Hat trick

I saw three movies today, back to back to back. I haven't done that in a while.

First, I had The Hot Spot from Netflix, starring Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, and Jennifer Connelly. It's based on a book called Hell Hath No Fury, was directed by Dennis Hopper, and this is an overlooked gem. Don Johnson plays edgy, brooding, and violent, and pulls it off with gusto. Virginia Madsen hams it up with an over-the-top accent, but she just oozes sex appeal from the first time she appears. I have to admit, I find Jennifer Connelly's eyebrows strangely fascinating, and she was in her Career Opportunities phase (read: age) when this came out, so the movie's got that going for it. This one's got a nice twist ending that you almost never see, but it seems so obvious you can't imagine it any other way (unless you like Hollywood horseshit).

Next up, I went and saw Doom in the theater. I was a little worried this one wouldn't live up to the source material, but I enjoyed the hell out of this flick (so to speak). It's no Aliens, but it's miles better than any other video game movie I've ever seen. I'm looking at you, Resident Evil. The look and feel of the sets is perfectly matched (although I did wonder why they only rarely turned on the lights when they entered a pitch black room), and all the monsters look just like they did in the game, with the effects upgraded for the big screen of course. Plus, there's a twist in the last half hour that is at once completely true to the game (the movie's actually based on Doom 3), and still unexpected. I was quite pleased with the execution of this adaptation.

Lastly, I had another movie through Netflix called Finder's Fee. My dad recommended this one, and he was right. This is a surprisingly good movie you've almost certainly never heard of. The standouts are James Earl Jones, Ryan Reynolds, and Matthew Lillard, but the whole thing holds together great under Jeff Probst's (!) direction. This has been my day of twist endings, because this movie has one too, but this one feels a little more tacked on (or at least unexplained) than The Hot Spot's. It all takes place in one apartment, but it never feels claustrophobic, and they never used the same shot that I noticed. The acting is the main attraction here, especially if you're into small group dynamics and surprise.

That about sum's up my day, other than rejoicing in my new phone that actually works and is fun to use. I can even watch clips from the Daily Show on it. How cool is that?