Walk the Line - 4.5 stars

I've been a fan of Joaquin Pheonix for a long time. I thought I first saw him as a teenager in To Die For with Nicole Kidman, but he was awesome as the troubled teenager, Garry, in Parenthood. I had no idea he is the same person as Leaf Phoenix! With Walk the Line, Joaquin has just solidified his place as an A-List actor. He's compelling and believable as Johnny Cash with a wonderful performance by Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash. Both leads do their own singing and instrumentation.

This film is an unually good biopic. Usually I find them to be pretty boring unless you are already obsessed with the subject. Walk the Line is actually a really good film in its own right, especially if you enjoy Cash's music. One of my favorite things about the movie is his tours, friendships, and references to other famous musicians of the era including Elvis, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bob Dylan.

A History of Violence - 2 stars

A History of Violence was a letdown. I usually enjoy movies with the theme that you never really know someone or twisty-turny mysteries. This movie fails because there is no surprise. You know from the previews that Viggo Mortensen's character is suspiciously handy a killing people when a couple of lowlifes try to rob his restaurant. Well, that's the end of the surprises. It's a watchable film, but only a fraction of what it could be. Maria Bello is disappointing and gratuitously naked, while Ed Harris is poorly type-cast.

Loggerheads - 4 stars

I saw Loggerheads at the SB Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. I was expecting movies at the FF to be a bit racey, so was a bit surprised by Loggerheads. The film has a mezmorizing quality, slowly bringing you along the very personal story. There are several main characters/families that all come together at the end. I don't want to give away the ending, so I'm not going to say a lot about the story. The acting is really good and the story rings true, but the thing I really liked was the directing. The pace of the dialogue, feel of the cameras, and underacting make this an excellent movie.

The Director did a Q&A after the film, revealing the differences between the story and the reality. Let me know if you would like the details & I'll email you. It's only running in select cities and not yet available on DVD. Netflix members can save it to your queue though.

Need another reason to watch it? Try the eye candy playing "Mark."