Arizona Cinema

The movies I saw while visiting my folks in Arizona for Christmas are below, listed in the order I saw them.

"Ray" One-word review: Engaging. I really enjoyed this film, especially Jamie Foxx. It deserved some additional editing; it dragged in a couple places. My experience would have been improved if the theater had contained fewer people with phlegmy hacking coughs. The hackiing of one woman seated near me prompted three elderly people to switch seats two-thirds of the way through the show. Admittedly, she could not help it, and the fact that she was in a wheelchair should have clued in the three old people that the hacking woman could not easily excuse herself from the room. I just endured it. I almost scolded the old trio when I passed them outside. It was Christmas night, and I thought their comments when moving were shameful.

"Kinsey" One-word review: Revealing. The closed-minded and prudish should stay away from this film, even though they need to see it most. Liam Neeson was excellent. So was Laura Linney. But, man, Peter Sarsgaard rocked. Nice follow-up to last year's "Shattered Glass," in which he was also excellent.

"Sideways" One-word review: Nice. As I sat in the theater, I must have heard at least three different conversation bits about this film as the one that had so much critical praise. I think that's why everyone was in the packed theater. We all though we were supposed to see this film. I was actually a bit disappointed. It was nice, but I don't have anything noteworthy to type.

"Finding Neverland" One-word review: Warm. This is a pleasant movie, and if pushed just a bit more, I think I could have been emotionally moved. Something kept me from getting there. Johnny Depp's range continues to expand.

On the post-Arizona list: "Spanglish," "The Aviator," "Meet the Fockers" and a bunch of stuff in my Netflix queue.

-- Peoria, Arizona