You should go there

Have you ever been to Omaha? It's hard to miss the Woodmen building, and I liked this film from the title sequence. I like that Jack Nicholson is reserved and, well, acts his age. I love him in most things anyway, but for so much grit and angst to be bottled up in this character is a thrill. I think it's a wonderful depiction of family, a bit cynical, very funny, and like family, oddly moving.

I've seen the better part (that is, most of) Sahara twice now since it's been on cable, and I didn't like it either time. Okay, I haven't actually seen the beginning, but I doubt if that would save it. I saw it a second time, sort of, because my wife wanted to see it wasn't with me the first time. It didn't get any better.

This film seems to thrive on two ideas – the first, that Matthew McConaughey is as manly as everyone (at least People magazine) wants him to be, is almost less annoying than the second, that these characters might actually gel with popular culture. That the film might quickly evolve into the first of a beloved series. Move over, Indiana Jones! The action is exciting, but the lame attempts at catch phrases by sidekick Steve Zahn.

Penélope Cruz is always a delight, but this film is beneath her. It's a tired plot filled with tired characters, and even the fast action can't save this one.

At first I was shocked, then pleasantly surprised. The film hypothesizes the effect of not having a future on humanity. What a world would be like without the promise of a future generation. How much of what we do is intended to benefit people who follow us? How much of what we do should we intended for our children?

A depressing movie on many fronts, but more visceral and real than most big-action movies. Not that I'd call Children of Men a big-action movie per se, but there's a lot of it. Bullets that don't just fly around harmlessly; people get hurt. I much prefer weapons that actually inflict pain like they really do. I'm becoming a fan of Clive Owen every since Closer, even though he plays a similar role, sort of. English suaveness but rough around the edges, a flask in his overcoat, an earnest over-sized brute with just enough control to take to dinner. Dangerous but human.

This film paints a very grim picture of one of my worst fears, breakdown of social order, chaos, selfishness, aimless violence. There are a lot of big-brother-ish overtones and not-so-subtle social critique. People are being carted away to haulocaust-like camps not fit for people in buses labeled "Homeland Security." The character who shows the most compassion is Michael Caine as a stereotypical Hollywood hippy, complete with Beatles and pot. All this seems to scream: Where did we gone wrong? Or, beware.

All this might be too much for many viewers, too dark, too meaningless and silly. But for me, our protagonists' ultimate objective, trying to get to a fabled boat called "Tomorrow" from "The Human Project", was in the end a saving grace. None of this is explained, or at least not very well. But that' makes it better for me. Rather than being tempted to wrap this up with a contrived, tight, literal ending, the film leaves many questions unanswered. The ship "Tomorrow" as an obvious metaphor gives the rest of the film more latitude. The ending allows the film to be a broader metaphor, posing more questions than it attempts to answer. I left the theater thinking about the message rather than the details.