Movies

We've seen three in the last couple of weeks:

The Class
This film chronicles life in a French classroom in a documentary style, though it is not in fact a documentary. It really captures the feel of this sort of teaching (and the role of teacher as entertainer) though I found it unrealistic in the sense that there are no truly bad kids in the classroom as even the troublemakers have hearts of gold. That was not my experience in a suburban junior high in the US; it seems most unlikely in an urban school in an immigrant neighborhood in Paris. Recommended nonetheless.

Watchmen
This was a lot more fun than I expected and I can see it becoming a cult classic of sorts among 17-year-old boys. It is dark and moody with interesting characters and some delightfully obtuse humor - like having a world where Nixon has been re-elected five times. Recommended - especially for 17-year-old boys.

Duplicity
Big fluffy fun! I am not a frequent watcher of romantic comedies, but the writing in this one is excellent, there is lots of beautiful cinematography to watch, fine character actors in supporting roles - especially Paul Giamatti - and Julia Roberts and Clive Owen are having a great time. The movie includes a couple of truly priceless scenes, including the corporate battle on the tarmac at a small airport that plays under the opening credits and the scene where the travel agent who has been duped and seduced by Clive Owen explains why she succumbed. Rotten Tomatoes says "more cerebral than visceral", to which I say "not that there is anything wrong with that!" Recommended - a great date movie.