Movie #419 - Live Free or Die Hard

Live Free or Die Hard

2007 - Rated PG-13 - 2 hr 8 min
Director: Len Wiseman
Starring: Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis, Kevin Smith, Andrew Friedman, Jonathan Sadowski

This one was a first-time watch. Yes, it took me FOUR years to get around to seeing this. Shameful, right?

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised at what a worthy follow-up this movie is to the successful 90's trilogy.  McLane's older, not really that much wiser, and still as ornery as they come.  Toss him into a world of computers and hackers and he's lost, but he makes up for what he can't decode with brute strength and guts.  Also, he can take helicopters out of the air with a broken fire hydrant, which is pretty friggin' sweet.

So I did enjoy this one. It's a fresher take on the "outdated" franchise, but it still stays true to the main character and his approach to law enforcement.  There's even a nice throwback line, saved for the very end.  Nice work, all around.

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 #235 - Gone in 60 Seconds

Gone in 60 Seconds
2000 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 58 min
Director: Dominic Sena
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Scott Caan, James Duval,  Will Patton, Delroy Lindo, Timothy Olyphant, Chi McBride, Robert Duvall, Christopher Eccleston, Vinnie Jones

I guess car theft is a little lighter content-wise than kidnapping.  Although, all these crime movies in a row are overwhelming.

So Nicolas Cage is an ex-car thief and his brother, Giovanni Ribisi, is an idiot who tries to become a car thief and gets in over his head.  Cage pulls together his old thieving buddies from back in the day -- including Angeline Jolie, who looks like a crack whore in this movie, no joke -- and attempts to complete the job for him, so Christopher Eccleston won't kill him.  (Yes, Christopher Eccleston is in EVERYTHING lately.) 

But Delroy Lindo and Timothy Olyphant (also in EVERYTHING. G is his letter, man) are the cops who used to try to catch Cage and they're onto him.  Also, a car named Eleanor is Cage's nemesis. It's a long story but basically, he can't steal this one particular model without something bad happening. Of course, it's on the list and he saves it for last.  Will he make it in time?

Car chases ensue, but this ain't Fast and Furious.  It's a very markedly late 90's thrillfest and, as such, it's not so bad.  Absolutely do not watch this movie if you're looking for content.  Just watch it for the pretty cars.

Movie #230 - Go

Go
1999 - Rated R - 1 hr 42 min
Director: Doug Liman
Starring: Katie Holmes, Sarah Polley, Desmond Askew, Nathan Bexton, Scott Wolf, Jay Mohr, Timothy Olyphant, William Fichtner, Taye Diggs, Breckin Meyer, James Duval, Jane Krakowski, Melissa McCarthy

Here's a favorite from college. A tale of a would-be drug dealer and her assorted disaster-facing friends.  The cool thing about this movie is the multiple perspective approach, rewinding the film to tell the tale from many points of view.  The would-be drug dealer, the "bait," the drug user (which affords an awesome grocery store dance scene), the actual drug dealer on his Vegas vacation with friends, and a pair of actors who wind up trapped in a sales pitch.  It's weird, it's random, and it's probably better on drugs, but I've always liked this movie for it's unconventionalness. (Is that a word? ... says the writer)

So it may not be intellectual but it will make you laugh. Or possibly scare you that the future of my generation is not a hopeful one.  I think enough time has passed that we've redeemed ourselves from these kind of antics and proven that we're not all on drugs. 

Anyway, a great ensemble cast piece that's just fun to watch... like a train wreck, you just can't look away.

Movie #228 - The Girl Next Door

The Girl Next Door
2004 - Rated R - 1 hr 48 min
Director: Luke Greenfield
Starring: Emile Hirsch, Nicholas Downs, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant, James Remar, Chris Marquette, Paul Dano

Admittedly, this is not an award-winning film.  It's not even that good.  It has some charm though, and it's kinda funny at points.  Plus, Elisha Cuthbert is far less annoying in this movie than in any given episode of 24.

So fine, upstanding young high school senior falls in love with niece of next door neighbor, who (of course) turns out to be a porn star. Of course.  He gets wrapped up in underground porn industry dispute, trouble ensues, and extreme measures are needed to sort out his problems.  It's not that original, and it is a tad bit unbelievable, but it can be mildly entertaining. 

Yeah, it's not great, but it's not terrible.  Not sure why it's on the wall... Must've been on sale.