7 Word Weekend Movie Review: Hall Pass, Drive Angry, and February's reign of terror is ended

New Movie Releases Reviewed in 7 Words Each

The Grace Card (limited) - Louis Gosset Jr. need I say more?

Drive Angry 3D - Yea... More Nicolas Cage car *Yawn* chasing.

Hall Pass - Remember when the Farrelly brothers were relevant?

The good news is, February (at least in terms of movies) is almost over. Soon it won't be able to hurt us anymore. Well not so much hurt as bore. Oh, no wait, hurt too. Last weekend Big Mommas House tres, while not number one, still placed in the top 5 with $16 million. Why?

I really can't remember the last time I wanted to see a Farrelly brothers movie (specifically that they've written). Regardless of how crazy and often tasteless their comedy is, it used to have an odd brilliance to it. Now though even their early stuff seems largely unwatchable to me. Their movies are what I like to think of us cable time killers. In that if I catch a few minutes of Something About Mary or Dumb and Dumber on cable, I'm good. I just don't want to sit and watch the whole film. In fact the only two of their films that I still really enjoy on occasion, Kingpin and The Ringer, they didn't write. Hall Pass could be different -it does have Stephen Merchant in it- but I doubt it. 

And then there's the new Nic Cage movie... Part of me thinks 'hey, a guy on a wicked car chase to save his daughter from being sacrificed by a cult, sounds like fun!' while another part of me just wants to hang my head in silence at the thought of another Nic Cage vehicle (and all the pun that implies). He just puts out way too few good films to justify the deluge of crap he streams. Granted, R rated action is what he does best, so I haven't abandoned hope for the film, but for sure I'll wait till DVD. 

I finally saw a documentary I've wanted to see since it came out last year. And by 'since' I mean that I forgot while it was in a very limited run up until I thought to check Netflix the other day. Herb & Dorothy is captivating story about an old Jewish couple that amassed a huge art collection throughout their lives. While that may not sound so incredible, it's more the fact that they weren't rich. Herb worked a job at the post office while Dorothy was a Brooklyn librarian. Their passion for art led them to live as cheaply as they could, to meet with artists, and to buy art in installment plans. Eventually with their collection as huge as it was they donated it to the national gallery of art, which has split it up amongst institutions across the country. It's a rich, charming story about a very interesting couple. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good doc.

Have a great weekend everyone!