Film reviews:

THE BIG BOUNCE: Entertainment Weekly gave this a B+ and I'm still scratching my head about it. This is a movie you catch on Showtime around 2 AM after the soft-core has begun to wane. It's a sort of breezy, background movie. It's one of those movies that throw a lot of sex around but is limited by its PG-13 rating--I'm sure the "uncensored" version will come to DVD someday. Owen Wilson is always fun to watch, it's like watching your favorite stand-up act multiple times. Based on an Elmore Leonard novel, it's got all the shady, quirky characters and double-crosses, but this is merely average.

MIRACLE: Based on the 1980 USA Olympic hockey team that won the gold, with the centerpiece, of course, the famous "Do you believe in miracles?" game against the USSR just before beating Finland. Much like the TV movie, "Miracle on Ice," it shows the improbable team getting picked and unsuspectingly gelling under legendary coach Herb Brooks. This isn't exactly film history being made here, and the Disney influence is palpable, but it's very good. Kurt Russell anchors the movie as Brooks, and he's probably got the early lead in the 2004 Oscar race, if anyone remembers by December/January. Worth watching for one amazing scene after a particularly subpar pre-Olympic matchup. Disappointing: Although they show the footage of Al Michaels and Ken Dryden before the game discussing the matchup with the USSR, it's obviously a new Michaels' call of the game, a sort of moviefied version of broadcasting--and then only at the famous "miracle" line do they switch over to the famous broadcast.

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING: Well, since I am officially in love with Scarlett Johansson and will watch everything she's in, and especially with the good reviews, I was intrigued by this film about a maid who wins the attention of painter Johannes Vermeer (who, I will admit, I've never heard of until now) and is the subject of the painting that shares the same title. It's a period piece, and thus, you can expect rich people to behave in sinister superiority to everyone else, and you can expect that the painting is incredibly controversial even though there's no nudity. And, while that's all well and good, I never really became engrossed in this. There's a non-impactful romance between Johansson and 28 DAYS LATER's Cillian Murphy, and Colin Firth, who is always good, pulls out yet another sensitive performance, but I feel I've seen it before. Kind of dull, and the only thing worthwhile is when there is painting going on--sort of the action scenes of the movie.

THE COOLER: Pretty good movie, mostly great performances by William H. Macy and Alec Baldwin give you reason to watch. Macy is a bad-luck guy who goes around to "hot" tables in Baldwin's Vegas casino and turns the luck south. Maria Bello, hot waitress, falls in love with Macy and turns his luck proclivities the other way, causing conflict with Baldwin. When given meaty lines to spout, Alec Baldwin is as good as it gets. None of the talent he has spread to William or Stephen or Daniel. Macy always fills in the role of hard-luck loser nicely.