StinkyLulu's Summer Movies

Hello Lovelies...
It's been nearly two weeks & that's just wrong. So. Even though StinkyLu hasn't a blog-agenda today, post Lulu will...

The trip to NYC was great. Perfect, actually. Just time enough to do pretty much everything, but not so long that the traveling started to get too tiresome. The best part? Being with MrStinky, o'course. The real best part? Good eatin' all 'round. The other like totally best part? The movies. And the surprisingly good part? The shopping. (Who'da thunk't? See, MrStinky -- being the shopping-fiend that he is -- dragged the Lu all around SoHo a few different times. Actually sorta fun. StinkyLulu's totally the "weary husband holding the little lady's bags" but it was sorta neat. And StinkyLu wasn't even frightened at the sight of the pricetags. Generally mortified, horrified & appalled -- but not frightened. That scores progress.)

And despite the headlines about cinema attendance being down, The Stinkys have been doing more than their fair share to boost the movie economy -- both in NYC and since -- in the last 2 weeks. (All without seeing that soul sucking alien attempt world domination via the googaplex; the Stinkys haven't seen the movie starring his newly Scientologized fiancee either.)

StinkyLulu's movie notes -- in brief:
• Me and You and Everyone We Know: Highly mannered, more than a touch precious, overrun with pretension...and yet, one of the most emotionally provocative films StinkyLulu's seen in eons. Filmmaker Miranda July disregards basic cinematic conventions of narrative & character development and creates a gorgeous story of regular people behaving in the banal (yet inscrutable) ways of everyday life. Really good acting from the kids, too.
• Mysterious Skin: Y'all know how much StinkyLu's been looking forward to this flick. Well, no disappointment -- at all. Stellar acting on all sides -- scary, real, even more scary, even more real. Catch it if you can. You'll never think of alien abduction stories in quite the same way again. Even more, you might just think of pedophilia in a totally new way too... Wow. Just wow.
• The Heights: Wanna fall in love with NYC all over again? See this flick. This is the kind of movie that -- had StinkyLulu seen it in high school or college -- would have fueled StinkyLu's already stoked passion to move to NYC & "experience life"; can be hard to remember that thrill now that StinkyLu is old & jaded. But this movie's a gorgeous soap opera for folks who consider themselves way too literate/smart/cultured for daytime tv. The kind of layered, not-ironic NYC relationship drama that no one makes anymore...
• Howl's Moving Castle: It's Miyazaki, so it's wierd. But this one's possibly the least comprehensible of any Miyazaki movie StinkyLulu's ever seen. Nonetheless, Lulu's basic thrill with Miyazaki ("check your brain & your expectations at the door & just thrill with the ride") is totally there. Might be a highly encrusted metaphorical tale of the spiritual costs of grandiosity & emotional disconnection, but StinkyLulu's not sure. Fabulously strange & defiantly unsummarizable -- weird but Lulu loved it.
• Saving Face: Sweet, confidently told story of Chinese Americans in NYC, alternately dealing and not dealing with how unexpected love changes the contours of family. The underrated & always impossibly gorgeous Joan Chen anchors this film with a simple, beautiful, intense sincerity that lets both the broad comedy & brazen sentiment glow. Watch it with your honey or your mom. (And try not to count how many queer romances end with the exact same scene.)
• Bewitched: Goofy sloppy piffle. Fine, but. Think of it like tapas. Lots of tasty little bits (especially from the incredible supporting cast) with a generally agreeable vibe (thanks to the luminous charm of Nicole Kidman) but not altogether satisfying. Wanted a bit more Maclaine, maybe a bit less Ferrell -- not too much of any one thing to make me nauseous or cranky...but, all told, not enough to leave StinkyLulu satisfied.

So, a good coupla weeks at the movies.
And StinkyLulu hasn't even mentioned MrStinky's latest favorite tvd show: Entourage. (Watched the entire first season in the last two weeks. Now The Stinkys are looking to scam HBO from unsuspecting beloveds to catch season2.)