A Good Year - Ridley Scott + Russell Crowe + romantic comedy = What was I thinking???? As much as I enjoy Ridley Scott films, and Russell Crowe as an actor, and French scenery, this movie just falls dead flat. in fact, the only time it ever really gets off the ground is during the brief flashback scenes of the young Russell Crowe character, played by Freddie Highmore (one of the boys in Finding Neverland), with his uncle, played by Albert Finney, at his estate in Provence.

The Ninth Gate - An unscrupulous rare-book dealer (Johnny Depp) is hired by a collector to authenticate two rival copies of a book purported to have been co-written by Lucifer and to contain the secret to unleashing the powers of the Underworld. Sounds interesting, right?

Well, it's not. The movie has an extremely dated feel (despite having been filmed in 1999) and comes off as part black comedy, part drama and part "artistic oeuvre" - no part of which, unfortunately, is any good.

Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny - Wayne's World meets Spinal Tap, with a dash of South Park thrown in. Goofy fun. Probably a whole lot goofier and even more fun when viewed in an "altered" state of sobriety.

BTW, can you tell it's rerun season on tv? That's four new movies for me this week.

How To Deal - Unless you're a 16 year old female, don't waste your time. It's not even a good chick flick. (PS, Don't ask why I Saw it)

Cache - French film, with Juliette Binoche being the only name I knew. "A married couple are terrorized by a series of videotapes planted on their front porch."

Hard to describe how I feel about this film. I did enjoy it but it seems like one of those movies that need multiple viewings to really grasp the entire concept. A simple premise yet very complex at the same time.

Fast Food Nation - Richard Linklater's dramatic adaptation of Eric Schlosser's exposé on the North American meat packing industry is hit and miss; its politics are unabashed, but, like most Linklater films, it tends to get a bit talky at times, sacrificing story development for intellectual repartée. The dvd features a modest selection of interesting extras, like the animated shorts, The Meatrix.

Borat

If your looking for a laugh you should get one. I liked it and would recommend if you like that type of comedy. At times I thought it was too over the top though.

The Departed

Pretty good. Predictible in a lot of ways. Excellent cast.

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints - A writer returns to his childhood home in Queens to deal with his ailing father and confront the demons of his misspent youth. Raw, personal, if a little uneven. The director/writer, putting his own memoir to film, shows some promise.

Casino Royale - Excellent movie. Great for Bond. It brought it back to what it was in Goldeneye (same director). More about the story and the man. IMO, this is one of the best Bond films. I wish they would have had a Q/R segment, especially with the car and everything. It wouldn't have to be as goofy as it was getting, but it would have been good in my books. Other than that it was great. Video was superb, and audio was a treat.
I think Craig is a good Bond. He seems to be more serious (again, I think it's more the writing and the story).
This ranks right up there with my favorite Bond films (Goldeneye is my all-time fav). Can't wait to see the next installment.

I loved "A Guide to Recognising your Saints"! I thought it was raw with honesty, uninhibited and not hollywoodised! i gave it 5 out of 5

I also LOVED Casino Royale, this movie had me glued to the screne from the beginning right to the end...incredible action, good script, and good characters another 5 out of 5

Bridget Jones - The Edge of Reason - Bridget's insecurities lead her to jeopardize her relationship with Mark Darcy. Although she manages to patch things up, she later jeopardizes the relationship again, after which she manages to patch things up before jeopar...well, you get the picture.

An irritiating sequel with none of the charm of the original film.

Bon Cop, Bad Cop - Hilarious. Some nice pot shots at some of the hockey establishment, good cop buddy moments and funny french/english humour.


ScaredSacred - Was not in the mood to watch a movie like this. Found it slow and boring. I know the point was to find enlightenment and hope for humankind but I just found it depressing. Maybe a different day brings a different result.

Rocky Balboa - A big thank you to Sylvester Stallone for doing this one!! Bought the disc first-thing yesterday morning, watched it in the evening -- what a great way to end the day!! Much-enjoyed!!

Superman Returns

Not bad. Forgettable though. The special effects were pretty good. Good sound. Maybe if I never saw Superman 1 and 2 this one would have been much better. Maybe if they got Richard Donner to direct it would have been better?

Office Space - Downtrodden employee Peter Gibbons' life takes a turn for the better - and the more mischievous - after he is hypnotized into a state of carefree happiness. When he finds out that his friends are slated to be laid off by the company, he hatches a scheme with them to exact a little revenge against their miserable bosses.

It wasn't a great movie, but it did have a number of amusing moments as well as some characters and situations that many "cubicle dwellers" might find disturbingly familiar.

Casino Royale - the movie that (re-)introduces us to Bond, James Bond.

Having earned his "double-ohs" early in the film by running around a lot, blowing stuff up and killing people, Bond is assigned to match wits against Le Chiffre - banker to the terrorists - in a high-stakes card game. Thanks to the charms of co-agent Vesper Lynd, Bond's heart and, for a short time, his testicles, are also at stake.

Gone, thankfully, from this latest Bond outing were the stupid gimmicks and gadgets, the ridiculously cheesy dialogue and John Cleese. (Python and Bond do not mix.) What remained were a few cool chase and fight scenes (the first half hour was probably the best part of the movie), instances of moderately cheesy dialogue, one silly gadget and a fairly flat story.

I like Daniel Craig but, unfortunately, "Casino Royale" is no "Layer Cake".

Daniel Craig was as boring as the movie or you could argue the plot made him boring. The movie started out well but went down hill quickly. I hear people calling the poker game as the highlight of the movie. That sums it up. If the best part of an action movie is a card game then boy is the movie in trouble.

A cold war novel ends of being a post 9/11 movie. Ouch. I guess we can't have bad Russians anymore.

NO Classic Villian
NO memoriable Bond Girl
NO memoriable Song
NO memoriable action scene

Today I bought:

Rocky
Blood Diamond
Casion Royal
Pirates of the Car. 2
Seven (Oldie but Goodie)

Saturday night's gonna be fun - Im sick of going out over and over! Movie night this weekend.

The Heart of the Game - A documentary that follows the ups and downs over four years of the Roosevelt High girls' basketball team in their quest for the Washington state championship, and the personal trials and tribulations of their enigmatic star player, Darniella Russell. While it lacks the depth and emotional power of Hoop Dreams, it does throw some shocking twists, and, by the end, you can't help but get caught up in the team's dramatic story.

Saw 3 - dumb, dumb, dumb.