Coming to a theater near you

I love movies. Movies that make me think, movies that make me laugh, movies that feature hot actors. Documentaries. Indie-flicks. Goofy comedies. Dramas that tackle big-picture reflections on some aspect of society, culture, the human experience. Heck, I'll even watch the occasional romantic comedy (aka "chick flick"), although that usually wouldn't be at the top of my list of things to do...unless there's a hot actor in it, then I may reconsider. Shallow? Yes.

And what has inspired my ode to movies today? It's that time of year. What appear to be good movies will soon be in the theaters, if they aren't already, just in time for the chilly nights that push us all indoors.

Here are some of the movies I'd like to see, in no particular order:

• Stranger Than Fiction - A movie about the novel-writing process. Will Ferrel. Need I say more?
• Shut Up and Sing - the Dixie Chicks documentary. Whether or not you like their music or political views, the current climate of media and free speech issues raised by this film is reason enough to see it. Watch the trailer on YouTube..."Freedom of speech is fine, but by God, you don't do it in mass publicly." Am I just hearing things or is that really what that guy said? Grammatical issues aside, I don't know whether to laugh or cry at that statement.
• Borat... - Yes, it looks completely un-PC and offensive. What's your point?
• The Prestige - Magic, betrayal, London, all-consuming and destructive pride. And if that isn't enough: Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman. Purrr.
• Marie Antoinette - Looks like an interesting perspective on a notorius historical figure, even though we all know how it ends (~swoosh~).
• Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus - I can't quite tell if this will be overly-dramatic/cheesy, but I'm intrigued by the main character and what appears to be a conflict between the conventional roles she finds herself in and the creativity and curiousity that drive her artistic pursuits (that sentence was way overwritten, but I don't have time to edit this, so deal with it). Plus, it looks weird. I like weird.
• Happy Feet - An epic animation about a misfit penguin that can't sing well. Awesome.
• For Your Consideration - An "independent" film that parodies the making of an independent film. I can't help but want to see it.
• This Film is Not Yet Rated - A documentary about the MPAA rating system. This film is "not rated," so it won't be showing in most theaters. I love the irony.
• Employee of the Month - just kidding.

Okay, I think I should stop now. I'm sure I'll think of and discover more movies to add to my list, but that's plenty to tackle for now. If you want to see any of the above movies, let me know. I'll definitely go with you, and I promise not to talk a lot and/or loudly chew my gum near your ear during the movie. Silence is golden.

posted by elizabeth @ 1:54 PM