Movies of the weekend

Dreary Monday mornings always make me wish I was burrowed in bed watching a good movie. Sadly, I am at work. I was able to see a couple movies this weekend though. I was one in the theater, which was "Red Riding Hood." I convinced my little brother to go with me because the previews make it look like a werewolf slasher-thriller. Actually, the main plot turned out to be a romantic love triangle, so my brother wasn't too thrilled. I thought the movie was okay. The cinematography was excellent, with the winter scenery and the colors they made pop against it. I always want to know the filming location of movies like this. The werewolf was a little fake looking. I thought all the actors did a good job. The two young male leads for the love triangle were played by newcomers Shiloh Fernandez and Max Irons. They were quite attractive and did fairly good jobs, so I bet we'll be seeing a lot more from both of them. And I use to not like Amanda Seyfried as an actress (except for when she played Karen from "Mean Girls"), but she really is growing on me. My overall opinion of this movie, wait for rental.

The second movie I watched was off my DVR. Since I'm claiming to be a sort of movie aficionado, but my knowledge really only covers everything released from 2000 on, I'm trying to watch all the big cultural movies from before that. This weekend I watch "Taxi Driver," with Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster. This movie came out in 1976 and I think it really predicted that both Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster would go on to have long and successful movie careers. They both played their roles in it quite well. De Niro does silent psycho quite well. When thinking about when this movie came out, I think it was really addressing the issues of that time, when vets from Vietnam were back and suffering mentally from what they went through over there. It was a very interesting movie and I can see why it became a cult classic.

The third movie I watched was "Love Happens." Yes, I know the movie is cheesy and got horrible reviews, but I like it. I think Aaron Eckhart is very versatile as an actor and can make your average "rom-com" plot watchable. I guess technically this isn't a romantic comedy but I'm not quite sure what to call the genre. Romantic drama? Depressing but uplifting? Eckhart plays a windower who lost his wife 3 years ago, has built a successful career on helping people overcome their losses, but who secretly hasn't overcome his. Jennifer Aniston was okay in this movie. She played the same role she always does. But I did love her wardrobe in this movie. I wanted all the sweaters and scarves they had her wear for the rainy Seattle weather. Anyway, it's a tear-jerker so I recommend it for when you need a good cry.