High School Musical — ??%

I’m not exactly in the target demographic for this movie. In fact, I’m so not in the target demographic that I can’t possibly rate it. None of you who know my life-partner lady-friend will be surprised to know that she loves it. And that she loves me for giving her the DVD for her birthday.

I’m Back

Well, sort of. There has been quite a bit of transition at my work and it’s keeping me quite busy. But I hope to manage a little more posting . . .

Where is Mister Ginger?

In his office. He’s preparing for a conference this weekend, and he is completely swamped.

Have no fear though. I’ve been watching lots of movies. (I’m doing a talk on movies at the conference). Just this past weekend I watched:
Impostor
A Beautiful Mind
The Corpse Bride
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
50 First Dates
THX 1138
The Manchurian Candidate
The Final Cut

I had previously seen all of them except Impostor and The Corpse Bride. I’ll do a write-up on each of them sometime. Also, I need to post an entry for A History of Violence, which I watched just before all of the conference craziness began to press in on me, and Syriana, which I watched while out of town.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose — 70%

DVD viewed June 16, 2006. I’m not a big fan of horror movies, in fact, I really don’t like them at all. I had heard, though, that this movie was really a courtroom drama, not a horror film. Well, yeah, it has courtroom drama, but it has a dose of horror too (more than I expected, at least). It doesn’t seem to have been warmly received by “critics,” if you believe Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, but I’d say it’s probably worth seeing, as it raises some interesting points for discussion regarding the nature of faith, belief, and the supernatural.

North Country — 60%

DVD viewed Jun 13, 2006. Difficult to watch in parts, but it’s difficult material. I would have scored it higher but some of the dialogue, particularly in the climactic courtroom scene, just didn’t ring true. (It’s probably due to the compression of actual events.) Also, the wigs were so awful, and—my familiar complaint—the accents were spotty. Mostly this is just nit picking, but I do think the movie would have been better if they’d spent more time on the dialogue. The pro-life messages in the last act were unexpected and interesting. Anyone else like to see a movie that focuses on whatever went on in the lives of Kyle and Glory?

To End All Wars — 85%

DVD viewed June 11, 2006. Powerful. Well made. See it.

This is a movie I’ve heard a lot about, and honestly I can’t believe I’m just now seeing it. I’d like to watch To End All Wars and Saints and Soldiers back-to-back to compare and contrast.

Glory Road — 55%

DVD viewed June 11, 2006. Haven’t I seen this movie before? I know it’s based on a true story, but I kinda wish that someone other than D*sn*y was behind it so that it wasn’t told in such a formulaic way. Particularly with a true story, there’s got to be a fresh angle the filmmakers could take. Anyway, if you do rent it, be sure to watch the extra features, which contain interviews with some of the actual people involved in the real story. (The extra features earned Glory Road an additional 10 points.)

The Big White — 40%

DVD Viewed June 9, 2006. Never heard of it? You’re not alone. IMDB doesn’t have a poster image, Ebert didn’t review it. Black comedy, good cast (Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Giovanni Ribisi, Tim Blake Nelson) and a few funny setups/scenes/lines. But it’s kind of like they made the movie based on an early draft of the script. Best part of the whole thing is Holly Hunter’s character, who shouts obscenities almost non-stop in an apparent effort to fake Tourette’s.

Two for the Money — 40%

DVD viewed June 3, 2006. First off, I don’t know how this movie got into my renal Q. I assume it was a suggestion based on other movies I’ve rented, and I took the bait. What could I have rented that made those bozos (or that bozo computer) think I’d like this?

Anyway, while the movie is entertaining in parts, overall it’s like watching a series of related but somewhat random scenes. There’s just something missing. I assume the rest of the story is on the cutting room floor. (They had to get it down to 122 minutes somehow, right?) Of course, I’m not a big fan of sports, betting, sports-betting, or seeing McConaughey without a shirt, so I may not be in the target demographic for this one.

Good Night and Good Luck — 80%

DVD viewed June 2, 2006. I liked it. It may have been a little overly political, particularly when the director went of on a bit of a rant at an awards ceremony. At least the movie acknowledges the fact that we are all hypocrites.

I had to take points off for the guy who played McCarthy, though. A completely incompetent actor. Really, an absolute void of ability.

S1M0NE — 60%

DVD viewed May 28, 2006. Interesting, but the satire falls a little too flat for me.

Murderball — 90%

DVD viewed May 27, 2006. One of the most entertaining documentaries I’ve seen. Highly recommended. The extra features are, well, of varying quality.

Derailed — 10%

DVD viewed May 26, 2006. A steaming pile of dung! Completely predictable. I was actually saying the lines before the characters. Hint, it’s a scam; she’s in on it. Oh, woops, spoiler alert. I rated this a 10% because I can imagine that somewhere there are worse movies. I don’t want to see them, though. Now if they wanted MST3K it, you might have something.

Shopgirl — 25%

DVD viewed May 24, 2006. Steve Martin’s fantasy life on screen. Jason Schwartzman’s nuttiness in the first act is the only redeeming quality of this film. Otherwise, really terrible.

Rumor Has It — 50%

DVD viewed May 21, 2006. Entertaining in parts. Not great.

Butterfly Effect — 80%

DVD viewed May 21, 2006. Thought provoking, but a GIANT FREAKING PLOT HOLE. In the end, are we supposed to believe that the world would have been better off if he’d never lived?!? Can’t we accept that our lives impact other lives, and others impact ours? Sometimes the impact is positive, sometimes negative.

Movie Trailer

New — or newly imagined — comedy, 10 Things I Hate About Commandments. View and enjoy the trailer at You Tube.

Warning: Contains F-bomb. You have been warned.

Cold Mountain – 50%

DVD viewed May 13, 2006. For each thing I liked about this movie (scenery, soundtrack, some of the performances), there was something I hated (editing, accents, some of the performances).

Office Space – 99%

DVD viewed May 12, 2006.

Peter Gibbons: So I was sitting in my cubicle today, and I realized, ever since I started working, every single day of my life has been worse than the day before it. So that means that every single day that you see me, that's on the worst day of my life.
Dr. Swanson: What about today? Is today the worst day of your life?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah.
Dr. Swanson: Wow, that's messed up.

Doesn’t life feel like this sometimes?

I Am Cool

Or at least I could be if I put 22+inch rims on my car and paint it lime green or four shades of pink. So says the front page of today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required—uncool!).

Some of the hippest wheels for under-30 drivers today are models commonly identified with seniors: Oldsmobiles, Buicks, Chevrolets and Cadillacs from the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s.

. . .

There's also the cool factor of being so "out" you are "in."

And nobody knows cool like the WSJ, right?