Normdog Entertainment

NOTE: About a year ago, when I was still writing a weekly column for The Coeur d’Alene Press, I wrote an article about my appreciation for the moviegoing arrangement I have with the Hayden, Idaho movie theater. As I am still writing reviews for The Press, my relationship with the theater continues.

So I thought, hey, this place deserves some more recognition. Rather than writing a fresh article, I retrofit that previous column into this blog post. But for those who didn’t see it the first time, congratulations! Fresh content!

I love the Hayden Cinema 6 Theater.

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Much has been written about the degree of truth depicted in last year’s Oscar-winning “The Hurt Locker.” While its account of soldiers defusing bombs in Iraq gave audiences an idea of the visceral mayhem of modern warfare, the film was, ultimately, just a Hollywood fiction. As much as we celebrate expert battle sequences (the opening minutes of “Saving Private Ryan,” etc.), there will always be a wall between the audience and what really happens to those on the front lines.

The astounding new documentary, “Restrepo,” brings the audience deeper into war than any film before it. It follows real soldiers in real battle, without any Hollywood politicizing or scripted dramatization.

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Before “The Other Guys,” Mark Wahlberg only made movies that were accidentally funny.

Anchored by a lively performance by Will Ferrell and a witty script from frequent Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay (“Anchorman,” “Talladega Nights”), Wahlberg gives his best performance since “The Departed,” playing a disgraced cop who is frequently exasperated by his pencil-neck partner.

“The Other Guys” has more laughs than “The Happening” without all the unintentionally bad M. Night Shyamalan dialogue. Though overlong and not as fresh as the buddy cop spoof “Hot Fuzz,” Ferrell and Wahlberg have a distinct comic chemistry. These guys definitely deserve a “Lethal Weapon” style franchise.

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Before Hollywood (probably) ruins Stieg Larsson’s best-selling “Millennium Trilogy,” the Swedish film series is worth checking out, if only for the breakout performance by Noomi Rapace as fiery computer hacker Lisbeth Salander.

The first film, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is one of the year’s best; a taut, disturbing thriller that only teased the deep, dark issues living under Lisbeth’s steel-lined skin. That film is available on DVD and Netflix Instant Viewing.

The sequel, “The Girl Who Played with Fire” is currently playing in select theaters around the country. When Lisbeth (sporting a much more attractive hair style) is implicated in a series of murders, old ally and renowned journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) works to uncover the real culprit. The mystery leads to many dark secrets from Lisbeth’s past, as well as encounters with some of the world’s scummiest men. Lisbeth doesn’t tolerate scummy men.

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There are movies about the beginning of happy relationships and movies about their bitter or tragic disintegration. Very few, however, focus on the in-between time, where work, kids, and moments of mid-life desperation can make even the most committed relationships miserable.

That’s what makes “The Kids Are All Right” such a rare and special film. It doesn’t treat its characters like ethically-depraved monsters or moralistic fairy tale royalty. It’s funny, superbly acted and unexpectedly real in even its most sitcom-y plot twists.

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Most Hollywood blockbusters don’t require A-list celebrities to succeed anymore. Sequels, superheroes and teenage book franchises seem to dominate the market these days, leaving folks like Tom Cruise to ponder whether “Jersey Shore” could have a better box office performance.

Yet when it comes to opening action movies, Angelina Jolie is one of the few exceptions. The “Wanted” and “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” star is the only focus of the marketing materials for “Salt,” a ridiculous espionage thriller in the same-vein as the “Bourne” franchise.

At one point, Cruise was poised to star in the title role. I don’t think anyone believes he could have propelled the film to a $35 million opening weekend.

Box office, of course, doesn’t matter to the quality or entertainment value of a particular film. But in the case of “Salt,” the star power of Jolie is the only major draw. Her sexy, hardboiled persona makes a silly plot about Russian spies infiltrating all levels of U.S. government tolerable.

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Cityscapes fold onto themselves. Hotel hallways tumble upside down. A son tries to make amends with his father by breaking into a snowbound fortress straight out of a James Bond movie.

Behold the spectacle of “Inception,” a brainy puzzle-box of an adventure from writer/director Christopher Nolan. Underneath its blockbuster visuals, “Inception” is a surprisingly personal story of one man’s grief, told within dreams within dreams within dreams. Explosions and gunplay are added free of charge.

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It isn’t often that Hollywood offers two movies on the same weekend where audiences are encouraged to root for the bad guys.

Both the animated comedy “Despicable Me” and the sci-fi sequel/reboot “Predators” focus on dastardly villains, but only one enlists a trio of adorable children to break the cold-blooded exterior of our technologically-savvy antagonist.

Try to guess which one is which.

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Good movies about strong women still exist outside the spineless brain-suck of “The Twilight Saga.” While Bella takes three movies to decide between a wolfman and a dead guy, audiences itching for quality storytelling can look no further than the “Millennium Trilogy” from the late Swedish author Stieg Larrson.

All three books are available now, and the Swedish movie version of the first book, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is now available on DVD, as well as Instant Viewing for Netflix subscribers. It’s a taut procedural anchored by the standout performance of Noomi Rapace as thick-skinned computer hacker Lisbeth Salander.

Lisbeth waits around for no guy with chiseled abs.

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Tom Cruise so desperately wants the action caper “Knight and Day” to be his ticket back to the A-list. Enlisting the bubbly Cameron Diaz for this flirty, globetrotting adventure helps his cause, but the film can’t overcome the nagging feeling that we’ve seen it all before.

Call it “Mission: Impossible” for the Rom-Com crowd.

Cruise plays a rogue spy named Roy Miller. He’s protecting a pocket-sized power source that a few of his corrupt government cohorts want to sell on the black market. At a Kansas airport, he bumps into June (Diaz), a plucky mechanic on her way back to Boston for her sister’s wedding. Both board a nearly empty plane, flirt, drink and pretend to ignore the greasy-looking thugs doubling as fellow passengers. (more…)