A new day dawns

An article by Don Quixote    No Comments

The sky is overcast, the day is gray.

Another day dawns and I am still here.

“Still here”, those are always good words to be able to say. I have hope for sunshine today. I can already see some of the cloud cover breaking apart from my office window. The day ended well yesterday and it’s my hope that the trend will continue. “It’s all in the ending. And this one is good, this one is perfect.” (Bonus points if you know what movie that’s from).

I took a chance to take a break. I set all my cares aside, all my stresses, all the little fiddliness that bogs the spirit down and I watched some movies. For those of you who know me (which isn’t many), I’m a huge movie nut. I love them, but I haven’t had a chance lately to go and see a lot. So I get a stack of DVDs that sit by my T.V. calling for me to watch. Ever week it seems I add to that pile. So dagnabit, I decided to watch a few this weekend:

The Secret Window
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Overview from Movies.com: “Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp), a successful writer trying to cope with a divorce, is staying in his rural home, when a stranger (John Turturro) turns up on his doorstep and accuses him of plagiarism.”

I wasn’t really expecting a whole lot from this film consirding the reviews were never really very good. But I’m a huge Johnny Depp fan, and you cannot go wrong with John Turturro (Between Quiz Show and O’Brother I was sold). So with little to no hope of this being a winner, I came out pleasant suprised. Granted the story is nothing new coming from Steven King as he’s written many a story about obsessed fans (speaking from personal experience?) and the twist at the end is nothing new in films (but then again what is?) and all these things have certainly been done more powerfully in other films (the Fan, Fight Club, and the list goes on and on), but all that having been said, I very much enjoyed the film. It had enough tension to keep me interested and while I didn’t see the “twist” coming, I was guessing the whole way. If you get a chance to rent it, it’s certainly worth the $2.50 you’d pay.

The Medallion
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Overview from Movies.com: “Jackie Chan plays Eddie Yang, a Hong Kong detective killed while foiling the kidnapping of a 10-year-old golden child holding a mysterious medallion. It seems that the villainous Snakehead (Julian Sands), who also dies, wanted the powerful medal to serve his evil ways. When Eddie and Snakehead are reborn thanks to the medallion’s magic, each possesses amazing fighting skills. Eddie and his British Interpol partner (Lee Evans) are back on the trail of the medallion and are soon joined by another British agent (Claire Forlani), Eddie’s old flame.”

Okay, this was a spur of the moment kind of thing, I saw that it was coming up on HBO so I Tivo’ed it (always a sucker for Jackie Chan). The movie was totally what I expected, cheesy, some kung-fu fighting and lame special effects.. But what more could you ask for to get you out of a funk? This one is a catch on TV when you are board special.

Cold Mountain
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Overview from Movies.com: “Cold Mountain is based on the best-selling, National Book Award-winning novel by Charles Frazier. The story focuses on a wounded Civil War soldier, Inman (Jude Law), who gets up from what doctors suspected was his deathbed and begins the long, difficult walk home to Cold Mountain, N.C., so he can be with the woman he loves and left behind three years earlier, Ada (Nicole Kidman). Inman encounters many obstacles along the way. Ada, heartbroken, lonely, and struggling to care for her deceased dad’s farm, receives a helping hand in the form of a sassy, hard-working wanderer (Renée Zellweger), who is estranged from her fiddle-playing father (Brendan Gleeson).”

Visually this movie was stunning. The acting was amazing (Renée Zellweger did a great job), but man what a long depressing story (well for the most part). I enjoyed Cold Mountain quite a bit, but after having seen it, I don’t believe that it deserved as much Oscar buzz as it recieved at the time. When I compair this movie to The Last Samurai, I have to ask myself, what were they thinking when they were passing out the nods? Oh on a side note, the last person that I want to see naked (next to Jamie Lee Curtis — ugh, keep your clothes on woman) is Nicole Kidman, this woman cannot keep her shirt on for anything. But that’s just a free unsolicited rant, take it for what you will.

Paycheck
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Overview from Movies.com: “Based on a Philip K. Dick story, Paycheck is about a high-tech genius (Ben Affleck) who has his memory erased by his employer (Aaron Eckhart) as a security precaution once he’s completed special projects. After finishing his latest, which has taken three years, he receives not his usual lucrative paycheck, but an envelope containing 19 items, including ticket stubs, bus tokens, and other reminders he sent himself before the procedure. He’s told he chose to forfeit any monetary compensation. The problem is, he can’t remember a thing, since his brain has been wiped clean. With the help of a co-worker (Uma Thurman) he’s been attracted to for years, he tries to retrace his steps and figure out what’s happening before his employers can eliminate not just his position, but him.”

I want to like Ben Affleck, I really do. He’s cute (mmmm, but not Brad Pitt cute), charming and seems like a smart guy, but for the life of him he cannot nail a really good role. I enjoyed paycheck, don’t get me wrong, but Ben is still Ben regardless of what movie he does. The same guy in Pearl Harbor, Changing Lanes (which I really enjoyed), The Sum of All Fears, whatever. He just needs a role where he can shine (Daredevil wasn’t it). Uma was fine, but again, nothing overly exceptional about this film. Again, certainly another rental.

The Cooler
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Overview from Movies.com: “William H. Macy plays Bernie Lootz, a man with chronic bad luck that quickly spreads to those around him. His ability to give bad luck to others lands him a job at a casino, where he spoils the winning streaks of gamblers. But when he meets and falls in love with waitress Natalie (Maria Bello), his luck turns good and all hell breaks loose.”

I’m a sucker for a movie with William H. Macy. The man can just act. From Door to Door (which was a TNT original picture you all should really see) to Mystery Men, this guy just nails the role (kinda reminds me of Philip Seymour Hoffman — he was AWESOME in Cold Mountain as the preacher). Despite the fact that a Baldwin was in the movie it was certainly right there on top of the ones that I watched this weekend. Interesting story, great ending. Well worth buying if you are into that kind of thing.

Spartan
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Overview from Movies.com: “In David Mamet’s Spartan, special ops officer Robert Scott (Val Kilmer) and his protégé, Curtis (Derek Luke), are assigned to find the missing daughter of a high-ranking government official. But when the girl’s death is reported in the media, they begin to believe that a conspiracy is covering up the fact that she’s still alive.”

Can you believe it, Ebert gave this movie 4 stars? I mean come on, 4 stars!? This movie was okay. I like Val Kilmer, I think his best film was The Saint, but this movie isn’t even in the same league. It’s a tired story, nothing super about it. It was just okay, but I’d recommend watching this one the Medallion.

Spirited Away
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Overview: “In this traditional Japanese anime film, a young girl is taken away to an inhuman world inhabited by strange spirits. Her slovenly parents are turned into pigs, and she is faced with the task of turning them back to human form and finding her way home.”

I have some thoughts on this movie, but Tom Flammer just showed up so I have to run. So there you go.