Recent movie recs

There are few things in this world that will fire me up like a great movie. I have seen a few movies recently that I feel like I must make note of and hopefully encourage your attendance.

In chronological order starting with most recently:

1) Kite Runner:
This movie was outstanding. It was beautiful and touching. I got the chance to see this with a friend on the Universal Studios lot in a small screening room because she is on the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) voting committee for Academy Awards (Oscars) this year. This was a book turned movie that deals very honestly with cultural differences, honor, family, God (big time) and is dripping in evidences of ravishing grace and unheard of forgiveness. Tears and laughter for me and those around me on this one. BUT it's not really heavy so could be a good date movie...I guess you need a date first, huh? Oh well.



2) No Country For Old Men:
This movie snuck up on me in that I didn't know much about it. Despite spending much time on apple.com/trailers peeping the new movie jams, I missed this one. I got a call from a friend who had an extra ticket to a Q&A with some of the actors of this one and we got to go before it opened around here. This movie was directed by the Cohen brothers (known for midnight-dark comedy) and again adapted from a novel by Cormac Macarthur. I warn you that this movie is NOT like typical American movies in SO MANY WAYS. I was mad at the movie at first but after a little of my fighting and struggling to make it into something it wasn't trying to be I just relaxed and sat back and allowed it to be whatever it was going to be. That was when the beauty climbed to the surface. There are some actors you would recognize but most notably Tommy Lee Jones and all the bravado he brings as an old sheriff in a small Texas town. BIG movie.

Oh and the face in the background is not Jake Gyllenhal (but I think it kind of looks like him)

3) Into the Wild:
What do you get when you take Sean Penn's power and emotion and put it behind the lens and give him a pen (no pun intended) and add the sweeping landscapes of Alaska? You get this fantastic movie. I really loved it. Again, I had only heard a few things about this one and went with friends to this in a full theater after a great Italian meal. This was a movie that grew better and better with time, much like the wine we drank later as we sat around and talked about the elements of this movie: relationships, being true to yourself vs. selfishness, real companionship, God, cultural norms and expectations. Emile Hirsch is great to watch and powerful too in his comfortable and yet Christian Bale-esque body slimming and manipulation. I recommend this one on the largest screen you can find and then sit and talk afterwards. WORTH IT

I have ONLY heard great things about the Affleck brothers new movie Gone, Baby Gone and look forward to watching that, the new Indiana Jones, the new Batman, the new National Treasure, a movie out right now that one of my friends worked on called Bella, Be Kind Rewind with Mos Def and Jack Black that looks pretty funny, August Rush and so many more.

I will leave you with these updates for now.

Cheers,

Bradley