One week, three movies

So one of the few advantages of being unemployed is the freedom to go to mid-week matinees. And I'll be honest, I haven't been availing myself of this little benefit nearly as much as I should. So this week I set out to make up for some lost time.

First up, on Tuesday, was the mighty X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the film that provides the back story for Wolverine and Sabertooth, as well as some of the other Uncanny X-Men. Overall I give it a thumbs up. Good action, nice to get some pre-Adamantium Wolverine action, and great to finally see Gambit make the move to the big screen (and Taylor Kitch, the guy who plays Riggins on Friday Night Lights, definitely did him justice). The effects were great, with one exception: Victor / Sabertooth. His fighting was fine, he's a great actor, and I loved the claws, but the scenes where he's jumping around on all fours like a cat just weren't smooth. Because hey, people just don't run around like that. Fortunately that was a minor part of the movie, and didn't affect my overall enjoyment.

After resting up for a couple days I headed out Friday afternoon to watch Star Trek. I'd seen an interview with JJ Abrahms on Attack of the Show and had somewhat of an idea what was going to happen, but was pleasantly surprised anyway. The story held together as well as any Star Trek story ever does, and the actors playing the classic characters were all good and definitely putting their own mark on things. Well, maybe not so much with Karl Urban, who had a bit too much DeForest Kelley popping through in his Bones McCoy. Then again, there are only so many ways you can say "Dammit, Spock, I'm a doctor not a physicist!" All in all, it was a good reset to the story line, and it's fairly clear that these guys will all have jobs for years if they want them.

And finally to round out the week the fam and I went to the mighty Crest Cinemas to catch Coraline for a whopping $3 a ticket (plus $12 for the monster popcorn and monster soda, each of which was refilled). We hadn't read the book, but had seen the previews / ads, and I'd heard an interview with the author and director (maybe? Someone on the movie side) on "The Sound of Young America" and so knew a little something about it. And it had recieved good reviews both from the pundits and from the Moes. And did I mention it was $24 for the 4 of us, drinks and corn included? Anyhow, it ruled. Beautiful movie, amazing stop-motion claymation stuff, very interesting story, and Ian McShane as a crazy Russian mouse-trainer. Well worth the $3, and I'm pretty sure we would have been happy had we paid full price at a first-run theater.

So, all in all a good week at the theater. Don't think I'll repeat it this week, 'cause the only stuff I'm interested in at the moment is at the Crest and they only run in the evenings during the week and we're booked solid. But it's OK...I really should focus on the job hunting, and trying to figure out how to line up freelance clients!