The Weather Man - * * *

Seen on DVD.

Mini-review: Nicholas Cage can bring quiet darkness sadness to his roles that bring out the big questions in life. We've seen him play similar characters in "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Adaptation." In "The Weather Man," Michael Caine (one of my favorite actors) is Cage's dying father -- a father who has never given his son love and approval.

It's interesting to see how different this film is from the marketing campaign, which made it look like the comedy of the year.

The Da Vinci Code - * * * 1/2

Viewed at the theater.

Mini review:

The Da Vinci code's greatest strength is also its greatest flaw: the Dan Brown novel from which it came. You get the feeling that Ron Howard, Tom Hanks, and everyone else wanted to bring the novel to life so faithfully, that they forgot they're making a movie. It's also why it runs too long.

But my lasting impression of this film is that it's a great story -- one of those stories that transcends time and space and opens up the universe for a short time.

Grizzly Man - * * * *

Viewed on DVD.

Mini-review:

Grizzly man is one of those movies that haunts you. I found myself thinking about it all the time, discussing it with people, and reading about it. It reminded me of Jon Krakauer's non-fiction book, "Into the Wild," in both subject and location.

It's about a self-proclaimed Grizzly Bear conservationist Timothy Treadwell -- a man who lives among Grizzly bears in Alaska for years until one of them decides to kill him.

What's haunting is Werner Herzog's narration and choice of images in this documentary. Somehow, Werner is able to get inside Timothy's head to try to help us understand why he's living life so dangerously.

This is one of the best documentaries I've ever seen.

RV - * * *

I was actually surprised that this movie stayed with me for so long. Days after seeing the film, I kept thinking about Williams, a father who has lost touch with his children, trying not to let on that he is actually disguising a work trip as a family vacation.

RV's plot reminded me of the now classic "National Lamoon's Summer Vacation." But where Chevy Chase never gets beyond the physical humor and ironic dialogue, Robin Williams seems to be able to be funny and create genuine pathos. I really cared about him. With Chevy Chase, you never really feel much for his character; you're just glad it's him and not you going through all those problems.

This is also a good one to bring your kids to, although there is a fair amount of gross-out humor.

Mission Impossible III - * * *

"Mission Impossible III" is an intense action/thriller that is probably the best of the three movies. The opening alone will make you wonder if you're in the right theater. It seems much more intense and violent than any "Mission" movie you've seen before.

The story this time centers around an arms-dealer, played brilliantly by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who is trying to get his hands on a weapon that could end the world as we know it. Of course, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is there to stop him. The twist this time is that Hunt is trying to leave all that spy stuff behind and live a normal life. We all know that people like Ethan Hunt, James Bond, and Jack Bauer don't live normal lives--even if they want to.

So there is a deeper theme in this movie about identities. Nothing in the "Mission" universe is quite what it seems. Hunt's wife doesn't know about his real job. Hunt doesn't know who is double-crossing him. And right when we think we've figured things out, the plot goes in a different direction.

One device that makes for great visual sequences, chase scenes, and special effects is also one of the movie's greatest flaws. I'd like to call it the "just-in-time plot device." Others would call it "contrived." This device makes it easy for characters to get things when they need them without any real foreshadowing (essential for supsending disbelief). For example:

• Hunt is looking out the window in Shanghai and he needs to do some quick measurements of the buildings. It just so happens there's a grease pencil there that he can use to trace the buildings on the window.
• When the bad guy is being transported to some other location, it just so happens it's on one of those highways that traverses the ocean. What a perfect place for an attack by air! And it looks great, too. This same location was used in "True Lies," but I don't remember thinking, "why are they driving over that long bridge?"

There are many, many other examples that smack of lazy screenwriting--but if you can suspend that part of your brain and just go with the flow, this is actually a fun summer action movie.