Mr. and Mrs. Smith is a marvelous thing. Guns, action, sexiness and subtext. What the movie never quite says (and what perhaps it may not even know) is that the film is an exaggerated metaphor for all marriages. Being married means surrendering yourself to one person and trusting them not to kill you in your sleep. When Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are staring down the barrels of each others’ guns, they have to give in, they have to make a leap of faith and surrender to one another. It’s a cute conceit, tied up in shattered glass and head trauma wrapping paper.
Batman Begins is another winner. Cillian Murphy as Jonathan Crane seriously wigged me out, and Liam Neeson takes his Star Wars mentor bit into a darker place. Michael Caine rocks the house, although his Cockney accent seems out of place for a butler. Christian Bale is a better playboy than Michael Keaton and a better Dark Knight than George Clooney. And Katie (I’m the non-British one) Holmes…well, our little girl is growing up. May God save her from being eaten alive by the increasingly batty but still totally not gay Tom Cruise. As a bat-nerd since 1990, I have to say this movie surpasses the original Tim Burton version.
Land of the Dead marks the first time I’ve seen a real B-movie in a theater. It’s truly a fun crappy film.
In other news, Matt leaves for Salt Lake City tomorrow. There needs to be a word for “sad for me but happy for you.” Reverse schadenfreude?
Oh and I interviewed the Boondogs for Localist on Sunday. Check them out. Moody, low-watt power pop.