Today's film?
The Great Gatsby (49% on Rot Tom, 7.5 on IMDB)
No, I have not read the book.
Walking away from the theater, I felt extremely ambivalent about The Great Gatsby. The problem with this film was that the good parts were fantastic and the bad parts were absolutely horrible. On one hand, the costumes (and many of the shots) were beautifully done. On the other hand, Tobey Maguire was terribly cast, the accents were horrendous, and the music was... not my favorite. I was in a consistent state of suspense throughout the film because I genuinely could not predict the ending; it was a nice change from the latest blockbusters I've seen. And I repeat, I have not read the book.
I know many people are gradually losing interest in the aging Leonardo DiCaprio, but I still enjoy his performances and this film was no exception. Carey Mulligan was frighteningly divine and perfectly cast. I don't know what it is about her, but she just brings out every emotion in me. The two of them were as wonderful as Tobey Maguire was awful.
Nevertheless, what I thought about most through the film was that I'd do anything on this earth to get into one of Gatsby's/Luhrmann's lavish parties. They were crazy! Champagne bottles burst with glitter and streamers across hundreds of choreographed dancers. I could have done without the R&B mash-up that corroded the scenes (think the dance sequence in A Knight's Tale on crack). I'm not sure what Baz was thinking when he decided to modernize a 1920s period piece because what he came up with mostly felt awkward. Granted, I didn't like A Knight's Tale anyway. So take that with a grain of salt.
Overall, it was an interesting take on what I can only imagine the book was like. Minus Maguire's insipid musings, I think I enjoyed it enough to give it a 6.5/10. I'm still ambivalent about it all, but I left the theater with very strong emotions. I didn't know what they meant, but they were there.
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