My Blueberry Nights

This movie was universally panned by critics, but somehow the cover of the DVD box still attracted me to check it out.  It stars Norah Jones in her first, and possibly only, starring role ever and was directed by Hong Kong legend Wong Kar-wai ("Chungking Express," "In the Mood for Love") in his first English-language feature.  Yes, Norah Jones' acting is atrocious as she spends the majority of the film eating so that she just doesn't sit there looking clueless.  But in terms of creating a mood and a feeling, this movie was a great success.  The cinematography and the editing do a great job in creating an America that doesn't look like America, but more of a romaniticized version seen from the outside-- resplendent with neon signs, a rushing subway, open roads and charming cafes/bars/diners.  It's clear that though it's not his best effort, Wong is quite adept with the subtleties of human interaction and his work still sucks you in-- even without a very good protagonist.  

Goya's Ghosts

Sad to say but I still think Natalie Portman's best role ever was in The Professional when she was a kid.  Here in this movie you get the chance to see her act badly-- twice, as she plays the roles of a mother and the daughter.  More on this in a sec.  The film was directed by Milos Forman ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", "People vs. Larry Flynt") and also stars Javier Bardem and Stellan Skaarsgard, both excellent actors.  Immediately I found it kind of odd that all the characters were supposed to be Spanish but were all talking English, and some didn't look very Spanish at all.  Javier Bardem felt like he was a Spanish guy playing an American guy with a Spanish accent so I found his accent a little strange.  The movie was fine but it was more of a political tome about the insanity of using torture to get confessions (timely, anyone?) than it was a film.  So, Natalie Portman played a woman put to "The Question" to get a confession about eating pork.  Seriously.  After confessing, she gets thrown into a prison where she's raped by a monk, has a kid, and has it stripped away from her.  She gets locked there for 15 years until Napoleon rolls in and takes over.  Basically, they show the passage of 15 years on Portman's face by making her look like the girl in the Exorcist and giving her fucked up teeth.  You could almost imagine her looking into a mirror after being done up and laughing her ass off.  Later, Goya finds her daughter who (shockingly) looks just like her except she has dark hair and fucked-up teeth again.  Portman's acting is pretty much just a reaction to what she looks like, and is completely lacking in depth.  After having seen the Goya exhibit at the Prado in Madrid, I'm really disappointed by this film.  Instead of examining the life of this guy, it really just uses him to lecture us about the director's political views.  Some redeemable scenes and educational but will not leave you satisfied.