This weekend, after battling the crowds while Christmas shopping, the wife and I decided to rent some movies and unwind. She picked two, and so did I.
She rented “Capturing The Friedmans” and “Talladega Nights”. The former is a documentary (the wife loves these) about a family falling apart when the father and youngest son are tried for child molestation and child porn. It’s a good movie, very heavy and serious, not my usual fare of pistols and fart jokes. I recommend it for docu-philes.
The latter is about as far from “Friedmans” as you can get. It was surprisingly funny (especially to me as the son of two NASCAR fans), and much better than the previews led me to believe. Who knew Will Ferrell was still funny? “Shake ‘N’ Bake!”
My picks were “Superman Returns” and “Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai”. “Superman Returns” was very good. Felt good to see Big Blue on the screen again. Brandon Routh did a good job, eerily channelling Christopher Reeve at times while still injecting his own version of the character into the Man of Steel. My only complaint was that the movie felt a bit overlong. But not in that “Return of the King” 25-different-endings way.
“Ghost Dog” was a peculiar little movie. I still don’t know what to make of it. I like movies about hitmen with a conscience, and this movie was no different. But it had such a weird vibe to it, this urban mafia-samurai hip-hop mixture that referenced “Rashomon” and “Felix the Cat”. It was good, darkly funny in areas, and who-knew that Forrest Whittaker could be a bad-ass? But the movie felt weird, like a puzzle piece that wasn’t cut as smoothly on some sides as it was on others. I dunno if that makes sense (and I’m a terrible movie reviewer), but that’s how I feel.
To sum up, with the exception of “Capturing The Friedmans” (’cause, y’know, who buys documentaries, anyway?), I would own all three of this weekend’s rentals.
Now, if only they had “Miami Vice” (the series) for rent…
Professional Dummy 
I really enjoyed Superman Returns (even saw it in IMAX 3D, one of the perks of living in NYC). I’m honestly surprised that so many people didn’t like it. Hopefully they’ll get a sequel greenlit and then be able to toss some giant robots into the mix for the people that needed more action.
As for Ghost Dog, I agree with you. It’s a strange film, and I think the roughness of it is the charm. I probably wouldn’t own it, though.
Yeah, I meant to specify that one: I’d own “Ghost Dog” only if I found it previously used for 2 bucks at the video store or something like that. I’m cheap that way.