Went to see Blackhat today. What can I tell you, I’m a sucker for any movie dealing with computers and the Internet. And Michael Mann has directed some of my favorite movies. While sitting through this longish (2 hours+) movie kept reminding myself to suspend my disbelief. Like from the observation deck of that tall-ass building in Dubai. Or better yet, put your disbelief on a bus bound for Boise.

I think the Jason Bourne/Matt Damon movies ruined this genre for me. Few films measure up. And the villain in Blackhat? Meh. And it’s not like Michael Mann can give us a good villain. Tom Noonan as Francis Dollarhyde and Brian Cox as Dr. Hannibal Lecktor in Manhunter; Wes Studi’s Magua in The Last of the Mohicans; even Tom Cruise’s tool-cool-for-school hit man in Collateral. I fear that Mr. Mann’s mojo is on the same bus to Boise.

I don’t find seeing movies in a theater a very pleasant experience these days. But we still go once in a while. Being able to go in the middle of the afternoon is one of the benefits of not having a job. Barb and I watched Nightcrawler yesterday and found it entertaining.

I was expecting August: Osage County to be a chick flick. Steel Magnolias with dash of The Big Chill. I was not prepared for the venom that soaked almost every scene. The trailer — and much of the marketing — pitches this as a comedy. I found the humor grim and painful. If you want a happy ending, slip out and watch whatever’s showing in the next theater. You ain’t gonna get one with this movie and the bottom is a long way down.

“Good thing we can’t see the future. We’d never get out of bed.”

The main characters were women so I was surprised to learn that Tracy Letts (who adapted his stage play for the big screen) was a man. Not that men can’t write great women’s parts, but… just see the movie.

I found the profane dialogue powerful and real. Hard to believe Mr. Letts didn’t grow up listening to people who talked that way. This was not the first time Julia Roberts said “Eat the fuckin’ fish!”

Nothing I can say about Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts you haven’t heard or read, but every every actor brought their A game.

No need to rush out to the theater to see this one, it will be just as powerful on your TV. Might be fun to get everyone in the living room after Thanksgiving dinner and watch this as a family.

From Bob Cesca’s review of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained:

“The abomination of slavery in the United States and especially the psychopathy of slave owners is what will lastingly stick with me about the movie, and I’m strangely grateful for it. I’m grateful to have been reminded of the shocking truth that half of this nation as recently as 150 years ago treated African Americans as livestock to be abused and exploited however they pleased, and why, until 1861, the other half did nothing to stop it. In the end, perhaps Tarantino sought to make us all want to be Django and Dr. Schultz — to inflict justice and retribution upon the purveyors of that loathsome, nightmarish endeavor.”

I felt like I was watching something more than a gory western but would not have been able to explain why. Mr. Cesca’s review captures what I was thinking and feeling about this movie.

Because I’m eager for the movie to begin, I don’t fully appreciate the creativity and effort that goes into making the title for a film. I promise to pay closer attention.