Still more movie watching

Okay....so I went and checked out like 10 movies at the library...what in God's name was I thinking? But, I have managed to watch a few of them......here's my thoughts:

1) Mamma Mia--actually this was one that the kids bought Kim for Christmas. We saw this on Broadway a couple of years ago, and all I can say is.....wow, it was WAY, WAY better on the Great White Way. First of all, Meryl Streep is probably the greatest actress of her generation and might have been terrific in this role except for two small things. Uh, first of all she can't sing and secondly, its not 1991. Meryl is just a wee bit long in the tooth for the role. Which isn't too obvious because quite frankly, so is Pierce Brosnan....who, uh...can't sing either. But other than that....the movie is tons of fun! Let's just say there are a couple of times in the movie where the timeline becomes completely screwed up.....so badly that as a viewer, you begin to notice.
That's not good. **
2) Ride the High Country--classic western with oldtime stars Randolph Scott & Joel McCrea as a couple of oldtimers doing the proverbial "one last job", which in this case is the transporting of some gold for a bank. You have some absolutely stunning visuals here as they make their way through the mountains, but to me the best part of the movie is the amazing supporting cast.
I mean, literally you have a who's who of character actors from the 60's & 70's. Warren Oates, R.G. Armstrong, L.Q. Jones, James Drury, Edgar Buchannon.....folks....its incredible. Really good film. ****1/2
3) Bad Lieutenant--I have to tell you, I'm a pretty open-minded guy. It really takes a lot to offend me, truth be told. But here....you have some pretty offensive material. I read a review where they mentioned that a lot of the offensive imagery was a result of "Catholic guilt". Uh, somehow...I don't think so. Harvey Keitel is an amazing actor who does a really great job in the title role, as a cop who's addicted to not only drugs, violence, sex and gambling....but he's kind of confused on his role as a Catholic apparently also. Pretty much something here to offend everyone. Keitel's performance give the film its * (that's one star).
4) Planet Terror---Part 2 of the Quentin Tarantino-Robert Rodriguez double feature that is an homage to the crappy and cheesy drive-in films of the late 60's & early to mid 70's. This one is the better of the two films. Our plot here, such as it is, has the military (its always the military!) "accidently" releasing some poisonious gas into the air around a small Texas town, which results in the citizens turning into the inevitable zombies. (Its a drive-in movie, remember?) Our cast is actually a pretty good one, with supporting roles by Bruce Willis, Michael Biehn, Michael Parks, Jeff Fahey, & Josh Brolin. The real star of the film though is Rose McGowan, who began dating director Rodriguez during the filming of the movie and who, quite honestly, looks just smoking hot. Good zombie fun with lots of fake blood and a really high body count. ***1/2

Later,
Jeff