Convalescence means two things to me: ginger-ale and films I wouldn’t otherwise watch. Today’s pick was the new “Robin Hood” movie. Unfortunately since I’m recovering from having my last two wisdom teeth removed, popcorn was out of the question and this was definitely a popcorn flick. My parents went to go see the film last night and this morning when I was on the phone with them they suggested I would enjoy it. I wasn’t sure how much, but then it was 10 o’clock in the morning on a Saturday and I didn’t have anything better to do so I popped an ibuprofen and went.

I may have written about this before, but going to movie theaters is a sort of cure-all for me, a ritual I engage in to cope with any number of ills. Morning shows on the weekend are typically quite deserted. I’m a fan of weekday late shows for the same reason, well that and the fact that my nights off are Monday and Tuesday.

“Robin Hood” was better than I had expected, but it had me ruminating on the screwy rating system that allows copious and graphic violence in a PG-13 movie. Of course, had there been a sex scene, it would have been rated R (not that it needed a sex scene, it’s just weird that that would been the tipping point). I’m scared to say it, hopefully he doesn’t hit girls, but I agree with the interviewer who angered Russell Crowe so when he said his accent sounded a bit Irish. Cate Blanchett looked very pretty, but maybe a bit lost, perhaps because she was supposed to be simmering with desire for Mr. Crowe. Her character really came alive in the scenes that she did not share with him. A side note, Ridley Scott seems to have some sort of weird blood fetish thing going on, maybe he is trying to capture the vampire crowd (one of the previews was for a “Twilight” movie). Some of the sweeping panoramic shots were breathtaking, the scenery was used to its full advantage. It was pretty much everything as person could want in an action movie (horses!), good, but not great.

Now I can return to my regular viewing schedule of working my way through “Daria: The Complete Animated Series”.

At Whole Foods today a friend of mine bought me a chocolate frog:

Mine looks less cranky somehow. I am torn on the issue of eating him. If he were crankier looking, it might be easier.

I went to go see “Män som hatar kvinnor (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)” today. I know they are making an American version of the Stieg Larsson novel of the same name, but I can’t imagine that it will be better than the Swedish version. For one thing, it managed to condense most of the important plot points of a very complex and intricately written novel into two and a half hours without losing coherency, that in and out of itself is an accomplishment. The fact that they found an actress who could play the title character in a way that was true to the novel is nothing short of amazing, and I rather doubt that any American producer would be willing to cast an actress who would be willing to risk portraying such a character. In this film, as in the book, Lisbeth Salander does not come across as a victim even as she is being victimized. She remains very cold on the surface throughout, but Noomi Rapace manages to imbue small movements with an intensity that speaks to underlying thoughts. I say “movements” because her character, again true to the book, says very little and still the film orbits around her. When Noomi Rapace is on screen it is impossible to take ones eyes off of her. I would love to see what she and the director, Niels Arden Oplev, could do with the second book.

Amazon is having a sale on DVDs. I found myself browsing through the long list of discounted titles while on the phone with Daniel. I found a birthday present for him and then came upon the Val Lewton Horror Collection which has long been moldering on my wish list. I was excited about it being within my price range and then Daniel and I had the following conversation (paraphrased for conciseness): “I’ll buy it.” “Are you sure? Because I’d be happy to buy it …” “But I’ve wanted it for a long time.” “But it would go well with my classic horror collection.” It was an exchange that would have only been made complete by us each having our hands on either side of the box, attempting to gently wrench it free of the other’s grasp. This went on for awhile, but ended abruptly when I found another long standing wish list item marked to half-price: the Tennessee Williams Film Collection is mine, all mine.

So what would have happened if William Shakespeare had written the script for, “The Big Lebowski”?

Well, something like this actually:

I went to go see the film, “The Men who Stare at Goats” tonight. While there I saw a preview for a new Mel Gibson action flick entitled, “Edge of Darkness”. I’m quite baffled over one line of dialogue included at the very end of the trailer where one is sure not to miss it: Mel Gibson angrily saying, “You had better decide whether you’re hangin’ on the cross… or bangin’ in the nails.” Considering Mr. Gibson’s history with making antisemitic remarks, it seems like a strange choice to have his character saying this at all, much less using it in the trailer — especially since it is such a throwaway line. Either someone has a strange sense of humor or this just slipped by an awful lot of people.

My favorite film version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” is “The Muppet Christmas Carol“.

But bear with me for a moment when I suggest the following: Aleister “The Wickedest Man in the World” Crowley as Scrooge. Neither Alastair Sim nor Mr. Magoo would stand a chance.

I went to a late showing of The Hangover last night. I wanted to see it mostly because I think Zach Galifianakis is hilarious. While I don’t entirely agree with the reviewer who called it “the Reservoir Dogs of party movies,” there is something intriguing about a plot that revolves around an event the viewer does not witness. I’ve been concocting scenarios in my head, none of them even come close to explaining the state of the hotel room the morning after. I agree with Ed Helms when he said that the presence of a chicken is a universal sign of chaos.

I was a bit surprised at the size of the crowd at the showing considering it was a Tuesday night. Everyone else in the theater was twelve, so that made for a good crowd for watching this kind of movie. Of course, by “everyone else” I mean about 75% of the audience and by “12″ I mean 16. One of the twelve year-olds was talking before the movie began and he sounded exactly like Seth Rogen. Enough so that I turned around in my seat just to check. Then I had to wonder if it was an affectation or if he was simply capitalizing from a natural tendency to sound like an actor most of the girls his age probably know. It would be really funny if he had no idea who Seth Rogen is, but that seems unlikely.

On Sunday I could not sleep, so in the great tradition of things I do when I can’t sleep, I went off to see a movie in the afternoon. Because the place was crawling with children, “Up” was just flat out of contention. I decided on “the Brothers Bloom” because I’ve wanted to see it ever since I saw the first preview for it way back when.

I really enjoyed it, the lukewarm reviews I had read were only partly correct in saying that the plot fell flat midway. I agree that toward the end they were stretching it for all it was worth and really they could have ended it a good 20 minutes earlier, but the whole thing was so beautifully shot I don’t begrudge them wanting to pull the story like taffy. (You can see the opening sequence here.)

The acting was superb, so much so that I was having a hard time reconciling Adrian Brody’s onscreen persona with the arrogant prick who kissed Halle Barry during the Oscars. In this movie, he was the very portrait of a sensitive, vulnerable soul lost and confused in the midst of his brother’s machinations. Which brings me to Mark Ruffalo who I first saw in “My Life Without Me” and since then in seemingly countless secondary parts that he always manages to fill with concentrated life. It was so nice to see him in a leading role, and he did not disappoint. He played the part as a writer who found the act of writing too sedentary and instead chose to live his surreal masterpieces, one performance at a time. An aside, I enjoy movies that make crime look fun.

Speaking of secondary parts, Rinko Kikuchi as the Japanese weapons expert, Bang Bang, was absolutely hilarious without saying much or anything at all besides, “Campari” and really with her skill set one doesn’t need much in the way of language skills, except that she really is just choosing not to say much of anything. I found myself laughing aloud at one scene in particular during which no one else in the theater was laughing, but I like to think they just didn’t get it.

Which brings me back to how beautiful this film is. Every time I see a film shot in Prague I find myself thinking that it must be one of the most beautiful cities on earth. The whole of the film was shot in Eastern Europe, including, apparently, the scenes set in New Jersey (I thought Jersey was looking awfully well). Also I would now like to visit Montenegro.

I noticed that throughout the movie the two title characters were fond of throwing cards literally away (and out to sea in most cases). It turns out the film was narrated by Ricky Jay which I thought was a nice touch. (That’s why it pays to watch the credits, people.)