More movie capsules, since it seems that's what I do in between watching Wimbledon matches while at the gym:

Fahrenheit 9/11: It was well-made and entertaining, although you have to be skeptical of both Moore's assertions and the criticisms/rebuttals. The truth is somewhere in the middle, but definitely not in what has been offered. No one ever said he was trying to be even-handed, although the second half of the film (about Lila Lipscomb and Flint) worked much better if only because there seemed to be more relevance instead of the angry Michael Moore who appeared to be proving what he said at the Oscars was right. What's odd is that my politics are drifting left, but I have more issues with Moore now, compared to the Roger & Me/TV Nation days, when I was a bit more to the right.

Control Room: If you're looking for a "real" documentary, concerning the war, then this is for you. It's not as slick as F9/11, but it's engrossing and entertaining without having to involve the filmmakers. What you take from the film is that Al Jazeera is no "evil mouthpiece" as many paint it. It caters to a certain audience, but there's great care in trying to report the news fairly, which can be harder than many think. One telling scene in the film was the senior producer lambasting a producer for booking an interview with an American commentator who ripped U.S. policy, instead of looking for a more "balanced" guest.

Napoleon Dynamite: And now for something completely different. A movie about a high school nerd sorta making good? Of course I'm there. However, I wanted to like the film a lot more than I really did. John Heder absolutely nailed the role of the mouth-breathing nerd, but much of the supporting cast seemed to much like caricatures and while I don't mind meandering plots, this one wandered around even more than I'd like. There were plenty of funny scenes, but there was something missing that I can't necessarily put my finger on.


Speaking of Wimbledon, for Q rating purposes, the Serena-Sharapova final was the one everyone wanted to see. Of course, I got slightly confused after that match when I saw the early previews for Wimbledon, the movie, because there was another willowy blonde, only it was Kirsten Dunst instead of Sharapova.

And for the first time in a long time, I actually cared about women's golf because of Jennifer Rosales of the Philippines via USC had the lead in the U.S. Open before stumbling badly in the final round. Oh well, time for me to stop caring for a while other than to think, "Michelle Wie is just 14?"