Move A Day Update

So I've seen a number of films over the past few days but I've sincerely limited my time in front of the television, which is good...

On Monday I watched Inside Man (#6). Spike Lee is one of my favourite filmmakers, Crooklyn one of my favourite films, so I'll pretty much watch anything he makes with the exception of the abysmally reviewed She Hate Me. The trailer looked great but it sort of belies the film a bit; you get the impression that it's all about action, when it's more of a film noir take on the traditional heist movie. Denzel's excellent, but there's a silly subplot that involves his girlfriend/lover that didn't need to be there that kind of weakens his character. My favourite though? Well, besides the always impeccable Clive Owen and Jodie Foster, Chiwetel Ejiofor, who he plays Denzel's partner. As two hostage cops sent to deal with a bank robbery (run by Owen) that doesn't end up being what it looks like, Ejiofor and Washington are old-school cops in an age of big money and even bigger regrets. The film was a bit too long but it was okay for a Monday afternoon.

On Tuesday, I watched two films (I know I'm sorry!) but I'd been so good up until then and I was so tired and not feeling well after seeing the super-fancy disease doctor that I baked out in front of the tube.

Happy Endings (#7) is an indie film with shockingly good performances by everyone in the extremely large cast. The multiple storylines in the film hold together well, and leave you with a good sense of wanting to know how they all come into one by the end. I really liked this movie a lot, and even came out of it with a bit of a crush on Tom Arnold. Honestly. I'm not kidding.

The Assassination of Richard Nixon (#8). I'd been wanting to see this film for a long time after reading EW's excellent review. Based on the life of Sam Bicke, a somewhat unassuming fellow whose life falls apart inch by inch turning him into a man whose only goal seems to make a point. He can't hold down a job, his marriage has fallen apart, and he can't let anything go, and it's this incessant longing for respect (for what really, because Sam doesn't really do anything to deserve it) that pushes him toward a violent and upsetting act of terrorism. Sean Penn's wonderful, as per usual, but he tended to drop a bit into I Am Sam territory with some of Bicke's mannerisms.

But now I've got about a million shows on the Faux-vo to get caught up with so I might be movieless for a while!