Movies

A quick look at the three Netflix pix I took to Florida last week.
Zack and Miri Make a Porno is pretty typical Kevin Smith stuff. That means it's tasteless, raunchy and sometimes very funny. Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks star as longtime pals who decide to film a porno movie together because they are desperate for cash. Of course they fall in love. It's exactly what you expect, an uneasy mix of cloying romance and grotesque comedy.
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Underworld: Rise of the Lycans is the third in the series and a prequel, setting up the mythology of the later films. Kate Beckinsale is replaced by Rona Mitra. Overall it's well made. It looks good and the action unfolds efficiently. Unfortunately, there's nothing in the picture that stands out. Bill Nighy is the best thing as the vampire king, but even his scenery chewing can't lift this one above the mundane.
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The best of my vacation flix was Cadillac Records, a retelling of the founding of Chess Records. Adrien Brody plays Leonard Chess, the white man who brought such blues icons as Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Howling Wolf to worldwide fame.
The tumultuous early days of the Chicago-based label are captured nicely here as Chess and label star Muddy Waters vault to prominence. The music is terrific, particularly the pulsing electrified harmonica work of the great Little Walter. I wish they had done more with Howling Wolf, the surly tough guy who rivaled Muddy Waters in more ways than one.
More than a few cliches are hit along the way, but Cadillac Records is a good introduction to the Golden Age of American blues.
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Cadillac Records B
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans C
Zack and Miri - C