Movie Theater Review - Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem - 2.75 stars

Video Review - I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry 2.5 stars

Video Review - The Lives of Others - 4.0 stars

fantastic cold war thriller about a east german stasi official assigned to spy on a presumed western leaning playwright, and the official's slow dawning of conscience. great roles for the official, playwright, and the woman who loves the playwright...

sad end to woman's character. touching shots of stasi official delivering mail and then looking at the book inscribed to him at end of movie...

Video Review - Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End - 3.0 stars

reasonably entertaining end to the pirates trilogy, tying up loose ends, etc. solid action/adventure trilogy/movies.

end scene with the maelstrom was almost too over the top with effects/action.

excellent scene with depp riding the pearl on the ocean of sand.

overall movie mostly for the completist and nothing groundbreaking...

Movie Theater Review - Atonement - 3.5 stars

solid adaptation of great book. all three actresses playing briony nailed it perfectly. well played by knightley and mcavoy. doesn't quite rise to the level of the english patient as far as literary adaptations with the star crossed/doomed lovers set against a war backdrop...

Video Review - Factotum - 3.25 stars

interesting character study of hank chanowski (matt dillon), a bum alcoholic who happens to be a poetical writer as well. bit of a metaphorical/existential ride through his life.

good interplay between him and lily taylor's character.

nice understated score. also well played by dillon, makes a jerk/loser of a character into something compelling...

Video Review - The Hoax - 3.0 stars

interesting true life tale of clifford irving, who perpetrated the hoax of trying write an autobiography of howard hughes without hughes's say so.

good role for richard gere. character who is unlikeable becomes interesting. nice and somewhat nuanced portrayal of irving's friend by alfred molina. not much use here for oscar winning marcia gay harden, sort of a cliche role of disapproving wife.

was intrigued by the movie's theory of how the book tied in to nixon's paranoia which led to watergate, and how hughes perhaps orchestrated much of the proceedings to regain the upper hand over nixon and gain several favorable airline and business rulings.

Video Review - Hot Fuzz - 3.5 stars

funny british comedy, parody of american buddy cop action movies like bad boys 2 and point break. great lead role for simon pegg, amusing secondary characters. good final action scenes...

good hamming it up role for timothy dalton...