Catching Up - Broken Computer Edition

After extended periods of not posting, I sometimes give you little excuses for my absence. I hope I don't have to use this one ever again: My computer broke. It was in the shop for two weeks and then my usual laziness kicked in to make it a full month between posts. I'm sure I'll be using the laziness excuse again sometime. Probably soon.

Here are capsule reviews of some of the movies I've seen since my last post.

Predators

A decent adventure flick using some familiar villains. Dropping humans onto a Predator moon was a nice touch ("It's a game preserve and we're the game!"). The ending is kind of a cheat but at least it kept the movie from running too long. Good for renting.

Ever since The Pianist, I've not cared for Adrien Brody. Even if he won the award for Best Actor, that movie sucked. Period. Almost surrealistically, I had flashbacks during Predators, where I thought I saw a classically trained pianist being chased through a Warsaw ghetto by unstoppable aliens. Worth the price of admission right there. Brody earned a few points back last year in the amazing movie, The Brothers Bloom. Be sure to rent that movie sometime, too.

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Inception

I kind of missed the party on this one - everybody's been talking about Inception. I'll just say that I enjoyed it a lot but it ran a bit long and there were too many conventional gun battles at the end. Still, a must see.

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The Sorcerer's Apprentice

A movie conceived by Disney executives to grab a piece of the Harry Potter franchise they don't own. SorcApp has no real reason to exist and offers nothing new or interesting. In fact, the ending is pretty ridiculous.

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Salt

Now Salt is an interesting movie. Is she a double agent or not? Is she trying to commit a crime or prevent one? How does she do all these death-defying stunts without breaking any bones or even a sweat?

Angelina Jolie shows why she is a Movie Star and Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ojiofor show that they are among the best side-men in the business. Salt is a thrill-a-minute movie that keeps you entertained for every minute of its running time and leaves you wanting more.


Despicable Me

An animated movie that gets a little sappy at times but is very visually stimulating and never really drags.

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Twilight - Eclipse

I avoided the first two Twilight movies, mainly because they were promoted as teen romance flicks. But since they just won't stop making these dang movies, I thought I would check them out. I rented the first two, Twilight and New Moon, then went to see Eclipse in the theater.

I was surprised at how enjoyable all three Twilight movies are. They tell an interesting story with interesting characters and great visuals. I didn't get wrapped up in the romance thread but I found plenty of opportunities to snarkilly wonder why the werewolves weren't naked more often since they shredded their clothes when they morphed.

I'm actually looking forward to the next installment of Twilight, due in about a year. And for the record, I'm on Team Jacob. But tell the guy to put on a shirt, please.

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