When Harry Met Sally...

When Harry Met Sally...

Castle Rock Entertainment

July 21, 1989
Romcom
DVD
B-

So here's the thing.  I saw this movie once or twice before, not at the time, because at twenty-one I was a little young for it.  I always thought it was over-rated but not terrible, and just seeing the trailers made me mildly dislike Meg Ryan for decades.  So I didn't exactly go into this with high hopes.

But it's actually pretty good, sweet and mildly funny.  I can't relate to it, I don't think I've ever related to it*, but it's definitely interesting in an anthropological sense, very much of its time.  And it's much better than at least 90% of the romcoms out there, especially ones I've attempted for this project.  And, yeah, I'll finally start cutting Meg Ryan some slack.

Nora Ephron wrote (with a lot of input), and Rob Reiner directed.

*I relate to Going the Distance hard, even if I'm not actually like any of the people in it.

The Shawshank Redemption

The Shawshank Redemption

Castle Rock Entertainment etc.

September 23, 1994

Historical Drama, Crime Drama

DVD
C-

Bumped up a notch for the prettiest movie-prison I've ever seen.  This is based on the Stephen King novel Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, and directed by Frank Darabont, five years before The Green Mile (also inspired by King and set in a prison, and which I gave a D), and seven years before The Majestic (which I gave a B-).

Othello (1995)

Othello (1995)

Castle Rock etc.

December 15, 1995

Historical Drama

DVD

C-

Livelier and more naturally acted than the Welles version but the lighting in some of the early scenes does it no favors.  Director Oliver Parker did the adaptation.

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous

Castle Rock Entertainment etc.

March 24, 2005

Crime Comedy
DVD
C

I saw both Miss C movies in the theater at the time and enjoyed them more then.  (If there's anything this project has taught me is that popcorn and other perks of cinematic viewing generally make it more pleasurable than home viewing, but watching at home is obviously easier, especially during Covid.)  I own the 2000 movie on VHS and gave it a B-.  I gave this a half hour today, rooting for it to click, but it just didn't.  Still, yeah, I have definitely seen worse movies in this project.  John Pasquin directed.

Misery

Misery

Castle Rock etc.

November 30, 1990

Dramedy

DVD
C-

I had to read the Stephen King novel many years ago for a class and only got through it as a hate-read.  The first quarter hour of the movie though is a quirky little comedy-drama, contrasting the country and the city.  William Goldman wrote the screenplay and Rob Reiner directed.

Before Sunset

Before Sunset
Castle Rock
July 2, 2004
Romance
DVD
C-

This turns out to be the middle in a trilogy, with movies spaced nine years apart (Before Sunrise was first and Before Midnight is the last, so far).  I judged it as a stand-alone and it was just sort of there.  A novelist gets interviewed and then talks with his "ex," who shows up to surprise him, and even though I am big on dialogue (my idea of ultimate entertainment is a lot closer to people talking on a couch than it is to explosions or any "spectacle"), I just didn't care enough about what they were talking about.

Ethan Hawke not only stars as Jesse, but he co-wrote the screenplay with director Richard Linklater and Kim Krizan, who co-created the characters.