Saw "The Wrong Man," Hithcock film with Henry Fonda at this non-profit moviehouse in Omaha. Really good movie based on a true story, about a man who gets wrongly arrested for a string of robberies. Fonda is so earnest and understated, it's really hard to not to put him in the top two or three all time. Also saw "Hunger" about IRA member Bobby Sands's hunger strike. First hour is IRA prison defiance (smearing feces on wall, et al) and British prison brutality, a really good chat between Sands and a Catholic priest who tries to talk him out of the fast, and then an hour of him just getting emaciated and developing sores in a hospital bed. Pretty powerful stuff. Thirdly, watched "My Life in Ruins" with Nia Vardalos. She's a genuinely attractive woman who gets very little work, so I enjoyed seeing her. Richard Dreyfuss however continues his streak of alternating between good roles (Cheney in "W", Mr. Holland's Opus) and mind-numbingly annoying jerks. Rachel Dratch and Harland Williams have nice turns as a tacky couple, but all in all the movie is corny and pretty unflattering to Greeks.
That's funny, all I think of is Off Centre, which I used to watch religiously. I kind of almost miss not having cable in the late '90s early '00s, and trying to cobble together a TV viewing schedule with UPN and WB.
I kind of enjoyed watching Liam Neesen have a little fun, I think he and Gabriel Byrne have had to take a back seat to Colin Farrell, Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and all the younger and "grittier" Irish and Aussie film actors. I love how they categorized the level of corruption by increasing foreign-ness. I think a Spanish guy got the girls' address, the corrupt French cop looked the other way, the Eastern Europeans trafficked them and the Arab guy bought and enslaved them. And dear God, that annoying little girl never stopped running.
7 Pounds (rental): 7 out of 10 (almost an 8 for making my eyes rain several times and because Rosario Dawson is hot even when she is dying). Gran Torino (rental): 6 out of 10. It was just a little too slow for me but Clint Eastwood's character now owns the title of crankiest old man in a movie.
Seven Pounds over Gran Torino? It was a little hard for me to stay in it because all the movie-reviewers ruined the plot before opening weekend. And Smith was just a little too emotional. "Stop it. Pay attention." Yeesh.
I guess I expected Gran Torino to be something it wasn't. It was very, very slow and more character driven than I expected. One problem with that was I found the acting (outside of Eastwood, of course) to be horrible. It was more about an old man softening up than it was about vengeance or any of that good stuff.
Paul Blart - Mall Cop - As a huge King of Queens fan, I was really looking forward to this one. I couldn't have been more disappointed. Sad to say, I couldn't wait for it to end. 2/10 stars.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 8/10 I thought this movie was pretty cool...especially the special effects. It was kind of disturbing and sad at the same time... I'm not sure why Brad Pitt was nominated for his role in this movie. I thought he was just average. My god, Cate Blanchette looks awesome for her age.
2 things... - She's only 40 (and she looks at least that old to me). - They obviously paid quite a bit of attention to making her look young during certain parts of the movie. Very little CGI, apparently, but still lots of Hollywood make up and lightning.
Ransom (75%) - Some interesting caveats in the story toward the end, but the final outcome of that kind of movie is pretty much predictable no matter what wrenches get tossed in throughout. Gotta love "Gimme back my son!". Star Trek (91%) - Never watched the old shows or movies outside of what my old babysitter used to put on the TV, but this was really really good. Just a solid piece of entertainment from start to finish. I really like J.J. Abrams. Drag Me To Hell (80%) - Definitely an in your face type of horror film. It never lets up on the scares for too long and never forgets to make you laugh at them either. Pretty fun overall, but points deducted for the predictable ending. The Hangover (80%) - Had it not been for the multitude of giveaways in the (really awesome) trailer, this would have scored higher with me. Unfortunately, that wasn't case, so I saw a lot of the bigger laughs coming from a mile away. Despite that, there were some great scenes and some great lines.
Obviously, yes. Maybe I had J.A. Adande on the mind. I get the itch for Around The Horn right around this time of day Or maybe I subconsciously want the Rockets to get this guy.
