So Much Sofia

You know you have too much time on your hands when you watch two Sofia Coppola movies in one day.  That or you just love movies, and coincidentally the two movies that you choose to watch were directed by Sophia Coppola.  Or all of the above, which applies to me.  Today I watched both Lost in Translation and Somewhere.  I didn't even realize that both films were directed by Sofia until I saw the ending credits.  I then proceeded to imdb her to see what other movies she directed.  It turns out that I've seen most of her films (The ones she directed anyway), and I didn't really love any of them.  Somehow I wonder if Coppola's objective isn't to make you absolutely love her movies but instead to make you think about if you loved her movies over and over again.  For instance, I think back to Marie Antoinette and The Virgin Suicides, and I wonder why I didn't love those movies.  Maybe it's because all of her movies are so sad.  They all end in death, heartbreak, or ambiguity.  How can you love ambiguity?

Anyway, I'm probably one of the last movie lovers alive to have finally watched Lost in Translation so I'll skip that review.  Bill Murray rocks as usual and Scarlett Johansson is once again an underdeveloped yet lovable character purely because she's Scarlett Johansson (Don't call her ScarJo because she apparently hates it).  If you haven't seen it and like movies that are artsy and different then go for it.  It wasn't my favorite but I'm still thinking about it so that must be a good sign.

So I watched Somewhere starring Stephen Dorff, and I'm still thinking about it.  I don't want to judge Dorff, but he wasn't exactly challenged with this role.  He plays a big time Hollywood actor who lives in the Chateau Marmont and has his pick of all the hotties and models in his vicinity.  Now I'm not saying that Mr. Dorff is a womanizer or lives this type of life, but if he doesn't I'm sure he's been around the life long enough to give him plenty of perspective on the role.  He does play a father, and I don't know if he has kids, and so that aspect of the role could have been a stretch.   I liked how the movie was shot and the focus on certain scenes.  The character development wasn't too complex and the plot was somewhat cliche and cheesy.  Again, I'm sure there is some type of higher meaning that I'm not grasping here, but SPOILER ALERT big shot Hollywood actor leaves the life when he finally makes enough time for his daughter?  Cheesey yes, but now that I think about it, it's kind of nice to see someone step up to the plate.  For me, it certainly would be tough to walk away from an endless sea of beautiful women who would gladly climb into bed with me at any given time.  I guess I agree with the moral there.  Still on the fence about this one, obviously.  If you like Sofia's previous films go for it.  And if not, it probably won't be a complete waste of your time.  I mean seriously, you're sitting down watching a movie.  If you had something more important to do then it doesn't matter what movie you're watching because unless you're a paid movie critic, watching the movie probably isn't making you any money.  That sounds materialistic of me, like life is only about making money.  Well we need it to survive right folks? That's why I currently have three jobs not including launching a career as a writer and possibly life coach.  Go ahead and check out Somewhere, and you may be pleasantly surprised.