Welcome, constant readers...today will be a departure of sorts.  I'd like to review a couple of movies I rented recently.  On Wednesday, I rented Revolver, starring Jason Stathem, and Southland Tales, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

First, let me do the bad review:  Southland Tales turned me off from the start.  Set in the near-future in the midst of an election year,  several nuclear attacks in Texas have left America a nervous shell of a nation, divided sharply down political lines.  On the right, we are served with absurdly southern conservatives bent on controlling the internet, thus snuffing out a great deal of individual freedom.  On the left, a team of "Neo-Marxists" are plotting to overthrow the fragile remains of American government.

We meet Boxer Santaros (Johnson) fresh back from the desert and fresh out of memory.  He and his porn-star girlfriend, Krysta Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar) have a screenplay in the works about the end of the world, which seems to be happening for real all around them.  During the parts I stayed awake for, the heavy-handed political satire was laid on like layers of peanut butter on cheap bread. 

When the blatant ignorance and misunderstanding of the book of Revelation wasn't on display, the transparant liberal slant threatened to tip the whole cast into leftist oblivion. 

My opinion and a dollar will buy a cup of coffee, but be warned: Southland Tales must be viewed after a couple of caffene pills, and even then, you might find yourself with amnesia after the movie; be glad. 

Ok, on to a movie I might actually rent again.  Revolver is about crime..no, it's about chess...or is it about the perfect con?  Really, it's about all three.  After seven years in prison for a crime he didn't commit, Jake Green (Statham) is ready to settle the score with the man who helped put him away, a casino owner named Dorothy Macha (Ray Liotta). 

Along the way, Green meets two mysterious con-men who seem interested in protecting him, for a price.  Green is put to work as a gofer, loan shark, collector, and general flunkie for the two mystery men in exchange for information that will keep him alive.  Is Green playing his would-be saviors or is he wrapped up in an even bigger con with himself as the victim?  The perfect con is compared to a game of chess: rule 1 - you can only get smarter by playing a smarter opponent. 

I recommend Revolver if you're willling to stop and pay attention to it.  For some, the mystery of the two mystery men will be quickly solved, for others, it will be a suprise for the end of the movie.

Again, You'll have to watch the movie yourself to form your own opinion, but if you are not satisfied, I'll refund the full two hours of your time plus the five minutes you spent reading this blog.  Happy trails, and God bless.