Five Movies I've Seen Recently

[bcholmes]

1. Spider-Man. Four stars. Fun actiony-adventury goodness.

2. Mexico City. Three stars. Interesting story, but wooden acting and, at times, hackneyed. There was a whole sub-arc about faith that just never gelled. The story seemed to avoid a lot of the clichés of the genre, though. No finding Twue Wuv. No ridiculous plot twists.

3. Wonder Boys. One star. Hated it.

4. The Deep End. Three stars. I've had a soft-spot for Tilda Swinton since Orlando. An interesting exercise in how things just get worse.

5. Monsoon Wedding. Four stars. I liked it, but I had heard really good things about it beforehand so it felt like it didn't live up to its reputation. Colourful. Surprising. Good use of subtlety.

Comments

Monsoon Wedding

[the-siobhan.livejournal.com]

I mentioned to BC that one of the things I thought was really interesting about this movie was the depiction of arranged marriages. The only time I've ever seen an arranged marriage in a Hollywood movie, it was depicted as an awful fate that the heroine must escape in order to be with her True Love.

In Monsoon Wedding the man she was in love with was a total berk, and the guy her parents picked out for her was the better match and just a better person in general.

It was also noted a couple of times that her parents and other family members had had arranged marriages and the amount of affection between partners -- even when they were fighting -- was unmistakable.

Re: Monsoon Wedding

[okoshun.livejournal.com]

My sister-in-law requested an arranged marriage, which was done slightly different than in the movie. She met a number of prospects and picked the one that she felt suited her the best. I always thought that it was kind of weird, but they have a great marriage and a fantastic kid. I don't know if I have the capacity to love/become attached to anyone who's chosen for me by someone else, even if they are my family.

It's such a different world.