Red (2010)

Retired: Extremely Dangerous. Hope to be there soon!

What is NOT to like about this movie? It is dark, funny, violent, twisty, fast, outrageous, and smart. What a fun ride. I really did not know what would happen next. On that alone I can recommend this movie.

Bruce Willis has played many fun, exciting characters, but this one if my favorite so far. DC Comics may have created Frank Moses, but Warner Brothers missed the boat on this one. Kudos to Summit Entertainment for picking up this project and bringing him to life.

This is the Space Cowboys of spy films. I loved it as much as I love Sneakers.

Watch this with someone who does not believe John Malkovich can do comedy.

Seven (1995)

Brad Pitt really CAN act. Or, he could back when this movie was made.

Morgan Freeman is very convincing as a cop. But then again, has he ever picked a bad script or been anything less than convincing in a role?

Kevin Spacey is totally creepy, pretty much as always, and is the perfect bad guy even though he gets only a few minutes of screen time.

This is both a psycho thriller and a murder mystery. More shock-thriller than mystery. Gladly it was made 15 years ago so it's was not the gross-out murder movie it might have been today. This is instead a very smart movie with some very disturbing material.

If you missed this back when it was in the theaters, as I did, see it soon. This is a great example of how very smart movies are made. If you have not seen this in the last 15 years, watch it again and see how much Pitt has changed and how little Freeman and Spacey have.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Some lists have this work in the top 5 movies of all time. It's certainly in my top 10 favorites.

Morgan Freeman is brilliant as usual. His unique voice serves well as narrator and character.

Tim Robbins is a man of few words but portrays one of the best characters of his career. Happy Birthday today Mr. Robbins.

They are surrounded by a great cast of diverse thieves, murderers and thugs. Then there are the inmates (nyuk nyuk). One of my favorites is James Whitmore as the prison librarian.

One of the things I find myself doing every time I watch this great movie is asking myself what I'd do in those circumstances, from beginning to end. If you are a frequent reader you know I like redemption movies, and this is on the top of that list.

Watch this movie with someone who thinks that planning ahead means putting out tomorrow's clothes, tonight.

Invictus

Did Morgan Freeman do an outstanding job as Nelson Mandela? No doubt. Could a real South African have done just as good a job? Probably, but it may not have sold as many tickets in the US. Sad huh? Could the captain of the South African Rugby team have been played as well by someone other than Matt Damon? Maybe someone actually from South Africa?

Okay this seems to be my quest for the summer - actors actually from the countries the movies are about.

Dear Hollywood Suits, please watch more foreign movies. There is plenty of talent out there NOT from the US. Maybe you will sell fewer tickets in the US but how much will you save in salaries? Okay I have no idea, but you get my point.

Back to the movie? Inspiring and funny don't usually come in the same package. This time it does. As a former resident of the apartheid state I can see the struggle for change. This story tells us more behind the scenes in the early 90s than most of us Yanks are aware of. A little history is a good thing.

This movie is a very good thing. Watch it with someone who knows nothing about rugby.

Wanted

This movie was a little bit Star Wars ("Luke, I am your father"), a little bit Kung Fu Panda ("Maybe I should just quit and go back to making noodles"), and a little bit Office Space ("Work sucks"). All in all, those are parts of pop culture we can relate to. All in all it's a very fun movie to watch if you don't know anything about physics. I'm sure Mythbusters will have a special or two about this one.

James McAvoy goes to a whole new level in this movie. His character goes from deep depression to rage to total submission to cunning calculated murder in less than 2 hours.

Angelina Jolie does what she apparently does best, and Morgan Freeman reprises his "God" role yet again, sort of.

If you like the comic-themed action thriller, this is a good one even if you are not familiar with the comic upon which it is based. If you like twisty conspiracy theory stories with quirky characters, this is also a good movie for that. If you have a hard time suspending belief for Hollywood's sake, you may want to skip this one. Oh yeah, and if, like Indiana Jones, rats creep you out, maybe this is not the best movie for you.

I recommend you watch this movie with someone who totally joneses on adrenaline.

The Dark Knight

If you have seen this you will know what I'm talking about. If you have not seen it I highly suggest you see it at least twice. The first time you watch just let the ride happen. You may be totally emotionally exhausted by the end of this 2.5 hour epic. The second time you watch it do so for the nuances. Relish the smart script. Savor the more than Oscar-worthy performance of the late Heath Ledger. Get into the sub-plots and subtle messages. It is easy to miss them the first time through because there is so much happening so fast you need to see it twice, at least, to take the full measure of this movie in.

This is hands down the best comic-based action thriller movie out thus far. And it sets the bar very high. This is what big budget movies are supposed to look and feel like. This movie would still be great without Batman. If, instead of Batman, you plug in a very tough, very smart, cop or vigilante, or even a very rich crime solver, it would still work. That is because the movie is not about Batman. The movie is about the criminals. This is so brilliant it has evaded most the watching public.

Don't get me wrong, Christian Bale does a brilliant job as the Caped Crusader. I shows a full range of emotions and is more human than some of the other guys have been. He is truly heroic.

Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman reprise their roles in support of Bruce Wayne. Each is a very welcome, smart, and funny addition to the story. Maggie Gyllenhaal is also back and the love interest, but with a huge interesting twist.

Other welcome faces include Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman.

But the true star of this movie; the one who carries the entire story on his shoulders with delicious flare is Ledger's Joker. Nothing like Nicholson's over-the-top masterwork of 20 years ago. This Joker is much more real, much creepier, much more sinister, and much more macabre. His character study is so perfectly psychotic one might wonder who he used for inspiration.

Watch this movie with someone who can help you keep up with what's going on.

The Bucket List

Everyone should see this movie regardless of age, economic status, or religious belief. There are not many movies I feel this strongly about. Crash also comes to mind.

Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are at the absolute top of their game here. Like their characters, they are a very unlikely acting duo. But this makes the whole concept, the whole movie, work much better.

Sean Hayes of Will & Grace fame, also does a great job playing the straight-man to Nicholson's character. Pun intended.

I also recommend watching the Extra Feature short about Writing a Bucket List. Then I suggest, while the laughter and tears this movie emotes are still fresh in your memory, you write your own Bucket List.

Even though you know from the beginning how this movie ends, I'm guessing you will still be touched by how well Rob Reiner pulls it off. Reiner is an absolute genius. Look at the diversity of movies he has done - This is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, A Few Good Men, and now this. Any one of these movies would make a career high for someone. But to all come from the same mind is evidence of solid brilliance.

Watch this movie with someone who will be part of your personal Bucket List.

Batman Begins

With all the recent fuss over comic heroes on the big screen, I figure it's time to remind ourselves that this phenomenon is not new. Only 3 years ago Director Christopher Nolan brought his vision of a legendary character's somewhat humble beginnings.

Nolan does not have a lengthy resume, but it is, nonetheless very impressive with offbeat stories for us to sink our imaginations into. Memento. Insomnia. The Prestige. He is also the director who will bring "The Dark Knight" later this year. This tells you how

Christian Bale (Reign of Fire, The Prestige, and 3:10 to Yuma) is perfect as an emerging Batman, a role he will reprise for us in The Dark Knight. He is dark, brooding, understated, and feels like he has always been Bruce Wayne.

Michael Caine, the hardest working man in Hollywood for the last 50 years, does great homage to uber-cool butlers everywhere in his role as the always steady Alfred. Do you know Alred's last name? True Batman fans will. Caine is also in the upcoming Batman movie.

And what a super cast of supporting bad guys, weirdos, and Gotham regulars. Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Morgan Freeman, and Ken Watanabe. Take your pick. One or two alone would be worth the watch.

And what is a good Batman story without pretty girls? Katie Holmes fills that bill well enough.

If you enjoyed Tim Burton's versions of Batman, you should also enjoy this one. I know the Burton purists will boycott me for saying so, but this movie is every bit as entertaining as the previous. I grew up reading Batman comics, and watching the old campy black-and-white series on TV. This movie was very satisfying to me personally.

Watch this movie with your childhood firmly attached.

Gone Baby Gone

No this is absolutely not a Dr. Seuss story. That would be something more like "Spitzer Hires A Ho". But I digress.

In his first directorial outing, Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting, Shakespeare In Love, and Sum of All Fears), shows that he can write AND direct, and on occasion, act. In this movie however, he just writes and directs. He is not yet a Streisand or Eastwood.

Ben's baby brother Casey (Oceans 11,12, and 13) does an outstanding job here. Acting opposite Michelle Monaghan (Bourne Supremacy, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith), how could you not do your best? The two play a couple of underestimated private investigators hired by a family to find a lost girl. Of course I can't tell you WHAT they find, but it's way more than one might expect.

Morgan Freeman plays a totally different kind of character than I expected. And I loved it. Another favorite of mine, Ed Harris (The Right Stuff, The Abyss, China Moon, and on an on) proves he can still howl with the big dogs.

There are a few other very worthy supporting actors, but I fear if I get into them all, I will by default, give away too much of the plot, which is by no means, predictable. This is much more of a "Who Done What?", than a "Who Done It?"

Watch it with someone who enjoys guessing what will happen next.

10 Items or Less

Digging back into the past a wee bit, you'll find yet another fun little Indy flick. At the risk of falling into the cop-out of making lists, here are 10 things, or less, I like, a lot, about this movie.

1. Morgan Freeman basically plays himself. How can you not love this guy?

2. The story is full of realism and hope at the same time. A good story is half the battle.

3. The script is fast moving and crisp. You don't see everything coming, but even when you do, it's very satisfying. A well told story is the other half of the battle.

4. Want to know what living in LA is like for the vast majority of folks? This picture shows the neighborhoods and businesses as they really are. There is very little Hollywood in this movie. I love that.

5. Paz Vega is amazing. You can compare her to Penelope Cruz if you want, but I think she is far more complex and talented.

6. The soundtrack is fun. I'd buy it if it were available. But alas, it's not.

7. There is nothing gratuitous in this movie, except maybe the language.

That's enough. I don't want to fall guilty of violating any more of my own rules.

If you are getting ready for a job interview, watch this movie. If you are thinking about a career change, watch this movie. If you think you have a great job, watch this movie.