Tag Archives: Denzel Washington

Nov20

Unstoppable is a fun ride!

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Budge had a great idea yesterday. She finished grading the week’s worth of fourth graders’ work much earlier than usual so she asked me out on a date. Since I’ve been out of work going on two years now, date nights are few and far between, so I figured we’d just pay a bill late and go have a little fun.

We’d both wanted to see Unstoppable with Denzel Washington and Chris “the new Captain Kirk” Pine ever since we caught a trailer on one of the trailer sites. Denzel is one of my favorite actors ever and I really enjoyed Chris Pine’s portrayal of Kirk in the Star Trek reboot, so we went to Hollywood 20 and took in the 3:10 matinee.

Apparently some movie about a bunch of teenage wizards fighting some evil dude was released the same day, so our theater was sparsely populated, which is great because I get wildly claustrophobic in crowds. I’ve only broken down four times in ten years and actually gone to the opening weekend of a blockbuster and that was once for each installment of Lord of the Rings and once for Star Trek. Otherwise, I let everyone get his fill and go once things have quieted down.

So, popcorn in hand, we took our seats.

The movie was great. Now don’t get me wrong; it’s no Oscar vehicle, but it’s not over the top ridiculous either. The good guys are easy to root for and the bad guys don’t get much air time . . . except for the runaway train, which is pretty much on screen tons. Both leading men turned in solid performances and several supporting members, including one or two you are certain at the beginning will grate on your nerves, actually become quite likable and you start rooting for them as much as Denzel and Chris.

Like I said, it’s not an Oscar winner at all, but if you want a fun, low key, high adrenaline way to pass an afternoon, this short (99 minutes) but action packed film is just perfect. It’s even got enough “romance” to sneak in as a possible date night movie for someone other than old married couples.

If you do go see it, though, I have one request. Please comment and tell me your theory on where in the world Ned had that nice, pressed three piece suit stashed for the entire film! If you see the movie, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

Love y’all and have a good rest of the weekend!

Keep those feet clean.

Jan20

Movie Review of “The Book of Eli”

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Budge and I went to see The Book of Eli yesterday on her day out of school.

I was impressed and moved by the film. Before I go any further, let me say that I will avoid spoilers in this post, BUT if you found out Bruce Willis was dead in The Sixth Sense before you saw it or if you learned of Brad Pitt’s dual identity in Fight Club before the DVD came out OR, going way old school, you knew the twist in The Crying Game before the kissing / toilet scene, GO SEE THE BOOK OF ELI BEFORE YOU TALK TO ANYONE ABOUT IT!! Don’t read Wikipedia’s article, don’t go to IMDb or any other such sites because if you know how the movie ends, A LOT of the mystery and “amazingness” gets killed quicker than the cat in the opening scene.

This is a good movie for my money. I enjoyed it; Budge enjoyed it, and all our friends who’ve been to see it have enjoyed it. Denzel Washington is excellent as the “Man with No Name Until the End of the Movie Unless You Are Paying Close Attention Towards the Middle.” Gary Oldman is a thoroughly despicable and reprehensible villain. Even the minor characters are well acted and, from the looks of it, they really bought in to the movie’s message and feel. I just thought it was a powerful message about one man’s drive to fulfill a mission he believes to be of divine origin.

The movie is filled with enough action to appeal to the action adventure freaks out there. It has plenty of mystery and you don’t realize until the end just how much mystery it does have. Finally, just like a cherry on top, it’s got philosophy and I like my movies to make me think. One thing I thought about and noticed is that even in this day of political correctness and toleration in America when every faith but Christianity is accepted and embraced, the book that Washington’s character goes to such awesome lengths to protect and defend isn’t the Analects of Confucius, the Tao Te Ching, or the Qu’ran. It isn’t even on Oprah’s Book Club list. It’s a Holy Bible.

Now, if you don’t like Christianity or if you even happen to be an atheist, that’s fine. What book would you want to use to try to direct a slowly rebirthing civilization down a good path? Personally, I think the choice Denzel makes is a good one.