Weekend movie reviews

Yep, yours truly is still trying to catch-up on his DVD viewing around this little corner of heaven. Three movies got crossed off the list this weekend. Here's what I thought of them:

* Wild Hogs - The ensemble buddy movie starring Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lewis, and William H. Macy that takes them on a cross country motorcycle run when they all find themselves going thru various versions of a midlife crisis. It also features Ray Liotta as the head of a biker gang seeking revenge against them after they burn down their bar, and Marisa Tomei as Macy's love interest. I found the whole thing to be very formulaic. But, if you're into the biker lifestyle, you may get a kick out of this one. I am not. The only thing I really enjoyed about this one was the mock Extreme Makeover:Home Edition episode that played while the end credits were rolling. Bottom line: I'm sorry if you paid good money to see this one in the theater.

* The Missing - This one was recommended to me by someone who heard I was reading a bit of pulp fiction (Thunderhead) about an Anasazi curse on the legendary lost city of gold. I suppose this 2003 film is in the same vein, particularly as it featured a Native American brujo. But, this bad guy picks the wrong young lady to kidnap for sale into white slavery in Mexico, because her mom (played by Cate Blanchett) and estranged grandfather (played by Tommy Lee Jones) pursue them. (Humorous aside: the grandfather's Indian name Chaa-duu-ba-its-iida is revealed to mean "$hit for luck"!) Aaron Eckhart is also featured, though briefly, as a ranch hand. (Between this flick and The Dark Knight, Eckhart has had to portray some pretty unfortunate characters . . .) Oh, yeah, and Ron Howard ("Opey") was the director. Bottom line: If you're as big a fan of westerns as this sock in the dryer, you will not be disappointed.

* Step Brothers - I had to see this one, not only because it reunites Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly who were so great together in Talladega Nights, but also because it seems to be the source of more than a couple inside jokes around the office . . . Bottom line: Definitely the cruder variety of slapstick comedy, and not the best pairing of these two comedians.