I watched a couple of movies this week at opposite ends of the quality spectrum. First was
Rebecca, the Netflix remake, and it was about the blandest thing I've ever seen. It looked quite nice and was well shot but otherwise just completely forgettable. I haven't seen the original but I know it's highly regarded by many so I don't know why this version was even made.
By contrast I also watched
Adaptation which is one of the most original and interesting movies I've seen in a long time. It's a Charlie Kaufman screenplay so you know it's not going to be a straight forward movie, and as it turns out it's just beyond meta.
It's about Charlie struggling with writers block while trying to write a screenplay for a book with no real narrative, trying to keep it purely about the subject, but eventually writing it about himself trying to write it, which is actually the movie you're watching, which then devolves into all the silly action movie nonsense that he didn't want in it
Kaufman really is a genius and this movie is wonderfully original, funny, and moving as all of his movies are. This is also one of Nicholas Cage's few really great performances (dual performance actually as Charlie and his twin brother) reminding us that he can be brilliant with a good writer and director (see also Raising Arizona). This is on Netflix right now and I can't recommend it enough.