Watched a couple movies, only worth mentioning one really so I’ll start it with. Unless you’re completely dense…or blind. The movie is Secondhand Lions.

A nice little family film about a shy boy, his crappy mother, and his 2 eccentric uncles. Pretty basic story. Crappy mom hears the aforementioned Uncles are rich and have millions of dollars hidden somewhere on their land. Sends shy boy to live with them while she’s at “court reporting school”, which is apparently code for whoring it up in Vegas with an abusive asshole.

Of course she only sends the boy there to try and find out where the money is hidden. Blabla, eccentric Uncles warm to the boy, and vice versa. Mom returns…blabla, touching ending with the Uncles. Not a movie I’d buy, but I did enjoy it. Kids would love it as it has a bedtime story feel to it, with Sheiks, and princesses, and big unbelievable adventures, and a love story intertwined throughout. Worth a look see if you have kids.

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The second movie I watched was the craptacular Godsend. I was just expecting more of a supernatural thriller. Horrible dialog, unnatural reactions to things going on around them, just not a very well made movie. Greg Kinnear is so much better than this crap. Suggestion…pass.

Let me start by saying I really, really liked “The Whole Nine Yards”. I thought it was a smart, comical, joyride. After I saw the initial previews for the sequel, it immediately turned me off. Looked like it(the series) went from comedy to slapstick farce. After watching it, I can safely say my fears were correct. It wasn’t ‘bad’ per se, but it wasn’t good. The only bright spot being Amanda Peet. She kept it somewhat interesting, with her seeming neurotic behavior throughout. Matthew Perry just annoyed me. Bruce Willis seemed bored and when he wasn’t he was engaging in some extreme over-acting. Was pretty ridiculous. Henstridge was a mere afterthought as was the lame addition of Frankie Figs sister. I did smile a little when his new dental assistant, the aforementioned sister, pulled a gun on him.

Final thoughts. Skip this one. Not even worth a rental. Nothing really redeeming in it other than Amanda Peet.

I caught this movie on Showtime. Normally I wouldn’t bother with movies on TV. Especially if they’re not in widescreen, but being I’m a big fan of Edward Norton and I’d never heard of the movie I checked it out. Edward Norton did not disappoint…the movie on the other hand was only slightly above average.

Norton’s character was a sad, pathetic, lonely, miserable, disturbed person.

Synopses jacked from imdb, with a mild edit:
Tobe(Evan Rachel Wood) is about 16, living with her dad(David Morse) and younger brother(Rory Culkin) in LA’s San Fernando Valley. She invites a gas station attendant named Harlan(Edward Norton) to come to the beach with her and her friends. He talks country, claims to be from South Dakota, and to have been a ranch hand. They have a great time, his simple expressions seem like wisdom, he’s attentive and polite, and even though he’s more than twice her age, she wants to spend time with him. When her father objects, she rebels. Harlan, meanwhile, thinks she’s his soul mate, and he starts making plans to get her away from her father. Worlds are set to collide, but which ones? He appears to be a down home country boy, but all is not what it seems.

Not sure what I thought of the ending. It was hard to empathize with Norton’s character, but he clearly left an impression on everyone in the movie…whether it was good or bad, I don’t know.

Well, Wes Anderson is 3 for 3 so far for me. It took about 30 minutes for the movie to really get going but when it got goin’ it was pure fun. Bill Murray has got to be the most under-rated actor of our time. He’s so good in all his roles. He was very understated in this movie, yet stood out from everyone. Jason Schwartzman was also very good. Out of the 3 movies of Anderson’s that I’ve seen I liked the story of this one the most. Played out well, and it amazed me how well it all came together and was only an hour and a half long. Loved the ending also. I still like Life Aquatic better overall. Just loved the quirkiness of it…and Bill Murray. Though I’d place this above Bottle Rocket. Check it out if you haven’t already.