Wow, it's been awhile...I guess for everyone. I was writing on here one day and got a call, and I was in a library so I wanted to get out of there, and never finished what I was going to write. This is about movies.

I also saw IDENTITY and I liked it. Some are turned off by the twist, but it's OK by me.

X-MEN 2: Not a fan of the first, and this one was better. The Nightcrawler character IS the best thing about this movie, and unfortunately he's in it for about three sequences. They are all incredible. I actually yelled, "Cool!" on one scene (which was OK because I was by myself in the theatre). I still believe this is a franchise trying to introduce more than it dishes out--it still seems to be mired in getting lots of characters in, following their "growth" as mutants, their backstory, etc. As comic book movies go, that is the same sort of kiss of death that began with Batman Forever strictly speaking about the number of villains/superheroes (that movie and Batman And Robin don't even spend any time with the characters at all, and it's still a mess). Overall, a solid movie.

BETTER LUCK TOMORROW: One of the early "best of the year" candidates, early being an operative word. Chinese-Americans who have it all as far as intellect and school accolades go start a series of scams around the school from cheat sheets to stealing computers. The moral dilemmas follow, of course, and the story begins to revolve around "breaking the cycle." Good movie.

THE GOOD THIEF: I like stories about well-planned heists, and I like stories about gamblers. And this movie has them both, with the best guy to play a thief/gambler: Nick Nolte, who I will imagine will get soft Oscar buzz (soft due to the release date and number of screens available to watch it) is awesome. The eventual climax is great, nothing too "pat" about it. Another "early best-of."

A MIGHTY WIND: Very funny first half, and an extremely confusing and almost dramatic second half. Confusing because this mockumentary actually has scenes that look like "a real movie" that no documentarian would be able to capture, and the tone becomes too serious, with jokes thrown in it seems like, to try to get back on track rather than to add to the momentum. One of those, "If you liked Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show, you'll like..." movies, although Waiting for Guffman is still the best one.

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