Fall movies

Tis the season for the best movies to be released. Here are some of them....

Moneyball -- I admit that the only reason I saw this movie is because (a) I have (at least) one friend who tries to be wholesome and pure (unlike me) and does not see movies that carry an R-rating, and (b) because Moneyball was the only movie that I wanted to see in that category, solely because it was on EW's Must List. But, I wasn't excited about it. As much as people kept saying, "You don't have to like sports to like this movie," I still kept thinking, "Well, it's a sports movie. How interesting will this be to me?"

So, all of that said, I loved it! As soon as the end credits started rolling and I saw that Aaron Sorkin was one of the writers, I knew why. I thought the story was interesting, the acting was good, and there was some suspense that kept me tuned in.

Ides of March -- I think because this one has been getting good reviews (also on EW's Must List), some people's expections may have been raised and therefore they may have been disappointed. However, I loved this movie. I thought it was really interesting and compelling. It was an interesting look at our political system, as well as my usual interest in interpersonal relationships.

Like Crazy -- One day in October, we had a conference that was over at 4:00 pm and I was so excited to have an early evening, so I went to see this movie with the matinee crowd. The acting was just as good as you've heard. It has been called an anti-romance and also "the most annoying part of relationships." I might have had my expectations a bit high, but still, really liked it.

Martha Marcy May Marlene -- This one is about a young woman who joins a cult and then escapes a few years later, so the story goes back and forth between her life in the cult and how she tries to make sense of those years afterwards. Naturally, I was intrigued by the charasmatic character who somehow draws these young people into the cult. And as we get little hints into her life before, it's interesting to speculate on what would have been her reason for being there. The Martha character was so well-acted and she was so real to me, as she reminded me of some clients I've worked with over the years (not that I've worked with people that have joined cults, but vulnerable people who get sucked into crazy situations). I would have trouble recommending this to very many people, especially people who see movies that I love and then come back to me and ask me, "Why did you tell me to see that? That was so depressing!" Although my mom is not in that category, you should definitely not see it.

This one is going back a bit, but Tree of Life is still in one theater here and may be playing near you (although I think it's already on DVD). It's everything you've heard -- strange, confusing, long, and visually stunning (I love the 50's-60's feel, clothing, furniture, etc.). I liked it a lot.

Next movie on my list is The Descendants.