At first I thought this movie was gonna be way too wordy, and not in a good way either. In the first scene, the hero introduced himself with an onslaught of words all beginning with the letter V. I thought I’d puke. The next two hours of constant fidgeting and nausea flashed before my eyes. But to my wonderful surprise, it turned quickly to more serious matters.

I don’t want to spoil anything for those who want to see it but there is this incredible moment when Natalie Portman’s character has completely freed herself of fear but found out it was under false pretenses. We watch her struggle with the decision to keep her new sense of purpose or to fall back into old habits. It was perfectly scripted and performed. I found myself reliving so many situations in my own life. Changes I had made a commitment to, even vowed my first born to achieve yet I let slip away. Hard to see the dark side it is, especially when it feels so much like home. It was truly a powerful moment.

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Did anyone catch American Idol last night. Man, was it Karaoke night on Fox or what? There I was snappin’ my fingers and jammin’ to the beat when this year’s token rocker, Chris Daughtry gets up to do a “personalized” performance of Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder. Did anybody recognize the rendition? Can we say Red Hot Chili Peppers? He was getting so many props for giving it his own flavor that he forgot to mention that he ripped it straight from their What Hits? album.

It was a good performance but he should have given credit where it was due. Simon even said that he thinks Chris could have a hit with that version today. Duh… it already was a hit. Too funny. Just another example where a copy-cat receives critical acclaim. There’s hope for my lack of originality yet.

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We went to see Running Scared yesterday. From an artistic point-of-view it was very unique. Lot’s of crazy camera angles and gritty textures. At first I thought that the close-ups were gonna drive me crazy but by the end I could see their purpose and felt the intended effect.

You should be warned that there is some SERIOUS language and sexual content and that the storyline is a failed attempt at mixing Crash and Pulp Fiction. I give them an A for effort but they pushed believability too far in a couple of places. However, it was the best acting I’ve seen from Paul Walker so far and I was at the edge of my seat for most of the movie. It’s worth seeing, at least I think so.

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