30 Days of Night

In Barrow, Alaska, for a full month every winter, the sun never rises and the entire town is plunged into darkness. So, what better place for vampires to show up and go on a feeding frenzy? It's up to the town's sheriff (Josh Hartnettt) and his estranged wife (Melissa George) to hold back the forces of evil before all of the citizens are drained of their blood.

Why 30 Days of Night received bad reviews by professional critics is a mystery to me. Do they realize that going to a movie is supposed to be fun? Night is a fun, exciting, and suspenseful movie experience. The vampires are scary and the special effects are well done. Jamie says "7".

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) stumbles across a pickup truck surrounded by several corpses and filled with heroin and two million dollars in cash, which he promptly takes off with. However, attempting to retrieve the stolen booty are the proper owners of the drugs and money, who are none too pleased, including a psychotic killer (Javier Bardem) who judges people's lives with the flip of a coin.

Bardem's portrayal of Anton Chigurh is epic. If Hannibal Lector is the #1 villain of all time, Chigurh is 1A. Not since The Terminator has a killer killed with the emotion of a rock. He kills out of anger, he kills for revenge, and most upsetting he kills for simple convenience. Chigurh does all of this without flinching.

No Country For Old Men should be seen in the theater. It's desert landscapes and wide open spaces are translated to the audience much more convincingly than the best of any large television screens at home.

Like most Cohen brother's films, it has a quirky ending. In all of their other films the odd endings work well. In Country, the ending didn't work...That's why the film gets a "9" instead of a perfect score.

THE HOAX

Based on the controversial true story, Clifford Irving (Richard Gere) was a failed writer in the 1970s who couldn't sell a book to save his life. That is, until he claimed reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes dictated his life to him, which was, of course, a flat-out lie. As The Autobiography of Howard Hughes got published and became an instant hit, Irving had to continue to spin an increasingly convoluted web of lies to prove his book was authentic.

It's a shame The Hoax was not released nationally last Spring, because the public missed a great film. Gere's performance may be the best of his career. Alfred Molina, who plays Irving's assistant also does a great job. Gere and Molina both deserve an Oscar nomination. Jamie says "9".

Richard Gere's TOP FIVE Movies

1. Sommersby
2. The Hoax
3. Primal Fear
4. Internal Affairs
5. Chicago

REIGN OVER ME

After losing his wife and kids in the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Charlie (Adam Sandler) goes into a severe depression and retreats from the world. Luckily, he runs into his old college roommate, Alan (Don Cheadle), who feels sorry for his old friend and does his best to draw him back out.

This is Sandler's 3rd attempt to persuade movie goers that he is a serious actor. Although he did a good job in all 3 (Punch Drunk Love, Spanglish are the other 2 efforts) it's difficult to take him seriously when you remember him in previous roles chasing imaginary penguins and taking golf lessons from Apollo Creed. Don't get me wrong...I like Billy Madison just as much as the average college sophomore...I simply cringe when goofy actors try to tackle drama when they should know their audience prefers goofy over serious material.

Reign Over Me is a good film. You will like it more if you are unfamiliar with Sandler's past work. Jamie says "7".

In the Land of Women

Carter Webb (Adam Brody) gets dumped by the love of his life, Sophia (Elena Anaya), leaves Los Angeles, and escapes to suburban Michigan to care for his ailing grandmother. There, he befriends a single mom (Meg Ryan) and her two daughters (Kristen Stewart, Makenzie Vega) and gets caught up in their complicated family that make his own seem small and inconsequential.

Adam Broday looks like he's 19 years old. His character is in his mid to late 20's. Although this bothered me...What bothered me most was that his age was never brought up. Is it normal for a 20-something to be going through a mid-life crisis.

Meg Ryan has always been likable. I was glad to see her on screen after a 3 year hiatus.

The plot misses some key story points but it does supply some witty dialogue. Jamie says "6".