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Let's see. Recent movies:
Live Free or Die Hard - Bruce Willis has charisma and that carries the day. Don't spend even a moment thinking about it or it falls apart, and the action sequences build up until the audience was actually laughing at the conclusion of the final one (in more of a "wheeee!" way than a "that was way stupid" way).
In the Bedroom - Just shows how long it takes movies to work their way through my Netflix queue since I believe I added this 2001 movie right when it came out on DVD. Not at all the movie I was expecting and it has very three distinct acts with a significant mood and tone shift with each. Went to a place I really didn't foresee.
The Player - I didn't like this when I saw it in theaters on its release in 1992. Watching it again I definitely "get" it much more than I did back then. But I still don't like it. Altman is very hit and miss for me and this is an almost redeemed miss. Still prefer the Kevin Spacey/Frank Whaley Swimming with Sharks which came out a couple years later and covers some similar territory.
Bad Lieutenant - For some reason I have pretty clear memories of when this came out in 1992 (probably because of the NC-17 rating) even though I didn't see it. Oh my was this tedious to sit through. Here's my personal "Stoned" scale. 10 equals fun:
Actually being stoned/high/etc. = 6
Watching other people who are stoned/high/etc. = 3
Watching Harvey Keitel be stoned/high/etc. = -16
Bob le Flambeur (Bob the Gambler) - This 1956 movie was recommended to me as a good caper flick. And since the French have done some of the best caper flicks of all time that was good enough for me. Unfortunately, I don't really agree with that categorization. There is a caper but it doesn't even come up until halfway through the movie and then is never realized at all. Some interesting characterization and it is odd to see nudity in a black-and-white 1950s movie (those rascally French!). But it didn't rock my world or anything. And another (actually, always) portrayal of casino baccarat ruins the ending for me.
After sitting on my TV for two months without me ever finding the energy to watch it, Malcolm X went back to Netflix unwatched. Considering that The Autobiography of Malcolm X was a formative book for me, I don't know why I've always been emotionally reticent about finally seeing the movie. But I am. I put it back on the list and I'll try again in 5 years when it gets here.
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