Movies

A few mini-reviews...
Last week I saw the movie "Jarhead". A story about one man's experience in the Marines during Desert Storm. I'm actually not sure if I liked this movie or not. The acting was great. I've been a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal since Donnie Darko. The movie was based the real life experiences of Anthony Swofford, and seemed to give a glimpse into the Marines, but I'm sure every story has two sides. I expected to come away from the movie with a feeling of a message, and I suppose the movie did not paint the war in the best of light, but a lot of the movie seemed like all the other war movies. Boot camp is tough, some guys are jerks, some guys are crazy and some guys are good buddies.

This weekend I saw "The Ice Harvest" with John Cusak and Billy Bob Thorton. The movie just really lacked something for me. Those two actors had a good chemistry in Pushing Tin, but in this movie it felt forced. Oliver Platt did a good job playing the drunk guy, and had some funny bits, but the movie just seemed to try to be a remake of Fargo. I also don't like how the movie is sort of being marketed as a holiday movie... yes, it takes place on Christmas eve, but it's about murder, strip joints, mobsters, and dysfunctional families... not exactly a "holiday movie".

Just thought I needed to mention this for some reason... The passing of Pat Morita (Nov 25) or as most people know him "Mr. Miyagi". I always did like his character, and some of his lines will live on as classics in movie trivia. He seemed to be the kind of actor that if you met him in real life I would imagine him to be a nice person.

Looking forward to:
Harry Potter
Syriana
Narnia (maybe - I'll wait for some reviews first)

Cyen