Movie #414 - A Life Less Ordinary

A Life Less Ordinary

1997 - Rated R - 1 hr 43 min
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Ewan McGregor, Holly Hunter, Delroy Lindo, Ian McNiece, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Ian Holm

Weird movie, this one.  Weird, but weirdly cute too. Diaz and McGregor are an unlikely pair -- although their respective hair-dos are both awesomely 90s-tastic! -- who find themselves in very unlikely circumstances. Mainly, as kidnapper and kidnappee... although it's not always clear which of them is which.

Anyway, the whole angels-meddling-in-the-business-of-love bit turns this regular rom-com into something otherworldy, full of strange scenarios where Hunter and Lindo (the love angels assigned to the couple) are either trying too hook them up or kill them.  If they don't get these two together, they're doomed to a life stuck on earth. Bummer.

There is indeed as much going on here as the above synopsis suggests, and somehow, the movie doesn't get bogged down.  The plot moves along at a good clip, with lots of great scenes, and some actually believable scenes between our young lovers.  It's cute. Weird, like I said, but cute.

Movie #359 - The Last Castle

The Last Castle
2001 - Rated R - 2 hr 11 min
Director: Rod Lurie
Starring: Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Burton, Delroy Lindo

Okay, I like this one.  Redford plays an imprisoned General, stripped of his rank, and tossed away into a maximum security facility... the castle, I suppose.  (Redford = the Good "bad" guy). Gandolfini plays the warden, a mean guy who mistreats his prisoners and abuses his power.  (Gandolfini = the Bad "good" guy). This blurring of the line between good and bad makes for an interesting conflict between these two alpha characters.  And when Redford wields the power of the other prisoners' support, Gandolfini better get out the way...

Of course, it's more than just a battle between these two men.  The 1200 prisoners supporting Redford's efforts might have their own motivations, but Redford is in it to conquer the system that used him, abused him, and then threw him away.  It's like what might have happened after A Few Good Men... sorta.

So this one's fun to watch, for me at least since I like this mind-game type of action flicks.  Good times all around.

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.