Vindauga

I have managed, thanks to the lull between semesters, to see some movies. Some you should see as well, others you should not waste your money on.

1. War - I don’t want to keep you in suspense, I was bored to tears with this movie. I know what you are thinking ‘How could Jet Li and Jason Statham make a boring movie?’ Let me tell you. Its not an action film, its a crime drama. And, it is a not particularly interesting crime drama. Its slow and predictable with no character development and a twist that doesn’t make you reconsider anything. On the Hud scale of movie ratings, this scores a “Watch It When It Comes On Cable.” And , it would rate, were I feeling particularly pissy, “This Movie Needs A Monkey.”

2. Superbad - Hilarious. Seriously, I know this movie is being talked up a ton right now. And, you’ve got to love a mythology that includes ‘it was written when Rogen was in high school.’ But don’t fret, it lives up to the hype. Go and laugh, laugh until your sides hurt.

3. Stardust - I don’t understand why this movie isn’t doing better right now. I suspect that it is, for its star power, going to be a bit of a sleeper. Its good.

4. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) - I was flipping channels and stopped on this because I <i><b>needed</i></B> to know what movie could possibly have Spencer Tracy and William Shatner. You heard me, the Shat is in this movie. Before you go out and buy it you should be aware that he is a minor character, I just happened to see a scene with him in it. Its also got Montgomery Clift, Richard Widmark, Burt Lancaster, Marlene Dietrich, and Maximilian Schell (Maximilian is a bad ass name). Its a nifty movie. Spencer Tracy tries to grapple with what happened in WWII, how Germans could let it happen. All the other characters exhibit the various responses, American and German, to the war. This movie is worth watching for Tracy’s speech alone.

5. Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey -  Sadly, kind of boring. Its neat to learn about Theremin, how he was kidnapped by the KGB and stuff, but it needs more.

6. The Bourne Ultimatum - Better than The Bourne Supremacy but that might be a back-handed compliment. Matt Damon said, in an interview, that the worst review for the movie included the line “Would someone please get Paul Greengrass a motherfucking steady-cam” and no truer words have been spoken about the film.