Life Or Something Like It - stars Angelina Jolie, Edward Burns

What a nice surprise.  We didn't have much to choose from at the shop the other day so we grabbed this.  Stace being a fan of Angelina's closed the deal, she's been looking at it for a while and walking away.  Anyhoo, yeah this things pretty cool in a wishy-washy romantic kind've way.  Keeps you guessing a little at least.

Prophet Jack is the coolest character in the movie, he takes noooooooo shit.  Anyway, so he stands on a busy street every day picking up predictions from above (he says its god but I somehow don't think he watches baseball) and people drop cash into his can.  Busker style.  We don't see enough of Prophet Jack in my opinion.  Lanie (Jolie) is a reporter for a local news station and she gets out in public doing live spots and reporting on sport and weather, generally.  She has a hate-hate relationship with her then-then-not-then-and-again-now camera man Pete (Burns).  This particular day she interviews Prophet Jack, who tells her she's going to die in a week.  Bummer.  So what do you do with a week to live?  I can think of a hundred things she didn't do, but that wouldn't be her story then would it ;-)

Jolie's character is very thin, veil thin, so shallow if you jumped in her puddle you would be lucky to break water.  And its frustrating as buggery at first, in saying so you do get used to it.  Burns is typical Burns, he's a little stereotyped for mine, think "15 Minutes" and take away the cop stuff.  Its a romance flick, its light-hearted, people fall in love and go to the gym, all while sporting really bad hair.  I tell ya, Jolie and Burns deserve oscars just for putting up with their hair.  They could call it "Best performance under duress from bad hair, and the nominees are...".  Great cameo from Stockhard Channing too, she plays such a good bitch!

I really enjoyed this despite the above, its a nice take on the genre, 3 and a half stars.

Road To Perdition - stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law

They say "The most stunning gangster flick ever made".  I say, "nope, wouldn't go that far fellas, best you watch it again."  When a movie starts out with one of its characters narrating it, you know they're going to be stretching already.  Road... sees six weeks in the life of one Michael Sullivan (Hanks), a hitman for the mob.  Which mob?  Well I'm thinking its something to do with Capone as his name gets mentioned.  Once.  Anyway, so there's been some dirty dealings and despite Sullivan's moral dilemma with them, he soldiers on as a member of the family.  One of his sons witnesses a killing however and despite the promises of Sullivan to his boss, they off the wife and the other son anyway.  Sullivan decides its time for revenge, all the while coming to terms with this new-found bonding thing he has to do with his other son - the one that witnessed the murder.  I'm muddling all my words, look I'll stop there, thats the gist.

So what's it like?  Hhmm, its a bit slow.  Yeah slow is a good word.  And a little bit crap too, yeah crap suits.  No maybe not crap.  Worked out how undecided I am yet?  There is one thing that lets this flick down.  Get Hanks out of there!  Make him a quirky fat FBI agent investigating cheque fraud sure, but not this.  This role requires someone with intensity.  Hanks just frowns alot and looks like he's trying to stop himself breaking into a smile and a diatribe about garnish versus pate.  Holy crap he's bad!  Someone once asked me "hey Benno, why do you hate Tom Hanks so much?"  I think I passed out from all the yelling so I don't quite remember, but lets just say he's the same.  The saaaaaaaaame, no matter what he does, what he's in, he's the same.  He's the one constant in every movie he does.  You could transplant him from this into Saving Ryan's Privates without a problem, Catch Me too, what else, shit if he yelled "Wilson" in this you'd swear he was on an island doing a rain dance and pulling teeth out.

Sorry folks, back to the movie...no wait.  One more thing.  He grew a 'tache for this.  Yup, a 'tache, it looks sooooooo bad.  I reckon Hanks, Jolie and Burns could've hooked up and done a bad version of "Hair" and outsold any of this.

Now back to the movie.  Its a good movie in many respects, it falls down because of Hanks and the fact that its so slow.  Lots of...er...slow stuff.  My favourite character was Jude Law's, a mean bastard of a hitman who is hired by the mob for odd jobs requiring a third party to get it done.  Bad teeth, bad hair (again, what's with the bad hair???) but a great sense of light when it comes to photography.

Visually this thing is truly a masterpiece.  Every scene is plush and colourful and brings 1930's Chicago to life quite beautifully.  I was also impressed with the score, the music is amazing - I say this because I don't normally notice the soundtrack, even in bad flicks (when you look for something to like), but this one grabbed me from the get-go.  Anyway yeah, anyone but Hanks man: Bruce Willis would've kicked ass.  You know what, even though Clint Eastwood turns a hundred and five this year, he still would've outclassed Hanks in this. 

A surprisingly good ending does earn this points along with the sites and sounds, but it can't outdo some very thin acting despite a promising plot.  3 stars.

Final Destination 2 - stars Ali Larter, noone else of note really

This is a big screen must people, absolute must!  The opening scene is this elaborate highway calamity that leaves you breathless, literally.  My advice, if you haven't seen the first one...actually no even if you have seen the first one, rent it first, then go to the flicks and watch this.  The first one is a bit darker, better acted, but doesn't have the production this one got given.

And death scenes, how awsome are the deaths scenes.  Someone actually used their brain and came up with original shit.  Tops!  Storyline is pretty simple.  Girl see's an accident happen before it does, she stops, accident happens, she saves lives.  But this causes a rift in death's design - you do get sick of them saying that by the way, but I'm here to tell you its my new favourite saying, lol - and death comes back to complete its unfinished business.  How does one combat death?  Watch and learn.  Go death!!!

Again, can't applaud the carnage enough, really good stuff.  Some black humour chucked in there as well to keep it light.  Unfortuantely they tried to tie too much in to the first one for my liking, this is the kind've idea that doesn't really need the first one in order to succeed as a sequal.  It did need a bit maybe, but yeah not as much as it got.  Really good fun, I dug it, 3 and a half stars.

Jesus' Son - stars noone

Heroine is bad for you blah blah yeah even in the seventies yadda yadda...YAWN <stretch> zzzzzzzzzzzzz!  1 star.