Movies 13 and 14

Watched movies 13 and 14 this week. Number 13 was Gnomeo and Juliet, Which my daughter noticed while we were scanning through Netflix and then wanted to watch for Family Movie Night. I was a little hesitant as most of the "family" movies I've watched on Netflix have been sub-par. (Netflix's streaming movie choice just isn't that good, although I like it for TV shows.) But I remembered enjoying the commercials for the movie last year and figured I could sit through it if I kept my expectations low.

Maybe the low expectations did it, but I enjoyed the movie. Perhaps not as much as the kids, but then I probably got more out of the Shakespeare jokes than they did. Now, it's not destined to become a family classic or anything, but it is one of those movies that entertains the kids while throwing just enough lines at the adults to keep them watching, too. And the voice actors fit the parts well, especially Patrick Stewart in a cameo as the Bard himself. It was a pleasant surprise to hear his voice.

14 was The Tourist, a Johnny Depp movie I watched with my wife. We liked the movie, but we are Depp fans. (It wasn't always that way, I never liked 21 Jump Street.) Angelina Jolie, on the other hand, she might be nice to look at sometimes, but her movies don't always grab me. However, she was good in this and I even liked the the pairing of Depp and Jolie together.

My wife felt the movie started a bit slow and predictable, but I liked the way suspense was built without the usual action/thriller movie plot devices. It might have taken longer to build up, but the pay off for me was Depp really letting you feel the tourist's confusion at the events happening around him. I liked it, even if we did call most of the plot twists along the way. In the end, worthwhile for fans of Johnny Depp.