Movie Reviews (sort of)

...by the batch. We saw a few movies over the past week or so, some good, some not so much.

The Black Dahlia (2006)

This movie was fashioned after those old school detective movies, fedoras and all that jazz. However, I didn't follow it that well. It was like reading a Dashiell Hammett novel, but with every other chapter ripped out. Unbeknownst to me, but maybe beknownst to you, this movie was based off an actual crime, the murder of Elizabeth Short in 1947. Maybe had I beknowst that I might have kept my attention. So for those of you looking for a noir detective movie I would recommend skipping this one and checking out L.A. Confidential instead. (I am still waiting on The Maltese Falcon to come through Blockbuster online, so I might recommend that as well, but I have not seen it yet. The book is good though.)

Righteous Kill (2008) with Robert De Niro, Al Pacino

Pride and Glory (2008) with Edward Norton, Colin Farrell

Two movies, same story (though not literally). Plot: suspisious murders that seem to suggest crooked cops were involved. Maybe one of our heros is the bad guy. Maybe both are. Maybe neither. Maybe the Whiskers the cat did it. Any which way they are buddy cops that must protect their partner even if the evidence might lead them to discover a horrible truth (and other generic one liners...see the the movie poster above). Neither were fast pace action movies, not that I expected the Pacino and De Niro to be running around a lot, but can I have a little action to keep me awake? If you had to choose between these two, I'd suggest the one with the older actors, but then again you'd also be subjected to a handful of scenes with rapper 50 Cent.

He's Just Not That Into You (in theaters now)

Now I thought this one was worth the price of admission...of course that price was two free passes that we had. Even still, this was probably the best of all those listed here today and the only one I'd recommend to those playing at home. If you haven't seen the previews, this movie has a huge cast and follows the stories of 5 or 6 couples/singles (basically from the women's perspective, hence the He's in the title) on their quest to understand dating relationships. I usually like movies that follow a few story lines since if you don't like one, there's always another 2 or more to keep your interest. At times it might get a bit crude (though not like Knocked Up) but I thought it was fairly funny. If you enjoy the theater experience, by all means, check this one out in the theaters; otherwise, I'd say it is better as a rental.