DVD Review--Novocaine

I wasn't sure what to think about this movie at first, but as it turned out I enjoyed it quite a lot. Steve Martin is, as usual, terrific in this goofy, very dark comedy about dentistry, obsession, drug use, murder, and semi-cannibalism. The plot was just twisty enough to entertain me (I'm pretty dumb about those things, so it doesn't take much), and everything about the story was appealingly off-kilter.

Also starring Laura Dern and Helena Bonham Carter.

Original theatrical release--2001

DVD Review--Phantom of the Opera

I was hoping this big romantic epic musical would be, well, big and romantic and entertaining, but the only adjective it lived up to for me was musical. The music earwormed me, but the characters and plot slid right by.

I'm not sure what didn't click for me overall--this movie is very pretty. Mostly, I think, it was the heroine, standing around dewey-eyed and with her mouth partially open, while the "hero" groped her, kidnapped her, and pranced about feeling aggressively sorry for himself. The fact she was being fought over by the King of Sparta (Gerard Butler, 300) and Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson, Watchmen) didn't help, but if I'd been more involved in the proceedings I wouldn't have noticed.