Movies- The good The bland and The overated

There will be Blood

This is the worst movie I've ever sat through since The Aviator. (please don't stone me for hating the aviator-I understand on some dim level that it looked pretty) The gripping cinema-photography and good acting can seem enough for some movie goers, but I wanted something more when I rented this film. I wanted plot. I wanted characters who existed outside of predictable parameters.

Something terrible is happening in American cinema. The younger annoying brother I never had is materializing in the form of a violence and collateral obsessed 13 year old braggart. He thinks he knows something about women, but is terrified of them, so they never appear outside of crude conversational reference. Those who love him look at his potential, which as of now seems to rest in his high cheek bones, pretentious and "retro" fashion taste, ability to use large words in complex sentences, and the emergence of a strong jaw line. In other words he's a good looking brat who can charm even the most critical adult, if they don't have to spend too much time with him.

Spoiler. I realized what was wrong when the young preacher boy leapt across the table at his father. This was brutal. It had that wouldn't it be cool quality. And if this Oscar nod is an annoying young boy, then I'm going to say the next film on my list is the tantalizing class clown.

Batman- The Dark Knight

I didn't go to this film with high expectations, so when it turned out that the hype about Heath Ledger was true, well, its hard not to be satisfied. This film is light on its treatment of Batman, but the villains have all of the menace and deliberately calculated patience touted in so-called more sophisticated films such as Blood. What's more, its actually enjoying to watch. Recent news has this film slated for re-release in January for at least the I-Max screen. For the film-makers, this is another shot at Oscars, but for audiences who didn't get their fix of summer blockbusters in a season of such gaseous air pockets as The Incredible Hulk, it's a second chance.