I saw four more movies in May after Iron Man 3, and rather than write a big ol’ blustery blog post for each one, I thought I’d cut to the chase so we can get on with June!
STAR TREK: INTO DARKNESS: This one is pretty much a must-see. I may have liked J.J. Abram’s first one a little better, but that’s because we were meeting all those folks for the “first time” and everything was really fresh. The opening sequence alone would have been hard to beat. But I did like Into Darkness and was thrilled to see that every member of our beloved cast was back for another adventure, even if it wasn’t quite as monumentous as the one before. We saw it in 3D – not by choice – and I’m not sure it added anything spectacular to the experience. Regular 2D ought to do you just fine, just don’t miss out on seeing it on the big screen. There are some Big Moments in this film that deserve every inch.
THE BIG WEDDING: Into a summer movie season full of darkness (e.g., Star Trek: Into Darkness, Thor: The Dark World, etc.), a little sunshine must fall. The Big Wedding served that purpose for me, providing a brief respite from some of the gloom and doom. The Big Wedding is basically this year’s version of It’s Complicated, except instead of one woman trying to sort through two men, you’ve got one man (Robert De Niro) trying to sort through two women (Diane Keaton and Susan Sarandon). They are all delightful in their own way, but their story doesn’t pack the punch that it should. I blame that on a splintered storyline that gives way too much screen time to the minor subplots of the children, now grown and getting into complications of their own. Meddling kids! Go find your own movie to be in.
FROM UP ON POPPY HILL: This is the second movie from Japanese anime director Goro Miyazaki, son of the great Hayao Miyazaki. Not to worry – the elder Miyazaki hasn’t retired. In fact, he helped out on the Poppy Hill screenplay. Like most of the stuff that comes out of Studio Ghibli, it makes me wish American kids had the same easy access to these movies as they do to Disney’s. Unfortunately, if you want to see a Miyazaki movie, you have to make an effort, especially if you want to see it on the big screen. As usual, we were wowed by this one, although unlike most Miyazaki movies, Poppy Hill doesn’t have any elements of the supernatural or the mythical. There are no tiny people, no flying houses, no enchanted forests. Just a good solid story and good solid characters voiced by a full house of famous voices, including Anton Yelchin, Jamie Lee Curtis, Beau Bridges, and Ron Howard. Best of all, you’ll hear the most lovely Japanese pop song of all time, Sukiyaki.
THE GREAT GATSBY: No one divides a house like Baz Luhrmann. Sure, he’s famous for big, splashy productions, but he’s infamous for his blatant anachronisms, particularly when it comes to soundtracks. In the case of The Great Gatsby, he jazzes up the Jazz Age with some good old-fashioned hip-hop music courtesy of Jay Z, will.i.am, and others. It’s enough to drive some people crazy! Even Entertainment Weekly called the results “frantic.” Not me. I just like to put the top down, buckle up, and see where Baz takes me. And this ride was particularly good! The English majors will be glad to know that Baz stuck surprising close to the source material, and the fans of the 1974 film (a loyal contingent that includes myself) will be glad to know that Leonardo DiCaprio did a serious study of Robert Redford before daring to step into the man’s white patent leather shoes. Bravo, Baz and co.!
Posted by Holly "Double Feature" Joplin 
Movie Reviews for Mere Mortals 
