Movies.

All I've been doing since I've been back from Berlin is making music and catching up on movies. Still behind on a few things, but here's some stuff I've seen so far. I know some you don't care about movie reviews from a techno DJ, but hey. It's my blog.

"Michael Clayton." Smart legal thriller in the vein of "The Firm." Very cool and adult. Plot and script were airtight, unlike "The Good German," which was more of a showcase for the filmmaking. There were some beats in there that resonated with me emotionally. This was George Clooney's best one yet. He actually acts in this one, exhibiting a wide range of emotions and moods, as opposed to just looking good, like in his "Ocean's" movies.

The funny part of this movie is that they try to make Clooney into a regular guy. There's a scene where he's at a family get-together and he looked 100 times cooler than everybody else.

"30 Days of Night." Cool vamp movie based on the graphic novel, a.k.a. comic books. Directed by David Slade, the same guy who did "Hard Candy," which I also liked. Rent it, it's the shit. He's got that Tony Scott look to his films.

In "30 Days" I liked the way they played the vamps. They were like animals, growling and shrieking. Not like the jaded, supermodel vamps of "Blade" or "Underworld." They had that Nosferatu look. Their fangs didn't retract, either. Danny Huston was the shit as the lead vamp, Marlow. And who knew The Stranger was the same guy who played The Angel in "X3"?

"Planet Terror." The Dimension people should be shot for releasing this and "Death Proof" separately on DVD instead of the the whole Grindhouse experience, but whatever. "Planet Terror" was a real grossed-out romp. A lot of "UGHHHHH!" moments in it. Plot and internal logic were non-existent (what actually triggered Rose McGowan's machine gun leg?), but who cares.

I liked the whole post-modern-ness of it where you couldn't tell what year it was. '70s? '80s? Also liked the fake aging of the film. That shit probably flew right over people's heads at the theater. Which is probably why "Grindhouse" tanked (that and length). I can hear idiots now: "Why is the film so fucked up? I don't get it."

McGowan was hot. She could be Wonder Woman if she wasn't so short in real life. But then again I've liked her since "Jawbreaker" (like Christina Ricci, she was much juicier in the '90s). Oh, and the fake trailer, "Machete," was the shit. They're talking about making that into a real movie. I can't wait.

"Ocean's 13." I saw it again on the plane back from Guadalajara. Better than "Ocean's 12." It's cool to see the whole Clooney rat pack all on one screen but I wouldn't be sad if there weren't anymore of these movies. How many more excuses can there be to get all the guys together again for a caper? What would they steal? Then there always has to be a new member to justify the title (Eddie Izzard was the thirteenth guy this time).

And some of the actors get bigger between movies, like Don Cheadle and Casey Affleck, so you have to give them more to do each time, even if it doesn't have anything to do with the plot. All that having been said, Ellen Barkin is still hot at 50. There are 20-year-olds that don't look as good. These old broads (like her, Helen Mirren, and the blonde from "Desperate Housewives") are killin' it right now.

Speaking of Cheadle, check out "Talk to Me." Finally something intelligent for the non-ghetto among us. A black period movie with no rap, no drugs, and none of that Tyler Perry Baptist-ass comedy, in other words, a movie with dignity, an outdated concept amongst us black folk.

Cheadle and Chiwitel rocked it 100%. The soundtrack was all funky '60s and '70s R&B. And Taraji P. Henson was a total doll with her big bright smile and her Afro wigs, I was loving her. Kasi Lemmons was the director, a black female. Word is that Cheadle's next one is the Miles Davis story. You know I'm down.