2 movie weekend

Brave

**spoilers**

So, this is a movie about a teenage girl doing horrible things to her mother without meaning to, which means it hit a little close to home.  There was a stretch of time when I was about 13-14, where if an old witch had come to me and said, “I have a spell that will turn your mother into a bear and you’ll never have to deal with her again,” I would have said, “Okay!”  (Though it’s been my experience that most teenage girls have a stretch of time like this, and if they and their mothers are careful, they’ll get through it without permanently damaging the relationship.  If they’re not, well… Mom stays a bear forever.)

It was really, really nice to see a movie that was not explicitly a “chick flick” that dealt with a girl and her mother, had them going through an adventure, and coming out the stronger for it.  More like this, please.  That said, there were some plot hiccups — Merida’s stated quest, “To change my fate,” and what she asked for, “To change my mother,” didn’t match up, which made the following story kinda weird.  There was a maiden/mother/crone thing going on with Merida, Elinor, and the witch, but nothing ever came of it.  Overall, it felt a little lighter and simpler than I wanted it to be — like a half hour TV episode rather than a feature length film.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

Good over the top fun, really.  How could it be anything but over the top?  It embraced its absurdity, and that made for a fine, fun film.  But my favorite bits were probably the historical cameos:  Jefferson Davis, Mathew Brady, Harriet Tubman, and *Alan Tudyk as Stephen Douglas*!  I know, right?!  Plus, Mary Todd Lincoln was made of pure awesome.

What I really want now more is more over-the-top action movies set in the 19th century.  Fortunately, Quentin Tarantino’s next film is a western.  HUZZAH!

Now excuse me, I must go sew a frock coat.