Blasts from the Past: Movies

[Animeniax]

Watched almost all 13 seasons of King of the Hill. Unfortunately Netflix pulled it before I could finish. It's about a redneck family living in Arlen, TX, where the main character Hank is your typical hard-working but often too conservative father whose only activity more enjoyable than drinking Alamo beer in his front lawn is being disappointed in his fat, questionably homosexual son. A great watch - highly recommend.

It is a good series for the most part. I hated how Hank was such a pussy at times, especially with his boss at the propane store. He started out as more of a no-nonsense kind of guy who stood up for himself. I just found out today that Bobby was voiced by a chick, the same girl who plays Pamela on Louie.

Best storyline has to be the "Returning Japanese" episodes when he and his father go to Japan and he meets his half-brother.

[Animeniax]

Finally watched Gattaca after all these years. I thought for the longest time that the movie was about Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman representing the (physical) perfection of humanity, neither of which I think even qualify for such a discussion, even in their primes. Instead I found a pretty awesome movie that is still relevant to the present and future of humanity. It deals with eugenics and discrimination, but in a way that speaks to those of us who are considered lesser beings because of our lack of physical or genetic attributes. As with most feel-good stories, nothing beats heart and determination.

Bad parts: the "twist" that the detective is Vincent's brother was kinda cheesy, but necessary for the story to tie up.

[Animeniax]

I know I'll get flak since it's a current release, but who cares. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is a pretty good movie and deserves more attention than it's getting at the box office right now. It's not really anything like what you see in the trailer where it's all "we all have our secrets" and "not everyone is who you think they are." It's actually a pretty straight-forward origin story for the Ryan character that stars later in the Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games. If you know anything about those movies (or books on which they are based) then that should tell you what this movie and its characters is about, to a T. Definitely worth watching if you're into spy action movies.

The only complaint is that (as with most Hollywood work) the main character is misused (out of character) just to give him more screen time. Ryan has too many action scenes considering he's an analyst, not a field operative.

[Animeniax]

Watching Don Jon, which is a fairly entertaining look into the mind of your average playboy 20 something. Joseph G-L does a good job expanding his roles and playing a character I didn't think he could ever tackle back when watching 3rd Rock From the Sun.

What makes me laugh is how they rate Scarlet Johansson's character a "dime" or a 10 (based solely on her looks of course). Personally, I'd rate her a 6 face and 9 body.