A day for watching movies, both at home and in the theatre.
We went out to see Gothika. It's a supernatural-tinged Hitchcockian suspense story, let down by a final resolution that I just didn't believe and ultimately it's kind of disposable, but there are some effective spring-loaded cats along the way and the production design is nicely atmospheric. Worth seeing if you like this sort of thing.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a bizarre creation. Based on game show creator Chuck Barris' book, in which he claimed to be a contract killer for the CIA, this movie doesn't take the claims very seriously and plays it as a drug-fueled . Sam Rockwell's performance as the increasingly freaky Barris is excellent, and he's placed in the middle of a perfect re-creation of the cheesiest 1960s/1970s styles.
After finishing that DVD, we spun the dial around and came across the 1980 Xanadu which, I was amazed to learn, featured Gene Kelly. Xanadu is oh-so-riffable: the hip 1980s fashions, the cheesy special effects, the bad dialogue, the cringing embarrassment you feel on Kelly's behalf, and the plot's mainspring being the heroic battle to open a new roller disco. ("But Zeus, shouldn't we be doing something about wars, pain, death?" "No, no, this roller disco takes priority.")