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I don't think I've ever run into anybody who really thinks The Jazz Singer is a great movie, just a groundbreaking one.
My recent forays into the multiplex (slow time at work when there is a theater across the street + multiplex across the street from our new apartment = lots of movie action).
Michael Clayton - Can't remember if I already talked about this one but it was good.
We Own the Night - Not bad but not as good or epic as it should have been. Good acting generally, nicely shot and edited. Opening with a mostly nude Eva Mendes getting finger****ed by Joachin Phoenix was certainly attention getting but supremely gratuitous. I'm also troubled by the re-ascension in quality movies (as opposed to action porn) of the idea that when society won't give justice that it is ok to take it for yourself (oh, by the way, justice is a synonym for murder). I blame the Bush White House and its idiocy of not even be able to clearly say waterboarding is torture (not really, I view them as both symptoms of the same problem but let's get political).
Four Weddings and Funeral - The success of this movie is quality evidence that the world is populated by stupid people. No insult intended to anybody here who likes this movie (even if it is evidence you're stupid, but really, no insult meant (stupidhead)).
Dan in Real Life - Not great but a very pleasant fluffy diversion.
License to Wed - Watched on a plane. Absolutely horrible. The general non-success of this movie is prime evdience that people aren't generally as stupid as they looked after the whole Four Weddings and a Funeral debacle. Good on ya, former stupidheads.
Lars and the Real Girl - Hated it halfway in, but it mostly redeemed itself. Ryan Gosling and Emily Watson are both credits to the screen so it is worth seeing for them.
Things We Lost in the Fire - If you want a two-hour movie watching experience where you spend the whole time in a low grade sniffle go see this movie. I enjoyed it a lot but if you're a cryer you'll need to grab a supply of napkins on your way through the theater lobby. Benicio del Toro gives lie to the P.C. nonsense that smoking doesn't make you look cool. Well, maybe it doesn't but Benicio del Toro certainly makes smoking look cool. I don't support the "any smoking gets an R rating rule" but maybe I would support a "any smoking by del Toro gets an R rating rule." Even though he is a junky and generally pathetic in the movie I still left the theater wanting to stop by a convenience store and pick a brand.
American Gangster - Compelling. Unfortunately it has been billed as a face-off between to of the great actors of our time. But ultimately it is no Pacino/De Niro in Heat (and even that was a disappointment). The Russell Crowe part really could have been cut entirely from the movie without much impact and if it had been played by a no-name actor the same part would barely get billing. The subplots involving Crowe felt like fluff added in to puff the part up into something more significant. But even at 2.5 hours it was very watchable and I was never bored or waiting for them to move on the end. The big drawback is that being based on a true story it has the flaw of real life in that it generally doesn't perfectly fit a narrative arc and so the ending is a bit soft.
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