Movie Recommendation

I am tragically behind on my movie watching. Since 1996, I've probably seen no more than 10 movies in the theater. I always think I'll catch up on videos (you should've seen my vhs collection, then dvd's...next Blue Rays I guess). But I never end up watching them all, even though we have 17,000 HBO channels and for a good two years I wasted a lot of money with Netflix (ashamed to admit I had one movie at my house for 11 months at least!). Oh, but my Netflix queque was fantastic...just never got there.

For some reason, I see movies as a big time commitment. And it's not just the 90 minutes plus - when I watch a movie, I completely focus...and I truly invest myself in it. I just can't help it. But it's the aftermath that gets me. I'll be quiet for a long time after a movie, and it sits with me for a long while. I'll probably dream about it for a few nights, think about it a lot, etc.

Therefore, when a movie is bad, I get extremely annoyed. I see it as a huge waste of time, and it bothers me that with all the money in Hollywood, SO many of the movies produced are crap. That being said, I have gotten better at this the past few years - I am prepared to always be let down, and end up liking things more than I thought I would. This week, thanks to my DVR's Video on Demand, I have seen The Changeling (Sunday night - I had a day game, in case you were wondering!), and the Secret Life of Bees tonight (last night of the homestand was last night!).

The Changeling was pretty good. A little long...I remember thinking, "there's still more to this story?" and 45 minutes later, thinking that again. But I liked it....it wasn't disappointing.

The Secret Life of Bees I really liked. Now, I think this came out around the same time as a few other "bee movies." Bee Movie, to be exact, and another one about a spelling bee. So I kinda lumped it into those and never thought about it. But it's great! I really liked it - and wish I had read the book first, and maybe I will now. That Dakota Fanning that I really don't want to like, because she kinda scares me in her freakish maturity - she was great. She really is a talented actress. (Tom Cruise is right!) I am happy to say I did not hear any fake southern accents that can grate on my nerves, which most movies set in the south usually have plenty of. They got it right on. Paul Bettany was excellent, as was Queen Latifah, Alicia Keyes, and Jennifer Hudson. Anyway, if you rent - rent it. if you netflix, queue it. If you do Demand, demand it!

How's that for a movie review? I should contact the Austin American-Statesman and let them know I'll freelance....