Appaloosa (2008, U.S.)

I really have next to nothing to say about this one. I can't really even remember what the plot was about. I do remember that Renée Zellweger was underwhelming (unusual), Ed Harris was Ed Harris (underwhelming), and Viggo Mortensen was Viggo Mortensen (understated but wonderful performance).

I think westerns just aren't my thing. Maybe this movie wasn't bad, but it bored me to tears. Disappointing.

Rating: 2.0

The Human Stain (2003, U.S.)

I saw this movie on TV a couple of years ago and had an overall good impression of it, but I didn't see the whole thing from the beginning. So I decided to watch it again. (Also, I needed a bit of a Wentworth fix before Prison Break stated back on Monday... but that's a post for another day.)

To begin with, The Human Stain has a stellar cast—Sir Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Wentworth Miller, Gary Sinise. Even Ed Harris, who I normally could live without, is quite good in this film. Add to that a wonderful score by Rachel Portman, who's one of my favorites. (Little surprise here—Portman has been nominated for two Oscars and has won a third... the first woman to do so.) So all in all, the film just couldn't be bad.

And the plot is also quite great. Coleman Silk, a seemingly white man born of black parents, living his life as a Jewish classics professor, is accused of making a racist remark, which costs him his wife and his career. Nobody knows about his heritage, but the viewer discovers it through flashbacks of his young adulthood. (Enter Wentworth Miller, who was great in this role. Interestingly, Miller's father is supposedly black, though you may not know it to look at him. I bet this role was strange for him.) At this point, other people start coming into Silk's life. A white-trash woman (Kidman) with an abusive ex-husband (Harris) and a closet full of skeletons. A novelist (Sinise) suffering from writer's block and hiding out from the world.

Through his interactions with these people and the accompanying flashbacks, Silk's history slowly unfolds. It's about racial idenity and living a lie and how it changes a person and his life. It was really well crafted, yet I found myself wanting more. I felt like I was having to make to many connections / analyze too much myself. It just could have had more... something. I feel like I need to read the book to get the whole story now. In fact, I think I will.

So I liked it, but I could have liked it more.

Rating: 3.5

Gone Baby Gone (2007, U.S.)

I have to agree with what a lot of people have been saying—Ben Affleck makes a much better director than actor. His brother is definitely the better actor. Still, even though I'd seen Casey Affleck in plenty of movies before, since seeing The Assassination of Jesse James, I've been unable to think of him as anyone but Robert Ford. Once I get used to him as a new character, I definitely begin to enjoy the new movie more.

I don't have much to say about this film. It was okay. It wasn't quite "just another mystery," but it was close. There were definitely more (and better) twists, but I spent a lot of the movie not quite sure what was going on, so it was hard to enjoy. Once I got to the ending and it all came together, I thought "Wow, good stuff." It just took too long to get there. The ending definitely leaves you something to think about and discuss over the dinner table though.

Other positive aspects of the movie: cast/acting, score by Harry Gregson-Williams (who I've loved since the brilliant Kingdom of Heaven score)—especially "Opening," end credits song by Alexi Murdoch (who I also love, and I wish I could get my hands on this new song), and... that's about it. So pretty much the cast and the music.

Besides the deep philosophical/moral questions I was left with after this film, I did have one other question: why does every movie I see that takes place in Boston involve squalor, crime, and corrupted cops/politicians, etc.? I used to think Boston was a nice place, until I started watching movies. Hmmm.

Rating: 3.0