Married Life

Rating: 7

Because it could be described as a bit talky, Married Life may not be for everyone (the movie or the institution.) But in the case of the movie, there's lust, betrayal and poison, as well as Chris Cooper, Pierce Brosnan, Patricia Clarkson and Rachel McAdams. I can dig it.

R.I.P. Jules Dassin : 1911-2008

Here's a review I did of The Naked City. Other favorites include Brute Force, a little-known Burt Lancaster prison movie, and the brilliant Rififi, which Dassin made in France after being blacklisted in the States, and against which I must compare all other heist flicks. Wikipedia says about the film, "The film's legendary 'heist sequence' not present in its source novel was an invention of the director and has since been imitated on countless occasions." This was undoubtedly the case with the break-in scene in The Bank Job, which I just saw last week.

Jules Dassin lived a good long life, like all great directors should.

The Bank Job

Rating: 9

Terrific movie! See it!!

21

Rating: 5

What happened to the Kevin Spacey of American Beauty and Usual Suspects? Now he's just a producer/scenery chewer. Which would be OK if the movies were decent. There's nothing new in 21, and a lot of horrible dialogue.

Snow Angels

Rating: 8

This film is a pretty big downer, but it's well-written, the characters are complicated and interesting, and let's face it: Sam Rockwell is a genius.

R.I.P. Anthony Minghella

Anthony Minghella directed the wonderful films The Talented Mr. Ripley and Cold Mountain. His lush and atmospheric movies will be missed.

For full obituary, look here.

Doomsday

Rating: 6.5

If you're a fan of the post-apocalypse as well as medieval gladiator-type stuff, and if you chuckle at violence humor such as decapitation and humans being barbequed alive on a ginormous grill, you'll probably get a silly kick out of Doomsday. It is a very silly movie, but in a way I cannot quite grasp, or for that matter, describe.