You're gonna be bothered by how cool I am.

I'm hopelessly behind at doing actual reviews of movies, but here are some that I've seen recently seen, and some brief (for me) comments on them.

**********

Eagle Eye - Great action flick with great NORMAL heroes and a great villain. I was disappointed to be a step ahead of it once or twice, and a couple of details are a little giggle-worthy (like the New York Philharmonic Grammar School Orchestra). But it's definitely an incredible ride.

Lakeview Terrace - Much better than I was expecting from the corny poster and meh trailer. I should have remembered that Neil Labute is so very good at all that uncomfortable human relation stuff. The ending is a little melodramatic, and I'm not sure how I feel about Patrick Wilson having to sort of prove that he's a worthy husband/father in the way he ends up doing it. But the painful interactions between the characters are where the movie really shines.

Towelhead - Um, not my thing. Good portrait of the pain of female puberty, but disturbing on so many levels that I can't really recommend it. I don't think I've ever hated a pair of movie parents more than I hate Jasira's worthless mother and father.

Appaloosa - Interesting. If you're a Viggo fan, I'd definitely give it a go. Something I love about it is that it takes characters and situations that seem very simple in the beginning and continually twist and stretch them until they're really interesting and complicated. And for all that, it's essentially an old-style western. I find, though, that I'm growing less and less tolerant of Renee Zellweger.

The Duchess - Keira Knightley's best role so far, I think. I like that they don't try to sugar-coat this woman's life. Ralph Fiennes makes a brave choice here, playing not so much a bad guy but just a mediocre, unintelligent, but dutiful man. I do think the movie should have started about ten minutes before it did. There was not nearly enough setup for Georgiana/Charles to make me interested in their relationship or feel sad when they were separated.

The Women - There were things I loved, but they were few and far between. I can see where they thought this would be an interesting approach, but I think it was a mistake for them to have absolutely no men in the movie. It leads to the worst kind of "telling, not showing." And though I do love ogling high fashion, I'm a little tired of being presented with female "role models" who live and dress in a manner that most women cannot possibly attain. I get enough Dior envy just walking down the street in NY, thnx.

I'm hopelessly behind at doing actual reviews of movies, but here are some that I've seen recently seen, and some brief (for me) comments on them.

**********

Eagle Eye - Great action flick with great NORMAL heroes and a great villain. I was disappointed to be a step ahead of it once or twice, and a couple of details are a little giggle-worthy (like the New York Philharmonic Grammar School Orchestra). But it's definitely an incredible ride.

Lakeview Terrace - Much better than I was expecting from the corny poster and meh trailer. I should have remembered that Neil Labute is so very good at all that uncomfortable human relation stuff. The ending is a little melodramatic, and I'm not sure how I feel about Patrick Wilson having to sort of prove that he's a worthy husband/father in the way he ends up doing it. But the painful interactions between the characters are where the movie really shines.

Towelhead - Um, not my thing. Good portrait of the pain of female puberty, but disturbing on so many levels that I can't really recommend it. I don't think I've ever hated a pair of movie parents more than I hate Jasira's worthless mother and father.

Appaloosa - Interesting. If you're a Viggo fan, I'd definitely give it a go. Something I love about it is that it takes characters and situations that seem very simple in the beginning and continually twist and stretch them until they're really interesting and complicated. And for all that, it's essentially an old-style western. I find, though, that I'm growing less and less tolerant of Renee Zellweger.

The Duchess - Keira Knightley's best role so far, I think. I like that they don't try to sugar-coat this woman's life. Ralph Fiennes makes a brave choice here, playing not so much a bad guy but just a mediocre, unintelligent, but dutiful man. I do think the movie should have started about ten minutes before it did. There was not nearly enough setup for Georgiana/Charles to make me interested in their relationship or feel sad when they were separated.

The Women - There were things I loved, but they were few and far between. I can see where they thought this would be an interesting approach, but I think it was a mistake for them to have absolutely no men in the movie. It leads to the worst kind of "telling, not showing." And though I do love ogling high fashion, I'm a little tired of being presented with female "role models" who live and dress in a manner that most women cannot possibly attain. I get enough Dior envy just walking down the street in NY, thnx.