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 #335 - Just Like Heaven

Just Like Heaven
2005 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 35 min
Director: Mark Waters
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo, Donal Logue, Dina Waters, Jon Heder, Ben Shenkman

Oh, I love this movie.  Call me cheesy, but the premise is so touching and so sweet that I just can't help myself. As I told my sister while watching this, I wish I had been the one to write this love story.

Technically, it's another rom-com even though one of the members of this couple is dead from the beginning of the romance. (SPOILER ALERT) Or is she? As Jon Heder (a weird, socially awkward book shop employee) helps Ruffalo determine, there's more to Witherspoon's "haunting" than meets the eye.  So this romance takes place on two planes of existence, one that neither person understands. But the hope that they could be together keeps them motivated. And it's hard not to keep your fingers crossed that it will work out.

Even though rom-com rules say it will, you can't really see how since a movie like this hasn't been done before.  Sorta.  The premise is pretty original but the plot unfolds predictably, once you get the hang of where it's going.  I don't care though. Part of the reason you watch a romance is to see the two characters get together.  Predictable or no, I always applaud a good script/book that takes an unusual path to reach the usual destination.  This one keeps me interested. Love it.

Movie #187 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2004 - Rated R - 1 hr 48 min
Director: Michel Gondry
Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Ruffalo, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst

Oh.... this movie.

I fell in love with this movie the first time I saw it, and my love has not waivered.  By now, I've watched it a dozen times and I still have to go by Kate Winslet's hair color to make sure I know what point in time we're in. 

The concept of this movie - the ability to wipe away the memories of a lost love from your life - is a highly polarizing one, but a fascinating one all the same.  Would you do it? Should you do it? And what happens if during the procedure you change your mind, like Jim Carrey does? The sequence of them hiding in his early memories is so imaginative and so much fun to watch.  By the end, you're really hoping they'll win.

The best part about this movie is that it doesn't just involve the procedure.  It covers the before, during, and after. And even throws in a case of extreme after with Kirsten Dunst, who reacts to it in a way surprising for her character but not surprising in general.  To go from worshipping the process and its creator, to suddenly being its victim.  She does a brilliant job with this, and sets into motion the resolution for Carrey and Winslet as well.  I'm glad it doens't just end with them forgetting each other.  It's too far-fetched to think people who loved each other once wouldn't gravitate back to each other.  Here, it's handled very well and very realistically.

One of my faves, by far.

Movie #150 - Date Night

Date Night
Twentieth Century Fox
2010 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 28 min
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Steve Carrell, Tina Fey, Mark Wahlberg, Taraji P. Henson, Wiliiam Fichtner, Mark Ruffalo, Kristen Wiig, James Franco, Mila Kunis

Finally... something with a budget!

I love this movie.  Mostly, I love the things in this movie.  Steve Carrell. Check. Tina Fey. Check. Mark Wahlberg's abs. Check!  There's lots of cameos too and tons of awkward situations that make you just uncomfortable enough to laugh.

This was one of the movies we saw when our daughter was still in the hospital, so since it made me laugh then, it will always hold a special place in my heart. And on the movie wall.

I won't ruin it, just suffice it to say that no one does ordinary-suburban-couple-thrown-into-extreme-and-dire-circumstances quite like these two.  And there are moments when I see flashes of my own future while watching this.  Hey, if that means our life is going to be this funny, so be it.

Movie #125 - Collateral

Collateral
Paramount Pictures
2004 - Rated R - 2 hr
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo

This movie is weird. Intense, but weird.  An unsuspecting cab driver gets in over his head when he gives a ride to white-haired Tom Cruise, who's a total bad-ass criminal.  Look out!  And he wants to kill Jada Pinkett Smith, who Jamie Foxx (the cabbie) is mad crushing on, so that's bad news.

The premise is wild and full of lots of car-chase scenes and thrilling moments.  It's a pretty straight forward crime/drama/Tom Cruise movie.  Not a favorite of mine, but I don't have any specific complaints.  Everyone is great, Cruise is pretty bad-ass, Foxx is pretty in-over-his-head and innocent-bystander-y.  And Jada Pinkett Smith is all lawyer-like.  It's not bad, but it's not my cup of tea.

So intense, weird, need to be in the right mood to watch, but well acted. That's the best I can do with this one right now.