Movie #303 - The In-Laws

The In-Laws
2003 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 38 min
Director: Andrew Fleming
Starring: Albert Brooks, Michael Douglas, Ryan Reynolds, Robin Tunney, Lindsay Sloane, Maria Ricossa

This movie uses a similar framework to Meet the Parents but with a different spin.  The parents of a young to-be-married couple are getting to know each other when the groom's father (Michael Douglas) gets the bride' father (Albert Brooks) into a whole lot of trouble.  Douglas is an undercover CIA agent - waaaaay undercover - and Brooks gets accidentally dragged along.  He's nervous, uptight, and scared of almost everything, adding to the awkward comedy of this movie.

The young couple is played by Ryan Reynolds and the chick that played Big Red in Bring It On. Reynolds is like a little baby in this movie.  They're okay, but not really a focal point of the film, just necessary players to set up this wacky premise.

It's a fun movie, nothing extraordinary, but the chemistry between Douglas and Brooks is worth watching.

Movie #224 - The Ghost and the Darkness

The Ghost and the Darkness
1996 - Rated R - 1 hr 49 min
Director: Stephen Hopkins
Starring: Michael Douglas, Val Kilmer, Tom Wilkinson, John Kani, Bernard Hill, Brian McCardie, Emily Mortimer, Om Puri

I really enjoyed this one, much more than the first time I watched it.  Actually, I barely remember my first viewing, so this was almost like the first time I guess.  I also did not realize that this story is based on true events.  Apparently, two lions really did kill around 130 people in Africa in 1898 and really are stuffed and mounted in a museum in Chicago.  Who knew?

So Val Kilmer plays the bridge engineer, whose staff keeps getting eaten, and Michael Douglas is the rogue lion-killer sent in to help him kill these things.  There are a few things that seem weird to me. 1. Val Kilmer is a British officer...without a British accent.  2. Male lions don't hunt, female lions do. 

Of course, these lions act against almost all natural lion-like habits.  So, in a way, I guess it doesn't matter if they're male or female.  It's more weird, but okay. True story. I guess I can't argue.

Anyway, it's a really good story and really well told in this movie.  Except for Val Kilmer's accent.