Redbelt stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as a jiu-jitsu instructor named Mike Terry. A series of events gradually gets Mike caught up in a web of deception and betrayal (good ol' Mamet stuff). It all eventually leads to a fight. This movie is probably best enjoyed by people familiar with David Mamet movies, as it features his signature terse and mysterious dialogue, character actor Joe Mantegna, magician and sometime actor Ricky Jay, Rebecca Pidgeon (in a small part) and a plot with a few surprises. I'm a big fan and I was captivated by all the machinations. There are some baffling elements though. Maybe that's why the noisy idiots behind me left early. Maybe they thought they were going to see a Rocky movie. Ah-hahahaha!

Chiwetel Ejiofor
[12 may 2008]

Boozy, billionaire playboy Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), a weapons maker, gets abducted by baddies in Afghanistan and is ordered to build them a missile while jailed in a cave. He builds his first Iron Man suit instead and opens a can of whup-ass on the baddies. This annoys them. But then you'd know all this if you've seen the trailers. First of all, Downey is perfectly cast, second of all, this flick delivers a very enjoyable, occasionally funny epic superhero movie. The scenes where Iron Man flies are way cool and the dialogue is often witty and never corny. This flick is big fun.

What was probably not a good idea was eating a chicken pesto sausauge and garlic fries before seeing this flick. It was even more of a bad idea for the people sitting next to me. Mu-ahahahahaha!

Oh, two more things, 1) stay for the end of the credits for the coda (although, it may be more meaningful for fans familiar with Iron Man). And 2) Iron Man 2 is already scheduled for April 30, 2010.

It's a bird, it's a plane...
[4 may 2008]

This heist movie is based on a real-life 70's era caper and stars Jason Statham as the chief bank robber who's recruited by his attractive friend Martine (Saffron Burrows). It's a very well-done flick with mounting suspense and interesting complications. It also earns its R rating several times over and at times it gets pretty intense. (My wife was hiding behind her hair during a couple scenes.) I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and besides, I'm relatively inured to some of the violence that was depicted. But really, the worst of it is implied only and the camera cuts away. Exciting flick.

Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows look cool in 70's era garb.
[29 march 2008]

The whole family went to see Horton Hears A Who this weekend. They happily munched on candy necklaces and popcorn while watching this flick. It's made by the Blue Sky studio which also made the Ice Age movies (which I love). They did a great job with it. Luke was sitting to my left giggling away. Kajsa sat through the entire thing without being a fidget (practically a first). Jim Carrey voices Horton and doesn't overdo it. The same can be said for Steve Carell who voices the mayor of Whoville. And the whole look of the movie stays true to the Seuss universe. And it's only a hour and a half long, perfect length for the little ones. (By the way, if you pay attention, you'll see a Who carrying a delectable tray of green eggs and ham.)

I especially liked Vlad, the vulture (voiced by Will Arnett).
[16 march 2008]

I read the book this was based on fifteen years ago. This flick shares some similarities but then comes up with a new villain and more succinct plot. Either way I was a sucker from word go since it features my favorite fantasy power of teleportation at will. This movie handles it well and was a fun 90-minute sci-fi thriller. Hayden Christensen does a good job as the protagonist (and face it, he can only improve on his past more famous role). Samuel L. Jackson plays the villain with oddly-shaded silver hair. And he's not as over-the-top here as he's been in some other recent flicks. Plus, I'm just a big fan of the director, Doug Liman. He's pretty consistently turned out some exciting movies.
[19 february 2008]

This flick is getting hyped pretty big but delivers the thrills. The flick is mostly associated to J.J. Abrams, the producer of the moment but as you can see it’s directed and written by others. It also stars a cast of young unknowns and the whole flick is shot as though seen from a hand-held video. This doesn’t detract from the movie at all, and in fact it’s kinda clever in spots (I liked the moment they turn on the night-vision). The first 20 minutes establish the characters and the one holding the camera for the bulk of the movie is mostly a dull-witted eejit who can get pretty annoying. Otherwise, it’s nice not being distracted by known faces. And the flicks moves along at a good clip (it should since it only runs under 90 minutes). And make no mistake, this is a monster movie and it is not alone. Good stuff and some good surprises and some arresting visuals.
[20 january 2008]

First of all the book (and the trilogy) is a fun, exciting, and imaginative tale. There are several characters and themes from the book that the movie is trying to cram into it's two-hour running time. I think it'll confuse people who haven't read the book. There's a lot to take in and the episodic plot seems to be rushed. Many of the other characters motivations are hard to discern. But the movie looks good and has some slick (computer-assisted) imagery. But I wouldn't recommend it to anyone not already familiar with the trilogy. I will say this though, Nicole Kidman makes a wonderfully creepy, glamourous villain. The story takes place in an alternate world where peoples souls are manifested as talking animal "daemons." Kidman's character's daemon is a creepy-looking golden monkey. She is an agent of the Magisterium, a religious organization out to suppress the truth and control the population. Young Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) is given a golden compass, properly known as an alethiometer, which, when properly used and read, can reveal the truth behind any question. Naturally, the Magisterium want it. There's really too much to explain about the premise... you're better off reading the trilogy.

Some people will tell you that the book's aims are to inspire atheism and hatred of God. I generally ignore these people and continue walking along the street. Many of the "Christian" organizations counseling people to avoid this movie are probably the same people who get worked into a lather over Harry Potter steering all these kids towards witchcraft. Do these excitable Catholics realize what the word "fantasy" means, or do they all believe in witches, elves, fairies, and the like? I wonder. Regardless, I didn't view one of the themes of the book as direct attack on Christianity. As one reviewer has mentioned, the author's "fundamental objection is to ideological tyranny and the rejection of this world in favor of an idealized afterlife, regardless of creed. As one of the novel's pagan characters puts it, 'Every church is the same: control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling.'" Whatever, I think you're capable of making up your own mind. [more info here]

By the way, the boxed-set trilogy is currently Amazon's sixth top seller.

Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Coulter
[12 december 2007]

This is adult animation using "motion capture" technology — a lot like Polar Express but with greater detail. And the PG-13 rating? I guess, but it's really closer to R. Angelina Jolie plays Grendel's mother and yeah, she's a digital creation with some hidden bits, but she's essentially naked and a more perfect version of herself — she's a digital naked goddess monster based on Angelina Jolie. Likewise, Ray Winstone as Beowulf doesn't really have ripped abs, and upon watching the movie, Anthony Hopkins was surprised to see that he was bearded. It's all really pretty cool. And the action is gory, bloody, larger-than-life, and exciting. The climactic scene with the dragon was particularly awesome. But for kids? No.

Here's Grendel's mommy, just before she shows off some pinup curves. Yow!
[25 november 2007]

Usually legal thrillers just bore me to death, but this isn't your typical courtroom drama, in fact, there are no courtroom scenes whatsoever which suits me just fine. George Clooney is the titular lawyer, the go-to fixit man for a large firm (and he's got his own set of problems). But when the firm's top litigator Arthur (Tom Wilkinson) breaks down (after not taking meds for manic depression), Clayton is sent to do damage control. He's up against his semi-crazy colleage and a dangerous and crafty adversary (Tilda Swinton). It makes for a captivating character study with a dash of thriller-ish elements. And all the actors are top notch. It's a very enjoyable adult drama — even for those bored with legal dramas. (Also stars Sydney Pollack and Michael O'Keefe — Noonan! Miss it!)
[5 november 2007]

After Saudi Arabian terrorists attack an American compound on Saudi soil (killing many with automatic rifles and bombs), four FBI agents finagle their way into the country to investigate. They are assigned a Saudi handler (a competent local policeman) and their investigation gets underway. The four FBI guys are portrayed by Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, and Justin Bateman. The story moves briskly and the final slam-bang shoot-out is very exciting. It's also a kind of wish-fulfillment of what we wish could happen over there and in Iraq. But, it's a movie, and an entertaining one — but not for the squeamish.
[29 september 2007]

Clive Owen gets very angry when people do bad things. So when a slew of black-wearing bad guys try to shoot a baby, he interferes and gets a body count to rapidly escalate. He also brings the "Dairy Queen" into the fray to help look after the baby. The "Dairy Queen" is an Italian whore played by Monica Bellucci in her 4th or 5th role as a whore. Hmm. Anyway, Paul Giamatti is the leader of the bad guys and he's trying hard to kill Clive Owen (here dubbed "Mr. Smith"). The whole affair is wildly over-the-top, outlandish, twisted, and fun, especially if your sense of humor runs to the Dark Side. There is a plot but anyone going to see this movie for it's thin plot hasn't been thinking very hard. But those in the mood for mayhem, gunplay, sex, Bond-ian quips, and non-stop action may enjoy this 90-minute romp.
[10 september 2007]

Pretty cool. Greengrass is a good director but I could still take less of the jittery camera-work. It's not as bad on this go-round as the previous Bourne flick. And I liked this one better than the previous one too. Some great fights, notably the one in Morocco. I've heard some people complain about this having a thin plot. Lighten up, it's a summer movie. The plot is fine, the movie is brisk, and it's exciting. They're also leaving the door open for another sequel. We'll see.
[8 august 2007]