Last Five Movies

Tropic Thunder (2008)
After all the hype surrounding how great this movie is, much like with The Dark Knight, I was disappointed when this turned out to not be as funny as I had expected. Oh sure, it IS funny, and everyone (especially Downey, in the most racist role since Amos and Andy) is great in it, but it's not the laff riot that critics like Roger Ebert and Peter Travers made it out to be. I will say one thing, though: Tom Cruise is nearly worth the price of admission. And, based upon his work here and in Magnolia, I'm beginning to think that "less-is-more" may be a good direction for Cruise's career to take.

McQ (1974)
No one's career was hurt more by the death of the Western than John Wayne. So, he did what any aging star would do, and remade himself in the image of Old Dirty Harry (or, Dirty Harry's dad, if you will). It's odd seeing The Duke in any context other than a cowboy and it really doesn't work. Brannigan!, Wayne's second take on the genre (essentially McQ in London) is even odder, as seeing Wayne anywhere outside the United States is a little freaky.

Something of note: McQ also stars Eddie Albert, who was older than Wayne when he made this movie, and would outlive him by nearly 30 years. There's something to be said about living well.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
Typical late-model Woody Allen comedy. Not as joke-filled as some of Allen's movies, but what do you expect from a 70-year old who cranks out a movie a year like clockwork? I will say that the Spanish cast of this movie makes the American cast look like dinner theatre in Des Moines.

Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2 (1987)
Seriously, sometimes I watch movies just to watch a movie.

I was really surprised that I liked this, but...

Pineapple Express (2008)
The trailers for this movie do it no justice. When I saw the trailers, I thought, "That does not look funny at all. I don't see why anyone would see that." But, me being me, I saw it anyway. And was pleasantly surprised by the fact that it is the funniest movie I've seen all year. I didn't think a Stoner Action Movie would work, but, turns out, it does. I also think that Seth Rogen should write all Judd Apatow-produced movies, because they just aren't any good when he doesn't. A good time.

Check it out.