movies

Last night I watched Lara Croft: Cradle of Life, a guilty pleasure. Angeline Jolie and Gerard Butler are great to watch and although some of the cgi doesn't quite work, it was fast moving and enjoyable if you're not looking for brain food.

The War Zone, the first movie directed by Tim Roth and adapted by Alexander Stuart from his amazing novel, this is a very dark movie about a family that has moved from London to Devon. The great Ray Winstone and Tilda Swinton play the parents (she's pregnant) and the two teenage children are both extremely unhappy (for overlapping reasons). The physical atmosphere--gray, rainy, dreary with the waves crashing onto rocks-- is representative of the emotional uproar within the characters. The novel was shocking and the movie is as shocking. No spoilers. It's a terrific movie but you might want to have a comedy handy for afterwards.

I had Liza with a Z--which I recall seeing when it was shown on television, many years ago. Liza Minelli is filmed in all her glory in a big concert hall in a production choreographed by Bob Fosse, with music and lyrics (mostly by Kander and Ebb). Good music and a lot of energy and good lungs. Enjoyable but not great. This is back in 1972 and oddly enough (as I was occasionally wearing short skirts) Minelli's dresses are soooo short that I was embarrassed for her. You know? Most women do not look great in hems that go up to their underwear. (not even most models)--it just ain't the most flattering cut. Anyway, it was an ok way to spend an hour but unless you're a big Liza fan, you won't care.