Double Feature

It's been a while since I pulled the double feature routine at a movie theater, but today was a pretty dull day as far as holidays go. My friends are either working or are out of town, no one was having a BBQ or anything, so why not hit the air conditioned confines of the megaplex and take in some summer action fare.

On tap was Poseidon and Mission Impossible 3, and I know that may shock those who would have figured me for an RV/Over The Hedge double bill, but it's true. Before I get to my reaction to the films I saw, let me say this about the previews today. The Break Up with Vince and Jen looks funny to me. I'm not one for romantic comedies, but I love Mr. Vaughn and John Favreau, so I'm intrigued to say the least. Nacho Libre, with Jack Black and from the guy who made Napolean Dynamite, looks very funny. I'm very curious to see what that Napolean director can do with a budget and a big name like Jack. And finally, Invincible with Mark Wahlberg looks super if only because the preview features an Eagles chant. E-A-G-L-E-S, Eagles! This sleeper from Disney is the true story of a walk on pro football player in the 70's and appears to be filmed a ton in my dear departed Veteran's Stadium. Nice. Now Greg Kinnear as Dick Vermeil might be hard to stomach, but I'm game.

Okay, so Poseidon was my first film today. I'm a sucker for disaster films, especially the original Poseidon Adventure and the beloved Towering Inferno, so I was hooked before the first frame. This version is nothing more than your standard action movie, and the cast does a capable job of dealing with all the water, but overall it's basically average. I will say that it was unnecessary to make Richard Dreyfus a homosexual. Why? And the single diamond earring he wears is like 1987 people. Gag.

I don't care what people say about Tom Cruise, I frigging like his movies. The guy is pretty straight forward, one dimensional action star, but I eat it up. This installment is better than 2, but not as good as the original. Philip Seymour Hoffman brings something special to the table as the villian in this one, and he was welcome change to the usual foreigner Alpha Male shit they do in these types of movies. Very fast paced and exciting despite it's run time of over 2 hours, In fact I'll say this about both movies, they didn't waste a frame on bogus shit. I never checked my watch and was involved, so we'll call this day a success.