catching up, again

i don't even remember the last movie i watched, so when j asked if i wanted to see a couple, i agreed without thinking.

so all in all, i was able to watch 4 movies this weekend.

first up: united 93. i did not expect it to be 'heavy' viewing, i mean not that heavy. i was almost bawling. it was filmed like a documentary, very factual and very realistic. the producers' and director's decision not to use famous actors worked well for the movie as the viewers (myself included) saw them as 'normal' human beings, not actors portraying a role. the film's quite good, even if it somehow dragged in the beginning. as soon as it gained steam, it went full speed ahead, no pun intended, until the end.

since it was such an emotional and heart-tugging flick, we decided to go light with the second one: scary movie 4. hah. thinking not required. it had its funny moments, but some were just too tacky and slapstick. and i am complaining why? this is the scary movie series, what am i expecting? oh well.

probably two notches (maybe one and a half!) above scary movie 4 is american dreamz, yes, dreamz with a z! its semi all-star cast -- hugh grant, mandy moore, dennis quaid, chris klein... -- failed to make this movie a good one. it's supposed to be a parody of american idol, and how the show's producers are looking for a specific look in th contestants, never mind if they really are not that good singers.

add a president who appears to be losing his mind. add academy-award winner marcia gay harden, who, as the first lady was almost forgettable. add a terrorist-in-training who loves performing broadway showtunes. add a white trash-type starlet willing to do anything (as in anything) to achieve her american dreamz. add a british bloke as a reality show producer/host whose morals have gone awol. you get a mildly interesting movie that is not too watchable. i actually agree with one of the film critics who described american dreamz as a 'nightmare'. ouch.

the (fourth and) last film deserves a separate post. hah!