Movie #414 - A Life Less Ordinary

A Life Less Ordinary

1997 - Rated R - 1 hr 43 min
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Ewan McGregor, Holly Hunter, Delroy Lindo, Ian McNiece, Stanley Tucci, Tony Shalhoub, Ian Holm

Weird movie, this one.  Weird, but weirdly cute too. Diaz and McGregor are an unlikely pair -- although their respective hair-dos are both awesomely 90s-tastic! -- who find themselves in very unlikely circumstances. Mainly, as kidnapper and kidnappee... although it's not always clear which of them is which.

Anyway, the whole angels-meddling-in-the-business-of-love bit turns this regular rom-com into something otherworldy, full of strange scenarios where Hunter and Lindo (the love angels assigned to the couple) are either trying too hook them up or kill them.  If they don't get these two together, they're doomed to a life stuck on earth. Bummer.

There is indeed as much going on here as the above synopsis suggests, and somehow, the movie doesn't get bogged down.  The plot moves along at a good clip, with lots of great scenes, and some actually believable scenes between our young lovers.  It's cute. Weird, like I said, but cute.

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 #220 - Galaxy Quest

Galaxy Quest
1999 - Rated PG - 1 hr 42 min
Director: Dean Parisot
Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, Justin Long, Missi Pyle, Daryl Mitchell

This movie's so cheesy, it's good.  The premise is cute: what would happen if an alien society found episodes of a space-travel show and thought it was real? What if they came to earth to find these "space travellers" and ask for their help?  Seems ridiculous, but it allows for some awkward humor and a great adventure story.

If you've ever been a Trek fan, this one will be especially fun for you to watch.  The expendable crew member tags along on the adventure, and provides a great little subplot. Will he live or die? Will he ever get a last name?  And Sigourney Weaver's character laments her pointless job: repeating what the computer says. 

Your life might not be changed by this movie, but you'll probably laugh. Sometimes, that's good enough.