More movie reviews

Nice lazy weekend = catching up on movies.

Thankfully, I didn't waste a spot in my queue for Hellboy. It basically sucked. The first half of the movie was spent try to figure out who was the voice of Abe Sapien was (David Hyde Pierce). The second half of the movie was spent trying to figure out why Selma Blair's clothes don't burn off when she flares up (a shame). The action was boring, the one-liners were lame, the plot was sketchy. I gave it 2 stars on Netflix.

The Virgin Suicides was very good. I didn't realize until the credits rolled that it was written (adapted from a book) and directed by Sofia Coppola. I should have known, though, it felt somewhat like Lost in Translation. Very morose but visually impressive. I gave it 4 stars on Netflix.

Donnie Darko is the first movie that I can think of in a while (if ever) that I didn't understand. I suppose I can guess what happened, but it was a very strange moive. Both Gyllenhaals were pretty good, and Drew Barrymore put in a surprisingly good performance. I'm really starting to like Jena Malone. She was briefly in Cold Mountain, and was really good in Saved!. I hope she shows up in more movies soon. I gave Donnie Darko 4 stars on Netflix.

Edit: Oops, I forgot Girl with a Pearl Earring. I've always liked period pieces. This one centers around a servant girl (yay Scarlett Johansson again) who works in the household of 17th century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. I have no idea how accurate anything in the movie was, but it was pretty good. Scarlett again showed that she can act, rather than just look pretty. In fact, there's only one scene in which she even looks good at all, when she finally takes off her always-present bonnet. I gave it 3 stars on Netflix.