Hitman

The fact that the main, uber cool, character looks a little bit like me has almost no weight on my opinion of this movie. Almost.

Timothy Olyphant, whom may be best known for his role in HBO's Deadwood series as Seth Bullock, does a splendid job here of playing the almost emotionless killer for hire. Somewhere along the way however, he picks up a conscience and feelings for others. Because he is very smart, he quickly figures out what has happened and how to fix it. That's all I can tell you without spoiling the plot.

Yes, unlike so many hit men movies this one has a plot. And it is a fairly twisty one at that. This is a pretty smart movie. And, I enjoyed it much more than I expected.

Dougray Scott was the perfect counter point to Olyphant's stone cold, Joe Black-esque, performance. Scott plays the Interpol officer hunting the elusive ghost of "Number 47". I must say I've been a fan of Dougray Scott since his surprise work in Ever After. He has matured as an actor and I like his work now even better than before.

Now, for some warnings. This movie is a bit gory. In fact, arterial spray plays a pivotal plot role. If you don't like juicy shooting scenes, maybe you should try and find an edited version of this movie. Add to this the sexless nudity, and a couple of very brutal torture scenes, and you have a fairly hard R rating.

Also, there are a varieties of accents and languages. At one point in the movie you have two languages going on and two sets of closed captions. Keeping up is tough. You have to watch this movie and pay attention, or you may be left behind.

Watch this movie with someone with someone who is turned on by quiet bald guys.

Enchanted

My gut feel here is that poking fun or Disney should be left to non-Disney writers. Let the professionals do what they do best. Not that Bill Kelly isn't a pro, don't misunderstand me. I like his other work (see Blast From The Past).

This is a very form-fitting predictable Disney princess story. The twist is it starts out and finishes up animation. In the middle the characters are live. It's done is classic Disney fashion and flare, but that is not the problem. Actually there isn't so much a problem as there is an annoyance.

The good news is that the animated characters STAY in character through-out the movie. That is also the bad news however, in my opinion.

Patrick Dempsey is the only main character who is not animated. That too is a bit of a worry. His performance is pretty wooden, but perfect for his character. But, a little more emotion would have made the stark contrast between his characters and the others less annoying. Perhaps had I watched this with a child I would have appreciated it more.

Having said that, please let me also say that you SHOULD watch this with any princess in your life, regardless of her age. The little ones will most likely appreciate it most. But older ones may pick up a few new tricks too.

The quality of the animation and live action match was not quite as good as it was in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but is was still pretty good.

Susan Sarandon showed how perfect she can be as a villain. Her work is perhaps the brightest light in this movie. I totally enjoyed all the fun she with this role.

Julie Andrews was a welcome voice for narrator, but sadly, there was not much to her part.

Timothy Spall (Wormtail for you Harry Potter fans) did a splendid job of playing both sides of the street in this story. The poor guy is type cast so often it fun to see him do something slightly different.

All in all, this is basically another in the long line of Disney princess machines. If that is your thing, then you'll like this. If it's not, you should most likely skip it.

But, if you can, watch this movie with a little princess and watch her imagination go into over-drive.

Everything Is Illuminated

How can I even begin to explain this movie? There is nothing like it out there. Deliciously weird. Way off beat. Painfully funny. More than likely spot-on true. Warmly sad. These scratch the surface. You just have to rent it to see the rest.

Elijah Wood continues to shake off his Frodo role. His character collects family memorabilia and in the process learns some interesting stories about his ancestors. To feed his fixation, he travels to the fatherland in search of a mysterious woman who appears in a photo with his grandfather. Along the way he meets some of the most memorable characters you will find in a movie like this.

Eugene Hutz, front man of a musical group called Gogol Bordello which also does much of the soundtrack, plays tour guide and translator to Wood's character. What he does to the English language is brilliant. It will keep you smiling if not panting with laughter.

And, speaking of the soundtrack, this is a great addition to your collection if you like music you'll never hear on the radio in this country. Gypsy polka rock? I don't know how else to describe it. It's fun, and it's perfect for this movie.

If you have ever gone of a real journey to learn about your family, you will relate to this wonderful story. It unfolds gently and by the time you realize what is going on it has lured you in. When the trap is spring you don't may have trouble deciding if you should weep with joy or sadness. Bittersweet is how I think the literati describe it. I did both.

Watch this movie with someone who you don't mind laughing AND crying with.

Arranged

If you think you grew up in a close-knit, controlling, family-oriented, faith-based community, you will most likely related to the two main characters in this delightful story. While they may live only a few blocks apart and work in the same place, these two characters come from very different, if similar, worlds. One is Orthodox Jewish and the other is Islamic. They are throw together under circumstances beyond their control and turn to each other because they have nobody else.

Few names on the cast will be familiar to most of us, but they did an outstanding job of casting a flawless job of acting. This movie was released as part of the Film Movement movie-of-the-month club (http://www.filmmovement.com/). It is dialogue movie as opposed to an action movie or some other style. Be prepared to sit through some uncomfortable racial, anti-Semitic, and anti-Islamic conversation. The young main characters find a way to see past each others ancient history to become comrades and eventually more.

The accents are strong with frequent lapses into languages other than English. There are no subtitles. If you can handle all that, I highly recommend this movie. Every single woman should watch this movie. Every family with daughters should watch this movie; regardless of their religion.

Watch this with someone who gives you an electric-like spark every time you touch.

A History of Violence

Ever wonder about people in your neighborhood? Ever wonder what they are like when you can't see them? Ever wonder what they were like before they moved to your area? This movie is a great story about the past life of one small town's familiar face.

Viggo Mortensen is your typical mild-mannered small-town cafe owner. One day when bad guys come in to rob his cafe he handles them with the aplomb of a seasoned street fighter. He is an instant local hero with expanding press coverage. This exposure brings with it some unwanted attention however.

Ed Harris, who almost always plays the best of genuinely good guys, plays the opposite here. He is amazing, and makes us forget his other roles as Mr. Perfect.

William Hurt is a big surprise as well, but I don't want to give too much away by explaining why.

This movie will take you places you did not expect to go. The title suggests something far more sinister and dark that is actually portrayed. If you skipped this movie back in 2005, I totally understand. But, I highly recommend it as a good rental with popcorn. Yes it is violent. Yes it is brutal and a bit graphic. But I bet you'll relate to Mortensen's character, or to that of his wife, played smartly by Maria Bello. Few wives won't see a bit of themselves in Bello's trusting, faithful character. How far that goes is something most relationships go through at some point.

Watch this movie with someone who will debate with you the pros and cons of how it ends.

The Bee Movie

Have you seen this movie yet? Did you like it? Why? I have not decided yet.

Yes, kids should love this. Lots of colorful action, enough slap-stick to keep them laughing, and a very simple plot - basically. Much however will go over their heads as is usual animation genre. That was the case Bugs Bunny and it's still the case today. Smart cartoon producers know to keep the big AND little kids happy and you'll have fresh material for many generations.

I'm not sure however there is enough in this story to keep us bigger kids fans for more than the duration of the flick. The most fun I had was trying to identify all the famous voices used. The list IS very impressive. There were 4 or 5 I was totally wrong about. How about you?

As Jerry Seinfeld projects go, this one is iffy in my opinion. Again, the voices are what make this movie the most fun for us alleged grown-ups.

The bee puns are everywhere, and some are actually pretty good. But enough is enough already. They do mock several very popular movie concepts too. How many did you notice?

Regardless of how you felt about this movie, I can recommend it to anyone with kids; big or little. Watch this movie with your honey. Oy vey.