Critical Mass

No soothing blend of molten dark liquid, not even Paul Newman's dark roasted "Paul's Blend" can calm this rant against....


Movies I hate and what you should watch instead: 


"Breaking the Waves" (1995) - Leaving the theater, I heard several women sniffling- claiming this as an incredible romantic movie.....Then it was nominated and critics declared it "extraordinary" and "mesmerizing" - Gag me. While the acting, etc.. is superb, this film being tauted as a love story has my head spinning. Don't bother. It sucked. 


Instead watch:


"Punch Drunk Love" (2002) I do so adore Emily Watson (no, not Emma=Hermoine, she's a different actress) - EMILY Watson always gives an amazing performance- loosing herself completely in character. Getting this performance out of Adam Sandler speaks to director Paul Thomas Anderson's genius. If you want a love story about F'd up people, this is the one. 


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"Titanic" (1997) - First, I struggled with the premise- Unhappy? That's okay, find a hunky working man and cheat on your finance (oops, I mean fiancée). That isn't love, that's escapism and lying. Then as the movie starts to play out, I became annoyed at the cast being used in such hammy stereotypical cheap manner. Plus there is the real story of the Titanic, with its tragedy and heroism. Sorry to those millions that loved this one, I found it grating. 


Instead watch: 


"A Night to Remember" (1958) - The Titanic story- a beautiful cast. Basically,  a decent film. 


"Lifeboat" (1944)- Incredible cast, riveting tension and tragic excitement on the water. 


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"City of Angels" (1998)- oh this is one of those double edged swords. On the plus side, I love, love, love the notion that Angels live at the library (I have always thought so). Yet, I struggled a bit watching Meg Ryan do her two expressions, still kind of found it watchable.....then the ending. UGH. Really? It had to go there? 


Instead watch: 


"The Bishop's Wife" (1947) - Yeah, you can't get much better than Cary Grant as an angel. Yum. 


"A Life Less Ordinary" (1997) - Again, just yummy people playing angels. Cute. As a whole, not a great film - but really terrific performances. Fun to watch. 


"Michael" (1996) - Delicious. What else can you say about a movie that has John T cook in his boxers, dance (sigh) and smell like cookies? Dee - Lish.