Double Feature

This past Friday afternoon my husband surprised me by suggesting we make our evening a double feature. We had already planned on going to the movies, so once he took a look at the times he said, "if we leave now, we can see Up in the Air at 4:10 and then Precious at 7:50." He continued, I'm sure after seeing the stunned look on my face, explaining, "I feel like if I just don't go see Precious now, I'll lose interest and I just won't see it." So off we were, that moment, to the Arbor Movie Theatre.

The Arbor is a Regal Cinema in North Austin that really showcases indie/arthouse movies - maybe even better than the Dobie Theatre on the UT campus. Next to the Alamo Drafthouse, it's my favorite place to see movies in Austin. It's not stadium seating or anything super-special, really, it has maybe 6 screens. But the feel is so laid-back and the staff are SO friendly, that it's a pleasant experience, nonetheless. We find ourselves there particularly often during Oscar-time. Onto the movies...

We started with Up in the Air - all-star top-to-bottom. Directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking and Juno), written by him and his father (Ivan), starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, and Jason Bateman. Featuring Zack Galifianakis, J.K. Simmons, and Danny McBride. My brother and sister-in-law categorized it as more like Thank You For Smoking than Juno, and they were right. What started out as a satire (in its early stages of writing) became an interesting look on our life in America now - downsizing, obsessions with things and relationships, 'greener' business practices (referred to in the movie as 'glocal' - very clever, I thought). I did like the movie, although it wasn't as hard-hitting as his first 2 movies, but that may be the point. Right now, we're all just kind of up in the air...

If you're looking for hard-hitting, though, look no further than Precious. This movie grabs you by the face from the get-go and doesn't really let go. Some of the situations border on gratuitous, but don't go that far because, unfortunately, it feels believable. The movie runs you ragged with Murphy's Law - everything that can go wrong, does. However, it does end on 50% of a good note. One thing to be discussed is the acting performances. The actresses in this film deserve every accolade they have received. They deliver powerful performances and really become their characters. Like really, you don't think about the fact that Mariah Carey is sitting there playing a social worker - and that is good directing. At the end of the day, though, this may be a little too real for the Academy as it doesn't have the hopefulness of otherwise tragic movies - like last year's Slumdog Millionaire.

What's next? Well, the husband and I will be sitting down to "District 9" this evening and then "The Hurt Locker" is next on our Netflix queue. Our weekend has opened up a little, so maybe we'll make it back out to the cinema again...