As you may or may not know, Kelly and I don't have TV. We have a TV, but no service. We had service but it was so patchy and the customer service so bad, we turned it off in protest.
So, for the last year or more, we have a laptop hooked up to the TV that we download movies and tv shows on. This still results in the fact that we watch a lot less TV then we used to. Sometimes, when we are feeling especially lavish, we rent a dvd. Recently, we've seen a bunch of movies, here are my reviews.
Gran Torino
If you like Clint Eastwood, you're gonna love Gran Torino...exactly what you would expect and its good. Lots of good quotables and at 79, Clint is still kicking ass.
Clint Eastwood, gangs, bad neighborhood.....time to take out the trash !
The Escapist
I brought the escapist home, looked like a winner...it wasnt...boring...crap
Scottish Actor Brian Cox is always good (Braveheart, X-men, Troy, The Bourne Trilogy, Rob Roy), but this movie bored the pants off of me.
Valkyrie
Ok Tom Cruise, I hate the fact that you're into that stupid wacko conman Scientology, but you make good movies. Thats why I picked up a copy of Valkyrie. It was just OK. Its pretty hard to bore me with a movie set during World War II, but this one barely held my interest. There were good parts. Anytime there is war, intrigue, nazis, shootings etc AND you throw in a star studded cast including Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Terence Stamp AND Kenneth Branagh, the film should be awesome. It wasn't. It was....OK.
Thanks anyway.... Tom you nutjob scientologist wacko space worshiper.
The Big Sleep
When in doubt, we go for an old movie, preferrably with Humphrey Bogart, Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, or the like. The Big Sleep is billed as the movie Bogey and Bacall were born to make...it was good....never disappointed with one of the oldies.
Hancock
Will Smith...who doesnt like Will Smith ? Watching his career go from the Fresh Prince to huge mega films like Independence Day, Men in Black, Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness one cannot help but be impressed...but THEN the most likable celebrity of my generation ALSO becomes a freakin' Scientologist....WILL WHY WHY WHY !
I just googled Will and Scientology and this is what wikipedia says "
Smith has said he has studied multiple religions, (including
Scientology) and he has said many complimentary things about Scientology and other faiths. Despite his praise of Scientology, Smith said "I just think a lot of the ideas in Scientology are brilliant and revolutionary and non-religious"
and "Ninety-eight percent of the principles in Scientology are identical to the principles of the
Bible.... I don't think that because the word someone uses for spirit is '
thetan' that the definition becomes any different",
he has denied having joined the
Church of Scientology, saying "I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions, and I respect all people and all paths."
After his wife Jada made the film
Collateral with Cruise in 2004, the couple donated
USD$20,000 to Scientology's literacy campaign, called HELP, the Hollywood Education and Literacy Program, which is the basis for Scientology's
home-schooling system.
Hancock was a good superhero flick, not your standard approach...I enjoyed the heck out of it.
Wacko Scientologist, Scientologist supporter or not Will, I like your movies.
Man on Wire
I had heard this documentary was good. Its about the French dude who did a tightrope walk between the Twin Towers in 1974. Its a fascinating story. The more you watch it, the more you can't believe that he & his friends pulled the whole thing off, especially setting it up. Then you get to watch him actually walk a wire, 1350 feet in the air...and watch the dumb comments made by the NYPD. Good stuff.
Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven, for me, is in the same category as Braveheart, Gladiator and all the other epic guy movies that include some sort of bloodbath battle. I have seen this movie many times, and as it centers on a period I am fascinated with, The Crusades, I rented it again just in case the other movies sucked. Once again, Kingdom of Heaven was worth the time invested.
The Big Red One
The story of the 1st Infantry Division in World War II, starring Lee Marvin and Mark Hammill (fresh off the set of Star Wars). This movie came out in 1980 and was critcally acclaimed at the time, and still is. It came out before all the modern day war movies, even Platoon. At the time, it was one of the most realistic War movies made. Unbelievably, I havent seen it since I saw it on HBO in the early 80's, so it was a nice treat. I enjoyed it, although it is dated in its special effects etc now. Lee Marvin....you were a tough bastard.
