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Mr. and Mrs. Smith

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(non-spoiler review)

As I so cleverly wrote in my previous post we were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Smith at the weekend premiere of their life story, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. All joking aside Mr. and Mrs. Smith is the new Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt movie that everyone is talking about…or is it their rumored love affair that everyone is talking about?

I was hoping against hope that this movie would not be one of those popcorn movies in which the pre-movie hype was bigger and better than the film. It was not. This movie was everything it set out to be and perhaps a bit more. If you’ve seen the trailer then you know that the premise of this movie is that Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (John and Jane Smith) are a couple in a mundane marriage in which each is living a secret life as an assassin. Unknowingly given the same assignment from their rival organizations they discover the truth about each other and violence ensues.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were terrific in this movie. Regardless of what may or may not be going on in their personal lives, their on-screen chemistry was electric and never felt forced. And I’m not just talking about their romantic/sexual chemisty. They looked very comfortable together onscreen and their comic timing, etc. was great. I enjoy Brad Pitt in movies where his character is quirky or bizarre. Others prefer the more macho, pretty boy roles. There is a little of something for everyone in this movie. Brad Pitt takes the suave, tough guy aspects of the John Smith character and adds the slightest twist so that you can see a bit of the dork in there as well. Angelina Jolie is equally impressive in making Jane Smith a beautiful and witty femme fatale with a slight bit of vulnerability. One would have to assume that Pitt and Jolie had a great deal of fun making this movie as that is certainly what is projected on screen.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well the script balanced the action and humor and romance. I never felt like one area was being overemphazied to the detriment of the other areas. While all movies of this sort are filled with improbabilities, especially in the action department, I felt like the director maintained control and didn’t allow things to get out of hand. Everything was played for effect, but not overplayed. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were genuinely attractive, the action scenes were genuinely exciting and the comedic moments were genuinely funny. Mr. and Mrs. Smith just works really well and I had a lot of fun at this movie. The couples therapy bookends added an extra element of humor that helps make this movie a cut above similar efforts.

I can’t say much more without spoiling your fun but I will say that Mr. and Mrs. Smith is worth seeing while it is in the theatre. Buy the popcorn and enjoy a few hours of pure cinematic fun.

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Operation Lovebirds, Day the Second

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Today was Day 2 of our child-free, career-free vacation. We did do some work on this vacation day but it was well worth the blood, sweat, and tears. My parents came down from Nebraska last night and my dad and brother-in-law helped me install a brand new garage door on the house. It looks beautiful and makes the house look 100% better. Thank you dad and Mike!

My mother and Mary cleaned up the less appealing areas of the home (read Tori’s disaster of a bedroom) to make it presentable to company and I really, REALLY appreciated this as it looks wonderful inside as well.

Tonight we go with Mr. and Mrs. Smith to see Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Review forthcoming!

Film

Cinderella Man

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(Non-spoiler review)

Our vacation has begun and it has started with a real knockout, Ron Howards’ biopic of James J. Braddock, Cinderella Man. It is rare when a movie trailer leaves me with a lump in my throat and the trailer for this movie had done so each and every time I saw it over the last several months. Needless to say I was looking forward to this one. My anticipation was not in vain as this movie delivered on all counts.

Cinderella Man is the story of New Jersey local James J. Braddock, his early boxing success, his professional and financial decline during The Great Depression, and his fairy tale resurrection in the boxing ring. It is a story of love and hope and triumph. Its the kind of story that lends itself to the type of movie that will wring tears from your eyes along with shouts of triumph…the kind of movie that Ron Howard has become so adept at bringing to the big screen.

Howard has earned another Oscar nomination for this one. It is masterfully told in every arena- acting, cinematography, score, lighting…everything. The cast could not be better. Whether you enjoy or despise Russell Crowe’s off-screen antics there is no denying his acting talent. He brings an everyman quality to the role of Braddock. From the very beginning you like this guy and are rooting for this guy. I never once thought, ‘hey there’s Russell Crowe up on screen’. I was sold from the opening shot that this was James J. Braddock. His on-screen chemisty with Renee Zellweger is amazing. She was perfectly cast for this movie as she really has that 1920’s flapper look and from the first moment they are together in the movie you feel that they are devoted to each other. The children were perfectly cast and did an outstanding job. The way their roles were written and filmed made you care about them as much as did Braddock himself. The person who stole the show, however, was Paul Giamatti. He played the role of Braddocks’ manager and he was simply perfect. I won’t share anything else about his role as it would spoil the movie for you but if he doesn’t get recognized with a Best Supporting Actor nomination by the Academy I will be really disappointed.

The movie was filmed to perfection. The muted color tones and lighting not only reflected the darkness that overshadows a world in which men pummel each other for sport but also reflected the era of our history known as the Great Depression. We have all had some introduction to this time period during our history classes growing up but I learned things that I hadn’t heard or at least didn’t remember about the way things were during this time. Mary and I talked about how well they portrayed the climate of the world at that time and the shots of people clamoring for jobs looked as accurate as any documentaries I’ve seen on the subject.

The fights were incredible. Howard did many different things with the cinematography and choreography of these bouts that made each moment in them simply amazing. I particularly enjoyed the times where the fight was shot from the perspective of one of the opponents in the ring. As I said, it was simply amazing. I was on the edge of my seat and in awe with each punch.

Thomas Newman’s score was excellent and it was made doubly so by the fact that, since this was a story about an Irishman, there were several great fiddle pieces in the movie. There were a couple of times during the movie when I found myself stepping outside the movie for just a moment to enjoy the music. This is a soundtrack I would consider getting.

The last thing I want to discuss in this review is the love story. The entire premise of this movie is hope and love, but most especially the love of a family. Ron Howard’s directing and the phenomenal performances of the actors had me in tears early on in the film and brought me to tears several times thereafter. If I wasn’t crying I was grabbing the arm rest in stress during the fight scenes. Howard takes the time early in the film to slowly establish the relationships of this family before the real fighting begins and it is time well invested. The pay off is that you care about these characters and what happens to them. Cinderella Man is well worth seeing and worth paying the money to see on the big screen.

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“Vacation, all I ever wanted…”

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Ahhhhhhh…..the smell of sweet freedom. Today at 9:00 a.m. our daughter leaves with her church youth group for 9 days in St. Louis. Due to this planned period of childlessness Mary and I decided to take off work starting today through all of next week. It feel so good to get up and know that I’m not going to work today! My Friday was yesterday!

The plan is for this to be a restful vacation. No major trip planned, no hussle or bussle. We plan to stay home and relax. The plan is to catch as many movies as we care to see at the various movie theatres here in town, starting today with Cinderella Man. We also have all day DVD fests and all day reading fests planned. On Wednesday we leave to go spend a few days in a wonderful Bed and Breakfast in eastern Missouri. It should be very relaxing. The only worked planned is for Saturday when my dad, brother-in-law, and I will be installing a new garage door. The old one is an eye sore and I can’t wait to see it disappear. Demo begins tonight!

So have a good week everyone. Expect no interrruption in service this week, only know that the fingers typing the posts and comments will be much more restful digits than they normally are!

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Birthday Wishes

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Happy Birthday to Captain Jack Sparrow and to Senator Padme Amidala!!!

Johnny Depp turns 42 today.

Natalie Portman has reached the ripe old age of 24!

Now we all know that celebrities have birthdays every day and I don’t post about all of them. Usually just my absolute favorites. I felt the need to post today, however, because not only is Depp one of my favorite male actors, but my sister Abby and my co-worker Pat are huge Johnny Depp fans so this one is for the two of you!

Depp is just fantastic. Finding Neverland, Chocolate, Pirates, Benny and Joon, Don Juan DeMarco, Sleepy Hollow…he’s just such a quirky, fun, and interesting personality. His movies in particular are ones I find myself watching over and over again. He’s obviously a very attractive man but I think that the bizarre roles that he plays makes him seem like more an everyman romantic lead. His movies contain an unconscious message about being true to yourself. At least that’s what I get out of them. That and the fact that quirky movies are by far my favorites.

And I had to include Ms. Portman because, of course, she was in Star Wars and I feel this perverse need to continue to throw Star Wars references in posts every few days! It will end soon, I promise! She is also a very good actress despite Ep. I and II.

Happy Birthday to you both and to any other June 9th birthdays out in the blogosphere. For you regular (and irregular) readers I’d like to honor you on your birthday, so if you want to post the date here or send me an email I’d appreciate it!

Eclectic Musings of a Renaissance Geek