There is no point in me trying to explain what my life has been like recently.  As much as I would love to do some whining about it, it won’t be helpful to anyone.  I only mention it as a reason why this update is so late, spare, and succinct.  Amidst the madness I’m declining to discuss, March still made a good showing in the movie category, offering an impressive variety of genres (if I do say so myself).  I am still on pace to reach my movie viewing goal with a total of 14 movies under my belt.  Woo Hoo!

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the quick and dirty movie reviews for March.

• Brigadoon (1954) Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Van Johnson.  Blech!  I love Gene Kelly (American in Paris), musicals (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), and dancing (White Christmas).  I wasn’t feeling the love for this film – even after recognizing a few of the songs. The “Scottish” accents and anything-but-period costumes annoyed the heck out of me, too.  (2/5 stars)

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• Shutter Island (2010) Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Michelle Williams, Max von Sydow.  Not what I expected based on previously viewed trailers.  Instead of horror, a whopping portion of psychological thriller is served with a side of very good acting.  Intense but satisfying.  (I’m very glad I didn’t read the book first.) (4/5 stars)

• Hugo (2011) Ben Kingsley, Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Sasha Baron Cohen.  My sister recommended this and she has a solid eye for movie quality.  Wow!   A beautiful, magical, sad-happy movie.  Favorite parts include the whimsical old movie sets and the clips of old movies.  Definitely not for everyone, though.  Some may call it slow.  I call it atmospheric. (5/5 stars)

• Dr. Suess’ The Lorax (2012) Danny DeVito, Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Betty White.  Highlights: 1) CGI = dazzling to the point of distraction (which is most certainly not a criticism); 2) The Onceler singing “How Bad Can I Be?”  (I didn’t realize this was a musical.); 3) Betty White’s adorable character!  Quote from my ten year old nephew: “I love this movie!”  (4/5 stars)

• North by Northwest (1959) Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason.  The only part of this movie I didn’t like was the abrupt and cheesy last scene.  Other than that, Alfred Hitchcock created one tight little suspense tale.  I was engaged and just the right amount of uncomfortable for the entire movie.  By the way, Cary Grant is the epitome of handsome sophistication. (4/5 stars)

• Trollhunter (2010)  foreign film with subtitles, Norwegian.  This movie is a campy mockumentary which sports some stark and breathtaking scenery.  For my family (we all watched it) it was more fun than scary.  That may not be the case, though, for kids who’ve never seen a monster flick before.  Despite the threat of utterly disgusting trolls who can smell Christian blood, Norway is now on my bucket list. (3.5/5 stars)

I’m in my last six weeks of school and up to my eyeballs in my senior research data.  All this means movies (and books) will be simmering on th back burner until I’ve graduated and updates could be even sparser than this one.  Perhaps a regular dose of chaos is just what I need to whittle my writing style down to the most meaningful and barest of essentials.

What about you?  Have you seen any good movies lately?  I’m always looking for interesting suggestions.