We recently cut our cable bill to near nil in the spirit of saving dollars. To compensate for the decided lack of brainless entertainment, we have been bailing out Blockbuster. Here’s what we’ve watched lately.
Don Cheadle and Jeff Daniels in Traitor
Traitor is the story of an American ex-special forces officer who has found his Muslim roots and may be working for terrorists. Samir (Don Cheadle) is an explosives expert and spends his time teaching extremists how to do it right.
This is one of the smartest, most compelling stories of 2008 and it is a shame that no one paid attention. Well listen up! You need to watch this movie. The moral lessons are complex and heartwrenching. I only watched it once and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. And may I add that Guy Pearce just isn’t in enough stuff?
Taken is a very predictable and formulaic movie that still sort of kicks ass. It does not make a statement and even if it did, it would collapse for a lack of substance.
That said, I still liked it and am likely to watch it again and again and again. It is pure fantasy and hey, that’s what the movies are for, right? With even slightly less quality acting, directing, and photography, there wouldn’t be much to distinguish this from The Art of War 2. But, the execution is good, even if the writing is a little lame at times. Liam Neeson is a favorite of mine and has had a string of great, if underappreciated performances lately in: Batman Begins, Seraphim Falls, and Kinsey.
King of Queens is a very funny show. Kevin James is brilliant in it. But he’s really got to be a supporting funny-man to a bigger personality. This is the major flaw here. Paul Blart is lacking in personality and novelty. It’s sort of like Home Alone with a fat, grown man. It is very funny at times, but it’s also a little pathetic.
That’s another pet peeve of mine too, he reallys a little heavily - no pun intended - on the fat jokes. It’s really kind of off-putting. I mean, fat guys are funny, but not because they’re fat per se. They are funny because they know how human error and shortcomings relate generally and universally. Observations of human behavior and humanizing themselves is an important way to connect with an audience. Sometimes fatness works, sometimes it’s race, sometimes it’s culture, and sometimes it’s vanity. But using comedy to “beat people to the punch” for protection isn’t very funny to me; it’s a serious issue.
I laughed during this movie in parts, but not enough to see it again.
Seth Rogen is overexposing himself. We can’t get away from him! But hey, I can’t really begrudge the guy this because he’s doing what he loves and probably making a killing too.
The reason his overexposure isn’t as noticed is because he’s in some quality funny stuff. Pineapple Express is gut-wrenching. More for James Franco and Danny McBride than Rogen, although he is good as always. But the other guys absolutely kill.
Cheech and Chong got nothing on this film. I was laughing well after it ended and will likely find some real quotables upon second viewing.
Case-in-point. Rogen strikes again! But this time he’s right where he needs to be. Kevin Smith is a dialogue junkie and he shines here. Raunch and circumstance make this an instant View-Askew classic.
It is a classic tale for sure that proves once again that sex changes everything in relationships. Jerry and Elaine found that out and Zack and Miri should have taken notice.
This is hilarious, unless of course you are easily offended. In that case, look at the title for crying out loud! There’s a little too much male genitalia for my taste, so be warned. Even still, I highly recommend this for all Kevin Smith fans out there. (Like you haven’t seen it yet.)
I was only a casual observer of the show and even still only think that it is ho-hum. But the first X-Files movie, on the other hand, I believe to be phenomenal. It is superb to this day.
When this sequel came out, my inital reactions were two-fold. First, I thought that it was just too late. No one cares anymore. And it seems that that was mostly right. The sequel made about one-third of the total money of the first. Second, I thought that I had no desire to see it. I didn’t. Until I was bored enough to pick it up at blockbuster.
Guess what…I really liked it. Shocked really. Granted, it still isn’t as good as the first one. It just isn’t as fresh, that’s for sure. But there is something about a Democrat in office that gets all of my anti-government juices going. I’m not sure what it is.
The plot plays mostly like an episode and certainly isn’t as grandiose as the first one. But, it works to drive the story. Yet the character interaction between Mulder and Scully is intesified in a way that I thought couldn’t have worked. It did. They dance with each other remarkably well and it makes for good drama. The downside is that I’ve had that unfortunate song stuck in my head for days.
Other than Traitor, the surprise of the night was Ricky Gervais and Ghost Town. Gervais, of Office fame, is hysterical. His HBO special is absolutely brilliant. His stammering intellect and general shock at the human condition renders one helpless with convulsions.
Ghost Town is about a guy who can see ghosts. Not really blowing me away with the plot here, but it doesn’t matter. It’s the characters and the jokes…they land hard - every. single. time.
I also didn’t expect that Gervais would be such a great actor. He’s like Robin Williams. The one with the beard. If he ever was interested in a dramatic role (who knows if he will be) I am sure that he would do quite well. Greg Kinnear is also spot-on as the token jerk. Does anyone play the role better?
Those are the movies that I’ve seen recently. What about you?
We’re working our way through season 3 of “Alias”, and Gervais made an appearance in a dramatic role. You’re right–he was excellent.
[...] reviewed this movie earlier in the year here. In that review, I said: Taken is a very predictable and formulaic movie that still sort of kicks [...]