Vive la Movie Board Thread!

Hadn't checked in on this one for awhile, so here's a few short takes on some recent movies:

Hollywoodland: This movie struck me as rather disjointed. It's two plots intertwined that mix the rise and fall of George Reeves (Ben Affleck)and the P.I. hired to investigate his death (Adrien Brody). The movie jumps back and forth between the two characters with shifting references to time. Sometimes this can work. But in this case, the viewer has a hard time connecting to either character.

Speaking of characters, both were oddly cast. Brody seems like a college kid who's trying to play a tough guy, P.I. role and never quite succeeds. The relationship with his son gets a bit tedious and really doesn't help the plot along in any meaningful way.

In comparison, Affleck rises admirably to the role, but utlimately, he too, falls a bit short. Try as you might, you just can't see him as Reeves.

And so you're left with a movie that never quite pulls you in and just sort of stumbles along to a very anticlimactic and ambiguous conclusion.

Ratatouille: This has to be one of the best looking movies I have ever seen on my home theater. The audio track was also first-rate. Can't say much more than has already been said about this flick. As someone who loves to cook, I found the story pretty engaging and the culinary references / humor were entertaining. I've never been a big fan of bonus features, but the segment with Thomas Keller of the French Laundry was worth the extra time after the film.

The Simpsons Movie: Hilarious. Definitely will see this one again just to catch all the one-liners.