Rented four for the Halloween weekend and just finished them. They were all very good; no disappointments in the bunch.
Eagle Eye
The premise was, of course, ridiculous, but I thought it was well-acted, fun, and contained some very intense and well-filmed action sequences. Bonus points for being a Chicago movie. Shia LaBeouf is a surprisingly likable actor and has excellent screen presence. And from a shallower perspective, Michelle Monaghan is pretty close to a dream girl for me, and, and looked as good as she did in MI3 and Gone Baby Gone. Good to see Chiklis in an extended cameo as the SecDef. Rosario Dawson was also quite strong. Most of the military sequences were at least plausible, and the cinematography and scoring were above-average for this genre.
7.2/10
The International
This is one of those movies that some people are going to like, and some are going to find pretentious and boring. It's a thriller, but (with one big exception) is relatively low on action scenes. The on-location shooting, in locations all over Europe (with Berlin standing in for NYC in most scenes) and including a relatively rare glimpse of Istanbul, was fantastic, and Clive Owen was in Clive Owen Intense Mode, as he was in Inside Man, but with more of a story to work with. The movie happened to be released in a very timely manner, just as the banking crisis hit home. I rewatched portions of it and listened to the DVD commentary track by the writer and the director, which was one of those "talkover"-type commentaries, but it was still interesting. One downer: Naomi Watts' character is completely superfluous, and apart from some truly laughable dialogue that she exchanges with her New York County DA boss about the meaning of justice, her role was totally forgettable and could have been played by anyone.
7.2/10
Duplicity
Yeah, so the SO is a Clive Owen fan; sue us. I thought this was a cleverly plotted comedy-thriller, which is a fairly difficult genre to do properly. The time progression is non-linear, and the ending is a bit of a surprise. There are loads of solid comedic moments, including a possible nod to "No Country For Old Men" in the dialogue that is hilarious, outstanding performances all around (including critically important supporting roles for Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti), and the corporate espionage theme resonates well. Think "Michael Clayton" as a comedy, without any real violence, and that captures the mood. Well-directed and acted. I hadn't seen Julia Roberts in a movie for a loooong time (since the Ocean series, I think) and I thought she was quite good.
7.9/10
Zodiac
A mostly true-to-life account of the Zodiac murders in an around San Francisco in the 60s and 70s that is gripping, understated, and powerful. Jake Gyllenhaal surprised me with a strong take on the unassuming lead character, there was a wonderful supporting part turned in by Robert Downey, Jr., and Mark Ruffalo was outstanding as the SFPD Inspector who inspired both Dirty Harry and Bullitt (with nods to each in the script). The flick is controversial because it implies one viewpoint on the never-solved case with which many strongly disagree, but I didn't know much about Zodiac going in, so that didn't bother me. This is a SUPERB recreation of the sixties and seventies in San Francisco (I wasn't there, but it jibes with everything else I've read and seen), and is worth watching as a period piece alone. Top-flight direction by Fincher and an outstanding supporting cast. Ione Skye (remember her?) has a great uncredited cameo in what is arguably the movie's scariest scene. Highly recommended.
9.2/10
. But all in all, I was entertained.
I'm in the same boat. Started Season 1 last monday. Only have 5 episodes of Season 2 left to go which hopefully I'll be able to knock out tonight.Draws me in like none other, sounds hard to believe but the 1960's office culture is nearly as compelling as Baltimore's drug/political culture seen in the Wire.A few months ago I made a claim that Sons of Anarchy was the most entertaining show on television. Scratch that, it is about 20 rungs down the ladder from Mad Men.Don Draper has joined Stringer Bell and Shane Vendrell as my all time favorite television characters. Things didn't end so well for Stringer and Shane.....Best episode in the series so far for me was mid-way through Season 1 involving lunchtime drinking and a double order of oysters.
I'll be watching this one this week. 89% on RT 
). not as optimistic (at least in his writing and outlook) as other seminal golden sci fi era writers like heinlein, asimov and clarke, his temperment and sensibilities made him well equipped to conjure up and evoke a powerful sense of dread of the unknown, at times bordering on and encroaching on the realm of horror... kind of like if stephen king had been a brilliant sci fi writer. at his best, he is able to imbue his stories with a depth and dimensionality of character development that can leave the work of less talented exemplars in the genre looking like stiff, cardboard cutouts in comparison.
Probably one of the best movies I've seen in 2009, and I had no expectations going in, which made it even better. 2007, it turns out, was a *really* good year for movies.
