Seen any good movies lately ?

Viewer "eejay" is getting into the spirit of this thing. I appreciate his feedback in the comment section of the preceding post.

Back in my college days, it seems like I spent 3-4 nights a week at the movies. Those were the days in which there were still drive-in theaters, and dollar-a-car nights. The drive-in was a good place to have a few beers, smoke a pack of cigarettes, shoot the shit with one or more of your buddies all night, and maybe even see a pretty good flick. Maybe the next night, do it all again. I don't remember studying in college, but I damn sure remember going to the picture show. Selective recall ?

Some movies were good enough to focus my attention. Must've seen "The Cincinnati Kid" about six times, and "The Wild Bunch" at least three. Classic 1960s cinema, with a particular appeal to young men of college age.

We get older, and things change. Drive-ins are ancient history. Now, I'll go to an indoor theater maybe 6-7 times a year at most. My wife likes to go out to a movie at least once per season (spring, summer, fall and winter), which is about how often a movie surfaces that we both want to see, and is worth paying ten bucks to do so. The last one in that category we went to was The Good Shepherd, a fictionalized account of the origins of the CIA. Matt Damon, who's grown on me, was the lead.

Then, there are maybe 2-3 movies per year that I decide must be experienced on the large screen with Dolby digital sound, and all the other bells and whistles. Usually, I don't like to go to a movie alone, but often, I'll make an exception for an R-rated "must-see" picture. My most recent examples were the back-to-back Clint Eastwood films, Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima.

So I see maybe four "date movies" a year, and a couple of big-screen guy flicks. That leaves about 20 movies every year that are worth seeing, but for whatever reason, won't get me into a theater seat. In the city where I live, a lot of decent films never get to town, although "Spiderman III" or the latest Harry Potter will be showing on eight screens.

This is where home video comes in. The beauty of DVD for me is that Blockbuster and some other rental outfits will unload like-new pre-viewed copies of recent movies at bargain prices. So I can own a minor masterpiece like The Departed or Miss Potter for less than a pair of theater tickets would've set me back, and I can see a pretty good movie that otherwise would've gone right past me.

I'll mention a couple of titles to illustrate the point: The Guys and Winter Solstice

These are a pair of small-budget movies that I orginally saw on cable. Both feature Anthony LaPaglia in the leading male role. Both met my human decency criteria, and I would encourage anyone reading this to see both. Anthony LaPaglia is one of those fine American character actors that everyone has probably seen several times without knowing his name.

In The Guys, he plays an NYC Fire Department officer who's lost several of his men in the 9/11 rescue effort. He's a plain-spoken man's man who is suddenly required to deliver the eulogies at the funerals of his fallen subordinates. He links up with a writer, played by Sigourney Weaver, for help in preparing the eulogies. That's the premise, and this movie worked on me emotionally as effectively as any I've seen lately. But I never would've seen it in a theater.

This is a movie I would've liked to have written.

Some other obscure little movies worth searching for: The Spanish Prisoner, Mad Hot Ballroom, The Sweet Hereafter, 51 Birch Street, Tsotsi, Saint Ralph, The Beautiful Country, and The Boys of Second Street Park.

PS: In the previous post, I mentioned my crushes on three young actresses. Another who is approaching their status is Rachel Weisz. Haven't seen her much, but I've appreciated the work I've seen. Sorry I overlooked her earlier.