17 August 2004

Last Week's Movie #2

Last weekend I saw two movies. I'll start with the second one first so that, when these are posted, it will be second. Confused. S'ok...just keep reading.

Saturday afternoon I went to see the move Collateral, with Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise. You know the gist of the story if you've seen any of the ads. Tom Cruise is Vincent, a contract killer with a few "stops" to make. He hires Max, played by Jamie Foxx, a somewhat obsessive, timid cab driver with a nice personality to do his driving throughout the night. This gist was enough to get me into a movie theater.

I expected a short-plotted, general shoot-'em-up with Tom playing an overly aggressive and confident character, like he always does. However, Jamie Foxx surprised me with his ability to play a believable low-key guy. In his days of In Living Color, he was always out there and in some of his earlier films, he was the same way. Jamie tones down a bit to play a believable and versatile character. Even the cool, calm Vincent shows some signs of humanity and a little humor.

The thing that struck me the most about this movie was some of the camera work. Not all the usually herky-jerky running with a hand-held camera, but some really solid shots where you found yourself being entertained by different scenes from around LA as much as you were entertained by the story itself.

Bottom line: I got a real bargain on this movie. Because of Tom Cruise, I took this one in at a matinee, selling it short from the get-go. But, in my new rating system, I give this one a solid full-pricer. Don't drop everything to go see it, but if you're looking for some good value for the $8 your gonna plunk down, you might like Collateral. I did.

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