Lucky Number Slevin

I dragged my ex-boyfriend/current friend off of his sofa and with me to the movies last night to see Lucky Number Slevin, which is a movie I have been looking forward to for some time now. Its strange how it can be crazy difficult to get someone to go with you to the theater on a Saturday night...but for me its a nice break from the increasingly tiring clubbing that my single status forces me to go through.

Anyways, its a movie I have been looking forward to ever since I first heard about it a year and a half (or so) ago so my expectations were probably a little higher than they would have been for any other average movie. And expectations are usually a bad thing when it comes to movies. Im a fan of Bruce, those of you who know me knows this so its not a big surprise. But fan or not, there are movies I like better than others. However with that said (and now you are probably expecting me to say Slevin disappointed me), expectations or not, Slevin is a cool (and "cool" is a carefully chosen word) flick with a great sense of humor...-but then again, Ive always been a sucker for dark humor.

Trying to describe the synopsis is for some reason a little difficult. Josh Hartnett plays Slevin, who by the error of mistaken identity finds himself involved with two rivaling crime bosses (Sir Ben Kingsley and Morgan Freeman) and the war between them. In addition you have a professional assassin, Mr Goodkat, played by Bruce Willis, who is in town to kill someone, and an adorable neighbor of Slevins buddy, played by Lucy Liu, who is a sort of amateur detective wannabe. Mix in a big dosage of violence, and a nice twist or two and you get a good piece of entertainment.

I will admit that the movie had its flat parts where you were kind of waiting for something to happen, but great dialog kept your attention till the end. -By the way, who knew Josh Hartnett could be that funny? Give that boy better scripts Hollywood!

If you're looking for an excuse to get your butt out of the apartment and into a more social environment, Lucky Number Slevin is worth your money. No doubt.

Free Jimmy

I saw this movie last weekend and what a fun ride it was! As the first really BIG Norwegian animated movie since "Pinchcliffe Grand Prix" (Flåklypa Grand Prix for my Norwegian friends), I have to admit I had pretty high expectations, and I figured I was doomed to be disappointed. But I was wrong (yay!). This movie has got to be one of the funniest movies Ive seen in a really long time! -Funny, but not funny as in Disney/Dreamworks/Pixar -funny. The humor is dark...very dark, and certainly not for kids. -Which is why this movie is rated R. It has sex, blood, drugs and the kind of situations that makes you laugh even when you dont want to laugh. But most of all, this movie has heart.

The synopsis is simple; Jimmy is a circus elephant with 20 years of experience. 20 years of stress which has lead him addicted to drugs. Now throw in a group of animal rights defenders, a mafia consisting of Sami people (on motorcycles!), a hunting team desperate to kill an elk (or any other large animal that comes into sight) and a group of not so hard working, alcohol-consuming, lazy guys...all looking for an escaped junkie elephant on the Norwegian tundra.
These guys will make your eyes teary of laughter... while Jimmy will just make them teary. It certainly doesnt help that the writer/director Christopher Nielsen has dedicated the movie to his brother Joachim "jokke" Nielsen who died of an overdose in the year 2000.

Woody Harrelson is the voice of Roy Arnie (one of the circus guys) in the English version, so the movie will reach the other side of the Atlantic, no doubt. The movie is also scheduled for Cannes in May...so continental Europe may not have to wait too long.Check it out if you get the chance. It will be worth your time.