Last movie you watched......

Green Zone didn't do much for me.

 

'Broadcast News,' which I had never seen before.
I didn't like it because I didn't like any of the characters. That was my gripe with it.

 

I really wanna see this. Doesn't hurt that two of the main cast members (John Hawkes and Garret Dillahunt) were regulars on "Deadwood."

 

Body of Lies

Leo was pretty damn good in this. Movie was solid. I'd give it a B+/A-

 

I have read on several best-of horror lists that British Hammer movie Quartermass and the Pit was one of the scariest horror films ever made. Last Friday, TCM showed it with its American title, Five Million Years To Earth, so I DVR'd it.

I'm glad I did. This was a completely unique take on the devil, his/its origin, and our own origin on Earth. It was very well written and directed, the script was given the right space to play itself out, and it was terrifying if you let yourself get wrapped up in the story.

It's a Hammer film, so don't expect great special effects, even by the standards of 1968, when it was made, but it was truly a really good, intelligent movie.

It stars Andrew Keir, James Donald (the doctor in Bridge On The River Kwai and colonel in The Great Escape) and Julian Glover (the bad guy in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade ... let's just say he chose poorly in this movie too and suffered a similar fate).

It would be hard to find at a joe-average video store, but if you get the chance on Netflix or a boutique-style video store, give it a shot.

 

Watched 'Gone Baby Gone' today and loved it. I get the comparisons people have been drawing between Ben Affleck and Clint Eastwood, but I think they're somewhat shallow and based entirely on 'Mystic River.' While some see Clint Eastwood there, I actually saw a lot of Scorsese influence.

'Gone Baby Gone' is similar in many respects to 'Mystic River' (which is why the comparisons to Eastwood flow so freely), but I thought it had a feel like 'Mean Streets.' Though Affleck is from Cambridge, he seems to have a good feel for what some of the rougher neighborhoods in the Boston Metro area are like. Like Scorsese, I thought he was able to get across that feel with honesty. He doesn't look down on, or up to, any of the characters of the neighborhood. They're just a part of the character of the film.

There's a million religious references (specifically Catholic) in the film, something that immediately conjures thoughts of Scorsese. And the characters are mostly morally ambiguous — the drug dealer who has a sense of right and the cops who aren't afraid to do wrong for the sake of good — something also prevalent in many Scorsese films.

'Mystic River' and 'Gone Baby Gone' shared the sweeping helicopter shots of the neighborhood, the crime against a defenseless young girl and the streetwise investigator who people in the neighborhood could talk to because he was from there. But I thought Affleck's style owed more to the deeper Scorsese influence than the superficial similarities to 'Mystic River.'

 

Solid Review. I saw it Saturday night, totally predicable but still an enjoyable 2 hour diversion.

Saw the preview for The Green Hornet, I AM PISSED. Seth Rogan as the Green Hornet? WTF? Was Jason Scwartzman unavailable?

 

Watched Gamer yesterday morning. Taste-wise, I've kind of drifted away from the sci-fi thriller genre, but I was pleasantly surprised. Definitely a mind trip, pretty rockin soundtrack, and this might be the best acting job G. Butler has done on film.

Also, started watching Dexter last night with season 1. Interesting and fun, dark humor. Almost makes me want to pay for Showtime. Almost.

 

Shutter Island. I hated the beginning, found the music distracting, thought the atmosphere was too forced on us. But then I started to really like it, which surprised me. And then I didn't get the ending. I'd watch it again, but I've got about 15 other library movies to get through. I'll just get my wife to explain it to me.

 

A Face in the Crowd.

Great movie, I'm surprised that Andy Griffith never really got a chance to do another dramatic role after this.

 

Just finished Tron. First time I've actually finished it. Very pumped for Tron Legacy.

 

It was and remains a great movie. Griffith hit the mother-lode playing sheriff. He also has a
broad reputation for being difficult to work with.