Movies 1, 2, 3

1. "Ocean's Thirteen" was a disappointment—and that's saying a lot, considering the fact that I do so enjoy George Clooney et al. I had thought that "Twelve" was marginally inferior to "Eleven" (which I loved), but I can't even recommend this one. It was hard to follow and just not as entertaining. Sorry, boys.

2. "Gone Baby Gone" was much more compelling and worthwhile but still, ultimately, a mild disappointment. I didn't read the book (not my genre of choice), but Dennis Lehane obviously knows how to spin a suspenseful yarn. I don't know how much of the failure, then, to blame on Ben Affleck in his directorial debut. He obviously "gets" Boston, particularly the seamier side of it; I never once had that all-too-familar sensation that some outsider was trying unsuccessfully to capture the essence of Boston. He also had the good sense to cast his brother Casey in the lead role; Andy and I were initially skeptical because he seemed too young and pretty to play an inner-city PI, but he pretty much nailed it. Really, all the actors were good, Amy Ryan in particular. One problem for me was that there was a big plot switcharoo in the middle that was not handled gracefully at all. (For those who have seen it, I'm not talking about what you think; I'm referring to the sudden mention of the missing boy and the scenes immediately following it—it seemed as though there was a missing scene or something needed to tie it all together.)

3. "Après Vous" is an adorable French farce about a maitre d' (Daniel Auteuil) who happens upon a man (José Garcia) about to kill himself and saves him. The man is still in love with his ex-girlfriend, so Auteuil takes it upon himself to get them back together. This movie is not even remotely deep or meaningful, but it is an awful lot of fun. There was a song playing throughout that I could not get out of my head. I finally traced it to a singer named Bazbaz, a French pop-reggae singer. I even managed to track down the CD "Sur le Bout de la Langue" ("on the tip of my tongue") on ebay, so now I can listen to "Papa Tango Charly" as much as I want.

Comments

[Risottogirl]

Loved the film and the song. LOVE Daniel Auteuil.