Double Feature Friday
We watched National Treasure first since we saw the first one on tv not too long ago and we both actually really like it. This one was pretty much the same movie in different clothes. But overall it was still pretty good. It followed exactly the same pattern as the first movie and was entirely too predictable, but I like Nicholas Cage and his sidekick, Riley. The entire time I was trying to think of ways that they'd try and make a third one because I have a feeling they will. This time it will be a secret message on an old stock certificate that will lead to an abandoned bomb shelter left over from WWI that was filled with items from the US Mint and plates for printing money and other historical artifacts saved from Woodrow Wilson in case the US was completely blown away during the war. Or something like that. Sounds just as feesible as the other two! But I still like them. Adventure, cheesy lines from the tech geek and sympathetic officers in the FBI. Can't really go wrong when it's a $1 rental.
Even though it was after 11:30 when National Treasure ended we watched 21 anyway. If you haven't heard the premise it's about a group of smarty pants students at MIT who were recruited by one of their professors (played by Kevin Spacey) and are taught to count cards in BlackJack. They go to Vegas and spend their weekends taking the casinos for thousands and thousands of dollars. I love this movie in theory, though I don't think it totally lived up to what it could have been. It's a little bit Oceans 11 meets Good Will Hunting meets Matchstick Men (if you haven't seen Matchstick Men you REALLY should, it's greatness). The good? The main character, Ben, played by Jim Sturgess, was great. He was completely likeable and you really believe him throughout the movie. All of the supporting characters were great (especially Ben's best friends), but I didn't really buy Kate Bosworth for some reason. I love Kevin Spacey and thought he was perfect for this movie. The plot moved pretty quickly in the beginning and the music was really cool. The bad? After the movie gets going it totally starts to slow almost coming to a screeching halt about 2/3 of the way through. I kept waiting for a climax but I was probably just anxious because it was after midnight. I was a little disappointed because it was pretty dirty in parts (not in language, but in strip clubs) and it was so oogy because Kevin Spacey was playing their college professor hanging out with them. All in all though it was really pretty good. There's a cool twist in the plot at the end and it was totally worth the slowness in the middle. It's like a young kids Oceans 11 and it totally works!
I've seen 21, but not the other movie, and I really liked it! The ending was great, but parts of it did move pretty slowly. I couldn't have stayed up that late!
Last night we watched What happens in Vegas and I wasn't that excited about it but I REALLY liked it! So that's a good one to rent if you haven't already.
I actually saw that one in the theater and we rented it last week so John could see it. I really liked it, too! It was way better than I expected and I was surprised it didn't get more buzz!
I really liked the second National Treasure movie, too! Yes, it was completely predictable, but it was also very entertaining. I wasn't as excited about 21. I liked the ending but there were too many slow parts for me. Although I was also watching it after midnight, I might have liked it better at an earlier hour.