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Starring: Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, Gary Oldman, Jennifer Beals, MIchael Gambon, Malcolm McDowell. Directed by The Hughes Brothers.Sci-Fi, Adventure. Synopsis: A wise and grizzled traveler makes his way westward on foot for years in a post apocalyptic and desolate American landscape, alll the while carrying and guarding a mysterious book.

Now, this one was a little bit different. The setting has been done before, post apocalypse/ nuclear war America, but I thought the flow of the story, not to mention the not-so-subtle underlying theme was kind of unique.

Eli (Denzel Washington The Manchurian Candidate  Inside Man) is a traveler who is walking across the country, going westward on foot, as he has been for the thirty or so years after "the flash", which is what everyone calls the huge event that, apparently, has made life what is at this time: desolate,  unforgiving and ravaged landscape with no rule of law or real societal structure. Many seemingly do not even seem to recall what life was like prior to the flash.

And, why is our protagonist trudging on foot? Well, the primary reason is that he has heard a calling to do so and he is a man of immense faith. The other is that the days of public transportation and in tact highways and biways are long gone. Eli carries with him a book, a large leather bound one and he is, to say the least, extremely protective of it. It seems obvious that some people would go to any lengths to get it. 

As you might surmise, such a breakdown in society will foster lawlessness and Eli has to fight off marauders and looters often...even when he comes to a town that appears to be relatively civilized.  

The town is run, effectively, by tough guy Carnegie (Gary Oldman Air Force One, The Contender)  who takes a very keen interest in obtaining Eli's book. He'll apparently stop at nothing, to the point of attempting to use his paramour, Claudia (Jennifer Beals Break A Leg Desolation Sound).  Attempts to pry the book, or any real information about it, from Eli prove unsuccessful, but Claudia's daughter, Solaris (Mila Kunis Extract Max Payne) is so fascinated by the mysterious Eli that she drops everything to follow him.

Eli, despite saving Solaris's life, is none to pleased to have her tag along but he eventually goes along with her presence reluctantly, though he is just as admant about not letting her look or touch the book nor will he tell her what it is or teach her to read. 

The Book of Eli is, in many ways, a very dark movie. The Hughes brothers do a great job of visually showing us a stark and decimated landscape where many people still bear the physical scars of what we presume was a nuclear holocaust, as well as some of the cultural and emotional ones as well.

For example, three decades after the "flash" there are a significant number of people who can't read, many of the younger ones have never seen a book.  Why is Eli's book so important and what will Carnegie do if/when he is able to get his hands on it?

There is a major reveal at the conclusion of the movie and, in my humble opinion, how you feel about the way the reveal is set up will likely be how you feel about the flick as a whole. For me, this is a good, not great film. I do think some might be turned off by the strong spiritual undertones of the film but, to be honest, in my opinion you can pretty much tell from the title what you're in for with this flick.  I'll probably never fully understand those who are so threatened by people who feel there things bigger-much bigger...incomprehensibly bigger...than  themselves and their immediate desires and needs.

Oh well, what the hell do I know, I just blog about flicks!

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Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Martin  Landau. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Action/Adventure. Synopsis: A Manhattan advertising executive is caught up in a web of intrigue, murder, espionage and crossing the country  when he is mistaken for someone else.

It's a funny thing when someone, like your humble blogger here, has not actually seen an iconic movie like North By Northwest, you kind of feel silly if you a) consider yourself a serious movie buff b) realize that no matter how many times you've seen the clip of the crop dusting plane chasing Cary Grant, a truly indelible screen image, that doesn't subsitute for having actually seen the flick.

And, that was a shame, because this is one hell of a movie, easily deserving of its common place on top "all time lists" or as, arguably, the greatest Hitchcock film of them all. The first thing that jumps off the screen at you is Cary Grant, in his mid 50s when the movie was made, and still the definition of the classic leading man, the kind of guy that both ladies and gents really like, a movie star who also comes across as a regula guy. And, oh by the way, a damn fine actor. 50 years doesn't dull the talent on the screen.   

Grant is Roger Thornbill, a Madison Avenue advertising executive who is twice divorced and does formal nights out with his mother. Not a bad lot in life, could be worse and definitely gets worse for Thornbill when a group of  thugs acost Thornbill at lunch and accuse him of being 'George Kaplan' and forcibly remove from the building and take him to a lavish estate filled with a staff and a couple of stylish, sophisticated thugs, Phillip Van Dam (James Mason Salem's Lot Murder By Decree) and Leonard (Martin Landau Ed Wood Sleepy Hollow) who grill him on things they think he knows, believing, of course, that he is 'George Kaplan'. Its not clear who they are or who they may represent, but it's clear they're not fooling around, and aren't going away easily, when they aggressively force bourbon down Thornhill's throat.

And, that is just the beginning, as our hero Thornbill soon finds himself in trouble with the police, who don't by his forcible intoxication defense-guess that one didn't work in the '50's any better than it does today- and, in his haste to find out just what the heck is going on, ends up as a witness, and worse the primary suspect, in a murder at the United Nations.

Well, when everyone thinks you're 'George Kaplan' and you're picture is on the front page of the evening paper (yes, young ones, there was a time when newspapers were actually a vital part of the media and some had evening editions) with a knife in your hand and the victim on the floor, the little fact that you didn't actually stab him is of little immediate consequence and sends you on the run right away.

That's not all bad because Thornbill finds himself on a train to Chicago where he meets the mysterious, sultry, and srikingly beautiful Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint Superman Returns

On The Waterfront). Ms.Saint is excellent here, the epitome of the film noir bombshell and the quintessential "Hitchcock blonde. She comes close to stealing scenes from Mr. Grant, which is almost impossible to do.

As I indicated earlier, the story winds cross country, ending up on the face of Mount Rushmore in the climatic scene. Along the way, of course we are also treated to the historic 'crop dusting plane chasing Cary Grant scene', a piece of filmmaking that, in my opinion, more than holds its own even when compared with CGI powered action scenes of today.

The story is fine, especially when it twists, somewhat predictably, into a spy thriller. Those of us old enough to remember or at least appreciate the ever present Cold War paranoia of the latter half of the 20th century in this country will also appreciate the spy element and, of course, the question that goes with almost every (Hollywood) spy circumstance: is someone really a double agent?

There is no question that Hitchcock was the master of building suspense, often times, like in this flick, in broad daylight and with several twists as the story develops: some you will see coming, some you won't.

The acting is supberb, which should comes as no surprise given the names on the bill. The DVD edition comes with some excellent special features, including a commentary by the screenriter Ernest Lehman and, best of all, a "making of" featurette hosted by Eva Marie Saint that is absolutely must see.

I'm telling you what you probably either already knew or, at least, already heard.

This flm is an American classic.