Thumbs Up and Down and Everything In Between

I Saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall last week and while it was pleasant enough, I was a bit confused by it. It wasn't really a comedy, though there were a few laugh-out-loud moments. It certainly wasn't a drama. I guess someone described it best when they said it was a good date movie; of course, I saw it with girlfriends. One of the things that I found most annoying about the movie was that it was so unbelievable that he'd pick Kristen Bell over Mila what's-her-name. Mila was so much cuter and cooler in every way.

We also saw Before the Devil Knows You're Dead and I Am Legend. (Aside: blockbuster.com is awesome--I love being able to trade movies in at the store so we essentially get twice what our plan allows.) Before the Devil Knows You're Dead was good, but a little slow (A of course fell asleep, but then again, he falls asleep during most movies). And Marisa Tomei's constant nakedness seemed a bit gratuitous. I have mixed feelings about I Am Legend. I chose it knowing it's a bit of a horror flick, even though I'm a huge wimp. In fact, I spent most of the scary parts of the movie (when Will Smith found the next, the final fight scenes) reading my book (the grown-up equivalent of hiding under the covers) rather than watching because I was s-c-a-r-e-d. I actually really enjoyed the movie (the parts I saw, anyway). In fact, I even checked out the alternate ending, which I've never done for any other movies. The alternate ending answered some questions for me and was more consistent with some of the holes in the plot: When Will Smith commented about the complete de-evolution of the dark-seekers, that was clearly inconsistent with the elaborate trap they laid out for him, and I thought that point would be re-visited. So per the alternate ending, they hadn't completely de-evolved. In fact, they retained many human characteristics, including insight into the Will Smith character to know that his extreme loneliness would lead him into the trap. So the alternate ending made sense in this context: the distinctly human trait of love which would lead the main dude to go to extreme lengths to retrieve his main chick. But that ending seemed a little too pat, and I think I preferred the ending that made the final cut, even if didn't fully address some of the plot developments.

Off to see Sex and the City tomorrow night--I'm lucky enough to go to a pre-screening. I was a devotee of the show during its original run, so am a bit excited, but not in a Star Wars-geek kind of way. Side note, I have seen it incorrectly it referred to as Sex in the City almost as often as I've seen it referred to correctly.