Movie #388 - The Imposter

The Impostor
2001 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 35 min
Director: Gary Fleder
Starring: Gary Sinise, Madeleine Stowe, Vincent D'Onofrio, Mekhi Phifer, Tony Shalhoub

Based on the short story of the same name by Philip K. Dick (author of the stories behind movies like Total Recall, Blade Runner, Next, A Scanner Darkly, Paycheck, Minority Report, Screamers), The Imposter lives up to it's author's reputation. It's dark, twisted, futuristic, and features the incredible self-crisis of its main character. Is he human? Or is he an alien impostor?

I really did enjoy this one and felt like Sinise did a great job wrestling with the question internally while also trying to convince those out to get him that he's human.  On the run, he's resourceful but not very successful. He figures out how to answer the question... but no one likes the answer.  Great twist on a twist at the ending here - and I don't want to give it away!

If sci-fi is your thing, this one's worth checking out.

Movie #382 - The General's Daughter

The General's Daughter
1999 - Rated R - 1 hr 56 min
Director: Simon West
Starring: John  Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton, Leslie Stefanson, Daniel von Bargen, James Woods, Clarence Williams III

This is the last of my re-writes, the last deleted post. Thank goodness.

In this one, Travolta is a bit goofy in his role as the lead investigator into the murder of the general's daughter (hence the title, smarties. LOL). His ex-girlfriend is on the scene with him, which provides some tension, though there's not much chemistry to speak of between them.  Disappointing. 

The story behind the daughter's murder goes back seven years and gets pretty dark.  There are deep secrets covered up by men who wanted power. And of course, karma's a bitch and Travolta's not going to let them get away with it.   Cromwell is great as the tormented general -- the perfect combination of heart-broken and suspicious. What does he know? What is he not saying?

And what the heck happened to this girl?  Before the story clears up, it gets much more confusing. But as crime mysteries go, I do enjoy this one.

Movie #3 - 12 Monkeys

12 Monkeys
Universal Pictures
1995 - 2 hr 10 min - Rated R
Director: Terry Gilliam
Starring: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer

Here's my first *unopened* DVD! 12 Monkeys is the first movie in this Triple Feature DVD pack. It also includes Mercury Rising and The Jackal which are next on my list to watch, making this order seem to go off my alphabetical trail. But really it's not, since the whole set is categorized under 12 Monkeys.

Anyway... here goes.

Does it get any better than a 90's era Bruce Willis flick? This is only the second time I've seen 12 Monkeys and I couldn't remember much about it. I remember that the first time I saw it, I was a bit disappointed. All that hype, you know? But now, with more than a decade's added perspective, I can definitely see what made this movie such a big deal. And it has more to do with the inventive premise than it does with Brad Pitt's naked, crazy ass.

Of course, all I could think about when I saw Brad Pitt in this (a great performance, by the way) was that quote from Clueless about Brad Pitt being hot in everthing, "except 12 Monkeys, when he had that weird eye thing."

Also on my mind was the Christopher Plummer double feature that I had this afternoon. First as 1 in 9, then as Dr. Goines in 12 Monkeys. Three movies in and I've already got repeat actors!

As for the movie itself, I loved it this time around. Brad Pitt crazy but harmless, Bruce Willis watching himself die, and that no-name-actress I haven't seen in anything since this movie, dying her hair blond. Man, that's a good ending!

So, we're down three movies... only 600-something left to go! I might squeeze in a fourth tonight, if I can convince Mike to watch Mercury Rising. I'll be back whenever I finish my next viewing!