Bad Movies

Last night after we finished watching a movie on DVD, hubby asked me how I'd chosen the last three DVDs for the two of us to watch: Atonement, Rendition and Awake. He did not like one of them, and I have to admit except for Hayden Christensen, I didn't like the three much, either.

With Atonement, I had know idea what it was about. I just knew the movie had received tons of nominations and the DVD box mentioned something about a great romance. Needless to say, the payoff I'd waited for never happened and as the ending played I sat there feeling shell-shocked like one of the soldiers from the Dunkirk scene.

With Rendition, I figured if we were going to watch a good romance (i.e. Atonement) then maybe I could get something hubby would enjoy. Uh, no. I think the movie could have been a lot better. And there was one very odd story/time technique used (a little reminiscent to Atonement) that totally had me shaking my head and wanting to go back to an earlier scene to take a closer look. Except I really didn't care enough about the movie to do that.

Last night with Awake, I'll be honest, I really just wanted to see Hayden Christensen. Let's face it, I'd rent a DVD of him reading the phone book and happily sit through the entire thing with a dumb smile on my face. I'd wanted to see the movie when it opened, but never got around to it. I'd been trying to rent the movie for awhile, too. And I really wanted to like the movie. The problem with Awake, at least my problem, is there was no hero. **Spoiler alert** Strike that, there were two heroes, Lilith and her doctor heart surgeon friend, but I wanted the hero to be Clayton (Hayden's character.) Unfortunately, he may be awake, but can't move so all he can do it react to what's going on around him. He can't take action. He can't save himself. He can't be heroic. That's left to his mother who figures out that people are trying to kill her son, calls her doctor friend to tell him what's she's discovered and makes sure there's another heart available for her son. When the heart surgeon arrives, he takes charge and doesn't give up on Clayton when his new heart stops beating. Justice is served in the movie (unlike Atonement), but again I didn't get that payoff I'd wanted.

I misplaced my list of DVD recommendations I'd had and need to search harder for it. I did realize something all three movies had in common...one word titles. I think I'll avoid any more of those for now.

At least I'm better at selecting movies for our Family Night! We watched National Treasures 2: Book of Secrets on Thursday night. I liked the first one better, but the kids liked this one. They thought it was funnier and liked that Riley played a bigger part. Of course I just want to know what is on page 47! Guess they'll be another one coming out to tell us!

Do you have any movie recommendations for me? Please repeat any you've posted before, too. I want to put together another list in case the other one remains missing.