A few unrelated ones

Michael Douglas is perhaps the only actor who can hold a candle to the long line of Italians for his sheer intensity on screen. The Game (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119174/) is a simple "victim of a con job" with numerous twists, some barely believable, but entertaining nevertheless - what stands out is the lead's intensity and the frantic pace of the movie. A relatively hackneyed theme, well executed - just as in the case of Cloverfield (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1060277/) - NYC under attack for the umpteenth time, but the footage over a Handycam and the relentless pace superbly executed. Who was it that said that we discover something new every day? Director David Fincher of the former has to his credit Alien, Seven, Fight Club, Panic Room and Zodiac. He could do worse. Definitely one to comprehensively cover, as it were

Speaking of good movies, there are movies that one watches that one wishes were not made. I am not speaking of the good-intentioned flops, the tributes to sheer lack of talent. I speak of plagiarisims and ripoffs so poorly done and such obvious and shoddy attempts to milk a genre, they bring discredit to all concerned. In the Name of the King (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460780/) should have known better than to shamelessly rip off LOTR. And poorly too. Hope it does not put the brakes on Jason Statham's rise to reasonable fame. If you seek period pieces of recent make, I strongly recommend Beowulf (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0442933/) while Tristan + Isolde and 300 also make for decent viewing.

Children of Men (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0206634/) surprised me. Like I Am Legend and Invasion and 28 Days Later and all of their ilk, the world we know has come to an end and our intrepid heroes pull off a coup in what is otherwise a land of icy savagery. However, what makes this movie stand out head and shoulders above the rest is its meticulous attention to detail coupled with a stark realism that lends it authenticity and brings it out of the set-piece constructs of the others names herein. Lives mean little in a world of terror, but how little is little? Caged like animals, easy violence, predatory crowds juxtaposed with Big Brother screens all over a dystopian urban landscape, make for a bleak drama that is almost Dickensian. Watch this movie

BTW, kudos to Clive Owen for his back-to back versatitily on Shoot 'Em Up (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465602/) - a rollercoaster ride of exaggerated cameos

On the theme of this year's Oscars, watched No Country For Old Men (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477348/) and, much later, There Will Be Blood (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0469494/). Both are great movies. In my order of things the second takes precedence by far. It is far less contextual and abstruse. That of course may be my personal bias. What, however, is not, is Daniel Day Lewis in the latter. I cannot remember a man acting like that. This was consummate, sublime, perfect. The angst of the bounty hunter and early oilman with his all too evident vulnerability was all his. This is a movie that I recommend for all those who are interested in perfectionism per se. Once in a while an actor finds a role and they blend in perfect harmony. There Will Be Blood is just that