I was hungover Saturday and watched a bunch of movies:
Street Fight: Had wanted to see this for a long time as I'm a Cory Booker fan (though let's not call him "the next Obama" any more since I hope he'll be a lot better than that). I knew about the mayoral race that this documentary followed, but had no idea just how absolutely terrible it was. Most despicable politics I've ever seen, and I'm from Chicago. Anyway, really interesting documentary about a very inspiring (to me) politician. 4/5
Heavy Metal in Baghdad: I wasn't sure what I'd think about this documentary following the only heavy metal band in Iraq, since I'm not really a metal fan, but damn was this fascinating. I'm not sure I've ever seen a better depiction of what everyday people deal with in a war zone. Somehow this is presented without being the least bit politicized; just guys trying to put on metal concerts and dealing with mortar fire, power outages, coming across dead people every day, security not letting fans in because they have goatees, etc. If you like metal and/or documentaries and haven't seen this one yet, bump it to the top of your queue. 4.5/5
A Mighty Heart: I wanted an easy-to watch movie, though I suppose "easy to watch" does not translate to "movies about beheadings" for everyone. Since I already knew the story here, I figured it would be easy viewing, but the movie delved into a lot of interesting detail and kept me very involved despite knowing the ending. Great acting all around, too (Jolie was actually the worst of the bunch, but very good). 4/5
The Damned United: Very entertaining biopic of Brian Clough. Didn't know much about him before this movie, but he was a fascinating character. Excellent supporting performances, but I found the lead was doing the exact same performance as he did in Frost/Nixon. I'd like to see him in a role where the first descriptive word is not "smug". 3.5/5
Funny Games: The original Austrian film from 1998, not the American remake of a few years ago. First of all, if you have kids, do not watch this movie. Second, if you don't have kids, you probably shouldn't watch it either. Squarely in the category of "great movies I'd never want to see again", this is right up there with Irreversible on the disturbing scale. The difference here is that not one iota of violence was shown on-screen, though somehow the director still made this probably the most terrifying movie I've ever seen. I've had nightmares for two nights straight after watching it. If you love a psychological horror film, see it, but you have been warned that you might be sorry you did. BONUS: The lead actor (father) is the same guy who was the lead in The Lives of Others. 4/5