Puntabulous

Netflix #27, Netflix #28, Prince Caspian, and Indiana Jones

Netflix #27 – Ghost World – Suggested by GoKitty

I really enjoyed this one. I liked it better in the beginning while the two main characters played by Thora Birch (from American Beauty) and Scarlett Johansson (from your wet dreams) were just wandering through life making random observations and judgments about the world around them.

But as the movie progressed I was disappointed to see the two characters drift apart. I understand why it had to happen. Hell, I’ve lived it happening. But it just caused the movie to lose it’s snap and sass. I was still able to enjoy it though, and overall I thought it was a good movie.

Netflix #28 – Kinky Boots – Suggested by Steven

What a cute movie! It wasn’t particularly great, but it was fun and cute. Plus it had one of my favorite Joseph Campbell archetypes: the wise drag queen. They’re like the wizards of the 21st century, or any character played by Morgan Freeman. Just like another great drag queen movie To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, the drag queen goes to a small town and saves the day.

The movie itself was pretty cliche and lacked the originality of To Wong Foo and I thought of a few things I would have done differently, but I knew going in that I was going to eat a warm gooey brownie, not fillet mignon. Another awesome drag queen movie? The Birdcage. A drag queen movie I haven’t seen? Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. I know, I’m a bad person.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

First off, I absolutely love the first movie, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. So I was all prepared to immediately fall in love with Prince Caspian. Plus it helped that Prince Caspian was my favorite of the 7 books, right up there with The Silver Chair. (Why do people say that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the best book?) But did I fall madly in love with it as I expected? Sadly, no. It just didn’t have the same magic that encompassed the first movie. I think a large part of it had to do with the vast increase in human characters in Narnia. A lot of the movie was spent with the Mediterranean-seeming Telmarines, which made it seem more like a historical drama rather than a fun and whimsical adventure. But the battle scenes this time around were incredible, and I loved seeing Susan and Edmund getting equal battle time rather than staying on the sidelines and letting Peter have all the fun. Oh, and the mice were awesome. So did I love it? Yes. But it’s kinda like the Star Wars prequels. I loved it against my better judgment, just because I’m so attached to the universe.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Oh what a joy it was to see Indiana Jones on the big screen again! The action! The music! The nostalgia! Yes, it was a bit over the top at times. Vine Swinging? Aw yeah! But I totally fell for it. Besides, everytime the action went over the top, you could tell that they knew they were going over the top so you could still enjoy it without being taken out of the movie. The action and humor were right up there with The Last Crusade, which I consider to be the best Indiana Jones. Towards the end, the movie could have used a bit more telling rather than showing (if you’ve seen it, you know exactly what I’m talking about), but its Indiana Jones, so how can it not still be awesome?

Keep your recommendations coming!

MOVIES, REVIEWS | Craig | May 30, 2008 5:20 am

43 Comments

By Steven, May 30, 2008 @ 5:52 am

Sorry XD To Wong Fo is a great film. Have to get it on dvd.

Death at a Funeral is histerical. It is best watched with friend. Cliche and all of the above, but i like it.

There will be Blood is a fantastic movie. Intense drama

Across the Universe. The beatles’ jukebox. It is one trip of a movie
By Burner, May 30, 2008 @ 6:24 am

Too Wong Foo is funny. Death at a Funeral is hilarious, good recommendation Steven.

Craig, despite blaspheming me for not liking Jewel, I wondered if you have seen The Station Agent.

It’s such a good independent film. You should check it out if you haven’t already.

BTW! Thank you so much for pointing me towards Waitress. Love it!
By john, May 30, 2008 @ 6:40 am

You hit the nail on the head with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The over the top parts were fine and the chemistry between Allen ad Ford was really good. I also loved Blanchet, though I kept expecting her to scream “ALL WILL LOVE ME AND DESPAIR!”

I don’t get the appeal of Scarlett Johansson. There I said it. Yes, she can act. Yes, she has old Hollywood glam. And yes, she has an impressive rack, but there is something that seems a little off to me.

Meh, to each his own.
By ExAstrisScientia, May 30, 2008 @ 7:16 am

I just got Hedwig and the Angry Inch from Netflix and really enjoyed it, even put the soundtrack on my ipod.
By Dave S., May 30, 2008 @ 8:59 am

“You shall not pass! In those shoes.” Hilarious.

And I loved Indiana Jones too. A bit too scifi at the end for an Indy movie, but I was willing to forgive it since the rest of the movie was so damn much fun.

And Too Wong Foo is absolutely brilliant. Love that flick.

A movie that was recently recommended to me was Shortbus. I stayed away from it since so many critics were saying that it was really just porn in disguise. But I watched the first half-hour of it and was pretty impressed. Sure there’s plenty of sex, but with the backdrop of the story, the sex becomes secondary (and fairly unappealing once you realize the psyche of the characters). I’m anxious to watch the rest and see where it goes.
By polt, May 30, 2008 @ 9:12 am

Dave S. – Shortbus is outSTANDing! The day after I watched it on Netflix, I went out and bought it. Craiggers, you must add this one to your list.

However, if you’ve never seen “Priscilla”, you NEED to get that tout sweet! Without it, there wouldn’t have BEEN a Too Wong Foo!

HUGS…
By Craig, May 30, 2008 @ 9:27 am

Don’t you people memorize every word I say?! I reviewed Shortbus here:

http://puntabulous.com/2008/02/10/netflix-5-and-netflix-6/
By Dave S., May 30, 2008 @ 9:31 am

Polt: We gotta talk Shortbus after I finish it. There are lots of underlying themes that would be great to discuss.
By Dave S., May 30, 2008 @ 9:34 am

D’oh! I guess I gotta read your review, Craig. Any spoilers in it?

And, yes, we recite the Puntabulous litergy every Sunday at the Church of the Argyle Redeemer.
By Craig, May 30, 2008 @ 9:40 am

Dave S. That sounds about right. No spoilers in the review.
By Colleen, May 30, 2008 @ 10:27 am

I’m definitely converting to the Church of the Argyle Redeemer.
By GoKitty, May 30, 2008 @ 10:44 am

I was obssessed with Ghost World when it came out. I dunno… it just spoke to me at that time. When I got my puppy around that time, I named her Enid after the main character.

I’ve liked Scarlett since she was in Manny & Lo which is a decent indie movie from the 90s. She must have been about 10 in that movie and she already had a husky voice. I think everyone is crazy about her because she can act and she’s seemingly intelligent unlike the other starlets.
By Nick, May 30, 2008 @ 11:31 am

Ghost World severely depressed me for some reason. I own it, but I have not cracked it open since that first time I watched it.

Hmmm…maybe I’ll try to watch it again this weekend
By David, May 30, 2008 @ 11:44 am

Watch Priscilla Queen of the Desert tomorrow. Do not wait.

Birdcage pissed me off. We can discuss it another time.
By Craig, May 30, 2008 @ 11:53 am

We can discuss now. Why did Birdcage piss you off?
By Dave S., May 30, 2008 @ 12:14 pm

Yeah, David, now you’ve got us all wondering…
By booboo1, May 30, 2008 @ 1:42 pm

I guess I’m going to have to tie you down with the sleeves of your argyle sweater and force you to watch my pics!!!!!

~HEATHERS!
~THE GRIFTERS!
~PAPER MOON!

Where’s the love?
By cb, May 30, 2008 @ 1:56 pm

Agree 100% with you on Prince Caspian– the movie missed the “magic” in the first one. Try as I might, I just couldn’t love this one.

Disagree 100% on Crystal Hip. I’ve shat out cum babies that were more interesting and well-made.
By Craig, May 30, 2008 @ 2:03 pm

Booboo1: Fear not! Your time is fast approaching!

cb: Your comment got a whole lot more scandalous once I realized “shat” wasn’t a typo for “shot”. Yowza!
By Ben, May 30, 2008 @ 2:15 pm

Indiana Jones was great up until the last half hour, seriously it just got silly. It was more like Indy was plucked out of his movie and placed into an X-Files episode.
By TED, May 30, 2008 @ 2:31 pm

When you say “on the big screen again,” do you mean you’ve seen Indiana Jones there before? I’d have to guess that you were not or just barely born when Raiders of the Lost Ark came out. You might have seen The Last Crusade on the big screen, I suppose, but you’d have been too young for the scary parts.

Also, To Wong Foo wasn’t really all that original. It was a pale remake of Priscilla.
By Craig, May 30, 2008 @ 2:49 pm

TED: I was a mere fetus in my mom’s lady parts when Raiders came out, but I DID see The Last Crusade in the theaters.
By ExAstrisScientia, May 30, 2008 @ 4:31 pm

speaking of lady parts stop resisting FEMALE TROUBLE!

Resistance is futile!
By john, May 30, 2008 @ 5:31 pm

I hate when I forget to mention things I intended to: Silver Chair is totally one of the better books. I also really liked the Magician’s Nephew.

Dave S.: You must finish Shortbus, I really thought it was very interesting. After you finish, check out the Wiipedia article for interesting info on who the movie was made.

Craig: Priscilla Queen of the Desert was fantastic. Birdcage didn’t make me angry, but the original is soo much better.
By Sartori, May 31, 2008 @ 2:11 am

Craig, I suggest renting History Boys. Great movie of a fantastic play. For the American readers I heard that they are casting for an American tour of the play.

Sartori
By Burner, May 31, 2008 @ 3:30 am

Sartori, I recommended History Boys to him I believe in a prior Netflix post. You have great taste, as it’s a really good movie.
By Derek, May 31, 2008 @ 3:47 am

I have yet to see Prince Caspian, and Indiana Jones was a bit of a let down. It was a great movie, don’t get me wrong, but the plot in the standard urban legends so it felt a little flaccid. Still definitely entertaining though, I just knew when it said in the opener story by George Lucus that we were in for trouble.
By libhomo, May 31, 2008 @ 6:54 am

Ghost World rocked. I liked it so much I went out and bought the graphic novel, which was even better than the movie.
By shirley, May 31, 2008 @ 9:36 am

haha, I wish every movie had a cartoon review from you! more fun than trying to figure out if 3 1/2 stars means I should see it.
By john, May 31, 2008 @ 12:08 pm

A song from the soundtrack just came up on shuffle; Strictly Ballroom. Great movie.
By Craig, May 31, 2008 @ 12:24 pm

I’ve seen Strictly Ballroom. I wasn’t that crazy about it, but it was okay.
By john, May 31, 2008 @ 9:52 pm

One day, one day, I will give you a recommendation you haven’t seen….
By Michelle M., May 31, 2008 @ 10:01 pm

I just put Kinky Boots on my Netflix list.

Have you seen Mommy Dearest?

Or Mommy Dearest vs. ABBA’s Mama Mia?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGkjmUsIFR0
By Craig, May 31, 2008 @ 10:16 pm

Michelle M: No, but it’s on my queue. I’ve been wanting to see it for a while!
By Mike, May 31, 2008 @ 10:33 pm

You really haven’t seen Priscilla, Queen of the Desert? Shame! Think Too Wong Foo-only with better dresses and Australian accents!
Also,Booboo was right on with Heathers-great movie!!
By FDot, June 1, 2008 @ 1:57 am

I’ve been in a black comedy mood so I’ll toss out a few: War of the Roses, Better off Dead, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 9 to 5, The Tune, Smile

Some great older films: M*A*S*H, Network

Great 80′s flick: Midnight Madness

I’d still recommend seeing Camp first, but if you’re in the mood for a totally offbeat film, try: I Wanna Be a Beauty Queen

Pricilla: QOTD and Heathers are also definitely worth a watch.
By esther, June 1, 2008 @ 10:48 am

have you seen hard candy? pre-juno ellen page beats down a pedophile? CRAY-ZEE. not for the feint of heart.
By Craig, June 1, 2008 @ 10:56 am

Esther: I saw Hard Candy. It was quite an experience!
By Captain Wonderful, June 1, 2008 @ 3:38 pm

What about slasher/gore films, how come these are never mentioned?
By Craig, June 1, 2008 @ 3:39 pm

I reviewed The Descent once. Does that count? Got any good recommendations?
By Michelle M., June 2, 2008 @ 2:08 am

I do!
If you like a little humor with your gore:

Evil Dead 2

An American Werewolf in London (I’m guessing you’ve already seen this one though…)
By crunchy carpets, June 2, 2008 @ 9:00 pm

Crystal Skull sucked not as bad as Temple of Doom and was still worse than Last Crusade….

Raiders is it….
By patrick, June 3, 2008 @ 12:32 pm

the makers of Prince Caspian kept to the original story in some ways and strayed in others… i heard they were going to make it into a silly pure-action flick, but thankfully this was not the case