Movie Review: In Good Company

I must admit that I love movies without a trite Hollywood ending where the hero dies or, especially, does not get the girl. Sorry if I spoiled this movie if you hadn’t seen it already, but that was what I had thought about coming out of the theatre. It must be the loner/cynic in me that gets off in seeing others lose. It is not that I find joy in the character losing the girl, but that I sympathise with the character’s loss. In a sense, I know that I too am that guy.

In Good Company isn’t really about anything I had just explained. Yes, Topher Grace does not get what’s-her-name? in the end. The star was really Dennis Quaid. He’s on a roll of sorts in the last few years after his public cuckolding by Meg Ryan. He has acted in a few notable films and garnered some respectables reviews. Good for him. Topher Grace acted very well. He epitomizes youth not truly knowing what they are doing, but just saying a lot of hip jargon to conceal their inexperience.

I am giving this movie a middle of the road rating, less for how it played and more for the contrived story. The lesson learned is one that has been told often. Your elders have wisdom beyond your years. I could’ve gotten that from reading a blog. So, the movie was well acted, liked the somewhat somber ending, but hated the preaching.

3 of 5 stars.

Movie Review: Lemony Snicket’s

I won’t bore you with the full title to this movie. It was truly a sequence of unfortunate events that lead me to watch this. Actually, it was just one, deciding that it would be a good movie to watch. How I wished it were so! Boring and forgettable. I had watched it at least 2 weeks ago, and I normally post my review immediately, but this movie I completely forgot about until I was posting the previous review. Watch it at your own peril. (Or just wait for it on TBS in a year.)

2 of 5 stars.

Movie Review: Hide and Seek

This was not the worst movie that I have seen this year. This was not the best movie I have seen this year. This was the most predictable movie I have seen this year.

Right from the start, as soon as your main character begins to have “flashbacks”, you know the end of the story. I sat there impatiently waiting for the story to unravel in its predictable course. I was not disappointed. The trailers showed a lot of what was to happen, but you would’ve already figured it out.

Dakota Fanning I can’t stand. She has got to be a robot or something less human. She channeled Wednesday Adams. She had me laughing aloud. I did not like her from the start, but once she went into Wednesday mode I could’nt help but think that she magically turned in a campy performance, a tour de force of unseriousness. She was the only actor in the film to acknowledge that the movie was a crock. I walked out stunned, because I think I have to change my attitude towards her. Dakota Fanning I only dispise a little bit.

2 of 5 stars.

Quixotic Quest Update: January

I guess if I had made it a new year’s resolution that I should clue you into how well I have kept up in my quest to read at least 3 books a month. I read 2.5 books last month.

The Life of Pi by Yann Martel. Finally finished a book that has been sitting on my nightstand for over a year. The first part was boring and a chore to get through as compared with the later half. I guess that’s why it took me so long to get involved in it. The second half, while he’s on the life raft was extremely interesting. It had me devouring page after page. But then, the coda. What a shock. It ruined the book for me. I just spent a few days breezing through the book enjoying it, and to throw that change up to explain it all just was dismaying. C+

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. I read this while it snowed outside. For twelve hours, I was loving it, and still had not finished it. What a tome! What a story! The best Potter book so far, and it makes me contemplate pre-ordering the next one. A-

The Emerging Democratic Majority by Ruy Texeiria and John Judis. Disappointing and depressing. Disappointing because it is a tough read. Depressing because I think their premise is way off base. Look at this past presidential elections. I am only partway through so this is a preliminary grade. B-

House of Flying Daggars

All movies in the end are love stories none more so than House of Flying Daggars. With that title, you would expect a return to Kung Fu theatre. To wit, “Damn! Those house of house of flying daggar dudes rank right up there with five deadly venoms!” Alas, it is not happening. I was bored to tears by this movie. The last time someone throwing side kicks up some dude’s head put me to sleep, David Carridine was walking on rice paper. I think the art house kung fu flick is now dead. Bring back Bruce Lee. More martial less art!

2 of 5 stars.

White Noise

If I can save you money by convincing you that White Noise is a bad movie, then I have done my job. The movie was predictable from the start. In fact, before it was even released, I had predicted the ending. Unfortunately for me, I saw it in the theatres and had my suspicions confirmed. It had the feel of the Serpent and the Rainbow movie. It presented the EVP, electro-video phenomenon, as something real, just as the Serpent and the Rainbow presented zombies/voodoo as real. I was just not buying it.

2 of 5 stars.

Meet the Fokkers

When I saw the commercials for this movie last year, I thought, “Why would anyone want to see a mediocre sequel to a mediocre commedy?” Imagine to my chagrin that it took top honors at the box office with $47 million and a total haul of $162 million. Meet the Fokkers is a mediocre sequel to a mediocre original film. Ben Stiller is not funny in it. Babs is funny thing. Robert Dinero has reached a new low in his career. I have already forgotten that I have seen it.

2 of 5 stars.

Quixotic Quest

Around October 2003 I had pledged to myself to read a book a week in order to get back into the groove of reading. I had spent lots of time reading stuff online and watching a lot of TV, but not much time reading any books. Therefore at that time I wanted to read more novels, some non-fiction and a few technical books. Unfortunately, I only read a handful of books within that year, and I stopped altogether around the summer of 2004. For a new year’s resolution, I want to read 3 books a month. That’s 3 times 12 equaling 36 books for the year. It don’t matter what genre, but I need to read a little more fiction. I would also like to reduce the number of non-fiction I read and limit my technical book reading. If you have any suggestions, please leave them in comments.

The first book for this is The Life of Pi. This has been on my bedside table since last year. I figure that I should try to finish it. Hopefully, I will be done within the week.

The Aviator

Although it is the new year, the last film I saw was The Aviator. Since it was rather good, I should put it onto my year end best of movies list. Leonardo DiCaprio proves that he can act by portraying the obsessive-compulsive Howard Hughes. Not only did this guy make movies, but also designed, built and flew his own planes. Amazing. Are there still anybody like this nowadays.

4 of 5 stars.

Darkness

There was nothing really scary about this film. Except for the fact that I went and saw it. What a crock! So it wasn’t scary. If you saw every Twilight Zone episode, you would’ve seen this one.

2 fo 5 stars.