Movie Review Monday

Don't know if this'll be a pattern, but I have to review a good NEW movie when I see one.

2012

Starring: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, many others and most memorably, Woody Harrelson


I had heard rumors of the movie floating around, but I wasn't really interested. Oh great, another end of the world humans ruined the environment movie. No thanks. But then I looked at the line-up of actors and I was enticed. And there was nothing else worth seeing at the theater and I had a kid-free evening!

Warning, it may put some people off, it's a long movie. 2 hours and 48 minutes. But I didn't glance at my watch out of boredom once. (I only looked because I really had to go to the bathroom, but didn't want to miss anything. I still had an hour left. Awesome.) I like long movies, if they're good. I love getting involved in the movie, then, worrying that it's almost over, I look at my watch and breathe a sigh of relief, "Whew, still another hour and a half." That was me watching LOTR: Return of the King.

I have to say, I like John Cusack. It probably all began with the movie, "The Journey of Natty Gann". His character Harry was a bit like a protective big brother. He wasn't my first movie crush (that place will always be held by Jim Craig, THE Man from Snowy River) but one of the first. John Cusack has great screen presence, in my opinion. Always completely in character, and an underlying command of cool-ness. Another Cusack great? Grace is Gone. Definitely slipped through the cracks. Or maybe not, I think it came out while I was in Egypt.

Next in line for kudos in this show? Woody Harrelson. He plays this crazy mountain man that has his own AM radio station broadcasting his "predictions" on the end of the world. And penchant for pickles. He plays crazy very believably, without going overboard. But is he crazy?

This isn't an environmental movie. Alham-dulah-freakin'-Ia. I was completely wrong about any preconceptions. I thought it was going to be loooong and boring. Wrong and wrong. The special effects? Truly amazing. Realistic. All in all, I think the movie did a good job at keeping the line of believability and plausibility at bay. It was only crossed once or twice. But even then, flying into a burning, gaping maw that used to be Pasadena? Priceless.

I'm not going to lay the movie out for you. For most of my favorite movies, I was completely clueless as to what it was about and ended up in love. One of my notorious 'hated' movies? The Italian Job. Spencer kept trying to convince me that we should buy tickets, he'd read about it (this was all going down in the theater lobby). I told him I didn't want to see some Mafia shoot-em up Godfather wanna-be show. Boy, was I wrong. I'm sorry I ever doubted you Marky-Mark. Another wonderful sleeper? Knowing with Nicholas Cage. **

So, this may not be a conventional movie review, more of a friendly suggestion, really. I love to share new, good things with my friends. I don't want to shove this down your throat, but you HAVE to see this movie. Love love loved it, see it when you can.



**Will post hilarious story about when we went to the theater to see 'Knowing' next week. I can only promise that because it's NaBloPoMo.**