I.O.U.S.A.

2 stars out of 5

I got this documentary because I believe the federal debt is a huge problem that my generation will have to answer for. If my generation pushes it off on the next generation, the debt will be too big and will likely cripple the economy for decades.

Anyway, this movie was like taking a 100 level class on the federal debt. It was fine as far as it went, but I'm a smart guy, I know what the basic problems are. So I was disappointed.

Mad Money

2 stars out of 5

I caught this movie on TV the other day too. It had promise as a caper movie. Like "Catch Me if you Can". Three women who work at the Federal Reserve hatch a plot to steal money that is being thrown away because it is so old. It works, so they continue to steal. This is very stupid, because they have janitorial jobs at the Federal Reserve and of course someone is going to notice if there are rich janitors. They do eventually get caught, but still manage to hide some money at the end. I tell you only because I want to spare you the suspense. It is a pretty stupid movie. Terrible acting, bad morals, stupid characters. Anyway, it was on the tube, and I got duped into it.

1408

2.5 stars out of 5

I watched part/most of this on TV the other night. I don't usually watch Stephen King thriller/horror movies, but this one looked okay. It got kind of silly, but wasn't too bad. I don't really see the point of scary movies. Do people like to be scared? This didn't really scare me, partly because I was only half watching it, but it was mildly entertaining.

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

1.5 stars out of 5

Ok, I realize I have overdosed on action movies this year. But this was GI Joe. I grew up with GI Joe being one of my favorite past times. I think from about age 7 to age 12 I though GI Joes were awesome. So when GI Joe came out at the director's club (recliner seats), I organized a work group to go. Ironically, there was a US aircraft carrier in Manila at the same time, so I reserved 60% of the theater and Navy servicemen occupied the other 40% of the theater.

Anyway, it was an awful movie. The ratio of acting to development was way too high. The acting was wooden, the storyline was cartoonish (true to form at least) and the whole thing very disappointing. I thought that the GI Joes were an elite US fighting force. But they made it out in the movie to be this international UN secret group, which sounded ridiculous. And the GI Joes they chose were so dumb - the only obvious pick was Snake Eyes. Duke and Ripcord are the main characters. Duke? Ripcord? Where are Dusty, Shipwreck, Leatherneck, Road Block, Main Frame, Frost Bite, etc.? Those were my Joes. The whole thing was stupid.

I would not recommend this to anyone unless you happen to be on a plane and the only other option is to watch a Will Ferrell movie.

Valkyrie

4 stars out of 5

This is a historical, based on a true story account of a failed coup and assasination attempt against Hitler. Tom Cruise plays a colonel who is fighting in North Africa and can see the writing on the wall. He knows Hitler is leading Germany to ruin and is determined to stop it. He is recruited into a dissenter group and helps formulate the coup attempt.

It's a great movie - Cruise is the best I have seen him in a long while. There is a lot of suspense and action and drama. It's hard because ultimately, you know it fails. It does do a good job of showing how Hitler survived so long, with misinformation, surrounding himself with yes man, his personality cult and brutally stamping out any dissent.

Recommended for students of history.

Forever Strong

5 stars out of 5

Netflix recommended this movie to me, based on previously watched movies. I may have also seen a preview for it on another movie. Anyway, I hadn't heard much about it, but it looked like a decent sports movie, so that was good enough for me.

It is a great movie. It is a lot like Remember the Titans for rugby. Based on a true story (as all the good ones are), it tells the story of the famous Highland rugby team, which reportedly just won their 19th national title in 2009. This movie will help you see why they are so successful.

The story revolves around a guy who plays for his dad down in AZ. He gets into some trouble with the law and for some reason is sent to a juvenile detention center in the Wasatch front. There, he is invited to play on the Highland rugby team (I'm not really sure how high schools can just invite random people in juvy to do this, but whatever). It takes him a while to catch the vision, but he comes out a better person.

Really, it is right up there in my "Rocky" list of great underdog sports movies. If you are not familiar with this genre, it includes Miracle, Cinderella Man, Glory Road, Invincible, The Pistol: Birth of a Legend, Remember the Titans, Rudy, Hoosiers, Strictly Ballroom and Gladiator. It also kind of includes movies like Braveheart, Hurricane and Ghandi.

Highly recommended for all non-kid viewers.

My Sister's Keeper

3.5 stars out of 5

This is the movie based on the book by the same name. I did not read the book, but I did enjoy the movie. It is definitely an emotional, female-centered movie. This is not to say that a man cannot enjoy it, but you should be prepared. I had fairly low expectations and they were met.

If you haven't read the book, the story is about a family that has a girl with cancer. They decide to have a test tube baby so that this baby can donate blood, bone marrow, other things, to her sister to live. As the girl gets older, she gets more indepedent and decides she does not want to be a storehouse for vital parts for her sister. So she sues for her independence.

Overall, good acting. Hard to think of Cameron Diaz as a mother, but she was okay, if a little over the top. The kids are great, Alec Baldwin is very good. It's a decent movie, not bad.

Beyond the Pale - Jim Gaffigan

4 stars out of 5

Comedy hour with Jim Gaffigan, of "Hot Pockets" fame. It's very funny. His jokes and routines center around food, and there is a lot of material. There were a few minutes of questionable material, but overall it was pretty clean. Recommended for fans of stand-up comedy.

Front of the Class

4 stars out of 5

I found this movie one night and decided it was worth a watch. It is based on the true story of a guy with Tourette's syndrome who is determined to get a job teaching at an elementary school. Obviously a tough sell. Some handicaps are easily adjusted to, this was is not.

It is a Hallmark movie so I couldn't even find a write-up on it. The acting isn't great, but the story is such a great underdog story and ultimate triumph that you can't help but love it. I highly recommend it - if you can find it.

Anchorman

1 star out of 5

Probably the worst movie I have ever seen. The only reason I watched it to the end was to try to get over jet lag.

Yes Man

2 stars

I had nothing to watch but it was dark on the plane and my kids were trying to sleep so I relunctantly agreed to watch Yes Man. It has some funny moments. Jim Carrey is a boring guy who never does anything and actively tries to avoid activities with friends. When he attends a seminar and is coerced into saying "Yes" to everything he encounters, he becomes a new man. Traditionally Jim Carrey antics. Overall, it lacked depth and feeling, but it tried. Not a total waste of time but pretty close.

Penelope

4.5 stars out of 5

Sheralie had a rare request to watch this movie. So we did. I had pretty low expectations, and I was pleasantly surprised. The story is about a girl who has a curse which causes her face to look like a pig (really just the nose). The only way the curse can be broken is for one of her own kind (a rich person) to fall in love with her. It is kind of a whimsical fairy tale. I enjoyed it. I recommend it.

Terminator Salvation

3 stars out of 5

I was enticed to see the new Terminator movie by the awesome theater we found. The theater has only 30 seats. They are all recliner-style seats with a table in between each group of two chairs. All seats are assigned so there is no need to come early. Each seat comes with popcorn and a drink. And the price? A whopping $7!

It was pretty awesome. The movie itself is so-so. Lots of things blow up and there is quite a bit of violence. This theme of man vs. machine theme is getting a little overdone in my opinion (Matrix, Terminator, Battlestar Gallactica, etc.). Christian Bale is okay, but he is much better as Batman. I wouldn't recommend the movie unless you are a big fan.

Australia

4 stars out of 5

Sheralie pushed me to get this movie from Netflix and I did, because she so rarely ever requests a movie. I wasn't all that enthusiastic about watching it, but it was Baz Luhrman, who has directed some pretty decent shows, and it was about Australia, which is a pretty decent country/continent. The interesting part of this movie is that it is really two movies. The first 60% of the movie is about a cattle drive. Nicole Kidman takes over her husband's cattle ranch and in the end has to help Hugh Jackman drive the cattle to the port. It is pretty decent, though nothing to write home about.

The first part resolves itself and it appears they will live happyily ever after. But wait - there is still another hour of the movie. Turmoil engulfs Nicole Kidman and her "family" and WW2 breaks out. I thought this part was more intersting, more dramatic and a better story. Definitely brought it from a "3 star" to a "4 star". Definitely a chick flick, but worth watching.

The Invasion

3 stars out of 5

I caught this on TV the other night and got sucked into it. Basically Nicole Kidman is a psychologist who is dating a doctor. A virus is intentionally introduced that causes people to be ultra-conformative. But not if Nicole Kidman and her son have anything to do with it. It's an okay show. I'm not a huge fan of the "horror" or scary drama genre, but it was okay.

Slumdog Millionaire

4.5 stars out of 5

Slumdog won all kinds of awards for movie of the year, so I thought I would give it a chance. The story is set in India, where a boy from the slums competes on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". They suspect him of fraud and his telling of how he knew all the answers to the questions forms the story of the movie from his childhood to present.

It's a tremendous movie - I hope not indicative of life in general in India, but it definitely captures the slums, the slumlords and the poverty. It's a great story with great characters, adventures, etc. I thoroughly enjoyed it and even got Sheralie to watch some of it with me.

Note of caution: It is rated R for the violence and sluminess of the slums depicted. It is somewhat gruesome, but I found it fit well into the movie. Definitely not for kids, but I think most adults will appreciate it.

Live Free or Die Hard

4 stars out of 5

This is one of my two action movies for 2009 - who is keeping track? I can't remember the last one I saw, but this is a pretty fun one. John McClane (sounds so much like John McCain) is back in his role as a surly NYPD detective who finds himself once again in the middle of mayhem.

The plot in this one involves a group of hackers that hacks into everything in an attempt to steal a lot money. John McLane and his new sidekick, a likeable hacker helper, encounter many improbable adventures in their pursuit of the bad guys. You really have to suspend belief, because some of these things are so unlikely to happen in real life it's laughable - like driving a police car up a ramp in order to crash it into a nearby helicopter. But whatever. Lots of explosions and high jinx. Lots of violence as well. Some profanity (the picture shows it as "unrated" but it did have a PG-13 rating in the theater, and I didn't find anything objectionable beyond the violence and profanity). Good show.

Breach

3 stars out of 5

I caught most of this movie on TV the other day, and it was not until I was 90% of the way through that I realized that this was based on a true story. Yikes. I would have taken it more seriously had I known.

The story is about Robert Hanssen, the worst security breach the US has had since Aldrich Ames. Hanssen was an FBI guy (though he did some time working with the State Department) who was in the pocket of the Russians. So they send in this young whooper snapper (Ryan Philippe) to be his clerk/secretary and find some dirt on him. Apparently they knew he was rotten, but they bought all their evidence from a Russian tycoon and it was not admissible in court. So they needed the whooper snapper to do some work.

That sounds like a terrible job to me - pretend to work for a guy, but really be trying to find some dirt. Especially when you are as super-paranoid as Hanssen already was, since Hanssen knew he was going to be in big big trouble if his secrets came out. So it is kind of a suspenseful, harrowing kind of movie. Not all that fun for me, but a good story nonetheless.

I probably wouldn't go out of my way to watch this movie, but if it's on, and you are in front of the TV, it's not bad. That's my stirring recommendation for it.

Also, I learned that "Ryan Philippe" is different than "Philip Seymour Hoffman". Ryan Philippe is the guy we all know as Milo Hoffman from Antitrust. Philip Seymour Hoffman is some old guy that always plays bad guys.

Errand of Angels

4 stars out of 5

This is a movie about an LDS sister missionary in Austria and her adventures. There are a lot of movies on the margin of cinema, only appealing to certain LDS audiences. And a lot of those movies should not have been made (I think 95% of movies out there should not have been made).

But this one was a good one. For one, the movie is fairly realistic - it doesn't sugarcoat things or gloss over hard parts. Some days are hard, and not all missionaries are great, or even pleasant, companions. There are highs and there are lows, and a lot of in between. I thought there was decent acting, especially considering the budget, and great scenery. Good story line, and not always predictable (though mostly predictable).

Highly recommended to all fans of Mormon cinema.

The Neverending Story

5 stars out of 5

I recently watched this movie with Jeffrey and Laird. Sheralie fell asleep. Notwithstanding that ringing endorsement, The Neverending Story is a classic kids' movie. The story is hard to describe. If I had to put it in Balderdash, it would be: A boy reads a magical book that brings him into a fantasy world. That sounds rather ho-hum - why would you watch a movie about a boy reading a book? But it works. If you haven't seen this, watch it with your kids. Probably a little scary for kids 4 and under, but otherwise a great film. Thanks to my sister for getting it for us for Christmas.