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( Jan. 13th, 2008 12:41 pm)
In between reading for my albatross (aka YBFH) and for an original anthology I'm finishing up, I watched two movies Friday evening and one Saturday.
The Kingdom,the adventure movie about Saudi Arabia and terrorism is pretty good for what it is. Jamie Foxx heads a team of FBI forensic experts who fly to SA to investigate the bombing of an American Compound during a kid's softball game. Good action scenes, some cliches, a little extra grace note that emphasizes the depressing aspects of the situation.

For something completely different I watched Bad(der) Santa which is the unrated version of the theatrical release. I didn't see the original so I have no idea how it differs. It's foul and over the top and pretty funny, once you get past Santa's obsession with butt-fucking. Billy Bob Thornton is terrific and Lauren Graham is a totally charming bartender who has a Santa fetish.

Last night I watched Prime Cut from 1972. I never saw it before because from what I remember it got really lousy reviews. Lee Marvin is really handsome in it, something I don't remember noticing when I was younger. He plays an enforcer for the Irish mob in Chicago who is sent to brace Mary Ann, a totally vicious cattle rancher/meat packager who grinds up enemies into sausage and has a lucrative little side line that illuminate the extra irony of the title. Gene Hackman plays Mary Ann and Sissy Spacek plays a young innocent that Marvin tries to help. Nice contrast between the city hoods (all Irish) and country hoods--the latter are all adorable, well-muscled Aryan looking (but deadly) blond boys.
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