Denzel went to the Gulf War and all he got was this lousy syndrome. . .

Went and saw The Manchurian Candidate tonight. I should probably preface this review by coming clean with the fact that I've never seen the original Frank Sinatra film from the 1960s, so everything was pretty new to me. But I went in knowing it had something to do with politics and brainwashing, and that it starred some incredible actors and had a director known for his superb suspense work.

I'll say that the less you know about this film in advance, the better. The plot is convoluted and tricky, and the script throws in twists both subtle and in your face. I liked how the film wasn't just a thriller, but a truly dark satire that actually seems pretty plausible in this age of genetic engineering and corporate greed. The suspense is tight and the ending's twists come fast and hard. Just when you think you know where the film is heading, it takes a sharp left turn that we didn't see coming. That's thanks to Jonathan Demme, who uses the same deft hand he had at directing probably the all-time best suspense film, The Silence of the Lambs. This film is more of an enjoyable popcorn flick and not quite as intelligent or emotional as that film, but it's just as technically sufficient all the same.

The cast is really the reason to watch this movie. Denzel Washington, of course, could make a movie about churning butter and he'd make it riveting. Meryl Streep is probably the most talented actress of the past 100 years and makes her character loathable and creepy. In one scene she actually made me squirm in revulsion. Liev Shrieber has always been an actor I've found who's great at playing guys who appear very bland yet have a real dark side to them. He was pretty good in Scream 2 (the best of that series) and even though I groaned when I heard he was playing John Clark in The Sum of All Fears, he pulled that role off neatly as well. This is a good role for him.

To say anymore would give away a good, fun, twisty popcorn movie. Is it a great film? Not by any means. But it's a good, tight thriller. Sometimes Demme's tricks go overboard and can be distracting (the sound of the film is one of those things) and the script gets a bit confusing near the end. But it's a fun movie.

However, even better than that is the preview for the new film from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the creators of South Park. The movie is called Team America: World Police. It's an action satire about the war on terror. Done with marionettes. Ahem. You heard that right. Check out the trailer on Apple's site. These guys are brilliant satirists and this is such a bizarre idea that it has shot right up to the top of my "must see" list. . .

Okay, and now for my gripe of the evening. I went to the Star Gratiot tonight because I had a gift certificate I had gotten for my birthday. I have no clue why the theatre did not staff properly for a summer Friday night. Seriously, I waited in line ten minutes just to get tickets and then another ten while the teenager behind the counter miscounted change, fumbled through orders and basically bumbled his way through his job. I've worked the concession counter before, so don't say I don't understand his job: It's not that hard!! Ugh.

To make matters worse, some lady brought her nine month old baby into the movie tonight. The baby started crying through the beginning of the movie and so I just shot her a look and she got mad at ME!! There needs to be a rule about bringing babies into movies. Really, if you can't afford a babysitter, please don't go to the movies. It's annoying and distracting. And if you DO bring your baby to the movie, we reserve the right to through popcorn at you and ridicule you afterward. Just kidding. Kind of.

And please, please, please, please if there are any theatre owners reading this: STOP THE COMMERICALS BEFORE THE MOVIES!!!!! I concede that I love previews. But I go to the movies so I don't have to be plagued by commercials on tv. Let's just stop this now! I swear there were 20 minutes of commercials tonight.

Sigh. Another of life's simple pleasures going down the tubes.

Well, as you can tell I have a chip on my shoulder tonight and I think it's because I'm over-tired. So I'm going to hit the sack.

C-Dubbs