Many who heart it, a few who hate it,

but it seems like the obvious choice as an actual attempt to do something different, which also sounds pretty interesting and accessible. I'm talking bout I'm Not There.

As of today, looks as if it's just at Regency but I'll check again tomorrow.

Reactions?

There was blood! It was awesome!

The music score was really memorable, but it turns out that even tho critics loved it, it was ineligible for Oscar consideration cuz the proportion of outside music (nothing shady, nothing unattributed, just in there) was over the official percentage criterion.

Alas! But soundtrack is selling well.

There Will Be Blood!

I'm obsessed with seeing this. Not sure why, but I don't think I'm leading others astray. It's even in Orange Park, not that I'm particularly advocating taking things in that direction.

Choices for 1-20

The Rotten Tomatoes showclock seems like the best thing since sliced bread if you don't count ipods and antilock brakes and bagged salads and various other innovations I enjoy. Anyhow it's good! Every theater and critical concensus right there.

I've already seen The Savages, Into the WIld, and Atonement, all v.g., as well as some of the bigger releases. Seems to me this week comes down to Juno, No Country for Old Men, The Orphanage, and The Kite Runner, altho Cloverfield is a dark horse. I'm willing to see Juno, but if I had my personal druthers I'd just wait for the DVD cuz I've seen so many clips that I feel as if I've already had the experience, plus seems like this year's Little Miss Sunshine, i.e. indie flick that gets so much publicity that seeing it is anticlimactic. Also, others on the list beg more for the big screen, and this movie clearly does not need support of counter box office pretentious elitists like us cuz it's a huge box office hit. But that's just me.

It turns out Margot at the Wedding is back, but...

I saw it Thursday. I thought it was better than reviews, at least as good as The Squid and the Whale. Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh were v.g. and I even liked Jack Black's performance, which is saying a lot since he usually makes me want to go onto the screen in the manner of The Purple Rose of Cairo and annihilate him, and I'm not a violent person.

Late Breaking news!

The Orphanage, link to reviews at the right, has come to Jax. It will probably be around more than one week, but definitely seems like a big screen experience, and it's foreign and kinda arty so fits our criteria.

OK, how bout the second Sunday...

I've already seen Charlie Wilson's War and Atonement which are both big budget flicks with major backing anyhow, altho aimed at the upper bourgeoisie more than the lumpenproles. Both very good, actually, esp. recommend Atonement as a big screen experience.

Anyhow, The Kite Runner will join Juno in Jax the coming weekend. Secondary choice Walk Hard is still around; that's kind of indie-ish.

I suspect Margot at the Wedding is going away Friday, and since I have some kind of weird fixation with seeing it on the big screen, I'm going to try for that tomorrow, i.e. Thursday.

The two movies all the critics were talking about in December, The Savages and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, may NEVER get to Jax, alack. I saw The Savages in NYC, good but not transcendently fabulous, basically above-average dysfunctional family fare.

FIrst Sunday of 2008!

A one page view of all the movies, how bout that!

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/showtimes/theaters.php?zipcode=32246&x=16&y=6&date=20080106

My votes are for Juno, which of course has caught on and looks kind of like an indie phenom, and secondarily, Margot at the Wedding, by The Squid and the Whale guy. I think the reason I want to see it despite iffy reviews is just that the trailer got pounded into my head so long, and then it came out but not to Jax, etc. Needless to say, I can see it on my own if it's not a group choice. What say you? Who's in town?