Changeling

Changeling had me thinking of an episode of This American Life that I've heard a couple times called "The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar." Both stories are about children taken from their parents and then returned, but maybe not to the correct parents and there are other switch-ups and stuff. I guess this stuff was always happening in the thirties.

Clint Eastwood's movies don't seem to have any thematic elements in common, but they all have a lot in common stylistically. Changeling is a long, well paced and sparse movie, just like every other Eastwood movie that I've ever seen. It is also quite good.

For all of the star power concentrated in Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich, I thought that the most compelling character was the mostly anonymous detective guy who finally cracks the case, allowing Malkovich and Jolie and the lawyer that should have been played by Clint to stick it to the jerks in charge of the Los Angeles Police Department. Jolie never struck me as much of an actor, and she doesn't impress here, despite the cute hats she gets to wear. Similarly, Malkovich wears some really comfy sweaters, although I would prefer them in different colors. A big surprise for me was the girl who played (and probably will again play) Holly on the Office as a patient of the nut house the cops throw Jolie into. Girl's got chops. I knew she could crack a dorky joke with the best of them, but I didn't know that she could disappear into a movie like this so well.

Cost/Benefit analysis: I didn't pay anything to see this movie, but it is well worth a rental. I wanted to see it in the theater, and I don't think I would have been unhappy paying full price. I don't think I'd ever buy the DVD, though.

I don't get why Angelina worried so much about her kid. It's not like Kenya is going to run out of kids for her to adopt.

Atonement

Atonement is an older movie. It came out in 2006 and was nominated for a 2007 Best Picture Academy Award. It is a good movie. Before I saw it, I totally thought it was going to be right up the same alley as Nicholas Sparks' crap-fest The Notebook because I thought they were both love stories that were set around World War II, but luckily I was wrong.

I was initially confused by the way the story was told, with certain scenes being told again and again with additional information coming into play each time. For a movie set in the 30's and 40's it was a surprisingly modern choice, but I think that it worked very well.

The movie drags from time to time, and introduces new story elements without introducing them properly. I don't think these sins are worth condemning the movie, but they're great enough that I don't know how it got the Best Picture nod. It's a slow, relaxing movie that probably works best late at night.

Atonement ends with a twist that I won't mention even though I know no one will read this blog. I can imagine this is the kind of twist that some will hate, but I really liked it. Probably because it played to my English major sensibilities. It

Cost/Benefit analysis: I didn't pay anything to see this movie, but it is worth a rent, fo sho.

Unforgiven

This is an old movie that I saw. It is a good movie. I'm a sucker for movies that are stacked with sweet actors, so when I heard about a western movie starring Gene Hackman, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Richard Harris, I knew I had to see it.

Clint Eastwood plays the classic reluctant western movie hero, a retired killer coming back for one last job, but the movie doesn't rely on many of the western archetypes. Clint isn't the sheriff, he's a killer reformed by his late wife that hasn't touched a drop of liquor in ten years and needs a double-barreled shotgun to hit a tin can from 20 feet. The movie never really says who the good guys and bad guys are, and any of the characters could probably fit into either role.

There's a weird subplot with Richard Harris's character that never seems to go anywhere. I guess it's a chance to show the darker aspects of Hackman's character, but that could have been done without going into a dead end. The other thing I'm a little hung up on is the Jackie Chan-Drunken Master turn the movie takes at the very end, where Clint gets back on the wagon (or is it off?) and becomes a super-cowboy again. It was disappointing and is the kind of ending that I was afraid Gran Torino would have.

Cost/Benefit analysis: I downloaded this movie for free, so it didn't cost me anything. It's totally worth a rent for fans of westerns and suckers for big casts .