Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Two...Under the Radar


Mother and I have seen quite a few of these (what do they call them? Date flicks?) lately and found most of them lacking good dialog, writing, or interesting or compelling. You know what I mean. We found Morning Glory funny with pretty creative writing and acting. Rachel McAdams as a perky morning show producer was excellent and the supporting cast was good too. Jeff Goldblum even had some of the funnest lines. Over all... worth watching, even if you are not like mom and have been watching Good Morning America and Today all your lives.


This one worked for me. Just a simple plot. Two guys trying to stop a runaway train before it crashes and kills a lot of people in a town. Some good character development and enough action to keep you watching and not bored. Denzel Washington is always smooth. Real trains and not a lot of special effects impressed me.

14 comments:

Dan W said...

Lorri and I enjoyed both of these, too.

Agree that Morning Glory is quite hilarious. And one scene from it actually inspired part of Hope's video she had to make for her successful SBO bid. It's the scene when everyone fires problems at her one after another in what seems would be an overwhelming way, then she lets them finish before jumping in with great answers.

Pops said...

Yeah, I like that scene. She shoots off those quick answers and then fires the creepy foot feddish anchor guy. Nice! Glad you agree with me on the movies.

Sue said...

hmmmm, I'll have to think about Morning Glory. I thought it looked quite awful. I didn't realize Jeff Goldblum was in it. I like him a lot, so that may be a reason to watch it. Actually, I like the entire cast, but this movie did not appeal to me at all. I'll let you know.

Unstoppable on the other hand....I was in the first 5 seconds of the first trailer I saw. I like Denzel Washington quite a bit and I really like Chris Pine. He was such a great young Captain Kirk! This totally looks like the type of action movie I love. It is 3rd on my Netflix queue. It is behind the King's Speech and the Fighter, so I can't move it up. I must see those two movies. I should get the King's Speech tomorrow. I can't wait!

Pops said...

You'll love The King's Speech. Tell us what you think about it. Morning Glory is just a nice filler movie. Better than the usual fluff stuff out there. Harrison Fords character say's , quote, " I will never say the word fluffy" He is an old crankey, has-been anchor news guy that is forced to go on the morning show and fights it. McAdams plays the best "perky girl" since Meg Ryan, in my opinion.

Sue said...

I cannot wait to watch The King's Speech. I just got the email from Netflix, I'm getting it tomorrow! Yay! And I have tomorrow off! Double Yay! But I'm getting a root canal tomorrow. Boo! I've had an abscessed tooth the last couple of days. Double Boo! I went to the dentist yesterday and got it lanced and got on an antibiotic. Yay!

Okay, I'm done with the boos and yays. I like Rachel McAdams. I haven't seen all her movies, but I've seen a few. Wedding Crashers, Mean Girls, Sherlock Holmes, Red Eye and the Family Stone. I liked her in all of those.

The movie I just sent back to Netflix was 127 Hours. Anyone else seen that one yet?

Cat said...

Travis and I watched 127 Hours recently. Mom and Dad saw it too. Really good. Doesn't even come close to the book though. But I do like James Franco.

Cat said...

Travis and I watched 127 Hours recently. Mom and Dad saw it too. Really good. Doesn't even come close to the book though. But I do like James Franco.

Haley said...

Have any of you seen The Time Traveler's Wife? I thought that was a really good movie and Rachel McAdams was good in it. I haven't seen Morning Glory but might. Marcus and I both liked Unstoppable. I thought Chris Pine was awesome in Star Trek.

Sue said...

It doesn't even come close to the book? That is kind of weird. I figured there was some deviation, like the swimming scene, but thought it more or less followed the book.

You could totally tell it was directed by Danny Boyle. I kind of like his style, but it kind of bugs me sometimes too. I hated the opening scene of 127 Hours. I hated the music so much in that scene.

Cat said...

Oh, all I meant was that the amputation scene was so much grosser in the book. It did follow the book quite well (except the swimming, of course). I hated the music in that first scene too! I even commented to Travis something like what is this? Why aren't they playing Phish or Grateful Dead?

Sue said...

oh, haha. I thought you meant the entire movie didn't come close to the book. I thought that was kind of weird. I mean hiker gets arm trapped by boulder and is stuck for 5 days. How different could it be? Somehow I knew the swimming scene didn't really happen. It felt kind of forced. I'm glad you hated the music too. I seriously almost turned off the movie at that point. I wasn't in the mood for that crap.

The amputation scene was gross enough in the movie for me. I had to watch it with my hand in front of my face. I guess I mostly just listened to it.

I thought James Franco was great. I like him too. I've liked him since Freaks and Geeks.

Pops said...

I like James Franco also. He kinda stunk hosting the Oscars as much as I saw it, but he was good in Annapolous (sp). I knew the swimming scene was phony but over all I liked the movie a lot. Sorry about the tooth acke, Sue. Tell us what you thought about the King's Speech.

Sue said...

James Franco totally sucked at hosting the Oscars, so did Anne Hathaway. She was just over the top annoying and he seemed stoned and uninterested.

Anyway, I watched the King's Speech a couple of days ago, and loved it. Geoffrey Rush was so good in it! I loved him! Helena Bonham Carter was really good too, so was Coline Firth. Very good acting.

It's also interesting to think of how he became king. I had forgotten that story. If his older brother hadn't been the way he was, the monarchy as we know it would be totally different. We probably would have been barely aware of Princess Diana. Prince Williams wedding wouldn't have been one of the biggest tv events in history. I mean really, are any of us going to watch Princess Beatrice's wedding? Well, maybe, if she wears one of those atrocious hats or whatever they call them.

Anyway, great movie and today I will be getting The Fighter in the mail. Looking forward to that. Has anyone seen that movie yet?

Cat said...

The Fighter is great. You'll love his sisters. There's like a zillion of the them and they're all so gross!