Movie #373 - Dreamcatcher

Dreamcatcher
2003 - Rated R - 2 hr 16 min
Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Sizemore, Donnie Wahlberg

What a weird movie this is.  But it's Stephen King, so you know... it happens.  There are aliens and weird worm virus thingies and a super-smart kid with mental problems who grows up to be Donnie Walhberg... and then can kill the bad alien guys.

This is one of those movies that you watch and follow along and everything seems okay... then you get to the end and you kinda feel like you've been punched in the head or something.  What the hell did I just watch? you may ask yourself.  You followed it, it was making sense... but when you take stock of the whole 2+ hours you can't really remember how you got from point A to B. You know what I mean?

Good cast though, so that part is lots of fun.  There's lots that goes unexplained and I suppose, for the purposes of this movie, that's a good thing.  To watch this one, you've got to be able to just accept some weird stuff. If you're new to Stephen King, this might not be the first one to watch... just sayin'.

Movie #234 - Gone Baby Gone

Gone Baby Gone
2007 - Rated R - 1 hr 54 min
Director: Ben Affleck
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Casey Affleck, Ed Harris, Michelle Monaghan, John Ashton, Amy Ryan, Amy Madigan

Between the Godfather trilogy and this movie, I needed a time out. So many heavy plotlines! I'm begging for a comedy right now, folks.  This isn't it.

I do like this movie though and I got to be reminded of how much.  Nepotism in casting aside, Casey Affleck carries the movie well.  And as always, you gotta love Ed Harris. 

The movie starts out with a missing girl, taken from the home in the middle of the night.  The first hour is spent looking for her. The second hour isn't... but we end up learning so much more about what happened, all the same.  I can't give away much more than that, without ruining the ending.  Disguised as a crime drama, this movie really asks you to consider your own morals.  Is it right? Wrong?  Can you shoot a child molester in the head at point blank range and live with it? And then ending will probably piss you off. Maybe.  It all depends on your own moral code, I guess.

Movie #188 - Evan Almighty

Evan Almighty
2007 - Rated PG - 1 hr 36 min
Director: Tom Shadyac
Starring: Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, John Goodman, Wanda Sykes, John Michael Higgins, Jonah Hill, Molly Shannon

Technically, this is the sequel to Bruce Almighty but it has very little to do with Bruce.  And Jim Carrey's not even in it.  But Evan Baxter, a side character from the first movie, gets his own God encounter in this movie. But instead of being God himself, he gets to play the underrated role of Noah.  Set in modern day, poor "Noah" gets a bad rap, but I'm sure it must have been tough for him to get people to believe him, even back then.  Now, talking to God is a symptom of insanity, so Evan's lucky he doesn't get locked up.

I'm glad Morgan Freeman is in this again, since he's an excellent God. (hahaha) And it provides some consistency as well.  The flood scene is fun, but a bit disappointing after all the buildup.  I mean, do we really need gazelles and giraffes for this? But the good guys win in the end, and Evan's family becomes stronger for the experience. Also, they adopt a homeless dog. Everyone wins.

And so they get to do the dance.

Movie #146 - The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight
Warner Bros Pictures
2008 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 32 min
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy

If you haven't seen this movie yet.... oh man. Do you live in a cave? How are you reading this post? Honestly, I'm concerned about you. This is a MUST see. MUST. So get out of your cave and go find a rental store... oh wait a minute. You have the internet. Get a Netflix account and download the movie already, for crying out loud.  Watch it in your cave, I don't care. 

There. Much better now.  Now you understand. This movie, from beginning to end and all the way through the middle, is awesome.  Sure, Christian Bale's Batman voice is a little weird. And yeah, the Two-Face plot at the end feels like an afterthought.  But, my God, is Heath Ledger brilliant or what?  Some have said that we only love this movie so much because it was his *last* film (technically, that's not true... ahem, Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, but we're not on I yet.) But if he were still alive (oh....now I'm sad), I'd still think this movie and his performance were frickin' fabulous.

If you're not an action or comic-book-based movie fan, that's fine. You don't have to be to appreciate the artistry of this movie. The tone is perfect, the plotline engaging, and the performances top-notch.  I'm gushing, I know. But I give credit where it's due and - after watching all those 90's Batman movies last month - I'm really glad they decided to give this franchise a re-boot.  And while Heath Ledger will be sorely missed for a long, long time, I'm glad we got this parting gift from him.

Movie #99 - Bruce Almighty

Bruce Almighty
Universal Pictures
2003 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 41 min
Director: Tom Shadyac
Starring: Jim Carrey, Jennifer Aniston, Morgan Freeman, Steve Carell

Whoever decided that Jim Carrey could play God for a day was a genius... I love this movie.  Alright, so there's nothing epic or life-changing about it.  But it's a sweet story about one man's personal redemption... under very unique circumstances.

Of course, he has to use his powers for the things that any man would, at least at the beginning.  You know, making his girlfriend's boobs bigger and sabotaging the competition to get ahead at work (bravo, Steve Carell, on acting completely insane in that scene).  Trying to skip out on the responsibility by saying 'yes' to everyone? Rookie mistake.  Sure this movie is a 'gimmick,' but it's definitely a gimmick that's well done and fun to watch evolve.  Also Jennifer Aniston is highly underrated, but very good as Bruce's unlucky girlfriend.

PS - Morgan Freeman is probably the best 'God' since George Burns in 'Oh, God!'