December 30, 2007

• Movies I've Seen Recently...

  
  Atonement  (2007)  B

  Based on the book by Ian McEwan, "Atonement" goes for the beautiful visuals and it's dramatic story. The pacing is slow and methodical, and seems to kinda go from set piece to set piece though. In many cases the story is told in flashbacks, as there are multiple point of views in how things happened. However the plot is quite memorable, and it's definitely something to think about after the end of the movie. The actors are also very good in this, especially the young Saoirse Ronan who showcases a lot of intense acting considering her age. Keira Knightley and James McAvoy are also excellent in their roles as the tragic lovers. One thing that really stood out for me with Atonement is actually the musical score, which cleverly uses the sound of a typewriter as one of the "instruments" heard.

  
  Walk Hard : The Dewey Cox Story  (2007)  B+

  Written by Jake Kasdan and Judd Apatow, "Walk Hard : The Dewey Cox Story" is a hilarious satire of the many musical biopics out there like "Ray" or "Walk The Line." I honestly did not think I'd like the movie as much as I did, but from the very first scenes all the way to the final shot, I thought this is up there as one of the funniest films of 2007. There's a lot of acting cameos by many comedians from "Saturday Night Live" alumni to people like Jack Black to the usual supporting cast of the Apatow family. However it's the great performance by John C. Reilly that makes this movie, and wow he really IS Dewey Cox. The songs are also quite good and funny too, going through the early beginnings of rock and roll, to the hip-hop sampling era. Keep in mind that because of all the inside jokes on the music biopic, this movie is not for everybody. This also isn't like the other recent Judd Apatow films too, as it caters more towards those who appreciate parody and satire humor.

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