Dir: Shona Auerbach, 2004
The premise is that the Emily Mortimer character tells her (deaf) son that his father is on a ship and sends him fake letters, to cover up the fact that the dad is in fact a deadbeat whose whereabouts are unknown. One day the boy discovers the ship is to dock in the Scottish town his mother's most recently relocated him to (they relocate a lot). What to do? Naturally, she hires someone to pretend to be the kid's father. That someone is a mysterious, brooding, drifter type played by Gerard Butler. I tried very hard to watch this entire movie, but couldn't because a) it was boring and b) I could not stand to watch Emily Mortimer's joyless face for another minute. I used to really like her — her vulnerability in Lovely & Amazing, the general innocence with which she portrayed some of her characters — but since her turn as the wounded, pathetically cuckolded wife in Match Point I've just felt like she has no capacity for happiness when I watch her on the screen. I know the character in this movie is supposed to be downtrodden and unhappy and crapped on by life, men, the universe, etc. And I'm sure once Gerard Butler loosened her up with his rugged good looks and other charms, she smiled her way through the rest of the film. But, I just couldn't wait.
Harvey's a jingle writer who goes to London to attend his daughter's wedding, where he finds that his absence in her life has prompted her to become ever-closer to her stepfather and that he's not entirely in the important position he thought he'd be in. He meets Kate, who has a phone-happy, meddlesome mother and no love life to call her own. The movie's good. It's enjoyable and sweet and funny. It's low key and honest, but still has just enough romance and magic to make you wish real life could sometimes work out like the movies. People should watch this movie, partly because Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson can do (almost) no wrong.
Funny People
Dir: Judd Apatow, 2009
Not particularly funny, overall. Has lots of jokes, some of them funny, and other amusing moments. But the movie's general tone is sort of melancholy and contemplative. The characters are anywhere from just short of likable to downright annoying. And it's really long, or at least feels that way. Didn't love it. 
Disappointing. I loved the book and I guess it's very hard to convey the magic and complexity of the story onto the screen. In short, it's about a man with a genetic anomaly that causes him to time travel to other points in his life and the life of the woman he loves. There's just something missing in the movie. It's OK, possibly better enjoyed if you haven't read the book and don't know what to expect or hope for.
A Perfect Getaway
Dir: Dan Twohy, 2009
A Perfect Getaway
Dir: Dan Twohy, 2009
A couple honeymooning in Hawaii, word of another honeymooning couple being brutally murdered, secluded hiking, beautiful scenery, running around, cat and mouse games, is the killer among them? Etc. Not a great movie, not even entirely thrilling throughout, although there are a few really tense and well-paced scenes. My biggest complaint is with the ass-long reveal scene, where every detail of how the killers did what they did is spilled. That scene really slows down the action and it's not even that well-done or interesting. But I love Timothy Olyphant and how you can never really know whether or not you can trust him. He's good when he's bad, he's good when he's good, but he's even better when you're just not sure.
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