Stranger Than Fiction, directed by Marc Forster 
(8/10)
A boring man with a boring life hears a voice describing his actions (but much more literate, as he confesses in the movie) as if the voice is telling the story of his life: how he brushes his teeth, how he walks to work, and how he may die. With the confounding relevation of his mortality, he decides to live a better life while trying to figure out the author of his narrative.
This is a dramatic fantasy, in the vein of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, where the fantasy is believable given the great acting, setting, and story. It’s a touching, intelligent film that has some clichés (my wife predicted the protagonist’s end), which I can imagine critics clawing into to rip it apart; but still, it worked for me.
Incidentally, there’s a great scene where the protagonist plays a nice song on an acoustic guitar: (I’d Go The) Whole Wide World by Wreckless Eric, which was a hit in the seventies. I found the mp3 for it (I’m guessing it’ll be inaccessible in a month, now that the movie is doing well and everyone will be googling it, like me), and the lyrics are available at the songwriter’s website. It’s a simple song: E and A. That’s it. For the chorus, strum the E a bar longer than the rest of the song.
The movie sounds like something written by Charlie Kaufman who will be writing Saw IV. Human Nature is probably my favourite of Kaufman’s films.
I should have saw that over that weekend. Instead I saw “The Queen” and “Borat,” both which are wait-for-the-DVD movies. I let my better judgement slip.
> I saw “The Queen”
Haha. Loser.
Phillip, no offense, but your a strange individual. You go to the theatre to watch movies that you seem to anticipate should be “wait for DVD.” Yet, you don’t seem to learn from your mistakes and keep on watching movies at the theater spending a ton of cash. After Pearl Harbor, I have learn my lesson.
Why would you want to see “The Queen” over “Stranger than fiction?” Were you drunk when you made that decision?
I wasn’t anticipating anything. Sometimes it’s fun to go to the movies just to go to the movies; despite the carnival atmosphere, I do like it when the lights go down and the movie starts to play, even mediocre movies.
I saw “Borat” because everybody said I should see it. I don’t think it’s as brilliant as some make it out to be, and in some ways it not very good, but I did laugh pretty hard at a lot of it. It’s the kind of movie that works just as well ont he small screen, though.
I saw “The Queen” because my girlfriend wanted to go. I have no interest in the monarchy; despite the excellent performances, I just didn’t give a shit. Still, it’s not a bad movie.
I don’t think either of these movies were a waste of money, but I suspect “Stranger Than Fiction” is better than both of them.
“The Squid and the Whale” is still the best movie I’ve seen this year (I think Rebecca recommended it; thanks Rebecca).
Definitely one of the better movies I’ve seen this year. “Casino Royale” was fun too. There’s a chase scene near the beginning, just one guy running after another guy, that made me realize how good chase scenes can be when they’re done right.
I watched Stranger Than Fiction last night for the second time. Excellent movie. Pretty damn close to perfect.