Movies

I rated these movies on a simple 1-10 scale.

Pulp Fiction-8
Samuel L Jackson was brilliant; especially in a few choice monologues. I really enjoyed this classic.

A Mighty Wind-8
If you're a find of Christopher Guest movies (Best In Show, Waiting For Guffman, This Is Spinal Tap) then you'll love A Mighty Wind. I was laughing out loud often.

Jerry Maguire-7
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger were great.

Chinatown-7
I guess I'm finding more and more that I enjoy movie because of specific actors or acting jobs. Jack Nicholson was fantastic in this classic thriller.

Unbreakable-6
Compelling storyline + great performances from Samuel L and Bruce Willis = recommended entertainment. I don't usually enjoy M Night Shyamalan, but I guess this movie was a little more believable than some of his others.

Primal Fear-5
This was a typical courtroom movie, predictable, entertaining if you like that kind of movie....until the twist. Enough said.

The Jackal-5
Classic uncatchable, cold, calculating killer movie. Bruce Willis does a great job.

Out Cold-5
This is a guy movie through and through. You probably get dumber while you watch this movie, but you sure laugh a lot in the process.

This Is Spinal Tap-4
Another Christopher Guest movie. This one didn't really grab me, and is probably my least favorite Guest film.

Simon Birch-4
Endearing, heartwarming, and heartbreaking. It was okay.

X-Men Wolverine-4
Great action, short on the plot, and the sci-fi aspect is not so believable. If you're in the mood for an action flick, it's passable.

Donnie Darko-3
Too weird for my liking. It had it's moments, but not something I'd watch again.

In The Line Of Fire-2
Everything was vanilla and typical. The acting was simply okay. I usually love John Malkovich, but not in this film.

Animal House-2
Really no redeeming value here except for a few laughs.

Chaos Theory-1
Eh. Nothing stands out about this movie. The plot tried to be creative, but failed. The acting wasn't anything to write home about either.

The Savages-1
Yeah sure, the dialogue was compelling and the subject matter was very reminiscent of real life. I usually like these kind of films, but this one didn't do it for me at all. You'd have to pay me a lot to make me watch this one again.

In The Queue
Serpico
The Usual Suspects
Breakfast at Tiffany's
The Wrestler
A Clockwork Orange

Books and Movies

I finished the books "Heart of Darkness" and "Good to Great" today. Good to great was your vanilla business book, loaded with buzzwords and buzzphrases and key points. Not a whole lot value there. Also, of the eleven companies profiled, two of them have gone under since: Fannie Mae and Circuit City. Heart of Darkness was exquisitely written, drawing me in with the writing and not with the content.

I've got three more business type books on my radar, but they should be better than most. What Would Google Do?, Calculated Risks by Gerd Gigerenzer, and Global Tax Revolution. I'm really looking forward to the first two books. Like most of these type of books, I should be able to burn through them in around two hours.

I watched the movie "As Good As It Gets" yesterday and really liked it. The moment when Jack Nicholson realizes he forgot to lock the front door was one of the great moments I've seen in movies. Completely unassuming and unaccompanied by fanfare, but supremely powerful. Watch the movie if you want to see what I mean.

I also watched the 1994 movie "The Paper" recently, starring Michael Keaton, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, and Marisa Tomei. I really like it too; funny and simple.

Other movies:

Rachel Getting Married-A very intense, dialogue and character driven drama set around a wedding. Anne Hathaway was absolutely brilliant in the movie. It's not a movie that you "enjoy" throughout, but instead a movie you "appreciate." I'm not super psyched to watch it again, but there's no denying Hathaway's acting brilliance and the captivating relationships and dialogue.

Stranger Than Fiction & The Prestige-both movies I had seen a few times before, but ones that I enjoyed wholeheartedly, even more than I remembered. Stranger Than Fiction is a comedy and The Prestige is a drama/thriller. I recommend both highly.