Movie roundup

The Number 23. There exists two sorts of Jim Carrey fans: the kind that only like his early comedic work (i.e., Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Liar, Liar) and those that like his darker or different roles (i.e., The Truman Show and The Cable Guy). I'm one of the latter kind. I've always seen potential in him to play a really effed up character ever since he began installing cable as one seriously demented Chip. And here was his moment, in the arbitrarily slow The Number 23, for him to, er, shine.

But there was little here. The plot moves forward at a crawl, interspersed with some neat film noir-ish scenes involving a fictional P.I. in a dark city setting. Similarities between the book and the our main protagonist's life begin to blossom, and when push comes to shove, everyone in the family is willing to help out. Even if it means digging up a grave! Now that's some father-son bonding for the new age. The twist ending is dumb and makes you realize that you just sat through all the turmoil for nothing more than a boring case of self-inflicted amnesia. Fuck that. At least the movie didn't resort to cheap thrills. That alone makes it a step above a lot of other films, but there's no need to see this. Both the acting and plot make little sense, and I did not find myself seeing the number 23 everywhere afterwards. And that's what it should have done to me.

Little Miss Sunshine. Yeah, I know. I'm way behind on seeing this. First, let me just say that I love the soundtrack. A mix of my favorite indie bands can anything great. Not that this wasn't great. Well, it wasn't. But it was pretty good, and I actually found myself laughing out loud there at the end. And that's a rare thing for me. Still, there was a lot of wasted potential with some characters (namely Steve Carell's and the grandfather). But the movie's fun, even if a little out there.

The Bourne Ultimatum. Jason Bourne is the new James Bond. Well, at least to me. He doesn't rely on one-liners and fancy gizmos. He's been trained to be smart and alert, and he uses it to his full ability. Always one step above the competition. In the final movie of the Bourne trilogy, our hero is retracing his steps, hoping to remember everything that was ever done to him. He gets his answers, and they're nothing short of surprising. An intense movie from start to finish, with little room to allow for breathing. I'm always reminded of that quote from The 40-Year-Old Virgin referencing The Bourne Identity:

Y'know, I always thought that Matt Damon was like a Streisand, but he's rocking the shit in this one!

And really, I have to agree.