Half Nelson (2006)

Half Nelson begs the question, "how fucked up can you be and still teach 8th grade history?" The answer? Very. On why he doesn't keep a copy of Mein Kampf out on the shelf, "'Cause it's just not cool to be a Nazi anymore, baby." No, he's not a Nazi. He is one fucked up individual. Perhaps a true tragic hero--but his tragic flaws are much more in evidence than any virtues. He dresses in anachronistic '80s style, including a digital calculator watch and pink power tie. A young girl, his student, befriends him and saves him…or does she? The end of the film doesn't advance you past where it started. The acting is fine--Ryan Gosling is fantastic. Shareeka Epps is astounding--tough, vulnerable and completely her own confused, conflicted person. The journey is fine, but since our (anti) hero learns nothing at the end, I wondered why we made the trip.

Snakes on a Plane

It delivers. Perfect balance of serious hard-ass attitude from SLJ, matched by complete idiocy of secondary characters and a sense of humor about the subject matter. Some poignant early scenes lead to tragi-comic mass death on an airplane that is beset by the twin horrors of an electrical storm and a cargo hold full of…well, I don't want to give it away. Not for the squeamish, the violence is cartoon-ish enough not to be terribly offensive and only occasionally shocking. I got one actual scare from this film, which is rare for me, and plenty of good laughs.

Invincible

A low-key, working class drama. Decent acting, no rah-rah hero worship. Only one unnecessary montage set to sappy music. Love interest is actually integral to plot. Needed more character development. Stupid Disney. I still liked it. Didn't cry as much as I expected. That is to say: not at all. Also, I'll pretty much watch anything with Marky Mark in it, but is it my imagination or is he looking a little rugged these days? I'm just sayin'…