Ronnie B and I were in the mood for movies last weekend. Add the fact that a new theater opened in a reasonably convenient location and we had something to do!
On Friday night we saw
The Five Year Engagement. I was afraid that they might have given away all the best parts in the trailers, but luckily there was more to the movie than the previews showed. It was a fairly predictable romantic comedy. Jason Segel is a funny guy. I think he actually wrote the screenplay - decent job. My only problem with Jason is that he is such an exhibitionist. In another movie he was only too happy to do full frontal nudity - repeatedly - and this time he treated us to his bare butt. I'm no prude but that's a treat I could have done without. Emily Blunt was also in this movie - she is adorable and very good in the movie. The premise is cute, but as I said before, the outcome was totally predictable. Go see it at matinee prices or wait til it comes out on DVD.
On Saturday, we did our chores and decided to see another movie at Century Theatres at Pacific Commons in Fremont.
The Raven is a fictional account about a serial killer who uses Edgar Allen Poe's stories to kill people. John Cusack is one of my favorite actors and did a good job portraying the author. However, there was some gore and blood - think of "
The Pit and the Pendulum". The film makers decided that they needed to show that gruesome murder in it's entirety. There was a love story twist as well...I hate to say it, but I don't recommend the movie. Rather, I recommend that you pick up a collection of Poe's stories or poems...leave the gore to your imagination.
Finally, we decided to watch
Contraband on pay per view. This was probably the most satisfying film of the weekend. It was about smugglers and illegal activity. Yes, it was brutal and there was profanity, drug use and violence, but it was also engaging and exciting - one of those movies that keeps you sitting on the edge of your seat. Mark Wahlberg is very easy on the eyes, if that sort of thing is important to you....but he is also a decent actor. Giovanni Ribisi once again plays a very creepy tattooed bad guy - he's really good at that. Kate Beckingsale is Marky Mark's wife and she's pretty tough - GIRL POWER, baby! Put this movie in you Netflix queue - it's a good one!
So there you go - 3 quick reviews on last weekend's movies...if you see any of these, let me know what YOU think....Otherwise, we really recommend the new theater. It's close to the Auto Mall shopping area in Fremont. Not too many people know about it yet, so we didn't have any trouble getting tickets. It's fresh and clean and the theaters all have leather seats - Ronnie B loves that.
