INVASION

INVASION NEEDS A GOOD DOSE OF PENICILLIN "My husband is not my husband." My movie is not my movie. See Nicole. See Nicole run. Run Nicole, run. I've seen this movie before: Invasion of the Body Snatchers, War of the Worlds, Children of Men, Stepford Wives, Planet Terror. INVASION is the answer to recent additions to the english language such as Pandemic, SARS and Avian Flu. It goes along in a quite and predictible plot-line. Nicole Kidman is Carol Bennell, a therapist who is having a really bad day. Her ex-husband wants to have their son spend the night and then goes and turns into a "zombie", then her friend does, her patients do and her special "best friend" as well. Most of the movie is spent in rapid running/speeding cars. Everyone's gone and turned zombie, there's no hope in sight until they all lived happily ever after. There is absolutely no connection between Kidman and her "love interest", Ben (Daniel Craig), and both he and her ex-husband, Jeremy Northam, were VERY convincing as zombies. The crucial part for Kidman in this film is not to fall asleep (and turn into a zombie). Too bad the movie didn't want the same from its viewers.
NOT a Pick: Mildly entertaining but nothing to lose sleep over.

GONE BABY GONE

GONE BABY GONE was GREAT BABY, GREAT "I always believed it was the things you don't choose that makes you who you are. Your city, your neighborhood, your family. People here take pride in these things, like it was something they'd accomplished. The bodies around their souls, the cities wrapped around those." For a man who was born in Berkley, Ben Affleck as Director and Co-screenwriter, has again paid tribute to the city of Boston. Cocky and young, Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck) is a private detective who is called upon to help find a missing girl. The police don't like him and he isn't taken seriously until his 'street cred' proves that he is a valuable asset in the search. He is not as harmless as he looks. But this movie is much more complex than that. It's like a super long and well done version of Law and Order. Kenzie is 'that guy'... the kind of guy that doesn't let things go. He wants to do the right thing, which is not always clear-cut black and white. Add Michelle Monaghan as his partner/love interest; Morgan Freeman as the somewhat menacing, Capt. Jack Doyle; Ed Harris as the tough detective, Remmy Bressant; and Amy Ryan as Helene McCready, the questionably unfit mother of the lost child. To date, this has been the best role I have seen Affleck in. He has expressive eyes that shout volumes above any words could. Bottom line: What is the right thing to do and how do you live with that choice? Not an easy question to answer. See this film and then ask yourself that question.
BIG pick: An exceptional piece of work, clever dialogue and a tightly written plot. Must see!