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 #1 - 8 Mile

8 Mile
Universal Pictures
2003 - Rated R - 1 hr 51 min
Director: Curtis Hanson
Starring: Eminem, Kim Basinger, Brittany Murphy, Mekhi Phifer

*WARNING: These reviews are gonna contain "spoilers" so don't read 'em if you want to watch the movie and be surprised.*

We're off to a strong start this morning with Eminem's semi-autobiographic pic 8 Mile.

For starters, this is the kind of movie during which Ellie was not wearing her hearing aids. Every third word or so is an F-bomb, which didn't bother me before I had kids. Now, it doesn't bother me per se, just my Mom Brain.

Anyway, 8 Mile is pretty good. I remember liking it a lot in the theater, and that theme song "Lose Yourself" (which plays in the background for almost the entire movie) is catchy. I will probably be humming it for a while, or until I watch the next movie. Still, overall it's a pretty depressing flick, since it basically recounts Eminem's motivation to get up on stage and hate rap. The end sequence of the battle is the best part of the movie, excepting the awkward Eminem/Brittany Murphy sex scene in a stamping plant. Classy.

I don't know how much of the story is true to his life (or when Dr. Dre is supposed to show up), but 8 Mile could probably also qualify as a Michael Moore documentary with its not-so-subtle commentary on life in Detriot (or the 313, whatever your flavor). You can certainly understand, after watching this, why Eminem would want to get the hell out of there... and why Brittany Murphy's character would sleep with a guy named "Wink" to start a modeling career.

Yikes.

Onward and upward... Next up is the kid's movie 9. Talk about variety!