Good movies, bad movies

Jack Kerouac's Mexican girlfriend

On the Road

It seems like good acting talent is wasted these days in movies that try too hard, like the over-crafted On the Road, based on Jack Kerouac's confusing autobiographical novel.  Another example is the new The Great Gatsby, with Leonardo Di Caprio and Carey Mulligan.  People loved it, and the critics called it a "visual feast" but I thought the 3-D effects and non-stop movement gave it a cartoonish feel, like an animation hybrid.  I'll take the lovely and heartbreaking 1974 version, with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow.

Speaking of over-stimulation, they've stretched the sweet Hobbit book into three very long action films, and I don't think I could bribe John enough to sit through them.

Lately we've been streaming more cable television series on Netflix. An episode of House of Cards, Breaking Bad, The Borgias and so on is a perfect length for weekday entertainment.  Although we just watched an entertaining movie called Lincoln Lawyer. The subject matter might not be your cup of tea, but it stars the excellent Matthew McConaughey as a sleazy Detroit defense attorney who has a change of conscience.