Tali's Summer Movie Round Up 2014

While Leo was away this summer, Tali took to the screen and watched some films. Here they are, ranked:

1. Winter's Bone
2. Hairspray (1988)
3. About Alex
4. The Handmaid's Tale
5. Inside Llewyn Davis
6. Man on the Moon
7. Blue is the Warmest Colour
8. Fried Green Tomatoes
9. The Fifth Estate
10. Enough Said
11. Beloved
12. Roman Holiday
13. Trainspotting
14. Manhattan
15. Harold and Maude
16. St. Elmo's Fire
17. Chasing Amy
18. Pink Flamingos
19. Adore
20. There's Something About Mary

Guardians of the Galaxy

Tali: Guardians of the Galaxy is the latest of from the Marvel movie house. It tells the story of Bert Macklin, FBI Peter Quill, a man who was once abducted by aliens, only to live as an outlaw amongst them some 20 years later. He meets a series of other misfit outlaw types, and they reluctantly band together to save.. you guessed it.. the galaxy. I found that this film had a great balance of being totally schlocky and ridiculous, to being very serious and aligning itself with the tones of the previous Marvel films. I saw that some guy from the LA Times referred to the film as being, "Blessed with a loose, anarchic B-picture soul that encourages you to enjoy yourself even when you're not quite sure what's going on." I would say that describes it to a T. Also, btw, I am Groot. 88/100.

Leo: It is hard to describe this movie besides saying, it's the funniest while still being the smartest sci-fi movie in a long time. It's like Star Trek but with more relatable lore (ie. marvel universe) and wit. Chris Pratt was a perfect cast as Peter Quill (who is his father o m l) and his dynamic with Walking Dead's Rooker (I think) playing Yondu was perfect. Groot is the most likeable character, especially since I've been a Vin Diesel fan (probably since it was cool to be one). Bautista really impressed me with his under acting in a very deliberate and excellent way. His delivery was awesome. Bradley Cooper gave Rocket the perfect cocky but still likeable personality he needed. Zoe Saldana was even convincing! The plot was awesome, the script was awesome, and the action scenes were spectacular. Only a few marvel movies rank up to this one. Leometer: 94/100.

Yentl

Tali: THIS MOVIE. In case you don't already know, Yentl is the movie where Barbara Streisand sings "Papa can you hear me?" the story of a young Jewish woman who, in order to study the Torah in  early 20th century Poland, passes as a man named Anshel. This film is just so great and has lots of things I enjoy: musical numbers, Jewish themes and places, Mandy Patinkin (and his butt!) and hilarious gender bending and twisting. With songs guaranteed to make your mother cry (even at just the thought, I swear), this film is a must see for fans of any of the previously mentioned topics. 89/100.

Leo: Yentl is a famous movie among us Jewish people. Mandy Patinkin is always the most likeable guy and his characters always sound like they are just really smart (in some way). The story is well-thought out and still relevant to this day. My only criticism is that the songs, while they were great in their own right, seemed inconsistent and forced in some parts. Either way, it is a great movie, funny, great music, and very entertaining. Leometer: 85/100.

Spirited Away

Tali: Spirited Away tells the story of a young girl named Chihiro who gets transported into the spirit world when she moves into a new neighbourhood, and is kidnapped by a witch and forced to work for her freedom.  It took Leo a long time to convince me to see this film. Honestly, though they say that this film is amazing ("highest grossing film in the history of Japanese cinema), I just didn't get anything amazing from it. Maybe it's a cultural misunderstanding, maybe it's something else, but I just didn't fall in love with this Alice-in-Wonderland like-tale the same way the rest of the world did. While the story and its characters made sense to me, the wonder and mysticism did not. 68/100.

Leo: I first saw this movie in English class and I was one of the few people who (fcking) hated English class but really loved this movie. As a person with a crazy imagination to the point of mostly thinking about things that aren't even real, Chihiro was actually very relateable. The story is extremely creative and fulfilling. That feeling you get after you watch this movie is hard to describe. It was further amplified when you see the hair band is still in her hair. 89/100.

Pretty in Pink

Tali: Pretty in Pink, one of John Hughes's films, tells the story of Andie, a girl from a lower-class background who falls for and starts a relationship with a wealthy classmate named Blaine (blech). This film has John Waters written all over it - and it's delightful. Every word in the script and every rhinestone and knick knack on Molly Ringwald's outfit is carefully calculated and exhibits the feeling of youth culture at the time to a T. Plus, this film gave me a glimpse of John Cryer that I was totally not expecting (and was totally great). The one thing that I did not like was the ending, which I was not expecting, and not how I wanted the movie to end. 83/100.

Leo: This movie was nice break from the more serious movies we've been watching. It was funny and the script was incredibly well-done. The only problem I have was with the storyline which was simply anti-climactic. You could only feel bad for John Cryer's character because Andie (Molly Ringwald) ends up going back to the uninteresting classmate named Blaine and there's little-to-no closure for John Cryer. The highlight of the movie was seeing a very young James Spader who has grown up to be quite a terrifying but likeable villain in The Blacklist.