Big Screen: Knight & Day

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So basically it seems that everyone thinks Tom Cruise is sooooo crazy now that he’ll never get a decent review again in his life. Did they not see that he was crazy before the couch jumping? It’s not like he JUST became a scientologist.

Eh, whatevs, losers. Not an academy award winning drama, no. But a perfectly fun, suitable entertaining action flick? Yes.

I mean, what were they expecting???

In a funny side story, so I had seen Inception on that Saturday, this on the Sunday, and then on the Monday I went in for my shoulder surgery. I was really wacked-out confused waking up from the anesthesia (plus at that point you haven’t eaten in like a million hours) and I had this drug-induced sort of daydream hallucination that Peter Sarsgard (from K&D) was pushing Leo (from Inception) in a wheelchair through the recovery room (some random dude in real life was getting pushed around). It was QUITE surreal, lemme tell ya.

Big Screen: Inception.

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The must-see movie of this year. I was thrilled, entertained, captivated. I loved the cinematography and the fake worlds they found in dreams. When they step onto that beach with the crumpling city…wow. There were so many great performances, so many neat things that come back and fold in on themselves and show up to mean something different later. Really great filmmaking, in my opinion.

But I find my friends are quite split. One said it didn’t trick him enough, the way Memento did. I guess I wasn’t really in it to be tricked. And Nolan can’t just remake Memento everytime he gets behind the camera…

Big Screen: Winter’s Bone

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I am always hesitant to see movies made from books I really loved. This one lived up to my imagination. The casting was excellent, a lot of the dialogue was straight from the text, the atmosphere was just right. One side character was changed from boy to girl in what seems a random decision, but nothing else stood out as “wrong” to me, the way things often do when filmmakers sometimes seem not to have read the books they’re working with.

Just as sad and beautiful as the book. Heartbreaking really.

Definitely in my top 10 for the year. (Although when you’ve only seen 18 movies so far, that’s perhaps a dubious honor.)

Big Screen: Robin Hood

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Why didn’t anyone see this? Bunch of yahoos. It was capital-G Good. And not at all a Gladiator remake. Yes, it’s a period piece and yes, it stars Russell Crowe but the similarities really end there.

Well done. Compelling. He and Blanchett have great chemistry. This is really the pre-story of the legend.

I think my parents are likely to both vote this one picture of the year. It was quite good.

Perhaps it’ll make back the kajillion it cost to film on the international circuit since it got panned so badly by obviously moronic US reviewers that no one went to it here.

Big Screen: Iron Man 2

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[Yes I am finally reviewing movies I saw back in May. That’s how we roll.)

YAY IRON MAN IS BACK. You may remember me loving the first one to a crazypants degree.

This one continued mostly in the same vein with one eyesore: The casting of Mickey Rourke was completely wrong. He plays the role as a complete thug — in actuality his character is supposed to be another dude JUST AS SMART as RDJ’s character. This would have been MUCH better done by Sam Rockwell (who is genius in the role he does play but a lot of people could have done that part).

Otherwise: Loved it. Great action, great humor, great interplay between RDJ and GP, great bit parts by other people. Mostly a win.

Perhaps this is a problem only for those of us who watch way (WAY!) too many hours of TV.

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But when different shows all use the same actor for guest spots, man it can get confusing. Say, for example, this summer (when I meant to blog about it) when Max Martini, who I do really enjoy, was on Dark Blue, Lie to Me, AND White Collar…ALL WITHIN A WEEK’S TIME. I kept getting confused as to whether he was good or bad!! At the time, I had chalked this up to “it’s hard to find guests in the summer” until the fall season started and this phenomenon started hitting me over the head every week.

Michael Gaston was a recurring (but not ‘regular’) assassin on Rubicon on Sundays…and then OH HAI a recurring lawyer on Terriers the following Tuesday. Jennifer Morrison played a total nutbar on Chase one week…and a sorta nutbar on How I Met Your Mother the following week.

Given that they are mostly guest spots, and that the actor involved probably would not know when they were airing, and shows probably don’t ask a guest “hey, have you done eps for any other shows lately?” I guess I can see how it could happen. But then a series regular on one show (Bobby on Supernatural) shows up as a guest spot on another show (The Mentalist)? (And, I don’t watch it, but his IMDB page lists him as popping up on Law & Order: LA as well!!) It’s crazymaking for a serious TV addict like me.

I could carry on with this list but I know you’re already bored. I just think there are more actors out there who could probably use a paycheck. Am I right?

Oooorah.

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Why is it so entrancing watching a boy learn to be a soldier (and, presumably, a man at the same time)? I don’t know, but it is and not only do I love Officer and a Gentleman, but I also love every movie since then that is a cheap O&aG copy. Such as Annapolis. And The Guardian (on cable yesterday when I needed some downtime. Altho I do own it on DVD as well). (And one could even argue Top Gun belongs in that list.)