I’ve seen a bunch of movies lately, here’s a quick rundown:

Idiocracy: Mike Judges latest film that was delayed for ages and then pretty much ignored due to a limited release. It’s about a guy (Luke Wilson) who is frozen for an army experiment when some bad things go down and he wakes up 499 years later than he should have. He’s now in a world where this average man is now the smartest man on the planet. It’s definatly no Office Space. There are some funny sections, but the movie is really just average. The story could have done more but what was there (looks good, very good cast) works well, it’s really just not very memoriable. Can’t say I recommend it.

Dead Man’s Shoes: A film from over the pond. With some heavy English/Scottish accents this movie can be hard to understand at times, but it was a quality film. The main character has a retarded (more slow really, not hardcore) brother who he watches over. But when he goes into the service, his brother falls in with the wrong crowd by a case of being in the wrong place in the wrong time. He’s taken advantage of and tortured by these people and when big brother gets back in town and finds out…revenge and personal justice is a painful ordeal. It’s a quality film from start to finish, this is the directors 4th feature film. There’s a few twists and turns and while it takes a bit to get going, it’s a powerful movie. Great acting with solid directing this is a great down to earth revenge film to check out. I even liked the ending.

The Illusionist: What a cool movie. Edward Norton, one of my favorite actors stars with Paul Giamatti and the gorgeous Jessica Biel. A story in the early 1900’s, Ed Norton is the son of a furniture maker, Jessica is a well off Dutchess. They meet in their early teens and fall in love, but as a Dutchess, Jessica is sworn from ever seeing Ed again. Ed has been fascinated with magic and when the two are torn apart, he disappears and travels the world. 15 years later, he comes back and he’s a master Illusionist, learned from the top minds in the world. The two meet again at one of his performances where we meet her boyfriend, the Prince. Two seperated souls meet again later in life, but they’re still not allowed to be together. Much more of a love story than I thought it was going to be, the Illusionist mixes fate, destiny love and magic into a beautiful tale. Awesome acting and a great story combine to make a movie I highly recommend.

The Science of Sleep: Michel Gondry, who last directed Dave Chappelle’s Block Party and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind brings us this bore of a movie. Stephen’s father has died of cancer and he comes back home to his mother who lives in France to work with a calender company that his mom sets him up with. Stephen has a wild mind as we see that Stephen has a hard time keeping his dreams and real life seperate. Brought home on false pretenses by his mother, Stephen hates his new job but falls in love with the girl who lives next door. The movie constantly switches between and merges between Stephens dream world and the real world. I give a lot of credit to Gondry for the visual aspects of the film but it’s the main character that ruined it for me. Stephen is a giant pussy. He’s a 12 year old in the body of a 20 something year old. His social skills are just like an adolescent, he’s awkward, says weird shit and crys like a bitch with a skinned knee. The whole time I was waiting for him to grow a pair and not be such a bitch but that never happens, he likes to analyze shit in his dreams and it gets so bad that stuff he does in his dreams (like write a confession note to Stephanie, the girl he likes) he really does without realizing it. For awhile there I thought he had narcolepsy because he pops in out out of his dream mind so fast it’s ridiculous. He’s really a nut I guess. I really didn’t like it because I couldn’t get on the side of Stephen, he’s too damn irritating to like. Skip this and watch the far superior Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.