Early Spring Movie Review

April 11, 2006

Alrighty then, it's that time again for a movie review. Surprisingly, most of
these are at least new Blockbuster releases. No time for love, Dr. Jones,
let's get down to it, shall we?

Head in the Clouds: This movie has Charlize Theron, Stuart Townsend,
and Penelope Cruz. There aren't too many likeable things about any of the
characters for most of the movie. The movie is set mostly in Paris during
World War II. Charlize Theron plays a rich bratty girl who comes across as
a whore in every way. And for some reason Townsend is in love with her
and cannot get over her despite her whorishness. Cruz is also in love with
her and it creates some very uncomfortable scenes. This movie just
sucked and I was begging for every character to die about halfway through
the movie.

it and said some nasty things, but I have always felt it was overdone for
Hollywood. I think the same goes for this movie. It was bad, but I don't
think it was as bad as they made it seem. Either way, the laws that needed
to be in place today are there for this reason.

Jarhead: I liked this movie. It dragged a bit, but overall, I thought it was a
good movie. There has not been a surplus of movies talking about our first
conflict in Iraq. Based on what I have heard, this is a pretty good depiction
of what the Marines who went in first encountered. I have mentioned this to
a few friends before, but does anyone else think that Peter Sarsgaard
looks, talks, and even uses the same mannerisms as John Malkovich? I
swear, I thought he could be his real life son. The even more interesting
part of that is that he plays Malkovich's son in The Man in the Iron Mask.
I guess someone else thought so, too.

Brokeback Mountain: Ok, get your laughs in, I've heard them all. In
order to do a movie review, you have to see the movie, right? So I watched
it. I keep hearing reviews that this is a love story and it would hold up as a
great movie even if they weren't gay. I'm calling BS on this one. The only
thing that made this movie "special" is the fact that they are gay and they'd
have gotten their ass beaten to death if their peers found out. I'm no
homophobe, so I prepared myself in that I expected some man on man
kissing. There was one scene that went a bit over the line and into the
"uncomfortable zone". If you do watch it, when Heath Ledger licks his
fingers... well, you know. I'm not rating this one a thumbs down because it's
about gay cowboys. I'm rating it thumbs down because it just wasn't a
great movie. For those who boo the Academy for putting Crash ahead of
Brokeback Mountain, give me a break. Crash was the far superior
movie.

A History of Violence: This was a 35-minute movie dragged out for two
hours. Seriously, you can see it panning out in front of you, yet it takes
FOREVER to happen. I think they made the movie and figured out that it
was less than an hour long and decided to put it in slow motion and still put
in some long shots. I really wanted to like this movie, but I have to say pass
on this one.

Walk the Line: A lot of comparisons were made to Ray on this one. I
ranked Ray as OK and a bit drawn out. I do not think the movies are even
in the same category other than two defining characteristics. They are
both about famous musicians who abused drugs and the actors playing
their respective parts sang the songs for the part. The biggest difference
is that Joaquin Phoenix's voice was borderline terrible. I know Johnny Cash
didn't have the greatest voice, but it was good enough. Big props to Reese
Witherspoon though. She did a great job in this movie. I think this is not a
must watch film, but I would rank it in my "good to pass the time once"
category.

The Squid and the Whale: Do you ever watch a movie and you like it,
but you don't know why? That's how I feel about this movie. It is set in the
80's and follows an eccentric couple and their two children in the midst of a
very nasty divorce. They are very educated and use intelligent but
scathing remarks towards each other at every turn. The children become
every bit as messed up as their parents. There are some really funny (sad
really) moments in this movie. It's definitely worth the watch.

Derailed: As predictable as this movie is at times, I still enjoyed it. Yes,
there are surprises. Most movies do that these days. Sometimes you
figure out the surprise before it happens and you can let that ruin it for you.
In this case, it didn't. Do I see Jennifer Aniston outside of her comedy
roles for long? No, but it was worth a try.

seen "Dog, the Bounty Hunter", you know those guys can get into some
sticky situations at times. It's one of the better movies in this review.

Stay: I had seen the preview to this at the movies and thought that I
wanted to see it. I quickly forgot about it and did not remember it until I saw
the box at Blockbuster. The movie has Ryan Gosling as a student seeking
psychiatric help from Ewan McGregor. He has determined that he must kill
himself at midnight on his 21st birthday unless McGregor can help him. He
hears voices and sees things before they happen. It is a pretty good
movie, although I doubt I'll ever watch it again. I recommend you set it
aside for a rainy day.

the dramatic plot of the movie. I always wondered why Kong had feelings
for Ann Darrow and vice versa. This is the first version of King Kong that
really explains it and gives it a valid meaning. In that respect, I give the
movie its due. It is still a good movie, but I do not think it lived up to the
hype. And that is why I hate really hyped up movies.

Capote: Perhaps I did not give this one a fair enough chance. I'm thinking
I am going to have to go back and watch it again. I only got through about
an hour of it because I was exhausted. But it was dragging and Philip
Seymour Hoffman's voice was killing me. I know he is doing an accurate
interpretation of Truman Capote, but his voice is very close to nails on a
chalkboard. As far as the plot, I didn't get very far because the first hour
dragged way too much and I was way too tired. I'll try to give it a better
review when I watch it in full after getting plenty of sleep.

And now for a classic:

Ghostbusters 1 and 2: I got a box set

the movie, but it is barely noticeable. Second to Back to the Future, I'd
say Ghostbusters is one of the best comedy products of the 80's.

That's it for this week. If you have something you ever want me to
comment on, please email me. vwbeetleman@yahoo.com

Until then, throw up a "T" for...

T-BONE!






Anna Kay Faris (born November 29, 1976 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA) is an American actress, best known for her roles in the Scary Movie films. Faris grew up north of Seattle, Washington to Jack Faris (of Scottish/Irish descent) and Karen (of German, English and French descent). Her parents encouraged Anna to pursue her acting ambition when she was young and she did her first professional acting perfomance at age 9 at the Seattle Repertory Theater. After attending Edmonds-Woodway High School in Edmonds, WA, she studied English Literature at the University of Washington and lived in London for awhile. Her first significant film role was in the independent production Lovers Lane (1999). Her "breakout" role was the horror film parody Scary Movie (2000). Faris stands 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m) in height. She is a natural blonde but had to dye her hair black for the filming of Scary Movie leading to the misconception she is a brunette. As of 2004, she is married to actor Ben Indra, whom she met while working on Lovers Lane and had dated since 1999.



	Mickey Rourke was born Philip Andre Rourke Jr. on September 16, 1956 in Schenectady, New York, although some sources cite 1950 and 1953 as possible years of his birth. He is a colorful American actor and former boxer. After attending Miami Beach Senior High School, he would go on to study at the Lee Strasberg Institute (where veteran method actors such as Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken studied). During the early 1980s, Rourke's career blossomed. In 1982 he starred in the cult classic Diner, which also starred Paul Reiser, Daniel Stern, Steve Guttenberg and Kevin Bacon. The film was directed by Barry Levinson (director of Rain Man), and most of the principal actors later became bigger stars. Soon after, Rourke starred in the Francis Ford Coppola's follow-up to The Outsiders in the coming-of-age tale, Rumble Fish. Playing the older and enigmatic brother of Matt Dillon, he was praised as a standout in a film featuring such talents as Dennis Hopper, Diane Lane, Nicolas Cage, Chris Penn, Laurence Fishburne and Tom Waits. Rourke's performance in the film The Pope of Greenwich Village alongside Darryl Hannah and Eric Roberts began to give him some critical attention. While a box-office flop during its initial release, the film has become somewhat of a minor cult hit, with actor Johnny Depp calling it "perfect cinema", and even getting a recent mention on HBO's Entourage as being the lead character's favorite movie. Rourke has always credited the film as being his own personal favorite, while both Hannah and Roberts often cite it as highlights of their careers. In the mid-1980s, Rourke became one of the decade's leading men, and arguably the major sex symbol of his acting generation, a title no doubt fueled by his role alongside Kim Basinger in the controversial box-office hit 9½ Weeks. He attained mass critical acclaim for his work in Barfly as the alcoholic writer Charles Bukowski, and in the Oliver Stone-penned Year of the Dragon. However, many critics consider his finest film of the latter end of the 1980s to be the controversial Angel Heart, Alan Parker's film, which became controversial for its explicit sex scene involving Cosby Show cast member Lisa Bonet. Bill Cosby allegedly tried to have the film blocked from release so that it would not "taint" the image of his sitcom. Many critics maintain that it is Rourke's best performance, although Rourke has admitted on numerous occasions that he doesn't understand why they think so since, in his opinion, he just played it straight. He claims he took the role primarily because needed the money at the time. Around the same time, he also performed with musician David Bowie on the Never Let Me Down album, and wrote his first screenplay, Homeboy, a boxing tale in which he also starred. His other big role in 1991 was in the action film Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man as Harley Davidson, a biker in the near future whose best buddy is named Marlboro. Regarded as a box office bomb at the time, today it is considered something of a "great bad movie" amongst home video fanatics. MORE



		I'll have the roast duck with the mango salsa.