Monday, January 07, 2008

Recently Viewed

In an effort to atone for my complete blog-neglect as of late, here are some brief thoughts on movies we've watched in recent weeks.

Ocean's 13 -- Lots of fun, and of course, the ensemble cast is great. We actually re-watched the first two to prepare for this one. I still think the first one was the best, but 13 is a close second.

Live Free or Die Hard -- Admittedly, I was skeptical about the latest Die Hard film. However, I found it surprisingly entertaining, albeit mindlessly so. Mac Guy makes a decent sidekick, but I still think John McClane works better alone. I was underwhelmed by the main villain, who was pretty bland (especially compared to Alan Rickman and Jeremy Irons). But the outrageous action sequences made up for these shortcomings. Oh, and to may shame, I must confess my disappointment at the way they edited out "Mister Falcon." (He who has ears, let him understand.)

Amazing Grace -- Good biopic about William Wilberforce and his quest to abolish the slave trade in Britain. The movie was well made, with a very good cast. Also, it didn't shy away from the link between Wilberforce's Christian faith and his pro-abolition work in Parliament, as well as the influence of John Newton. My only complaint was that it was a wee bit heavy-handed in places, especially in how it tried to play up the link between Wilberforce and the titular song. But overall, it was enjoyable and worth seeing.

The Bourne Ultimatum -- As with the Ocean's films, we rented the previous installments before watching the latest one. (As an aside -- Mr. Eko is in the first Bourne film! Crazy.) I think I liked the 3rd Bourne the best. The pace of the film is relentless, with almost no downtime. I'm usually a sucker for action-thrillers in the first place, but this film is extremely well-done. Highly recommended.

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