Now Playing: Doubt

I see where all the best acting accolades are coming from; Doubt is one of the best acted films I've seen in a long while. Thoroughly convincing, Streep, Hoffman and Adams just pulls you into their little world and simply never let go. And Viola Davis as the mother desperate to do right by her son? Fantastic. The one proper scene she gets is worth the price of admission. So, what's the movie all about? I guess the one word I would use is "power" - the power of suspicion, the power of threats, the power struggle between men and women, superiors and subordinates, the haves and the have-nots. I cannot promise happy endings... or even an ending, for that matter. What I can promise is a gripping little story that actually had me biting my nails at one point. If there ever was a movie that was tailor-made for the Academy, this would be it.

But there has to be a down side, no? Where the acting is superb, the pacing was a bit off - I mean, it wasn't slow enough in some parts and then there were other parts where entire spans of time pass and you have no idea what's happened. In fact, the resolution of the film is so quick, you almost missed it. I don't know, it just didn't sit very well, especially given the excellent of the rest of the film. I don't know whether to blame the director or the editing process.

Regardless, it's worth watching. 4 out of 5 stars.

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On a related note, sitting around and chatting about movies in general with a friend and I had my most cogent thoughts about why I watch so many of these things (and spend so much money I just don't have). In many ways, it's really difficult to rate movies on a 5-star scale. I mean, how can I give Hellboy II and Slumdog Millionaire the same rating? How indeed... I suppose in many ways I go to watch movies for two very different reasons: entertainment or provocation. Often, a film will deliver on one but not the other. Entertainment is easy to explain - anything that has some serious kickassery or scary moments or excellent special effects is entertaining. Summer blockbusters are all about entertainment. And then, there are movies that simply provoke me - thoughtful films that leave much to be discussed and argued over, rather than just gushing over the "did-you-see-that" moments.

Truly, movies are rarely both. Rather, it is precisely those movies that do both which garner 5 stars, at least for me. I walked into I Am Legend expecting a zombie flick; instead, I got one of the most heart-wrenching moments on screen. I had expected car chases and things-blowing-up in the Dark Knight - I did not expect to be blown away by the performances. I went to see Benjamin Button because I'd heard about Blanchett; the excellent use of CGI started a whole other conversation. So yeah, I watch a lot of filler (and awards season never fails to remind me of just how much), but in the end, I watch it to be entertained.

The same conversation also had me answering what "kinds" of movies I like - and I had to honestly answer that I like the movies that don't have a "kind" at all. I like literary fiction instead of genre fiction (though, I have been known to read a romance or several hundred) and I like literary films instead of genre films (though, I have been known to watch an action movie or several hundred). I am most certainly entertained by the pulp fiction (whether it be in print or celluloid); but it's the movies that provoke that never make me regret the $14 price tag.