8 Mile - 4.5 stars

I love 8 Mile. It's fantastically written, directed, and acted. Amazingly, it stars Eminem, prooving that this guy is no one-trick pony. He's like Madonna in the 80s, a young new talent that does things a different way. He's dismissed for being a thug, but really he's a genius.

The star of the story is B Rabbit, a young Detroit rapper who is trying to make a rap demo so he can make his way out of the trailer park. His mom's a mess (brilliantly played by Kim Bassinger), he's in a dead-end job, and his girlfriend just faked a pregnancy. Definitely worth a watch. We own the movie and watch it every few months.

Lions for Lambs - 2 stars

Lions for Lambs (2007) is very mediocre, which seems a difficult feat given it's star-studded cast. Directed by and starring Robert Redford, along with Meryl Streep and Tom Cruise. Three stories intertwine as the US changes tactics in Afghanistan. It's preachy and tries too hard, with entirely too much uncomfortable grinning. In the end, the moral of the story is convoluted. I think the moral is that idealism on all sides is blind and fool-hearty, but I'm not sure. Don't bother with this one.