Screened: At home, on TCM
September 5: The Birth of a Nation
Screened: For class
September 10: Paul
Screened: At home, DVD from Netflix
September 11: Within Our Gates
Screened: For class
September 13: Thor
Screened: At home, DVD from Netflix
Like the Iron Man movies, Thor was ultimately a bit too concerned with moving necessary pieces into place looking ahead to The Avengers, but Chris Hemsworth did a good job of establishing his character and I think Natalie Portman, like Hayley Atwell in Captain America, made the "superhero's girlfriend" role seem not entirely thankless.
September 17: Something Borrowed
Screened: At home, DVD from Netflix
Since I wrote about my thoughts on the trailer back when it came out, I figured I should check back in post-viewing. A lot of my concerns expressed there were indeed borne out by the film - much of that boils down to changes made from the original book that negatively impacted the movie. The alterations to the characters of Ethan and Claire contributed to a feeling of overly broad humor that permeated the tone of the movie. The transition from the book's first-person narration obscured the emotional underpinnings of both Rachel's friendship with Darcy and her relationship with Dex. And while I recognize that it's probably too much to expect the screenwriter to draw from Giffin's other books to bolster this adaptation, I think the Thaler family dynamics she lays out in Heart of the Matter are much more interesting than the fairly boilerplate parent-son relationship depicted in the movie. (Not to mention the third-party perspective she gives in Tessa observing Dex and Rachel's relationship.) The crazy thing is that I liked John Krasinski and Kate Hudson enough in their roles that I was still really curious at the end to see how a film version of Something Blue might work. But maybe it's for the best that that doesn't seem likely to happen.
September 20: The Sheik, It
Screened: At home, Netflix Instant Watch
September 25: The Jazz Singer
Screened: For class
September 27: Beginners
Screened: In the theater
I keep wanting to call this movie "sweet," but I feel like that's suggesting something shallow about it that isn't quite what I'm trying to get at. It's a clear-eyed portrait that interweaves romantic love and family love, always conscious of its medium but also emotionally honest in the best way. It doesn't shy away from its moments of deep sadness, but ultimately embraces a feeling of hopefulness. Heartwarming, but not pandering. Yes, sweet.
September 27: The Breakfast Club
Screened: In the theater
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