Couple of movie reviews to throw out there...

First up "Collateral".



Great film, great performances by Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. The best parts of the movie are the in-taxi conversations these two have. Interesting thing is the film appears to have been shot on some form of video and transfered to film. Kind of gives it a more 'real life' feel. Thought the ending could have been a little more intelligently played out, but it was still satisfying and suspenseful. Cruise makes a great bad guy with a dangerously curved sense of family, respect, and humor.



Then there's "Alien vs. Predator".



I heard all the negative hype in advance; how the story was poorly written and executed, the characters only cardboard cutouts waiting to be killed. The only positive thing I heard was that the actual fights were great. So I went in with the expectation that this was not really a building block of the "Alien" or "Predator" films and would stand or fall on it's own...despite the connections they were trying to make to the existing franchise as well as Earth's evolution. And I enjoyed it for just that!; the fight scenes were a lot of fun, the visual and creature effects top notch. There was also a nice nod to Bishop's knife trick from "Aliens". My advice though is wait until video.



Finally, the movie I had been waiting since May to see..."Garden State".



Definitely a multi-layer film. There were a lot of points I connected with and think a second viewing will really bring out the depth of emotional complexity these characters own. Zach Braff is great in front of and behind the camera...There's a lot to take in here which seems intended, plus a very charged moment of 'did he or didn't he' which I thought was very clever. The film even has the song I really love from the trailer. Natalie Portman is especially endearing in a crazy and very cute way, plus the dialogue is smart and funny. It was the ending especially that had me thinking I want to see this again. Zach even has a "Garden State" blog that's pretty funny.