Let's watch WE OWN THE NIGHT!

Since the writer's strike has ended television shows have begun to pick up steam again and I am seeing myself have less and less time to watch movies. It's upsetting really but it always seems to happen around this time of year anyways. You see, I am one of the people that find myself inexplicably sucked into such shows as American Idol and Dancing with the Stars and American's Next Top Model; all of which seem to air on multiple nights throughout the week. On top of that, I recently downloaded and watched the excellent third season of Weeds. I am however still doing my damnedest to watch as many movies as I possibly can.

While visiting my parents over the weekend I got the chance to watch No Country for Old Men again on their huge Sony Bravia flat panel. It was equally amazing as the first time I saw it. I wasn't as struck with Javier Bardem and his Anton Chigurh character as I was when I saw the film in the theater. However, this time around Tommy Lee Jones' performance resonated even more with me. Giving the film another look, I think he should have received a nomination for best supporting actor for this film. Jones' critics knock him because he always seems to play this sort of grizzled character with a southern drawl, but he added much more to this character. Much like his character from In the Valley of Elah, emotion could be felt in subtle facial expressions and body movement. It was certainly a banner year for Tommy Lee Jones who, as an actor, seems to be aging quite well.


I also managed to squeeze in a viewing of The Robert Duvall, Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix movie We Own the Night. The story basically involves a black sheep brother(Phoenix) whose father and brother are respected cops. When his Dad is killed and his brother is badly injured by his criminal associates, black sheep bro is forced to play for the good guys and become a cop in order to take down the assholes that murdered his Dad. It's a corny story really, and Eva Mendes as Phoenix's love interest is almost unbearably bad. The three male leads pretty much mail in their performances, leading the viewer to believe that they regretted the fact that they were there making this film. If you feel like watching a cop story that has minimal action or you are a huge fan of Phoenix(who gets the most camera time) then its worth it to rent this only marginally good movie.