Movie #235 - Gone in 60 Seconds

Gone in 60 Seconds
2000 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 58 min
Director: Dominic Sena
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Scott Caan, James Duval,  Will Patton, Delroy Lindo, Timothy Olyphant, Chi McBride, Robert Duvall, Christopher Eccleston, Vinnie Jones

I guess car theft is a little lighter content-wise than kidnapping.  Although, all these crime movies in a row are overwhelming.

So Nicolas Cage is an ex-car thief and his brother, Giovanni Ribisi, is an idiot who tries to become a car thief and gets in over his head.  Cage pulls together his old thieving buddies from back in the day -- including Angeline Jolie, who looks like a crack whore in this movie, no joke -- and attempts to complete the job for him, so Christopher Eccleston won't kill him.  (Yes, Christopher Eccleston is in EVERYTHING lately.) 

But Delroy Lindo and Timothy Olyphant (also in EVERYTHING. G is his letter, man) are the cops who used to try to catch Cage and they're onto him.  Also, a car named Eleanor is Cage's nemesis. It's a long story but basically, he can't steal this one particular model without something bad happening. Of course, it's on the list and he saves it for last.  Will he make it in time?

Car chases ensue, but this ain't Fast and Furious.  It's a very markedly late 90's thrillfest and, as such, it's not so bad.  Absolutely do not watch this movie if you're looking for content.  Just watch it for the pretty cars.

Movie #219 - G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
2009 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 58 min
Director: Stephen Sommers
Starring: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Christopher Eccleston, Sienna Miller, Byung-hun Lee, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rachel Nichols, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, Marlon Wayans, Dennis Quaid

In the grand tradition of comics and cartoons turned big-screen blockbusters, this movie tries to capture the magic of the rebooted Transformers franchise with another American hero.  I was not a G.I.Joe fan as a kid (I'm a girl, ok?) but I hear that the characters are all pretty much in line with the originals, so it's got that going for it.

Mostly, this feels overcomplicated. It's one big excuse to blow stuff up, but it wants you to take it seriously.  This movie wants to be a real action/adventure when it grows up, not just a cartoon turned live action. And as one friend commented, the good guys kill more people than the bad guy. Speaking of bad guys, I could not take Joseph Gordon-Levitt serious in this movie. At. All.

It was a worthy effort, but at the end of it, GI Joe failed to pull me in.

Movie #191 - eXistenZ

eXistenZ
1999 - Rated R - 1 hr 37 min
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Eccleston, Sarah Polley

Last of the E's and it's a good one too! It's been a good six or so years since I've sat down to watch this classic mind-twist movie. Then game-within-a-game-within-a-game that goes on to an Inception-level of intricacy.  Jennifer Jason Leigh is fantastic as Allegra Gellar, the "game designer" (or is she?) And Jude Law is so young, it's adorable.

I can't say too much without giving this plot away. But gaming has gone to an all-new level in this futuristic movie.  You "port in" through a "bio-port" directly into your spine. The concept makes me shiver just thinking about it.  But that's how you play the game, so everyone has a bio-port and people don't do any real activities anymore, since you can now simulate just about everything in your mind.  Cool concept. Possibly a real prediction of our future. I guess we'll have to see.

In the mean time, watch this one if you like twists, mind games, and intrigue.  Enjoy!

Movie #179 - Elizabeth

Elizabeth
1998 - Rated R - 2 hr 4 min
Director: Shekhar Kapur
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, Vicent Cassel, Emily Mortimer

Time for me to geek on you for a second.

This movie is fantastic. Sorry, but the portrayal of Elizabeth I here is unparalleled.  Cate Blanchett is Elizabeth.  Like, for real. Her transition from young, persecuted Lady Elizabeth to the Virgin Queen throughout this film is brilliant. 

Joseph Fiennes's Robert Dudley, on the other hand, isn't exactly what I expected.  Dudley's more brash, less suave, less Shakespeare-In-Love-y.  It works for the movie, but it could have been better.  Geoffrey Rush is excellent (no surprise) and look! Thomas Frain! He went from this movie to The Tudors. Huh.

My one regret is that I owned the sequel The Golden Years so I could finish up her story.  Guess I'll put that on my wish list (not that I need another movie to watch right now).  And so we move onward...

Movie #8 - 28 Days Later

28 Days Later
Fox Searchlight Pictures
2003 - Rated R - 1 hr 53 min
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christoper Eclleston, Megan Burns, and Brendan Gleeson

I'm going to get through the numbered movies today, I swear! I would love to jump into the A's, so I can actually feel like I'm accomplishing something. Right now, it feels like eating an eternal appetizer... it's time for the salad course, people.

Anyway, I love this movie. I forgot how much. But I guess that's the point of this whole project - to rediscover great movies that I haven't given their due and to discover other classics that I've been missing out on. Of course, I have to deal with all the fodder in between, but for the most part, there's good ones on the wall.

I don't know if this is true or not, but I credit 28 Days Later with starting today's zombie craze. It brought the classic horror film character back into the main stream and scared the bejeezus out of people. Could a virus really make us run around screaming, biting each other? It's like home Jurassic Park convinced us all that DNA in ancient mosquitos could make us a dinosaur zoo. Cinema and loosely accurate science combine to start a craze.

So 28 Days Later, I discovered, also features Brendan Gleeson who I truly love in everything he does. Great guy. He does not disappoint in this, blending well into the cast of no-names and making this movie less-Hollywood and more-real-life in its feel. It was also kind of fun to see landmarks in London now that I've actually been there myself. It's a bit bleaker when it's abandoned, but I still felt more connected to the movie from having been there myself. You know what I mean?

So the main character, Jim, is one lucky bastard in this movie. Waking up during the day, wandering around aimlessly, and getting rescued by two people... only to cause one of them to get killed, like, the next day. He's not the world's best zombie fighter, but you do find yourself rooting for him. In fact, all the characters end up quite likable by the end of the film (except those creepy army guys, led by not Kevin McKidd who really looks just like him. Weird).

If you haven't seen this, I highly recommend it. 28 Days Later has blood and gore, sure, but it also has something to say about what's important after society goes mad and eats each other. Oh yeah, and it's suspenseful too, without being too horror-flicky.