Movie Review Tuesday

Katie and I got back on the movie kick lately, so here's a couple more reviews:

1) Grosse Point Blank

Yeah, I don't know. Katie has some secret love affair with this movie or something. So, we rented and watched it. I was a bit distracted, and it didn't help that the DVD, which I assume pressed in late '97 or early '98 wasn't enhanced for widescreen televisions. So we got to watch it with black bars all the way around it. Nothing like a 30" picture on a 50" TV to get on your good side.

Nevertheless, the movie had some moments. John Cusack was very funny, and it was pretty classic to see some of the reasonably big-time people in some small-time roles. Now that I'm sitting here typing, I really don't remember much of anything distinctive from this movie, other than Cusack constantly telling everyone he was a professional killer, and no one believing him.

My rating: 2/4 stars.

2) The Bourne Ultimatum

I'm sure most people have at least seen one of the three movies in this series. This one doesn't deviate from the formula. Matt Damon is pretty solid. The government is as dirty as ever. There's a lot of flashbacks to Bourne's past. There's also plenty of hand-to-hand combat that would have Lennox Lewis telling you he couldn't handle it. There's a reason boxers have gloves. There's also plenty of explosions and car chases. As far as I knew, going into this movie, this was supposed to be the last one. That's about all I knew. The movie ended up finishing pretty well; I don't want to give away what happens, but it was pretty intense. I thought it was going to be an open-to-interpretation ending, but in the end, we find out what happens. But you'll have to watch if you wanna know.

I'd give this one 3½ out of 4 stars.

Movie Review Sunday

In the last couple days, I've seen three movies, so I figure now is a good time to talk about them.

1) 300

As expected, I didn't think much of this movie. I knew the style it was shot in, I knew the storyline, and I knew that I don't normally like ancient war movies as much as most people. (See: Gladiator, Braveheart) Having said all that, it was a tolerable movie. I didn't give up on it. What I found more interesting than the movie itself was the history behind it. The movie is based on the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, between the Spartans and the Persians. However, depending on who you consult, the version in the movie may not necessarily be completely factual.

A quick search for 'truth about 300' led me to this site which apparently belongs to an Iranian-American who is filming a movie based on the life of Cyrus, who was king of the Persians before Xerxes. Anyway, he has an intriguing take on the battle that I'll leave up to you to read.

Back to the movie for a sec: I give it 2/4 stars.

2) Vantage Point

We went to the theater yesterday afternoon to watch Vantage Point, starring everybody and their brother. It was a pretty interesting movie. The premise of the story is the assassination of the president from 6 or 8 different characters points of view. So basically, you see the same 25 minutes of time from a bunch of different angles. It was a cool concept that worked really well for the first hour or so. It eventually got to the point where you were wondering how many times they were going to do it. The ending was great and, in the end, it was totally worth the wait.

I'd give this one 3/4 stars. If you're looking for a movie to check out in the theaters, this one is a winner.

3) Night at the Museum

And yes, yesterday afternoon, there was nothing better on TV than Night at the Museum on HBO. I'm not always the hugest Ben Stiller fan, but it was a cute movie. I found myself laughing out loud a few times, even though I felt bad doing it. Robin Williams is pretty funny as Teddy Roosevelt, and Owen Wilson is makes a convincing tiny cowboy. Aside from that, it's a typical happy ending movie. Not really many surprises.

It's a decent weekend flick for sitting on the couch. I'd give it 2/4 stars.