.jeri.

Some of these movies I don't even remember well enough (not to speak of them, but of how long ago I watched them) to give a proper review, so I thought I'd go through the last few movies I watched while on disability and give small reviews for each of them.

Cobra Verde (1987)

I really must start reading up on Werner Herzog and how he chooses his movie subjects. But this is a movie roundup, so I'm just going to leave that as an entry on the to-do list. This movie is about a man who is referred to as Cobra Verde. He is a famous Brazilian bandit, although we do not know what he has done to earn this fame, and he gets hired on by a plantation owner to supervise the slaves. After he impregnates the owner's daughters, he is sent to West Africa to negotiate slave trade with the crazy king Abomey.

Wow, this movie goes all over the globe and in typical Herzogian fashion, it stops to focus on whatever catches his eye, from the landscapes to slave songs. I really appreciated the effort put into making this movie while also finding it a little bit slow. It was original material, to be sure. The lead role is, of course, played by Klaus Kinski, who is wonderful. Due to the lone nature of his character, it's hard to pick up on what is going on inside him a lot of the time, which is what pulled me out of the movie at times. Overall, I was pulled in by the oddness of it, liked the look, and liked the performances, while feeling rather ambiguous about what actually happened.

Lessons of Darkness (1992)

Lessons of Darkness is also directed by Werner Herzog, and shows us the destruction in Kuwait and its burning oil fields. The documentary has little to no narration, and only a couple of interviews. It focuses on sweeping shots of the land, the oil, and the fires. It's quite short, but the quietness of it and the music put me to sleep more than once (one can't fight medication well while watching a movie like this). Unfortunately, there were German titles for segments of the movie, and they weren't translated in the version I watched, so whatever commentary Herzog might have made was almost completely lost on me save for the fact that the images he showed spoke for themselves.

Twilight (2008)

I finally got out of the house and into a theater, and my first try was Twilight. I wanted to see what all the hubub was about. It turned out to be better than I expected, based on the reviews I had heard about it. I thought the awkward interactions of the teenagers seemed realistic enough, and luckily there weren't any crazy audience members in my theater to ooh and aah at Robert Pattinson. I would say the worst part of the movie was the makeup. Otherwise, I thought it was an interesting enough premise, liked the writer's spin on vampires, and thought it was an entertaining movie. I also envied Kristen Stewart's hair, which was always gorgeous - funny for a girl who didn't seem to care about that type of thing.

The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003)

Oh I know, I know. How weird can the variety in this post get? This one's about a camel breeding family in Mongolia! One of their calves is born and is rejected by its mother, and cries incessantly. The documentary follows the seasonal and daily habits of the family, along with cultural rituals. I thought that for a short movie it felt rather long, and I almost checked out from it. But the final scenes made everything worthwhile. I think I might have even shed a tear.

Goodfellas (1990)

Being a fan of Martin Scorsese, I'm not sure why I hadn't seen this yet. He is definitely a master at the camera. I practically drooled over some of his long shots and how he filmed the majority of this movie. I also appreciated all of the performances. It's styled, costumed, has great sets, and a great ensemble cast. I'd say the only thing it has going against it is that the lead character, played by Ray Liotta, isn't all that interesting, and I kind of wished things would have ended differently for him. But it's based on real life, right, so what can you do? This movie moved quickly, smoothly, and is a classic despite my minor qualms.

Starship Troopers (1997)

Ric decided to watch this, and so I joined him. It's a fun one about a futuristic military flick about young recruits fighting giant bug aliens that are trying to destroy Earth. There are some ridiculous deaths and there's definitely a penchant for gore, but it keeps a sense of humor and lightness about it, instead of taking itself seriously, which is what makes it work.

Push (2009)

I went to see this one because it looked reminiscent of Jumper, which I thought was an underrated movie from last year despite its flaws. Push is smaller in scope, but has more depth in the world it creates. Plus, it's got a more talented cast and an interesting style. I was pleasantly surprised. The more I look back at it, the more I like it. It's definitely worth a rental, if you're thinking about it.

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

I saw Singin' in the Rain at the Fox with a few friends. It was my first time seeing the classic, and wow, it was definitely more than I thought it would be! I loved the clever pokes at the film industry and some of the great sets and costumes. The plot kind of wanders off into the background as the movie progresses, which is why I wouldn't rate it as highly as some other musicals, but I definitely had a great time watching it. My favorite cast member ended up not being Gene Kelly, though. I much preferred the antics of Donald O'Connor, who stole every scene he was in with his cooky acting and amazing dancing. I could have watched an entire movie starring him. I had a really fun time watching Singin' in the Rain and I'm sure I'll watch it many more times in the future.

Phew! I pumped that out in like 25 minutes!