Dearest Blog, lemme tell ya: I'm a little bit exhausted from juggling
all these awards hopefuls (that I never expected to see in my area)
with regular new releases and weekly screenings of The Hobbit!
However,
thanks to an understanding boss, this weekend I was able to catch Johnny
Depp's latest as well as one of Oscar's favorites.
First on my agenda: Mortdecai.
Johnny Depp stars as art dealer/thief Charlie Mortdecai, called upon by MI5 to assist with a case.
Well,
dear reader(s), even as a die-hard Depp fan, I'm growing bored with his
seemingly endless succession of interchangeable goofy characters. Alice
in Wonderland, Dark Shadows, and even Transcendence were all terrible
disappointments to me. So, as a Depp fan, I'm pleased to say that
Mortdecai, while far from perfect, represents a bit of a rebound.
Comedies
are a sketchy business...so often you pay ten bucks for a ticket only
to find that all the really funny bits were in the trailer. It is,
perhaps, because Mortdecai is more amusing than gut-bustingly funny that
it doesn't seem that way; instead of a dozen big laughs spread over two
otherwise boring hours, Mortdecai is a more evenly-entertaining
experience.
Depp is terrific as the self-absorbed Mortdecai, and, if his
"weird people with English accents" routine is wearing thin, it works
better here than it has in his last few attempts. As Mortdecai's loyal
and long-suffering manservant, Jock, Paul Bettany is the movie's
highlight.
A running gag with Jock--not so much as hinted at in the
trailers--provides the movie's best laughs.
Mortdecai is a caper as well
as a comedy, and it's pretty entertaining. It doesn't drag on or
over-inflate itself with unnecessary pretense. It's not too clever, but
it IS fun, and, yes, there are even some laugh-out-loud moments.
Mortdecai
runs 106 minutes and is rated R for "some language and sexual
material." (For my money, I've seen far worse rated PG13...don't
understand this rating at all.)
Mortdecai is not a special
movie--you won't be talking about it next week, let alone next year at
awards time--but Mortdecai IS a bit of mindlessly fun entertainment.
Last I checked, that wasn't yet a crime in Hollywood.
Of a
possible nine Weasleys, Mortdecai gets five and a half.
(It would have
been six had it co-starred ANYONE besides Gwyneth Paltrow!)
Next up was The Imitation Game.
During World War II, English mathematician Alan Turing leads a team attempting to break Nazi codes.
Alright,
I'm gonna say it straight up: though it has zero chance of taking home
the Oscar, The Imitation Game is easily my favorite of the Best Picture
nominees I've seen.
(Still missing Whiplash, which hasn't hit my orbit
yet.) Benedict Cumberbatch is phenomenal in the lead, often abrasive but
still strangely sympathetic. Again, though he doesn't seem to have a
legitimate chance of hearing his name called on the big night, his
performance is as good as any I saw last year, and the supporting cast
is uniformly strong as well.
The Imitation Game races against the clock
to break Nazi codes and prevent further loss of life; as such, it's more
"edge of your seat" than it probably seems from the description. The
movie also touches on Turing's homosexuality, for which he was
prosecuted later in life, under UK laws of the time. It's heartbreaking,
but never miserable.
The Imitation Game clocks in at 114 minutes
and is rated PG13 for "some sexual references, mature thematic material,
and historical smoking."
The Imitation Game is riveting from start to finish, beautifully executed on all levels. The very definition of "must see!"
Of a possible nine Weasleys, The Imitation Game gets nine. Just go see it already!
Until next time...
Somehow I knew the Internet wouldn't make me do this myself! :-)
