The Uninvited (2009). A remake of a Korean film. Elizabeth Banks and David Strathairn are just about always worth a watch, but this one can be skipped. Less than 90 minutes though! Maybe I just prefer more loose ends?
Tag: davidstrathairn
L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential. I think I’ve re-watched this on accident two or three times. Somehow it just doesn’t stick, slides right out of my memory.
The Firm
The Firm. Better than I remember! I like that the early parts stay upbeat while maintaining the foreshadowing. You can be ominous without being dark. Good momentum through the whole thing. An even better Sydney Pollack film is Three Days of the Condor.
Godzilla (2014)
Godzilla (2014). This movie precisely met my expectations, which is kind of a treat in itself. I like how you end up rooting for the big guy. That said, I’m not sure I can describe how tired I am of seeing monsters roar at the screen. We’ve worn it out. The HALO jump scene is one of my favorites this year. Elizabeth Olsen is criminally under-featured. No good reason to waste all that talent, unless you’re also doing it with Watanabe, Binoche, Hawkins, Strathairn, Cranston… This movie is probably better overall, but Pacific Rim had better fightin’. I liked it.
Lincoln
Lincoln. The best movie about the legislative process released this year! For real, historical biography isn’t my thing (Lawrence of Arabia excepted), so I liked that the condensed timeline here moved it more into political drama with horse-trading and cajoling and backroom negotiation. I have my complaints (over-teaching; soft-focus soap opera lighting; lens flare; tokenism; etc.), but still… DDL is the man. His storytelling, along with the other individual performances, make it worthwhile.
Mark Larson 