Friday Night Lights

There have been many, MANY football movies over the years and plenty classics from Remember the Titans to Rudy, We Are Marshall to Any Given Sunday. I've got a favorite though, and it isn't especially close. I watched it in theaters when I was in college, read the book soon after and have rewatched the film many times since. But it had been awhile so I was very glad to catch up with 2004's Friday Night Lights.

It's 1988. It's west Texas, and hopes are high in the town of Odessa where the local high school, Permian, has an epic tradition of success on the football field with the Panthers. Expectations are especially high this year for head coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) for the upcoming '88 season. The team is incredibly talented, returning a bunch of veterans, but most importantly star running back Boobie Miles (Derek Luke), a no-doubt future star in college and possibly the NFL. That seemingly perfect season though is undone almost immediately as Miles seriously hurts his knee in the Panthers' first game. Now, Gaines and the entire team must band together to figure something out, to turn things around and do it quickly. It isn't just pressure from within though. The entire town is putting a pressure over the team and program that hangs above the players and coaches like a dark cloud. Can they overcome?

'Friday' is based off the book of the same name by author H.G. Bissinger. He followed the team throughout the 1988 season, eventually writing the book that went on to become a lightning rod for good and bad. The book became more than just a story about sports, but about a west Texas town madly in love, devoted in obsessed fashion to their Permian Panthers. It delved into racism, politics and all sorts of deep-seeded topics. The movie streamlines much of those topics, zeroing in on the football, the head coach and the players who feel so much pressure to win and win big. Emotionally effective, often uncomfortably realistic, it's a gem.

Actor-turned-director Peter Berg has quietly built himself more than a solid reputation behind the camera over the years. This is his best work that I've seen. He films with confidence, giving the film a visual look that's incredibly appealing. During the football action, it is always on the move, with the players and coaches in quick, hard-hitting sequences. The colors are almost washed out, emphasizing Permian's iconic black and white -- simple, straightforward and classic -- uniforms. There are some touches that add that late 1980's feel but never to the point where you feel like you've been hit over the head with the idea. Just some jean jackets and bad hairdos and we're moving on. And also, the soundtrack from Explosions in the Sky, a post-rock band from Texas, the music quasi-trance, quasi-electronic but blending with the story in almost effortless fashion. An underrated, highly memorable score.

Three performances stand out from a uniformly positive cast. Thornton is a gem as Coach Gaines, a talented, bright coach who feels the weight of the town on his shoulders. A snide dig here, a menacing throwaway comment here. He pushes his players and pushes but knows when to pull back a little. Next up, Lucas Black as Mike Winchell, the QB who struggles with pressure and is just a nice, quiet kid who happens to be a good football player. Gaines and Winchelll's relationship is fascinating, coach-quarterback with a touch of father-son mentality. Black is a subtle scene-stealer here, Winchell always being my favorite. Last but not least, Luke as Boobie Miles, the star running back with confidence and cockiness to burn. It's only after his injury we see the true Boobie, including a heartbreaking scene with his uncle, L.V. (Grover Coulson).

The focus is on a handful of players so also look for Don Billingsley (Garrett Hedlund), the fullback who struggles with fumbles, Brian Chavez (Jay Hernandez), the safety who's already been accepted to Harvard, Ivory Christian (Lee Jackson), the almost silent defensive end dubbed 'Preacher,' and Chris Comer (Lee Thompson Young), the third string running back thrust into a far bigger role when Boobie goes down. Also look for Connie Britton as Sharon, Gary's wife who supports her husband through thick and thin.

As a sports movie, 'Friday' is epically successful. What helps it rise above so many other like-minded sports movies is the portrayal of the town and the pressure placed on these high school football players, just teenage boys when it comes down to it. It is almost a cult, an obsessed following begging the kids to win...but it's more than begging. It is an obsession that pushes everyone involved with the program to the brink. Any and every sports team ever WANTS to win, but that is an inward pressure. This is a community that lives and dies with the Panthers, almost defying them to lose. We see that in most frightening fashion in Don's father, played to creepy perfection by Tim McGraw.

Too many good moments to mention. The football scenes crackle with energy and adrenaline. Thornton's Gaines delivers one great speech after another, especially in the finale pre-game. My favorite has him quietly delivering a message to Winchell before a key turning point, smiling and stating "There ain't no curse." Boobie's breakdown with his uncle is heartbreaking as we finally see who he is, not all the sports cockiness. Mike's continuing struggle to live up to expectation, and my goodness, that ending. Just too perfect. If there's any advice I can offer, it's this. Don't go looking on Wikipedia for the true story. If you haven't seen it, go in fresh and enjoy the ride throughout. A sports classic.

Friday Night Lights (2004): ****/****

Parkland

How quick time flies. Fifty years ago today, November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas as he drove in a motorcade through the downtown area, sniper Lee Harvey Oswald doing the shooting. It was and still is a tragic moment in American history, one explored in pop culture with books like Stephen King's 11/22/63 and films like JFK and Executive Action. Add another flick to the list, 2013's Parkland.

To describe the plot here would more than defeat the purpose. With a little build-up to the actual assassination on that November morning, we're shown the actual shooting Dealey Plaza, mostly from the people that see it. We never see President Kennedy get shot, never see Lee Harvey Oswald shoot him. This isn't a movie about Kennedy, instead it is how the President's death sends ripples throughout Dallas, including the hospital, law enforcement, Kennedy's staff, the witnesses, the FBI, how they all responded to it and handled the assassination. The story follows the immediate aftermath and the subsequent days, mostly from the perspective of Parkland Hospital, where Kennedy died less than an hour after being shot. Plot? Not really, it's more a lot of characters in an episodic story that packs a whole lot of stuff into its 94-minute running time.

From director/writer Peter Landesman, 'Parkland' had a $10 million budget and was given little to no theatrical release, making about $600,000 in theaters. Why did it struggle so mightily? I'm not really sure. I liked it a lot. With a short running time, it is slightly schizophrenic in terms of storytelling. It is basically on the go non-stop. We meet countless individuals -- from known individuals like Oswald, Jackie Kennedy and LBJ -- to lesser known but very real people, the hospital staff, the FBI, the witnesses, all affected by the assassination that rocked the nation. I liked that Landesman's film gives an almost fly on the wall look at the history that we've all heard about, all knew it happened, but to actually see it, it's interesting, startling and unsettling, like we're a witness to history.

Maybe that's why it struggled getting much of a theatrical release, why it couldn't get much of a positive word of mouth. Beyond being a turning point, a defining moment in American history, the Kennedy assassination is one of the first spawns of a real conspiracy theory. Was Lee Harvey Oswald alone in his attempt? Were there other shooters? Was the government involved? Was there a massive cover-up in the wake of the assassination? So for all you conspiracy theorists out there....this may not be the movie for you. 'Parkland' isn't interested in a single tidbit of that 'what if?' aspect. In general, it doesn't take a stance about much. It shows rather than tells what happened. We see it as it happened, nothing else. If you're looking for a comprehensive, analytical investigation of the Kennedy assassination, this isn't it. Instead, it's a well-told, interesting, informative look at a part of history that we've never seen before as a viewer.

To tell the countless stories, Landesman assembles quite the cast to fill out the countless speaking parts here, all those involved and effected by Kennedy's death. The Parkland Hospital medical staff includes Marcia Gay Harden, Zac Efron , Colin Hanks, Rory Cochrane and Jackie Earle Haley appearing briefly as the hospital priest. James Badge Dale plays Oswald's brother, Robert, surprised as anyone at his brother's actions, Jacki Weaver playing their delusional mother, Marguerite, Jeremy Strong giving a strong portrayal of Lee. Billy Bob Thornton and Tom Welling play Secret Service agents pursuing all leads, especially the film of the assassination shot by Abe Zapruder (Paul Giamatti). Ron Livingston and David Harbour have good parts as the FBI field agents working in Dallas who make a startling revelation about Oswald. Not necessarily huge stars, but one really solid actor after another.

I liked this movie, simple as that. The style is simple and straightforward, blending archival footage from the Kennedy's trip through Texas that eventually ended in Dallas with footage shot for this film. It is eerie and uncomfortable watching the archived footage, knowing in the matter of an hour or two President Kennedy would be dead. The sense of doom hanging over that footage is unreal and beyond uncomfortable to watch. The whole movie is, and it'd be hard not to be difficult to watch. Exactly 50 years later, it's still hard to believe this tragic event actually happened. This film had little to no buzz upon its release, but Parkland is definitely worth catching up with.

Parkland (2013): ***/****

The Alamo (2004)

Right from the get-go, it seemed 2004's The Alamo was doomed. Casting problems with casting and directing and especially the rating -- make it a hard R or a more family friendly PG-13 -- hung over the production.  Then once director John Lee Hancock finished the movie, an hour of his finished product was hacked away and the release date pushed back three months.  Finally released in theaters Easter weekend against Passion of the Christ, Hancock's movie bombed, barely making $20 million. Failure in theaters, yes, but that doesn't take away from one of my favorite movies on one of my favorite subjects.

It's February 1836 and less than 200 Texans and Mexicans have holed up in the Alamo, a crumbling adobe mission outside San Antonio.  Mexican dictator Santa Anna (Emilio Echevarria) leads an army numbering almost 5,000 men and means to squash this rebellion no matter the cost.  Inside the Alamo, three men lead the tiny garrison; Jim Bowie (Jason Patric), the infamous knife fighter, David Crockett (Billy Bob Thornton), a famed frontiersman and ex-Congressman, and William Travis (Patrick Wilson), a young unproven officer in the regular army.  As the siege wears on day after day, General Sam Houston (Dennis Quaid) tries to assemble an army to come to the aid of the besieged Alamo.  But inside the doomed mission, the defenders see more Mexican troops arriving daily and know what awaits them if they don't surrender.

Before I dive in, I'll say that ever since I was a kid, the story of the Alamo has appealed to me. I'll read and watch anything I can find on the subject. John Wayne's The Alamo is one of my two favorite movies, and even with extremely high expectations going into this one upon its initial release, I loved this movie. It feels crazy that it's almost 10 years since it was released in theaters. It is a shame also that Hancock's believed 3-hour version will never see the light of day. As is right now at 137 minutes, it has its fair share of flaws. At times, it's far too rushed. It has Pearl Harbor Syndrome as well, insisting on a happy ending as opposed to a more appropriate ending. But when it does get right? It hits a home run.

The shame of it is, Hancock has finished the most accurate re-telling of the Alamo battle, including the build-up and actual battle. An immense set in Dripping Springs, Texas was built including the actual Alamo mission and the nearby town of San Antonio. Like Wayne's version, having a full-scale set adds to the realism of the story and battle. The characters are not the legends we remember them as, but the people they actually were. People with personalities, hopes and dreams, fears and desires. The Alamo defenders weren't frontiersman, but townspeople like bankers, lawyers, farmers, and store owners. Without making them into the mythological characters they've become, Hancock has made a very human, personal movie. It's easy to see and feel what the defenders went through; an impossible situation with no easy resolution.

The Alamo story typically presents three main characters, the Alamo trinity of Crockett, Bowie and Travis. I'll get to all three, but the best performance hands down belongs to Billy Bob Thornton as Crockett. This is not the Fess Parker Crockett, but instead a regular guy who's tied down by his own legend he had little to do with creating. Of all the Crockett performances, this is the best, one I thought Thornton deserved an Oscar nomination for. The defenders look to him for support, for answers, for a way out. A monologue mid-siege is transfixing to watch, subtle and quiet but nonetheless highly effective. Another scene has Crockett playing his fiddle atop the Alamo walls, harmonizing with the Mexican army's band playing the Deguello (a high point of Carter Burwell's unassuming but still moving score). Watch the scene HERE. Somewhat controversially, the 2004 Alamo handled Crockett's death in a way no other Alamo movie even dared touch, Thornton rising to the occasion.

The diary of a Mexican soldier -- Enrique de la Pena -- who served at the Alamo claims that Crockett was captured in the closing moments of the battle and brought before a gloating Santa Anna. He was executed with a handful of other prisoners who survived the battle. This is the way the 2004 version chooses to go with, a scene that ends up being the most memorable one in the whole movie. This is Thornton bringing this man to life. Under his breath, Crockett mumbles 'Davy Crockett' as he faces death, his legend hanging over him as the Mexican army awaits what he will do. You can watch the scene HERE. Crockett's death -- whether by surrender/execution or going down fighting -- is maybe the most controversial aspect of the battle for Alamo buffs, but as presented here I can't understand anyone objecting to it.

Onto the other 2/3 of the Alamo trinity. About as far removed from a Hollywood star as possible, Patric is ideally suited to play Jim Bowie, a man who's earned his reputation where Crockett has had his thrust upon him. He's a hard-drinking, stubborn fighter, willing to fight it out if he believes he's right. Playing Colonel Travis, Wilson too shines, showing the transformation the young Alamo commander makes in such a short time as he attempts to rally the mission. All three men make these historical figures people and not just a name. Echevarria doesn't fare so well as Santa Anna, making the Mexican dictator a villain in the vein of a James Bond movie. Quaid too struggles to bring Houston to life, but much of his part was cut when the movie was hacked at to the tune of an hour of lost footage. Jordi Molla as Juan Seguin, a Mexican messenger from the Alamo, especially represents himself well as does Leon Rippy, Marc Blucas (as messenger James Bonham) and Kevin Page as Micajah Autry, Crockett's friend.

What The Alamo does well is especially evident in the choice to stay accurate to the final assault the morning of March 6 when the defenders were overwhelmed and killed to a man. It shows the attack in the morning darkness in an extended sequence that runs almost 15 minutes. Watch most of the sequence HERE. The scale is impressive, giving a real sense of what the battle must have been like. Actually imagine the setting; an enemy closing in on four sides and you've got nowhere to run. It isn't presented as a noble, heroic fight but a gruesome hand-to-hand conflict as sheer numbers overwhelm the Alamo defenders. It starts off in a great sequence as Crockett plucks the string on his fiddle, the shot changing with each pluck as the Mexican army silently approaches the Alamo walls. The most effective moment is a quiet one. Delirious with sickness, Bowie lies in bed barely able to move. He buttons up his vest, ready to face whatever comes through the door. As Rippy's Ward says "We know what awaits us and are prepared to meet it."

Wrapping up the movie is a rushed 20-minute follow-up, Houston's victory at San Jacinto. Like the Doolittle Raid being tacked onto Pearl Harbor, it feels unnecessary. It doesn't take away from a moving story though. The cast is nearly perfect, the music fitting and not your typical historical epic score, the actual Alamo set is a sight to behold, the camerawork and the visual are stunning, and like other successful Alamo movies, it gets the message across. Facing impossible odds, these defenders stood their ground, ready to give their lives because they believed they were right.

The Alamo <---trailer (2004): ****/****

Faster

Making his rise to stardom as a wrestler, Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) has diverted on his career a bit over the last couple of years.  Instead of tough, hard-hitting characters, Johnson went down the route of making more family friendly movies, and good for him for being brave enough to do that -- while also making bajillions of dollars. Still, it's always good to see a big star go back to his roots, and he's done that with the recently released Faster.  Don't be thrown off by the struggles the movie has had at the box office, this is a bare bones, exciting, fast-paced action movie that won't disappoint.   

My first thought when I saw the trailer for this movie a couple months back was that it felt like a throwback to the 1970s when car chases, anti-heroes, and equally bad cops dominated movies.  Well, I wasn't too far off.  It doesn't feel like a throwback, this movie IS a throwback to the good old days of 1970s cop/anti-hero/road movies like The Vanishing Point, Death Race 2000, Two-Lane Blacktop and many more I'm forgetting.  Oh, also add in some pretty strong violence and you've got the 2010 version.  Nothing groundbreaking here, and there were some things that threw me off, but never enough to distract from a very enjoyable, highly entertaining action flick.

Released from jail after a 10-year sentence, a prisoner known only as Driver (Johnson) knows exactly where he's going.  He walks into an office and promptly shoots a telemarketer in the forehead, only to get back into his classic Chevelle and drive off.  Two police officers, Cop (Billy Bob Thornton) and Lt. Cicero (Carla Gugino), are called in to investigate and figure out what's going on. The Driver isn't done yet though, and some more bodies start to pile up.  Someone wants him dead though, hiring a young English hitman, Killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), to knock him off. Cop and Cicero continue to follow the clues, but Killer is hot on the trail too.  Who can get to Driver first, or will he get them instead?

Story-wise, 'Faster' is about as simplistic as you're going to find.  Dude needs to kill five people, cops want to stop him, killer wants to kill him.  Handled correctly though, you're going to find a quality finished product.  It reminded me a lot of 1978's The Driver, a story similar in characters and tone, even addressing the stars by their occupation (driver, cop, killer).  And as I mentioned, Faster could have been released in the 1970s and no one would have batted an eye.  There are no pretensions about delivering a message here, just a man looking for revenge (his reasoning is revealed, and you definitely side with the Driver here), wielding a bad-ass six-shooter Magnum and driving a classic early 1970s SS Chevelle.

I've always liked Dwayne Johnson, and he shows with his part here he's got some legitimate talent.  Granted, he says about 50 words the whole movie, but that's a minor thing.  The man is a beast and looks like he could kill an elephant by flexing his arms a couple times.  It is definitely good to see him return to his action roots, and hopefully he sticks with them.  Driver is an anti-hero, but not one without any redeeming qualities.  You're rooting for him, and as the bodies mount, he begins to question what he's doing and what purpose it serves.  That's my kind of anti-hero, one struggling from within about what if he's doing is right.  The ending and how it resolves everything (one somewhat obvious twist aside) is a little predictable, but not a movie killer.  Kudos to the Rock, and welcome back to action.

Then there's the two men on his trail, the cocaine-using, chain-smoking cop two weeks away from retirement (uh-oh, heard that before), and the maniacally egocentric but very talented hit man.  First, Thornton looks, feels, and is the perfect choice for Cop.  You just know he's got a checkered past as involved as the crooks he's chasing, and he may know more than he's letting on.  Jackson-Cohen is more hit or miss with a character that could have been cut out almost completely from the story without affecting much.  It's just an unnecessary character in a story that doesn't require him to be there.  Also watch for Tom Berenger as the warden, Lost's Maggie Grace (looking great) as Lily, Killer's fiance, Moon Bloodgood as Cop's ex-wife, and Lester Speight, Courtney Gains, John Cirigliano and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as the Driver's intended victims.

As the movie moved along to Clint Mansell's appropriately moody and memorable score, I couldn't help but think of Faster as a modern day western. Instead of six-shooters and horses, we've got classic cars and automatic weapons. Right down to the characters and their background is reminiscent of the western hero, the loner riding into town on his horse.  The three main characters are all deeply flawed and seem to know they're doomed but continue on the road they've chosen regardless.  You just know they're all going to meet at some point down the road, just not who's going to make it out alive.

Faster <---trailer (2010): ***/****

All the Pretty Horses

If I had to sit down and make a list of my top 10 or 20 favorite movies, it's a safe bet that about half of them would be westerns in one form or another.  Most of those are typical westerns, stories set between the end of the Civil War and through the first 10 or 15 years of the 20th century.  A smaller class of westerns is the modern western, movies like Lonely Are the Brave, Hud, Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada and Brokeback Mountain -- among many others.  Maybe because these aren't based in the romantic old west there aren't as many, but an example of a good one is 2000's All the Pretty Horses.

Based on a Cormac McCarthy novel, it is a story of what the west used to be and longing to be a part of it.  It is an interesting movie because it tries to be a western of the 1960s and at the same time is an anti-western, playing against many of the genre's tendencies.  McCarthy's novel is an interesting read, but one that I questioned how it would be translated to the screen in the same way I wondered about The Road.  Dialogue is sparse, imagery is heavy, and parts of the storyline demand audiences to make conclusions on their own.  If that's not a recipe for success at the box office, I don't know what is.  Making it worse, director Billy Bob Thornton turned in a finish cut somewhere between 3-4 hours only to have it cut down to 2 hours.  A good jumping off point if there ever was one. 

It's 1949 in San Angelo, Texas not far from the Rio Grande and the U.S./Mexico border.  Young John Grady Cole (Matt Damon) and childhood friend Lacey Rawlins (Henry Thomas) decide to mount up one day and ride south into Mexico.  They don't have a goal or destination in mind, they just want to see what life offers.  Along the way, they meet a 12 or 13 year old kid, Jimmy Blevins (Lucas Black) riding a horse he claims is his, but John and Lacey remain suspicious, especially Rawlins who says they should leave him behind.  Both with some experience as cowboys, Cole and Rawlins find work at a Mexican ranch owned by Hector de la Rocha (Ruben Blades), a very rich, very powerful man.  Cole immediately falls for Rocha's daughter Alejandra (Penelope Cruz), but that's just the start of their problems as Blevins pops up one more time.

First off, any movie that is cut by an hour-plus is almost doomed to struggle in its storytelling.  A 3-hour version seems appropriate having read the book to really dive into the characters, the setting, and the story.  McCarthy's novel itself is episodic, never staying in one place too long before moving on.  The movie is the same way, but each of these smaller episodes isn't given enough time to breath and develop -- something I'd most likely attribute to those studio-forced cuts.  It's a road picture and a buddy movie (without the laughs) that is also a mystery, a romance, and a prison movie.  Try fitting all that into two hours and you get a somewhat disjointed story that understandably can be a little confusing.

Where the movie does succeed is in the visuals and the casting.  Working with cinematographer Barry Markowitz, Thornton makes the Texas border country and Northern Mexico (Texas and New Mexico locations) a treat to look at.  Anyone who thinks Texas is one big desert should watch this movie and then reevaluate their opinion.  The camerawork is full of color and shots that drift just long enough to let you take all the scenery in.  There was also apparently a dust-up about the musical score, but the one that made it to the final cut is a perfect fit, full of Mexican-themed guitar and a softness and intimacy to it that is about as soothing as a score can be.  Some critics complained that the cinematography and music was too self-indulgent, but I loved both aspects in giving the movie a deeper level.

Even though he was 30 years old making the movie, Damon still looks to be about 15, maybe 20 here, which is appropriate because his character is about to turn 20 years old.  I've always been a fan of Damon, and this part is a good example of his on-screen persona.  He does a good job inhabiting these characters without taking over the movie.  His Cole is likable, honest, loyal, and a good friend even when it'd be easier to turn tail and run.  With Thomas, he has a good, easy-going chemistry that two longtime friends would have.  Black is a scene-stealer as Blevins, I just wish he was in the movie more (I had the same request in the book).  Cruz -- besides being drop dead gorgeous -- makes the most of an underwritten part that requires her to look good.  Too bad because her Alejandra in the book is much more developed.

The supporting cast is beyond solid, especially Blades as ranch owner Rocha, a man who bonds with Damon's Cole through their love of horses.  Miriam Colon delivers in a quick two or three scenes as Alejandra's aunt looking out for her best interest. Julio Oscar Mechoso is perfectly evil as a Mexican captain of police, so subtle in his ways he doesn't come across as evil until you really listen to him.  Also making one or two scene appearances are Robert Patrick as Cole's father, Sam Shepard as J.C. Franklin, his lawyer, and Bruce Dern as a judge looking for the truth in Cole's adventures and misadventures.

This is a movie that certainly isn't for everyone, but I would recommend reading McCarthy's novel before checking it out.  It tends to explain things a little more smoothly and fills in some of the pieces that the movie was missing.  Of course, it's hard to fault Thornton in his directing.  Maybe his original version showed and explained these things I've brought up.  Hopefully so and there's a director's cut floating around out there somewhere.  Until then, at least check the novel out and give this maligned modern western a try.

All the Pretty Horses <----fan-made trailer (2000): ***/****

Eagle Eye

As far back as Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" in 1968, movies have been warning us not to become too reliant on technology, be it computers, cell phones, automated weapons systems, you get my drift. But as the movies show, we're pretty dumb overall so if technology makes things easier then we're all for it. Last year's Eagle Eye continued this trend in the form of an action thriller that I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would going in.

Shia LaBeouf plays Jerry Shaw, your typical underachiever who has some potential to do things with his life but chooses to do otherwise. He works at the Copy Cabana after dropping out from Stanford, but one day finds $750,000 in his bank account and an apartment full of ammonium nitrate and high-tech military weapons. His cell phone rings and a woman tells him he has 30 seconds to get out of his apartment before the FBI shows up to arrest him. Of course, Jerry is suspicious, I guess I would be too, and doesn't believe her.

Across town, a similar thing is happening to Rachel Holloman, played by the very beautiful Michelle Monaghan, a single mom who has just sent her son to Washington DC with his class to play at the Kennedy Center. The woman on the phone tells Rachel she must do everything she says or else her son's train will derail. So begins a movie that doesn't slow down until the very end. Is the whole movie kinda ridiculous? You bet, but that's part of the fun. In this day and age, most people's lives are so closely tied to their phones, Blackberries, IPODS, and other technological advances, so a movie that plays on the fear that it's the technology ruling us is as timely as it will ever be.

Going into Eagle Eye, I hadn't liked either big LaBeouf movie, he was okay in Indy 4, and all-around bad/annoying in Transformers, so I had low expectations. With the right part here where his character is as much in the dark as the viewer as to what's happening, he was pretty good. However, the pessimist in me says the ending was a bit of a cop-out as to how his character is dealt with. Monaghan joins Shia as the female lead and does a reliable job with a stereotypical character. There isn't much development in either character, the basic outline is explained with their backgrounds, and vamoose, we're off! In the supporting cast, Billy Bob Thornton jumps out as one of the better parts, a wisecracking FBI agent just trying to figure out what exactly is going on.

The movie has its flaws, but it isn't enough to distract from the overall product. The story moves along too fast for you to even think about the flaws. It's an exciting movie, and a timely one, that's worth a watch if nothing else. And always remember that someone is listening, in this case, your cell phone. I always knew those things were evil.

One thing I'll never complain about, the original teaser trailer that was shown in theaters. It's one of the better teasers I've seen in quite awhile.