Movie #390 - The Italian Job

The Italian Job
2003 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 51 min
Director: F. Gary Gray
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Donald Sutherland, Edward Norton, Charlize Theron, Jason Statham, Seth Green, Mos Def, Scott Adsit

I've never seen the original, so I can't compare. And I can't give my typical spiel about remakes either, since there's nothing for me to be upset about.  Regardless of its predecessor, I like this movie.  Revisiting it, I was surprised how much, in fact.  There's a great cast of young actors here and an Ed Norton baddie that's kinda fun to see.

A good balance of action scenes, humor, and drama keeps this movie going for me.  It doesn't get too caught up in the heist piece to tell you a decent storyline and the concept of avenging a friend's (or father's) death is much more stomachable than just a group of people out to steal some gold.  It works, it feels like a fresh reboot, and it makes me want to rent the original just to compare.

Movie #372 - Devil's Advocate

Devil's Advocate
1997 - Rated R - 2 hr 24 min
Director: Taylor Hackford
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Jeffrey Jones, Judith Ivey, Connie Nielsen, Craig T. Nelson

Oh man.  I haven't seen this one in years but I was so excited to pick it up to add to the collection.  What a great movie to revisit after so long!  And you know what, still awesome.

It has a perfect title, too. Perfect on so many levels.

Anyway, Keanu Reeves is a lawyer in Florida who always wins. Always.  And he'll do anything to keep it that way.  When he gets discovered by a New York city firm, he thinks it's because of his talent.  He lets himself get wrapped up in the "blood money," as his wife (Theron) says later.  They live the life for a while but as their marriage falls apart, so does her sanity... or so it seems. 

I really don't want to spoilt this one because, if you haven't seen it, you need to.  There are a few gory scenes, but you'll live.  And the ending of this movie is so perfect... you gotta love it.

Movie #251 - Hancock

Hancock
2008 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 32 min
Director: Peter Berg
Starring: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Thomas Lennon

From the previews, I thought this movie would be a lot more fun than it ended up being.  Come on. Ornery superhero annoyed by his moral obligation to help people? Could have been great.  Wasn't.

Instead, this becomes some kind of supernatural drama and our "superhero" is really some kind of "superbeing" that is thousands of years old and has amnesia.  As he finds out more about who he is, and concentrates less on getting over his aversion to help others, I start to lose interest.  Yes, it lends itself to some really cool action sequences, which are most likely CGI-heavy, but I really felt let down.

I don't hate it, but I don't like it as much as I thought I would.