Recent movies I saw...

Last week, I watched a movie called The Room. If you've never seen it, you're really missing out. It's one of those movies that is so bad that it's good. It's kind of gained a cult following for the midnight movie crowds. Kind of like the Rocky Horror movie set, people talk to the screen, throw things and dress up like characters from the movie.

The Room centers around a man named Johnny who seems to have everything. He's a "banker", which he mentions a lot. He has a "beautiful" girlfriend, which is mentioned a lot. He has a pseudo-son that he's putting through school. Everyone seems to like him. Then without warning, his girlfriend Lisa decides that he's too boring, even though she never seems to leave the apartment they live in, and starts sleeping with his best friend, Mark. You know Mark is his best friend because he says it all the time. Lisa's in the "computer" business because that's what she says even though she doesn't seem to own one. People come and go at odd times and some characters are never introduced. The football is tossed several times and not in the 'go deep' kind of way, but in a 'let's-stand-five-feet-from-each-other' way.

I recently got the Riff Trax audio for The Room. Riff Trax is a commentary joke track you can add to DVDs to watch alongside the actual movie. It's pretty funny.

I also watched, Choke, a movie based on a Chuck Palaniuk book. He's the author of Fight Club, which is one of my favorite movies. It stars Sam Rockwell, who you might have seen as Guy, the extra crew member in Galaxy Quest. Choke concerns a man who is a sex addict and funds his psychotic mother's nursing home stay with money from people who have saved his life. He deliberately shoves food down his throat so a kind-hearted stranger will save him. They in turn give him money every now and then because it makes them feel good. He also works at a real-life colonial villager that's like a living museum.

I really wanted to like this movie more, but it's not that funny. I wouldn't recommend it unless you really really liked Fight Club.

Lastly, we saw the movie Public Enemies last week. It's directed by Michael Mann, who directed, Heat, Hancock, the Aviator and other bigger than life films.

Johnny Depp stars as John Dillinger, the notorious bank robber. Depp plays him very well as a low-key, muted gangster with a swagger. From what I've read, this is like how Dillinger was as he'd blend into crowds due to his not-so-unique features. Christian Bale plays the man that's tasked with bringing down Dillinger. Bale does a decent job with what he's given.

The movie was pretty good. It had good action scenes, but the movie gets run down by the slow scenes in between. Near the end, I forgot who one major character was supposed to be, so I had to ask Laura to remind me. That's not a good sign. It's a fine picture if you like seeing films about the Great Depression era. Otherwise, I'd probably stay away.