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Wednesday - June 28, 2006
Strange pair
I used my Xbox Live Diamond card, to get 'Rent one, get one free' at Hollywood Video. The advantage to this is that I get to pick a movie, and so does Lara. My choice, Lord of War, and hers The Family Stone.
We enjoyed Lord of War, but it's not exactly a 'feel-good' kind of movie. Nick Cage is perfectly cast as a gun-runner that somehow can separate the morality and business of his profession. He even compares himself to car salesman. He rationalizes it by the fact that they're going to get their guns regardless, so he might as well sell them. Ethan Hawke plays the righteous 'hero' law enforcement that is constantly trying to arrest Cage. Finally, Eamonn Walker does a great job as he plays an African warlord, one of Cage's big clients. You may remember Walker from recent episodes of ER set in Darfur. Be sure to check out some of the trivia from IMDB. I really like the tidbit: "According to Andrew Niccol, the filmmakers worked with actual gunrunners in the making of the film. The tanks lined up for sale were owned by a gunrunner who had to have them back to sell to another country. They used a real stockpile of over 3,000 AK-47s because it was cheaper than getting prop guns. The gunrunners were more cooperative and efficient than the studio or the crew."
The Family Stone was actually much better than I anticipated, but again it's not a comedy. Sarah Jessica Parker's city-girl character goes to visit her boyfriend's family for Christmas. Most of the movie centers around the alienation she feels, and is effectively communicated to the viewer. Half of the movie you just feel bad for her. The evolution of the love story seems a little unlikely to me, but if you can let that go, it's a good movie... again as long as you're not expecting a comedy. As always, I enjoyed Luke Wilson, and the other cast members put in good performances, including Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, and Craig T. Nelson.
Posted by jcraven at June 28, 2006 12:06 PM