Mega Movie Madness

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!

DANGER!!!!!!

So I watched a couple movies yesterday, and thought I'd give y'all a review of them.

Ocean's 13: Had all the standard Ocean's gags and double-crosses, but still not really as good as the first two, and also didn't have Mrs. Michael Douglas in it. Wait for video, if even then. "I liked it." (barely)

Knocked Up: Hilarious movie from the guy who brought you The 40 Year Old Virgin. Like 40-YOV, Knocked Up is on it's surface a typical teenage boy comedy. Full of anatomy jokes, pot smoking, juvenile behavior, and lots and lots of swear words. I think that this is an excellent tactic by the director, rope in a huge audience and then give them something to think about under the radar. Just like 40-YOV showed the final success of a mature "old-fashioned" relationship, Knocked Up espouses some decidedly conservative values. During the first visit to the OB-GYN, we see an ultrasound of the fetus at 8 weeks, and the doctor points out the heartbeat (which apparently starts at 5 weeks). To show the progression of time in the film, they show a NOVA like close up of the baby, with it's developing arms and legs, etc, with a title card that gives it's age in weeks. Early on, the mother decides to keep the baby and the stoner/loser father must decide whether or not to grow up and be a part of the process. While not saying really anything of an anti-abortion tack, I feel the movie is decidedly pro-life, and includes the core conservative belief of individual responsibility. An excellent movie, if slightly colorful at moments. "I loved it."
Update: Kathryn Jean Lopez, I think, misses a critical point with her review of Knocked Up on NRO. She closes her review with:

"Maybe I’m getting old, but it seems to me that the
Wedding-Crashers-40-Year-Old-Virgin crass-blockbuster fun has been had. While
I’m all for redeeming messages (keep the baby, love the child, take some
responsibility for your life) reaching us where we’re at, if this is where the
culture is — 23-year-olds filling gas masks with marijuana smoke — is it really
an excessively laughing matter? (And I say this as someone on record as excessively
tolerant.) With vagina shots and jokes and a bit of a celebration of
loserism, Knocked Up ultimately allows its beautiful aspects to be overpowered
by its disturbing ones. It isn’t a likable-loser crude comedy. It’s a
this-genre-may-have-just-hit-rock-bottom comedy."

While this is her opinion, and therefore "true," I think the point I made earlier is still valid. I really wouldn't recommend this to an ultra-conservative 70 year old blue blooded matron, but then again, such a person clearly isn't the target demographic. If this movie's raunchiness and crude humor appeals to teenagers and twenty-something slackers, I say great. Maybe just a few of them will leave the theater with a "pro-life" thought wedged deep within their pot addled mind. Something to hope for anyway.

Rise of The Silver Surfer: Just crap. Unless you have a very serious crush on Jessica Alba (who is sporting those creepy blue eye contacts), or have a ridiculously low tolerance for movies, definitely skip it, or wait for video. Just kind of lame. "Didn't like it."

Mr. Brooks: A really good and creepy movie with the Mariner. As an aside, this is one of the few films where I think Kevin Costner is a good actor. In my opinion, he can really only play whitebread middle America characters (Field of Dreams, The Bodyguard, A Perfect World, etc.) and when he actually has to act, we get things like Waterworld and Robin Hood: Prince of Crap. That said, this is a great portrayal of a serial killer, living and killing in Portland Ore, who travels down a never before seen path. At least, it's a story arc I don't recall ever seeing. I don't want to give too much away, so just go watch it! "I loved it."

Next Up: Transformers! Transformers! Transformers!!!1!!