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MOVIE REPORT
Every couple of months Ruth and I take a weekend to just shut down, unwind and
relax. We make it easier to sit in one place for long periods of time by renting
a large gaggle of movies. Part of the reason we don’t do it more
often is that there are rarely that many movies we want to see at one time.
Well, this weekend we got lucky. Here’s the run down:
Panic Room: This was a fun movie. Jodie Foster plays a somewhat vulnerable newly
divorced mother who buys a brownstone for herself and daughter. One of the
features of this home, formerly owned by a very wealthy man, includes a panic
room. A panic room is a large safe like room built to withstand attempts to
enter it once the home owners are inside. It’s stocked with food and other
survival type items. Like a separate phone line to call the police.
Unfortunately, since Meg and her daughter have just moved in, the second line
isn’t hooked up yet. And that’s where the fun starts when the house is
broken into. Forest Whitaker is great in this, and I didn’t even recognize
Dwight Yokam. A very good movie with great pacing.
The Scorpion King: This is an updated Conan movie. It stars “The Rock”, a
wrestler known for his charisma. It’s a fun romp with lots of action and sword
play. And naturally the Rock does his own stunts. Simple plot. Evil dictator
like dude want to control everything and is killing lots of people to do it.
Rock is hired to go after him. His brother dies and makes it personal. Highly
entertaining if you like this kind of stuff.
Ride With The Devil: A Civil war Movie. It revolves around a young man and his
freind as they join up with the Bushwakers against the Northern aggressors. A
bit dull at times, but worth seeing. Kind of typical of Ang Lee directed films.
Based on a Daniel Woodrell book. Toby Maguire, Skeet Ulrich and Jewel star in
it.
John Carpenter’s Vampires; Los Muertos: WHEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!! Jon Bon Jovi as a
vampire hunter!!!! John Carpenter owns this genre and proves it with this film.
Some typical vampire movie stuff, but well executed and fast paced. Great action
scenes. Jon Bon Jovi actually is great in this.
Murder By Numbers: Sandra Bullock as a homicide detective. It starts out
promising, but ends up being quite dumb. Filled with cliché's and
predictability. Also, some very unbelievable story points. I was really
disappointed. The two young actors who play the killers were good, every one
else over acted like crazy. I was rooting for the bad guys. Sandra should stick
to light comedy. She is not believable as a hard boiled cop with a past. A past,
I might add that would have kept her from passing any psychological exam to be a
cop.
Insomnia: Wow. Al Pacino does tired. Really tired. This is based on a Swedish
(?) film of the same name. And I really liked this one, so you can bet your
backside I’m going to get the original. Basic story? Two LA cops are sent to
Alaska to help track down a killer. It is also a way to get them away from an
internal affairs investigation back home. They work the case and provide some
valuable leads. And then things start to get a little weird. And they only get
weirder because the sun is up twenty four hours a day and Al character can’t
sleep. Hilary Swank was also very good in this, as was Robin Williams. I don’t
want to say more because it would ruin the fun. Great flick.
The Sum Of All Fears: The latest Tom Clancy adaptation. And this time, Tom was
heavily involved with production. It’s been updated a bit and changed a little
to bring the Jack Ryan role back to where the age should be. Thus bye bye old
guy Harrison Ford and hello young guy Ben Affleck. And it works. As A fan of the
books, especially the earlier books, I found this much truer to the feel of the
novels. Liev Schreiber as John Clark was also an excellent choice. I think the
second and third movies were good, but Harrison Ford and Willem Dafoe were just
too damn old to play the roles. This puts the ages of the characters back to a
point where it’s believable. Don’t get me wrong, I like the other two actors
a lot, but they really need to do roles more suited for their age, and the
Clancy roles aren’t the ones.
Lots of action (of course), and a faithful updated and retelling of the novel.
Spiderman: First, let me just say that I am a comic book junkie. I love
superheroes. Thae Batman movies were ok, A little to dark, and a little to
formulatic later. The Superman movies were good in the beginning. The X-Men
showed that Marvel comics could get it done right. And it was wonderful. So I
was real anxious to see Spiderman.
It’s great. For many reasons. The actor playing J.Jonah Jameson had the role
nailed. He was perfect. And Toby Maguire really captured the feeling of Peter
Parker. In fact, everyone in it is great. You will believe a boy can be bitten
by a spider and then swing around the city!
That’s it for now. I need a nap, and the DVD player needs a rest too. I ‘ll
be back soon with a report on my first Magna Cum Murder convention.
Jon
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