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 #372 - Devil's Advocate

Devil's Advocate
1997 - Rated R - 2 hr 24 min
Director: Taylor Hackford
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Al Pacino, Charlize Theron, Jeffrey Jones, Judith Ivey, Connie Nielsen, Craig T. Nelson

Oh man.  I haven't seen this one in years but I was so excited to pick it up to add to the collection.  What a great movie to revisit after so long!  And you know what, still awesome.

It has a perfect title, too. Perfect on so many levels.

Anyway, Keanu Reeves is a lawyer in Florida who always wins. Always.  And he'll do anything to keep it that way.  When he gets discovered by a New York city firm, he thinks it's because of his talent.  He lets himself get wrapped up in the "blood money," as his wife (Theron) says later.  They live the life for a while but as their marriage falls apart, so does her sanity... or so it seems. 

I really don't want to spoilt this one because, if you haven't seen it, you need to.  There are a few gory scenes, but you'll live.  And the ending of this movie is so perfect... you gotta love it.

Movie #371 - Dave

Dave
1993 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 50 min
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank , Kevin Dunn, Ving Rhames, Ben Kingsley, Charles Grodin, Laura Linney, Bonnie Hunt, Faith Prince

Clever concept here, with a stand-in taking up the helm when the president has a massive stroke.  Dave is the guy replacing the Prez and he takes some liberties as he gets more and more comfortable in his borrowed dress shoes.  Who knows if presidents really have body doubles or not, but it does make a really good premise.

Add Sigourney Weaver as the estranged wife who helps put on a good show for the cameras.  Of course she figures it out, it's only a matter of time... right?  And what happens when the game is over and Dave can't carry on anymore?  The end of this movie seems a bit contrived (SPOILER ALERT), since I really can't see a presidential look-alike being able to mount his own campaign for a political office.  Won't people get confused? Won't conspriacy theorists catch on?  I'd think they'd give him his own private island somewhere or something like that.

Oh well.  If you watch this one, check out little Ving Rhames.... if it wasn't for the voice, I'd never recognize him!

Movie #370 - Courage Under Fire

Courage Under Fire
1996 - Rated R - 1 hr 57 min
Director: Edward Zwick
Starring: Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips, Matt Damon, Bronson Pinchot, Seth Gilliam, Michael Moriarty, Sean Astin

Another new one for me.  I'm not usually a big war-movie fan, but this one's got an interesting enough premise that it caught my attention.  Washington is investigating the Medal of Honor nomination of Ryan's Medevac Captain Walden.  In the process, he uncovers a story that no one suspected. And confronts his own warped war-time story along the way.

There's a lot of great stuff here, including a confused moral gray area. While Ryan spends most of her screentime screaming, it's nice to see her play a character that's not in love with Tom Cruise :)  And Washington's troubled, drinking Serling is well done from start to finish.

If that's not enough, there's a really skinny Matt Damon in here too.

Movie #369 - Conversations with Other Women

Conversations with Other Women
2005 - Rated R - 1 hr 24 min
Director: Hans Canosa
Starring: Helena Bonham Carter, Aaron Eckhart, Brian Geraghty, Brianna Brown, Thomas Lennon, Olivia Wilde

I'd venture to say that this is probably the most Indie film on this wall.  But I like this one, mostly for the performances of both Eckhart and Carter. I'd watch her play any role, it's true.

Here, they play an ex-married couple who end up at the same wedding, both with the same agenda: have a one-night stand and then go back to their separate lives.  Seems innocent enough... until it gets a little more complicated.  The lesson? Sex complicates things, perhaps.  Or, there's no such thing as closure. 

Most of the movie is shot in a frustrating two-frame fashion, which is distracting at first.  For some scenes though, watching both of their faces and catching simultaneous expressions is totally worth it.  With no "off-camera" time, both actors have to give full-out performances.  And while the movie does get a bit more artsy at times than I usually enjoy, it's not self-indulgent or preachy.  It's just telling a story.

And we just get to watch it.

Movie #368 - Connie & Carla

Connie and Carla
2004 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 38 min
Director: Michael Lembeck
Starring: Nia Vardalos, Toni Collette, David Duchovny, Stephen Spinella, Alec Mapa, Ian Gomez

Two would-be stars accidentally witness a crime and have to go on the run.  They wind up in a bar performing show tunes as drag queens... and that's when things get complicated.

Genius premise - possibly the most inventive from writer Nia Vardalos, who also co-stars in this musical comedy.  Toni Collette is her unwavering sidekick and, when dressed in drag, bears a striking resemblance to Liza Minelli.  I never noticed that before. Huh.

So, yes, I love this one.  It's full of fun songs and fabulous drag queens. And it really looks like they had a blast making this one.  Well done all around and highly underrated. More people need to see this one.

Movie #367 - Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger
1993 - Rated R - 1 hr 52 min
Director: Renny Harlin
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner, Rex Linn

Who doesn't like a good 4000-foot fall to the death to open up an action flick?  Right?  As far as beginning scenes go, this one wins.  As far as the rest of the movie goes.... well, it kinda tapers off a little bit.  Too powerful an opening scene? Maybe.

Don't get me wrong.  I like this movie. It's got crazy mountain-climbing action scenes and helicopters and evil John Lithgow.  Battling his guilt over dropping his friend to her death is Sylester Stallone and blaming him for the death of his girlfriend is Michael Rooker.  (Not that I saw HIM trying to climb out there to save her from falling... but just sayin.)

The money hunt in the mountains is a bit weird for a premise. But the writers needed some reason to make Stallone's character go back to the spot where he dropped the girl, right?  It works.

To be honest, you're not really watching this movie for its plot, so I guess it doesn't much matter.  It's all about that mountain scenery.  But I have just one question... why doesn't Stallone wear anything when he's climbing? It's snowy and cold up there! Where is your jacket?