Morning Glory

Movie: Morning Glory

Cast: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum

Genre: comedy

I saw it on: November 8, 2010

Synopsis: Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) is desperately trying to make it as the producer of a 3^rd-rate morning news show.  One of the anchors is played by Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton).  After firing the other co-anchor on her first day, Becky is desperate to find a replacement. Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) is an out-of-work anchor under contract to the network.  He was a legendary anchor who now has nothing to do. Through a loop hole in his contract, Becky is able to force Pomeroy to become Colleen’s co-anchor.  To be put it mildly, he is less than enthusiastic.

The movie follows Becky’s efforts to convince her new anchor to get with the program – and her efforts to pull the program out of last place.

My two cents: This movie was ripped by most of the reviews I read.  I, of course, liked it.  Rachael McAdams was perky and spunky without being annoying; Diane Keaton was – Diane Keaton, which is enough for me; and Harrison Ford played to (eventually) lovable curmudgeon perfectly.

I’m not saying the movie is ground-breaking or Oscar material for Best Picture, but I found it thoroughly enjoyable.

Due Date

Movie: Due Date

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Jamie Fox, Danny McBride, Michelle Monaghan

Genre: comedy, road trip

I saw it on: November 11, 2010

Synopsis: Peter Highman is at an airport to fly back to Los Angeles in time to see his child born.  His problem is that his path crosses with Ethan (Zach Galifianakis).  Ethan is a walking disaster.  Come anywhere near him and bad luck will hit you.  Peter is forced hitch a ride with Ethan to get back to L.A.  Their routes is a bit of a zig-zag with everything going wrong that could possible go wrong.

My two cents: If you are a Zach Galifianakis fan, you will like this movie.  It is funny and inventive in coming up with improbable ways for Ethan to totally screw things up. Robert Downey is great as the unfortunate recipient of Ethan’s bad karma.  Jamie Fox and and Danny McBride have some great, but brief, appearances. I was expecting a lot more profanity in the movie.  The movie was a lot more fun than I expected.

Unstoppable

Movie: Unstoppable

Cast: Denzel Wahington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Ethan Suplee

Genre: action thriller

I saw it on: November 14, 2010

Synopsis: A train loaded with highly toxic liquids is accelerating down the track with no one on board to control it.  I veteran engineer (Denzel Washington) and a rookie engineer (Chris Pine) team up to try and stop the runaway train before it derails.

My two cents: A really fun movie with very few dull moments.  Denzel is great as the grizzled veteran and Chris Pine is great as the skeptical newbie who decides to tag along and help with what looks to be a suicide mission.  I especially liked Ethan Suplee.  His character – Dewey – is the idiot who precipitated the runaway.  Dewey looks like he could still be Earl’s brother – but now working for the railroad.

The action side of things is great.  The scenes of this fully loaded train doing about 60 plowing into things that happen to be on the track are great.  The last 10-15 minutes should keep you on the edge of your seat.

Probably not Best Picture material, but it certainly left me satisfied. 

The Freebie

Movie: The Freebie

Cast: Dax Shepard, Katie Aselton

Genre:

I saw it on: November 14, 2010

Synopsis: Darren (Dax Shepard) and Annie (Katie Aselton, who also produced and directed the film) are a seemingly happily married couple.  Darren manages to convince Annie that it would help their marriage be even better if they each had a “freebie night”.  This would be one night when they could each be with another partner for the night – with no penalty.

Darren is shocked and hurt when he thinks that Annie actually slept with someone else.  The movie deals with the aftermath as they try to put their marriage back together.

My two cents: I went in with a bad attitude because I can’t stand Dax Shepard.  The premise seemed a bit flimsy.  I really liked the Annie character – which helped me to really get steamed over the stupidity of his reaction when he learns (or thinks he learns?) that she was successful. I had a hard time lasting to the end of the movie.  I know it is just acting . . . but Darren was SUCH an SOB.  Definitely two thumbs down from me for this movie.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Movie: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Cast: Michael Nyqvist, Noomi Rapace, Lena Endre

Genre: thriller

I saw it on: November 16, 2010

Synopsis: The third (and probably last) installment of the Stiegg Larson trilogy.  You think Lizbeth is finally safe after wacking her homicidal father with an ax, but not so.  She is charged with attempted murder.  Things get worse when the rogue intelligence group from her father’s past re-enters the picture and starts pulling strings to get her permanently committed to an asylum.

How Lizbeth and her friends manage to survive makes for an intensely enjoyable movie.  The ending is to die for – literally. 

My two cents: I loved the books and loved the first two movies, so I was confident I would like this – and I did.  Every time you think the world has finished hammering Lizbeth, she gets hammered even more.  This was a great movie with a great ending.

My only negative thoughts are that I wish they had included more details from the novel on how Lizbeth was able to establish communication with Mikael.   Also would like to have seen Lizbeth’s guardian (the original good one) included in the movie the way he was in the novel.  But I guess you can’t have everything.

Skyline

Movie: Skyline

Cast: Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, Donald Faison, David Zayas

Genre: horror, sci-fi, monster

I saw it on: November 18, 2010

Synopsis: Jarrod (Eric Balfour) and his girlfriend are visiting his really really rich friend (Donald Faison) in Los Angeles.  They get there just in time to witness an invasion of alien space ships.  They all join up with the building superintendant (David Zayas from Dexter) to try and survive.

My two cents: A lot of action and a lot of big bad aliens and robotic aircraft.  The movie was a little short on plot – but made up for it in special effects and some impressive hard-to-kill aliens.  My biggest complaint is how long these people would look at enormous alien creatures before it entered their head to RUN!.  If you like good old fashioned sci-fi alien invasion movies, you should like this.  Just don’t expect something as good as Independence Day.