficial narratives. romantic comedies are high on that list; most are just variations on the same tired theme.

i like wes anderson's movies, although his films generally have a similar composite character - an eccentric and nuerotic rich person from the northeast who goes on a cathartic journey. i enjoy his movies primarily for the visual style and music. (for example, darjeeling limited is my favorite of his).

i am not however a big fan of noah baumbach. greenberg, although critics went bananas over it - i thought sucked. he was a hopelessly awkward, narcissistic asshole. i didn't give a shit about him and was frustrated that florence gave him any compassion or affection. she was way too good for him. greenberg was privileged, smug, emotionally fucked up and couldn't see past his own useless self-obsession. i think what i always get from baumbach's movies is i find his own alter-ego and issues, not an original character.

boring. zzzzz.

the kids are alright. massive dislike. i thought it was riddled with cliches (the hip lesbian parents who love wine, gay porn, and joni mitchell). i choked on the touchy-feely california goodness. the sperm donor dad was also hip and sexy with his urban garden that provided produce for his hip and sexy rustic LA cafe. he's fucking the super hot hostess and disses her for the hot mom (sorry, totally implausible even if julianne moore is hot; the sister from the cafe is so gorgeous it's distracting). no way mr. sustainable california living dude would ever dis that woman. not buying it. the kids had cool names and cool problems like the oldest going off to an amazing college with her amazing GPA, while her younger brother wallows in adolescent complacency.

i have no issue watching films that depict life of the affluently hip and privileged if it has meaning. this was a boring family therapy feel-good acceptance fest. i didn't really get the sense of transformation in anyone and it was certainly a world of social class isolation (everyone has a deck!). yes i know what petite syrah is, so what? the movie just didn't resonate with me as i had expected.

cyrus. sucked! even if i love all the actors in it. grim story about an adult woman whose creepy adult son controls her life and tries to sabotage the possibility of her finding true love. i looked at this from my own perception in that i would have kicked the kid out long ago; demanding he either get a job or go to school instead of spending thousands of dollars on equipment making crap music to nature photography. barf! who would put up with that? it was a creepy oedipal complex narrative that just grated on me. the end was positive, but the process beforehand was a little excruciating to watch.

maybe i'm missing something, but i just couldn't get with it on these movies despite all the critical praise.

now let's talk about inception or i am love. :)

mslisa