Mad Money

This is not a mistake I make often. I have seen all manner of throw-away action flicks. I have gone to them knowing that was what they were. I had a pretty good sense ahead of time that this was going to be throw-away chick flick and, turns out it was. I have a hard time saying I was disappointed, but this was not a very good movie. I like Dianne Keaton. I like Queen Latifah. I thought their performances were about what I thought they would be. Ted Danson was in good form. Katie Holmes was good. But, the movie was not original and I didn't like the way it ended. It seemed too easy. No challenges in the movie and no special effects to make it interesting. It was OK, but I didn't need to see it.

Juno

I liked this movie a lot. I thought there were some really good performances, from Ellen Page, Allison Janney, JK Simmons, Jason Bateman, and Jennifer Garner. It takes place in Minnesota and for some reason, Allison Janney kinda reminded me of Sheryl. I liked the story. I liked the idea behind it. I like it that everything was not smooth. I loved the music. This became the second movie, I think that I went out and bought the CD immediately upon leaving the theater (the first being Elizabethtown, which though I liked, it was more for Lyndsae). Someone mentioned to me that they thought this movie glamorized teen pregnancy, but I don't see it that way. I don't think there was anything glamorous about it. I also don't think it demonized it either. I think Juno was a "normal" hich school girl, who happened to be pregnant. I thought Page did a great job of pulling this off. I also think Janney and Simmons did a really good job as caring, cool parents. And Garner did a good job as someone who desperatley wanted a child. I thought this was good all around. Some of the best female performances I've seen this year.

The Great Debaters

I liked this movie. It was good in the way that schmaltzy sports movies are good. Which is fine. I thought there were some good performances. Denzell Washington was good. The young debaters were good. I particularly liked the performances of Forrest Whitaker and Denzel Whitaker (no relation). I think it is easier to be the radical than it is to be the straight man and Whitaker did it exceedingly well (both of them). I found more in the quiet strength of Forest even though he was a bit of a prig than I did in Washington. I also thought Denzel Whitaker was particularly good in the subtler role. The story was typical, though I found it interesting hearing from Denzel Washington that Wylie had gone undefeated and did not lose any debates and that that debated USC in their finale. Both of those items were changed for the movie. But, having said all of that, I think the reason I liked the movie the most was that it made me think about the lack of debate in our culture. Nevermind that it seems like Academic Forensic societies seem to be on the decline (though that may just be my ignorance) but it seems like there is no real debate anymore. Especially in the political realm. Politicians do not debate, they just share the stage and exchange tag lines and catch phrases. There is no elegant discourse. There are no more Lincoln-Douglas debates. I think it's a shame. Oh well. The movie was good, anyway.

The Wind That Shakes the Barley

I liked this movie. I thought the scenery was beautiful and I wanted to go visit Ireland after watching it. I would be interested in seeing this as part of a three-part Irish lesson with Michael Collins and In the Name of the Father. There are probably others that would connect that canon together. I liked hearing about this time period. I don't think I went in with much, if any, knowledge about the period, and I think that caused me to miss some things early. I liked watching the brothers change sides in their battle for freedom, one going from the stay out of the fire intellectual to the fiery revolutionary, the other going from fiery revolutionary to queller of the revolution. I think there is no doubt the movie supports the ideals of Cillian Murphy's character, the younger brother. I found it intriguing that this movie suggests that the IRA began as an effort to form a Socialist Republic of Ireland. I did not know that. A good tragedy. I think I may want to see it again sometime.

I Am Legend

I liked this movie. Lyndsae went in with the impression, from others who had seen it, no less, that it was "sad" and expected a drama. It was no drama. I call it a horror film, though Lyndsae would put it in Action. It is a remake of The Omega Man. It is a big budget Will Smith feature. It is not future Cast Away. I think I would call it a zombie movie? Maybe? Anyway, I enjoyed it. There would some good thrills, some make you jump moments. I tried to nail down what the point was, but had trouble. Was it science is bad? Not exactly. Was it science is great? Not exactly. It echoed some of the sentiment of Charlie Wilson's War, be careful what you wish for, or, don't assume the outcome you desire will turn out to be good in the end. Anyway, I enjoyed it. I like Will Smith and I thought he was good.

Water Horse: The Legend of the Deep

I enjoyed this movie. I talked with Olivia on the way home about why I liked it, even though parts of it were sad and why sad movies can be OK. It touched on some themes that I think are important. It talked about the importance of wonder and faith, the belief in things that can't be seen or seem fantastical. I think that kind of thing is important. It talked about guns and war being a bad thing, and about how they can rip families apart. And it talked about how raising things and helping them grow often means letting them leave when they get older and stronger, a resonant note for a parent watching his child become more and more independent. So, some good themes touched on. I loved listening to the accents and so did Olivia. Having said all of that, I think there were some pieces that were left loose. I think the editing was poor. I feel like we jumped around in the story and some things were assumed that were never said or hinted at. But, even so, I would still call this one enjoyable and fun, even if it is sad at parts.

Sweeney Todd

Perhaps I shouldn't be impressed when people who make their living in the theater arts can carry a tune. Nevertheless, I thought Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen, Alan Rickman, and Helena Bonham Carter were all really good in this film, in no small part due to their singing abilities which, while not spectacular, and maybe not as good as the adolescents and the kid, whom I suspect of being stage folk, were good, solid work. I liked this movie quite a bit. I guess maybe I liked the music, which I was not familiar with, but I liked the movie as well. A bit dark, yes, but I enjoyed it. I thought Cohen was very good in his small role. I thought Depp was very good in his consuming hate and need for revenge. I thought Bonham Carter was very good in her spot as well. I liked her By The Sea song. I liked her wry wit. I thought Rickman was good as athe lothario who was, in fact, enamoured. Lots of good roles played by good people (did not like the adolescents so much, but the kid was very good). Bloody, but good.

Sicko

This movie made me ill, as Michael Moore's films often do. It was very good. How in the world is it possible that we don't have universal health care in this country? It seems like an obvious thing. One of the things that this movie does not do as much as, say. Farenheit 9/11 is point fingers. It does levy some blame on congress people who got paid for by the drug companies, but I don't think it demonizes them quite as significantly as it could have. The climactic trip to Cuba was tearjerking, as were some of the DVD extras. This is a very good movie. I wish it had had more resonance among the people who make decisions.

The Contract

This was a straight to DVD relese that starred Morgan Freeman and John Cusack. Morgan Freeman is some kind of assassin and John Cusack is an ordinary Joe charged with bringing him into the law. Seems like a decent rental, right? Wrong. This was terrible. I think they spent all of their money on Cusack and Freeman and none on anybody else, including the writers. Bad story, ridiculously bad acting by almost everybody, including a couple of mail-in jobs by the leads, I think there was nothing redeeming about this at all. Blech.

Charlie Wilson's War

This was good. I thought Phillip Seymour Hoffman was good. Tom Hanks was good. The story was good. I have read in some places that it opened the door for criticism of current policy and identified some blame for the Taliban, but it did it obliquely enough that it could be missed by someone who wasn't interested in seeing it. I think that is probably fair. However, I think it notable that this story about the "heroic" defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan by the Afghan rbels armed by the US turns out to be the beginning of the Taliban regime and all of its fallout. I appreciated Hoffman's role in identifying the potential dangers caused by this action. And, I think it was not totally obvious. The story was good. It was fun at times. I liked it a lot.