Odds & Ends

Movie Review: Collateral Damage (2002)

Caught this on TV when nothing else was on. Worth a pass.

5/10

Movie Review: June Bug (2005)

An excellent look at a Southern family and their foibles. Highly recommended. The acting is superb. No wonder Ebert called this one of the year's top 10.

8/10

Movie Review: Mr. & Mrs. Smith - Unrated Version (2005)

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie play 2 married assassins who's next targets are their spouses. Good action and fun.

7/10

Movie Review: Havoc - Unrated Version (2005)

2 girls from the good side of the tracks become enamored with LA gangsters and their lifestyles. This film is supposed to be the breakout part for Anne Hathaway but besides showing her doing some very unprincess like things it doesn't have much else.

7/10

Movie Review: Borat (2006)

Very, very funny. Borat pushes the edges of character comedy to the limit. Unfortunately the success of this movie spells the end of the adventures of Borat though.

9/10

Movie Review: The Lost Tomb of Jesus (2007)

7/10

Movie Review: The Great Raid (2005)

Based on the true story of a mission to rescue GI's from a prison camp in the Philippines. I didn't know much about this part of the War so I found it very interesting. Not a classic though.

7/10

Movie Review: The Matador (2005)

A great film with Pierce Brosnan playing the exact opposite of his usual James Bond-cool self.

8/10

Movie Review: Romance & Cigarettes (2005)

A fun musical from the mind of John Turturro.
7/10

Movie Review: Children of Men (2006)

Looks like a sci-fi version of 'Black Hawk Down'. Very gritty and realistic.
7.5/10

TV Review: Lost - Season 3

TV Review: Battlestar Galactica - Season 3

TV Review: Curb Your Enthusiasm - Season 3

Book Review: Eats, Shoots & Leaves - Lynne Truss
A very funny book about English punctuation. Worth a read, and wouldn't you like to know how to use a semicolon properly?

Book Review: Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice 8: The Final Reckoning - Jude Watson

Robert Altman: The Later Years

Movie Review: The Player (1992)

Altman's classic skewering of Hollywood and its many players. Featuring virtually everone in Hollywood in cameos as themselves. A must see. 9/10

Movie Review: Short Cuts (1993)

Based on a collection of short stories by Raymond Carver. The formula; a group of seemingly unrelated people end up impacting on each other's lives. This style has been much copied recently but it all started with Altman. 7.5/10

Movie Review: Kansas City (1996)

Jennifer Jason Leigh and Miranda Richardson lead this wild night of Jazz filled mayhem in Kansas City in the 1930's. Leigh is great as a gruff talking woman who's kidnapped a Governor's wife in a bid to get her husband back from the mob. 7/10

Movie Review: Gosford Park (2001)

The clue board game come to life. A riveting look at both the privileged and working class at a country estate in England just as a murder occurs. The bumbling detective is hilarious and every part is played to perfection. 8/10

Movie Review: A Prairie Home Companion (2006)

A fitting farewell film by Altman. This film follows the bacstage antics of the castmembers of a popular live musical radio show. The cast is huge and everyone just IS their character. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin just shine and heck, even Lindsay Lohan is good here. 8/10

Book Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

The penultimate Potter book. Once again Potter is a little more moody and brooding than I'd care for, but this time he's got a reason. Voldemort is on the attack and things are at their most dire. The shocker ending is also great. What a setup for book 7!