Fill-um

Okay, did the books, now for the movies and I'll be all caught up. Then I can procrastinate again with a clear conscience.

I watched three eminently forgettable movies that I got from the library. (Boy, am I glad I didn't waste Netflix choices on these three.) Pitch Black was a SF/horror film that starred Vin Diesel. I have no idea why this movie was popular enough to spawn a second film. None of the characters is sympathetic, Diesel is not an actor and the monsters and scares didn't seem like they would be enough for any hardcore horror fans. Skip it.

Burn After Reading was a Coen brothers film. I was thinking it might be on of their light-hearted films. Nope, this one was a black comedy. The only one of their black comedies that I've enjoyed was The Big Lebowski and that was because it was a mystery in the style of Raymond Chandler as well and, well... I'm a sucker for mysteries; particularly any having to do with Chandler. Burn was a lot more like Fargo. Senseless violence, a dearth of sympathetic characters, and a nihilistic story. Skip it.

Arabesque was just stupid. The more I see movies with Gregory Peck, the more I realize that he was kinda the Keanu Reeves of a few decades ago. He seems like he's a real actor, because he was cast in a lot of movies, but when you actually pay attention to him, he's lousy. Sophia Loren was in the movie too, doing her standard "sex-kitten" nonsense and was completely unbelievable in her role too. The only bright spot was Alan Badel playing the villain; his script was weak, but he did what he could. I'm inclined to find some other movies he was in. Worst of the three films, though.

I've only seen two from Netflix since I last talked about these things (had problems with a damaged disc), but one was marvelous and the other wasn't half-bad. The Fallen Idol is quite possibly the best movie I've seen this year (of movies I hadn't seen before). I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but it involves a young boy who looks up to the butler as his hero and the tangle this causes when a suspicious death occurs. Run, don't walk, and get this film. The ending is particularly good.

Finally, I watched Megamind the animated hero/villain story starring Will Ferrell. It was okay. After it was over, it didn't really resonate, but during the film there were plenty of one-liners that were humorous enough to keep one entertained. Be warned though, they visit almost all the superhero movie clichés and not all of those visits are to make a joke.