At The Movies

VALKYRIE - This is the true story of a plot to kill Adolf Hitler during the latter days of World War II. Tom Cruise (curiously) plays German Nazi Claus von Stauffenberg who has had enough of Hitler's tyrannical ways. Stauffenberg conspires with fellow German nationals and Nazi's to attempt to take out Hitler and take over the government. The film plays out as a very interesting war drama, and a lot of the acting is first rate (even though nobody speaks with a German accent for some reason.) However, Cruise's overacting gets in the way too many times here. I think if anyone else played the lead here the film would have been better. Still though...this is a good movie.

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - Wow! What else can I possibly say about this one but "Wow!" Brad Pitt plays Benjamin Button, who somehow ages backwards. The story here is wonderfully told, and the directing is top notch from the great David Fincher (SEVEN, FIGHT CLUB.) Set predominately in New Orleans, we see Button's life from beginning to end...or from end to beginning. However you want to look at it the film is great. Cate Blanchett plays Daisy, Button's life-long friend and love interest. The story is very moving, the acting is great, and the overall pace of the film is almost perfect. At 2 1/2 hours I could have sat there for another hour watching this masterpiece. I can't see any other film sweeping the Oscars this year. Best director...best actor, best film. It's all right here. Go see this one.

TROPIC THUNDER - Starring Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr., this is a very funny satire of the popular over-the-top war movies from the 80's (Platoon, Commando, Missing In Action, Rambo, etc.) The trio are actors who think they are making another war movie, only to find themselves in the middle of a real conflict. The first half hour was probably my favorite of the whole movie. It's very funny...and the jokes make you laugh out loud (especially the fake movie trailers at the beginning.) As the movie wears on the gag starts to wear a little thin, but overall the jokes are plentiful. About the only thing I didn't like in this movie was Tom Cruise as the ruthless agent. Still though...a very good movie.

THE SOPRANOS: SEASON 4 - So Jenny and I are now 4 seasons into THE SOPRANOS. I keep waiting for some kind of "dip" in this series, but season after season it delivers. Such a great show. Great storylines. Great characters. First rate acting. Can't say enough.

DEADWOOD: SEASON 1 - I've tried to check out this series before in the past, but I always came into it in the middle of the season...so I was always lost. So after enjoying THE SOPRANOS so much I decided to give this series a second chance. This is a show about the real-life western town of Deadwood. Both the location and lead characters are all based on fact, and the storylines and acting is so well done. In fact, the character of Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) is almost as dynamic as Tony Soprano in THE SOPRANOS. Make no mistake though...this is not your typical western. Instead of good guys wearing white hats and bad guys wearing black ones...here you have everyone wearing shades of grey. The characters and town are all dark and dirty and rough around the edges. And oh boy...then there's the language. But all in all this is a great show. I'll definately be checking out Season 2.

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET - I'll admit first off I'm not a big fan of musicals. The only one that I recall that blew me away was RENT, but other than that I enjoy them at times and then they fade from my memory. I caught this one on cable because of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton. Depp plays Sweeney Todd, a barber in London bent on revenge. Stylistically the film looks great, and the song numbers are pretty good...but I did get bored with this one as well. I guess overall it was okay, but this one didn't really grab me.

AMERICAN GANGSTER - Denzel Washington plays Frank Lucas, a true New York gangster in the 60's and 70's. Russel Crowe plays Richie Roberts, a New York detective who wants to bring him down. The film seems to be divided into two parts that run parallel to one another. One half follows the course of Lucas, and one follows Roberts. Director Ridley Scott provides us two character studies packed into one film. The film is great and the acting is so well done (as you might expect from these two actors.) Comparing this one to other gangster movies (Godfather, Goodfellas, etc.) I'd say this one is very different in look and feel but still very good.

ROCKET SCIENCE - This is a coming-of-age story about a stuttering 16 year old boy who enrolls on the school debate team. His parents are recently divorced, he has few friends, his older brother is a pest, and of course there's a girl in his life. Taken from the same mold as RUSHMORE, (another coming-of-age tale) ROCKET SCIENCE focuses more on drama than humor. In fact, the humor is so slight here that you almost fail to notice it. However, I did like this one. Right when you think you know where it's going it surprises you and takes a different direction. I liked this one. It's no RUSHMORE, but few films are.