Movieing Right Along, Take 2, Scene 1: The First Part About the Movies

This fine kir on the left came from a tasty lunch Nick and I had at a restaurant called Le Pommier in Bayeux, on the Middlebury weekend trip to Normandy. Once again, the Guide Michelin did us tasty.

What I didn't tell you about in the last post is something fantabulous in the world of movies here, something that I can't imagine existing in the U.S., and that is the unlimited movie card. UGC, one of the big cinema chains here, has created the Carte UCG Illimité in partnership with another chain of theatres and many smaller theatres, adding up to about 30 in Paris, so that cardholders can see all the movies they want for a flat rate per month. Can you imagine? I had to get one. The catch is that you have to get the card for a minimum of 12 months, and we're only going to be here for about another eight. So I made up my mind to make it worth the money, and I'm keeping track of the cost of the movie tickets I get for free, in order to make sure that I do get my euros' worth. The card costs 19,80 € per month, and since I got mine last Wednesday, I've seen 53,70 € worth of movies--plus an additional pre-release screening I got into for free by virtue of having the card. I feel as though I'm doing my duty. Although, to be fair, I counted tickets' full prices, and I could get them for less with my student i.d. Still, four-plus per week is more than adequate, although not likely a level of cinematic gluttony I'll be able to keep up all year. We shall see. But I did want to share with you some spoiler-free tidbits on the 20 I've seen so far, along with, when available, their Rotten Tomatoes (RT) ratings, where 60% and up is considered to be "fresh," rather than "rotten." If the movie has a foreign-language and an English title, I'll give you both. So, without further ado, here are the first ten (not necessarily in the order in which I saw them)...

1. Brüno (RT 68%): I really thought this movie was dreadful. Borat wasn't particularly my thing, although I thought it was better than this one. I may have laughed twice. Maybe I'm just not the Sacha Baron-Cohen type.

2. Ma vie pour la tienne/My Sister's Keeper (RT 47%): Fairly emotionally heavy-handed, although there were some lovely moments. From what some of my better-read classmates have said, painfully inferior to the book.

3. Whatever Works (RT 48%): Definitely more than one percentage point better than My Sister's Keeper. Pretty funny, and I'm a longtime Evan Rachel Wood fan, ever since she was on Once and Again from 1999-2002.

4. À Deriva/Adrift: Brazilian coming-of-age story, an "Un Certain Regard" (translated variously as "a glance" and "a certain look") selection in Cannes this year. Lots of bikinis. Thumbs-up, not specifically for the scanty coverage.

5. Tu n'aimeras point/Eyes Wide Open: A beautiful Israeli film that I especially appreciated because it's a window into the world of Hasidic Judaism, one that is difficult to penetrate from the outside. Another "Un Certain Regard" competitor this year. Definitely worth seeing.

6. Fish Tank: British film that won the jury prize at Cannes this year. More coming-of-age (I love this stuff!), badass Brit teenager. Not happy-go-lucky, per se, but good stuff.

7. Neuilly, sa mère!: The first actual French movie I saw this year. I understood most of it, but got a little lost on some of the slangier bits. Class tensions, teens. Not bad.

8. Le Petit Nicolas: Based on the characters created by René Goscinny et Jean-Jacques Sempé in the Petit Nicolas series of books. I thought it was a lot of fun, particularly because I could understand all of it.

9. Hôtel Woodstock/Taking Woodstock (RT 51%): Our friend Mike worked on editing this one, and so there was no way we were going to miss it. Whoever thought this rated 17 percentage points lower than Brüno must have been smoking something strong and Woodstocky indeed. The average of Nick's and my opinions was that this was a decent movie, although I really enjoy the Woodstock vibe; I just think it must have been a neat time to be alive. And my dad was there, at the festival, which makes the imagining fun, too.

10. La Danse: le ballet de l'Opéra de Paris/The Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet (RT 69%): Why does the English-language title still have danse spelled in French? A very good question, but that's what the UK Rotten Tomatoes site--the only one I can get to from here--says. This was a loooong movie with some gorgeous dancing in it, but, in my opinion, insufficient narration. I would have loved to see some interviews with the dancers, but sadly, no such luck.

I'll leave you with these for now; more soon!