Movie reviews

Well, I promised a couple movie reviews from my first weekend of recovery from surgery and now is that time. (I'm actually at work today but there is nothing happening here, so blogging will have to suffice for real work.)

First off, this post may be the very first time that I've not shared an opinion with Lawdog. We've both been to see Shooter , he pans it pretty thoroughly here. On the other hand, I liked it but I haven't read the original story as Lawdog did, so maybe that's the difference. Shooter is a "guy" movie and its full of deception, doublecross and retaliation. Its also full of shooting, some very long range and some more close in and personal and it is chock full of 'splody things. There are a couple very pretty women in this movie just to keep it interesting.

Lawdog thinks that this movie is full of political agenda and represents poorly numerous events that have transpired over the past couple years. He doesn't like Mark Walberg as a wronged, good ole' country boy just trying to clear his name through precisely placed bullets. And Lawdog is right. I've given up caring about the agendas of movie makers and actors & actresses though because I know that I would probably never see another movie if I only attended those that agreed with my point of view on politics. Instead, I just try to enjoy the story for the story and I enjoyed this one. I really liked it- hey I said it’s a "guy" movie already didn't I?

So what to tell? Mark Walberg is the main character, a former Marine Sniper-Scout that looses his partner in a operation that goes bad. He's retired to a quiet life in the mountains of Montana with his guns and a good dog. When he gets visited by a Suburban full of guys in dark suits with a story of trying to protect the president from an assasination plot, he takes the bait and becomes not only a fall guy but the focus of a vigorous, wide-spread manhunt. In the ensuing efforts to clear his name and vindicate the killing of his dog he hooks up with the beautiful widow of his former partner and a rookie FBI agent that is also trying to clear his reputation after loosing his firearm to the shooter.

Explosions and shooting ensue, lot of each to keep your attention. Think of this movie as an American James Bond film for the action and adventure and unlikely circumstances that only one guy, with the help of beautiful women could could pull off, and you won't be disappointed. There is one scene where Shooter and his now sidekick FBI agent go shopping for everything they need to reign mayhem down on the black-uniformed commandos that I could swear was filmed at a local emporium, Smith & Edwards. S&E is a legend out here in Utah for its selection of everything from military surplus to home improvement to horse tack and the store where this scene was filmed looked just like the inside of our local legend.

My favorite line in the movie? As Shooter prepares to leave his Montana cabin to go east, he makes a phone call to a friend asking him to come around to feed Sam the dog. The line is, "Feed Sam once a day and if he gets lonely, read him some ballistics tables."

The second movie we saw last weekend was Reign Over Me starring Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler. This is a powerful and painful story of the re-connection between two old college roomates, in New York City and post-9-11. One character, Cheadle's is a succesful dentist with a thriving practice and adoring patients, Sandler's character is a scooter riding, vinyl album collecting hermit suffering through the pain of loosing his entire family when American Airlines flight 11 was flown into the north tower of the World Trade Center. Through a chance connection the two men are reunited and the pain and strain of living through this grief becomes shared. Reign Over Me is a gripping and sober story that both the spouse and I really liked. I recommend it and don't think you will be disappointed by spending your movie budget on a viewing. This one could be DVD purchase for me in the future.

Finally, just because we never saw Syriana at the theater, we rented it for the weekend. It is a complex story that requires close attention and overall, I'm glad I rented it instead of seeing it at the theater. Its really too dense a tale to portray in a couple hours of movie, and, like most movies, it has a political agenda that you may or may not agree with or even understand. Its worth seeing but I didn't love it.