Movie #413 - Life as a House

Life as a House

2001 - Rated R - 2 hr 5 min
Director: Irwin Winkler
Starring: Kevin Kline, Hayden Christensen, Kristin Scott Thomas, Jena Malone, Mary Steenburgen, Ian Somerhalder, Scott Bakula

Okay, okay. This movie made me cry.

No, not just cry.  Sob.  I sobbed at the end of this movie.  And Ellie was really concerned about me for a minute, then blew raspberrie in my face.  Which solved my sobbing problem.

But really... Kline as a divorced dad trying to spend a few final moments with his nearly-estranged teenage son before succumbing to terminal cancer; building a house that brings a family and neighborhood together; falling in love with his ex-wife all over again just days before... well, you know. Damn cancer.

Although it makes you cry, this movie does a lot of other things as well.  It inspires and it makes your heart swell, it makes you think about people in your life that matter to you, makes you want to be a good parent to your children (even if you don't have them yet.)  It may or may not make you want to build a house--that's up to you.  But this movie, even though it made me sob, made me feel good about some things.

That's saying something.

Movie #412 - Licence to Kill

Licence to Kill

1989 - Rated R - 2 hr 13 min

Director: John Glen
Starring: Timothy Dalton, Carey Lowell, Robert Davi, Wayne Newton, Benicia Del Toro, Desmond Llewelyn, Anthony Zerbe

Thank goodness Timothy Dalton's Bond knows how to trick-drive a semi, or this movie would have ended completely differently.  Really... that's just crazy, that whole end sequence.

So Dalton's Bond... this is my first time watching this movie and I have mixed feelings.  Good plot, good action sequences, nice use of Q "in the field," and a nice range of ladies for Bond to get tangled up with. Dalton's not my favorite Bond (is he anyone's?) but he brings a certain flare to going rogue and working undercover... in a tux. Yes, Bond is about the only character to have ever combined drug-circle infiltration with a martini, but it's not all fun and games, you know?

Not a bad entry into the franchise's books, but definitely not a favorite. Not with the likes of Daniel Craig filling the icon's shoes these days. It's tough to compare.

Movie #411 - The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines

The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines

2006 (TV) - 1 hr 32 min
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Starring: Noah Wylie, Bob Newhart, Gabrielle Anwar, Jane Curtain, Olympia Dukakis, Lisa Brenner, Jonathan Frakes, Erick Avari

More Noah Wylie, but a new chick this time.  And she's a professor, so she can actually argue with him about things and keep him on his toes.  She also happens to be Fiona from Burn Notice. Hey there.

The rest of the cast is back, but Nicole just isn't there anymore.  Okay. She must've been filming Lost, right? So we've got Newhart and Curtain, and a stubborn Excalibur trying to kill Noah Wylie just because. And now there's a shady "uncle" and a little more backstory about the dad.  The journey to Solomon's Mines was just as fun as the first movie's adventure, but again, the real story here was more specific to Flynn Carter's personal journey.  Unravelling those mysteries, and seeing the "uncle's" true colors were more engaging for me.

But it's a fun adventure, so if you like that kind of geek-ery, this one's for you.

Movie #410- The Librarian: Quest for the Spear

The Librarian: Quest for the Spear

2004 (TV) - 1 hr 32 min
Director: Peter Winther
Starring: Noah Wylie, Bob Newhart, Jane Curtain, Olympia Dukakis, Sonya Walger, Kyle MacLachlan, Kelly Hu, David Dayan Fisher

Technically, I didn't have to watch either of these Librarian flicks because they're TV movies, but what the heck. I felt adventurous, and had never seen the second one before. So here we are.

This one I had already seen once and I enjoyed the premise of it, both then and now.  Wylie as the over-educated and seemingly filled with useless knowledge wanderer, forced to find a job and stumbling upon the chance of a lifetime.  He gives hope to all those young guys out there collecting degrees just for funsies.  And since defying death and other action-packed activities are not among his skills, there's a chick on hand to keep him  alive.

Hey! It's Penny from Lost! I didn't know who she was the first time I watched this one, way back when. But that was a fun discovery.

The quest is fun, though the effects are painfully TV quality at times, but for me it was the concept of the Library that really sold this movie.  The adventure was secondary to a really cool idea for me.

Movie #409 - The Libertine

The Libertine

2004 - Rated R - 1 hr 54 min
Director: Laurence Dunmore
Starring: Johnny Depp, Samantha Morton, John Malkovich, Rosamund Pike, Jack Davenport, Richard Coyle

This movie has Johnny Depp plus not one, but two actors from the show Coupling. Well done!

Although, I have to admit it's not Depp's best looking role.  Something about all that syphillis...  I think the chameleon in Rango is a better looking Depp part. Just sayin.

Anyway, this one's a strange, twisted biopic, where Depp plays 17th century writer John Wilmot-- a sex-crazed lush who just doesn't know when to stop pissing people off.  Samantha Morton plays the plain actress he falls in love with and coaches to stardom, while she and her pure ambition start to mess with Wilmot's mind.  He blames her for making him love life, having been much happier doing nothing before.  Strange relationship there.

Malkovich is underwhelming as King Charles II, the very king Depp pisses off with his play. It's the beginning of the end for the writer, as he succumbs to his illness and constant drunken stuppor at only 33.

A sad and tragic story, cut out of history for our like/disklike/indifference.  Personally, I enjoy the style of the film, beginning and ending with a Depp-delivered speech to the camera, and the aimlessness of the main character.  Little pieces of history from the time period always enthrall me, however, so I might be a bit biased :)

Movie #408 - Liar Liar

Liar Liar

1997 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 26 min
Director: Tom Shadyac
Starring: Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Carey Elwes, Jennifer Tilly, Swoosie Kurtz, Cheri Oteri

I'm glad we finally added this one to the Wall.  It's always been a favorite Carrey film of mine, because he gets to be both wacky and serious, all in one movie.  Sometimes all Carrey crazy is too much for me, so the balance gives this one more appeal to me.  And the little kid is pretty cute too.

In other news, Maura Tierney is the most famous alumnae of my high school. So that's pretty cool.  I learned that somewhere around the time that this movie came out.  We had the same English teacher. Weird.

Back to the movie... what better person to not be able to lie for a day than a lawyer? Right? I think the best sequence is in that courtroom, all the blue pen bit and the office quick-fire insults are also lots of fun.  But trying to turn the truth into something ambiguous is a tall order and it's scripted perfectly in that courtroom scene (you know, after he beats himself up in the bathroom then voluntarily stays to finish the hearing. Poor guy.)

And it's got a nice warm fuzzy ending for the hopeless romantics out there.  All around, lots of fun.

Movie #407 - Let's Go to Prison

Let's Go to Prison

2006 - Rated R - 1 hr 24 min
Director: Bob Odenkirk
Starring: Dax Shepard, Will Arnett, Chi McBride, David Koechner, Dylan Baker, Michael Shannon, Jay Whittaker

Yeah, this movie's pretty dumb. I also think it's pretty funny, so sue me. Okay?
I think Will Arnett's hillarious, so I'm in.

If you're not familiar with this comedy, Shepard plays a con who wants to get back at the judge who put him away.  Instead, he has to settle for ruining the life of the judge's son (Arnett) and gets him locked up through a too-easy scheme.  McBride plays the tough inmate who falls hard for Arnett, leading to a strange kind of partnership that is itself pretty entertaining. Koechner plays the corrupt prison guard only too eager to take bets on the next inmate fight.  Great actors and characters make this more fun than the lame premise suggests.

It had been a while since I'd last seen this one and it's a nice, light-hearted way to break up some of the heavier stuff and action-heavy stuff I've been watching lately.  It's always nice to laugh.