Unlikely Words

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A blog with delusions of grandeur

Smart People (2008)

Sarah Jessica Parker is horrible in practically everything, but she didn't ruin this one and Dennis Quaid was a successfully awkward professor. Smart People is worth watching and for some reason didn't get the attention it deserved. Uncle Chuck is awesome.

War, Inc. (2008)

Now this is how you do quirky, people. I understand how you can conceive of this movie, but I have no idea how you convince people to give you money to make it. I like when the Cusacks are in movies together.

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Not as good as Casino Royale, but I like the direction they're taking the Bond Franchise. It's going away from the cheesy, smug, goofiness of the Brosnon era and into a Bond/Bourne matrix that me likey. Best scene in the movie: the opera house.

The Visitor (2007)

Not sure how we got The Visitor onto our queue, but I liked it. A somewhat ridiculous set up is quickly overcome and any flaws are overshadowed by good performances. Add it to your list.

Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)

Things We Lost in the Fire surprised me and it was good. You should watch it. Maybe you'll agree that Benicio's acting was better than Halle's.

Brian Greene, The Fabric of the Cosmos

The Fabric of the Cosmos (Space, time, and the texture of reality) The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene


My review


rating: 3 of 5 stars
A very well-written and clear explanation of the major topics in relativity, quantum mechanics, and cosmology. It gets considerably less persuasive when the author starts in on string theory; Greene is a string theory proponent, but even his enthusiastic and partisan description of the theory seems pretty speculative. "Yes, there's no experimental evidence, but it's SO COOL" is a big change from the book's earlier sections, and pretty weak to boot.

Lost Season 4

It took me forever to watch Lost Season 4, but I'm glad I eventually got to it. Slow at the beginning of the season and then ending with the second excellent season finale in a row, Season 4 was worth it. Obviously, like everything else these days it would be better to watch all at once.

Rendition (2007)

What do you say about a movie that's about America's use of torture? Rendition was good, though there weren't really any surprises. The performances were good, and if you can take the subject matter, you ought to watch this.

Wanted (2008)

Remember 17 years ago (Christ, has it been that long?) when Robin Hood came out and did the 'follow an arrow in flight' camera trick a couple times? From there to Wanted curving the path of bullets over and over again. This movie should have been better, but it wasn't unwatchable.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Winning an Oscar for 'Longest Movie Title' (bet that joke's been made somewhere already), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford felt like 2 hours of set up to get to the half hour of movie at the end. Casey Affleck was good as the Coward and the movie was plodding. Not plodding in a bad way, but plodding nonetheless.

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