Monkey movie reports

 I finally saw The Fighter.  Even though it was formulaic and predictable, I quite liked it.

The question is though, did Melissa Leo deserve her Oscar for her performance in this?  Meh.  Whatever.  I found her performance to be one of those showy 'Hey! Look at me, I'm acting all up in this motherfucka here!' performances.  Same with Christian Bale.  Both of them forget that less is more.  Which is why Wahlberg and Amy Adams outshine both Bale and Leo.  Actually, now that I think about it, Leo's Oscar was really one they gave her out of guilt because they overlooked her great performance in Frozen River.

Just a few years ago I would have said this was a great edgy little film that pushes the boundaries of movie making.  Today however, I say it annoyed the fuck out of me.  It's a great concept, a small band of people realize they aren't human and that they are really aliens from outer space.  They try to band back together but some of them want to stay and they cope with life here and each others conflicting wants and needs.  But that good concept was marred in it's execution.  The story is told in flashbacks, flash forwards, sideways, and every other which way.  It moved in so many different directions that it gave me whiplash.

That's not to say I didn't like the actors and their work in it.  I did.  I liked all of them, especially Rebecca Spence and Amelia Turner.  There's a bunch of folks in this film you've seen before in other smaller roles and given the chance to shine here they do so.  I can see how some would like this movie, I didn't but don't let that stop you from seeing it.  You might like it, I just couldn't.