Movie #370 - Courage Under Fire

Courage Under Fire
1996 - Rated R - 1 hr 57 min
Director: Edward Zwick
Starring: Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips, Matt Damon, Bronson Pinchot, Seth Gilliam, Michael Moriarty, Sean Astin

Another new one for me.  I'm not usually a big war-movie fan, but this one's got an interesting enough premise that it caught my attention.  Washington is investigating the Medal of Honor nomination of Ryan's Medevac Captain Walden.  In the process, he uncovers a story that no one suspected. And confronts his own warped war-time story along the way.

There's a lot of great stuff here, including a confused moral gray area. While Ryan spends most of her screentime screaming, it's nice to see her play a character that's not in love with Tom Cruise :)  And Washington's troubled, drinking Serling is well done from start to finish.

If that's not enough, there's a really skinny Matt Damon in here too.

Movie #313 - Inside Man

Inside Man
2006 - Rated R - 2 hr 9 min
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer, Willem Dafoe

A bank robbery where the money stays in the vault? Something's up.  The premise behind this movie is heavy on the intrigue.  Denzel vs Clive is an interesting battle to watch, with Jodie Foster interfering at all the wrong (or right?) moments.

This one's nothing extraordinary, but it's always nice to a see a movie with a predictable premise (i.e. a bank robbery with hostages) take a different route.  That said, I don't think anyone here gives a standout performance nor is this a must-see.  It's entertaining and intriguing, but a lot of the middle just drags.  It could be great but to me it seems a bit unbalanced.  Overall though, a good one to watch for something a little different.

Movie #193 - Fallen

Fallen
1998 - Rated R - 2 hr 4 min
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Starring: Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland

I like this one, although it's pretty creepy and doesn't exactly have a happy ending... The whole thing is one big deception, so that's cool. And Denzel Washington does a good job, playing the man who sacrifices everything to capture one "criminal." Or whatever you want to call it.

Yeah, it's creepy.  There are some questions I have, namely, why can this "being" pass to everyone BUT Denzel? It's a bit strange how long it plays with him and then, all of a sudden, it can possess him no problem.  Maybe I missed something.

Either way, the whole movie hinges on one twist at the end, so you might get there and be disappointed.  Unless you enjoy the ride, the payoff's not enough to watch the whole thing.  Fortunately, I did enjoy it, even knowing what the big finish was.

Movie #120 - The Bone Collector

The Bone Collector
Universal Pictures
1999 - Rated R - 1 hr 58 min
Director: Phillip Noyce
Starring: Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Queen Latifah, Luis Guzman, Ed O'Neill

Before we really knew anything about Angelina Jolie, she was in this movie with quadrapalegic Denzel Washington and a pre-weight loss Queen Latifah.  Back then, I wasn't distracted by her and I could just enjoy this crime thriller and all its gorey glory.  Now, I watch this movie and I go, "Oh hey! It's Angelina Jolie! I forgot she was in this movie..."  And I'm all distracted by how young and pre-Lara Croft she is.  It's weird.

Anyway, I got over that after a few minutes and let myself enjoy the gore-fest.  Honestly, not that I'm complaining, but this movie does have some gratuitous blood and guts.  It's all good, cuz it is indeed a murder flick, but wow.  Yuck.  And also, awesome.

This one has a good twist ending, but you'll only enjoy that the first time you see it.  After that, you watch it and think how stupid you were not to catch on to who the murderer is... and that's as distracting as Jolie's lips.

Netflix Movie: The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli
Silver Pictures
2010 - Rated R - 1 hr 58 min
Directors: Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes
Starring: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, and Jennifer Beals

I figure if I'm reviewing the entire wall, I might as well include reviews for the non-wall movies that Mike makes me watch. Not that I didn't want to watch The Book of Eli, I just would rather spend the time chipping away at that list of 600+ movies.

Anyway, we watched the Netflix DVD yesterday and I did thoroughly enjoy it. Denzel, as always, was fantastic in this post-apocalyptic movie (my third apocalyptic movie in three days... and 28 Days Later is only two short movies away). I was a little skeptical of Mila Kunis, the would-be bad ass runaway who tags along, but in the end, her wielding a machete wasn't quite so unbelievable as you'd think. The plot was fairly predictable, but the twist at the end got both Mike and I (which is saying something, because he's tough to surprise). Although it would have been nice to see Denzel do his own action sequences, but I guess that's what happens when awesome actors start aging. Oh, Denzel!

Overall, I highly recommend it for an action/adventure with a spiritual twist. Great casting, strong plot, and really interesting look at what society after the nuclear "flash" would be like.

Now, back to the wall.