just rented and watched 21. This is actually a great movie, based on a true story of some MIT students who went to Vegas on a blackjack card counting spree. Very entertaining.

Friend of my daughter's was going to see Batman on I-max, that would be cool.

Later
TY

Been catching up on my Netflix and recently watched two very good, but very different movies:

(1) A History of Violence - starring Viggo Mortenson and Maria Bello in the lead roles, and Ed Harris and William Hurt in two small, but strong supporting roles. Very interesting movie. It makes you think. It poses the questions - how well do you think you know somebody, how well do you think you know yourself, and, how much are you willing to put up with in the name of love?

(2) Il Postino - a very charming story from Italy about an ordinary guy, a postman, who falls in love with the most beautiful woman in this island village, but is afraid to approach her. He enlists the aid of the famous poet Pablo Neruda, who has who has befriended him while exiled to the island, to help him woe the young lady. A bittersweet side story regarding this movie: It stars Massimo Triosi, who plays the postman, Mario. Massimo needed heart surgery during the filming of this movie, but postponed it until after filming so he could complete the movie. The day after filming ended, he suffered a fatal heart attack.

I'm a little late due to some connection issues. I saw The Dark Knight and actually, for the first time in my life, attended the midnight premiere. It's not quite so bad when you can hang out in a blues bar for a while after work before heading to the theater.
Anyway, I loved it.
If there's one problem I had with it, it's that some scenes were too short. Yeah, I know, if they tarried, the movie would have been 4 hours long. But they set up these elaborative sequences, and then don't spend any time with them - like that plane that picked him up out of Tokyo. Why go through all the trouble for such a quick scene?
As for character development, well, this is a Batman movie. That we saw a choice-driven dark side of the hero is enough for me. I'm not expecting Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest when I see this type of movie. On the other hand, they could/should have made Rachel a little more than an armpiece for Dent. Apart from the Joker, I enjoyed Gordon's development.
All that said, it is my favorite of all Batman movies. The present series is far better than the Tim Burton efforts. I liked a couple of those but didn't enjoy them as thoroughly.

I saw "Swing Vote" over the weekend. Great movie! It so parallels the flip-flopping that candidtaes will do for any votes. Kelsey Grammer and Dennis Hopper as the candidates are terrific. Finally I think Kevin Costner may have a good movie under his belt. His last few have been less than stellar.

If this is true it looks like very sad news about Paul Newman:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4650656a1860.html

I rented Transformers over the weekend. I was very pleased. When it came out, I was interested but a little worried that they might make it too cartoonish. But after hearing some positive reviews from several friends, I decided to check it out.
It is very nicely done. I liked all the human characters - even that idiot played by John Turturro was enjoyable.
A fan of the 1980s Transformers cartoon series, I had one minor disappointment. Wheeljack wasn't in the movie. (I guess Jazz was supposed to be Wheeljack made over?)
Other than that, I enjoyed it.

Saw "Swing Vote" over the weekend. It was entertaining, and timely. Kevin Costner seems to be on his way back. The little girl who played his daughter stole the show though.

Watched "Breach" last night, starring Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillipe, and Laura Linney. (Dennis Haysbert had a small supporting role.) Really good movie about the Robert Hansen spy case that occured here in DC a few years ago. I remember reading about it in the newspaper, seeing it on the Tv news, and learning about it from the exhibit at the International Spy Museum. Amazing!

Pretty good DVD bonus featurres as well. They talk to the real Eric O'Neill, (played by Ryan Phillipe in the movie) who worked for Hansen, and who initially work the memior which the screenplay is based on.

Caught a couple of my Netflix movies this weekend:

"Blood Diamond"
starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connolly, and Djiman Hounsou (I know I totally spelled his name wrong.) A little hard for me to watch for all of the violence, especially the violence committed by those young children, but, it was a necessary part of the story. Djiman Hounsou is great. He should have won an Oscar for his role here. (He was nominated but didn't win.) This movie really made me think about diamonds and what it takes to bring those diamonds to the rest of the world. Never really thought about it before.

"Talk To Me"
starring Don Cheadle and Chewitol Ejioufer (another name I'm sure I screwed up.) Don Cheadle is one of the most talented actors we have today. He plays Petey Greene, a local DJ and ex-con who had a very successful radio program in the late 60's and through to the 70's here in Washington, DC. It was nice seeing him do this type of role, vs. something so heavy and serious as "Hotel Rwanda." (It was worth it to see him walking around in his red velvet suit, looking like a pimp. The scene of him dancing in his matching blue undies and t-shirt is hilarious!) I'm also glad that Chewitol is getting more roles and more well known here in the states. I saw him in "Dirty Pretty Things" and liked him right away. The soundtrack from this movie is great - James Brown, the Staple Singers, Clarence Carter, Archie Bell & the Drells, (you get the picture) and, when they're rollling the credits, a kick butt version of "Compared to What" by MeShell Ndegecello (again, the spelling of these names) and Terence Blanchard.

Sweet, Mary. I have to keep my eyes out for that one.

Saw "Vicky Christina Barcelona" a few weeks ago. It's the latest from Woody Allen starring Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruise, and Scarlett Johansen. I wasn't that crazy about it, although the chemistry between real life couple Bardem and Cruz is explosive.

Saw "Body of Lies" over the weekend. I have to say I was a little disappointed. Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio were both good (as they usually are) but I thought the movie dragged on a little too long. Plus, I didn't like the ending. I was expecting a lot from this movie because of the pedigree - the two leading actors, directed by Ridley Scott who did such a fabulous job with "Gladiator," and the screenplay was written by the same persom who wrote the one for "The Departed," (which I absolutely loved.) A little disappointed.