Catch up on movie ratings

Yes, I know it is a shame I haven't posted in a long while. My life has settled into the normal quiet pace of nothing-exciting-going-on. But I do continue to watch a lot of movies. I've even been to the theatre quite a bit lately. So below is my attempt to summarize all that I can remember from the past month or so. Basic Instinct 2 - 2 I wasn't expecting much, but I did hope that they at least kept the character interesting and intelligent like she seemed in the first one. In the end, it really just felt like an older actress trying to reclaim her youth. The story wasn't was good and even the big reveal at the end I thought could have been done a lot better. Brokeback Mountain - 4 As often happens with Hollywood Westerns, all the critical hype makes me think there is something more to the film, so I will watch it and find out that it's really just a boring cowboy story. The actors did a great job in filling up 2 hours of movie when they only had 20 minutes of dialog to work with. Clerks II - 6 I really enjoy Kevin Smith's dialog. He often seems more realistic than many other screenwriters today. I even often enjoy his sense of humor. However, I think a few of the jokes in this went too far. And the plight of the main character seemed too much like the first movie -- it was the same story only in color. Find Me Guilty - 5 I really like Vin Diesel. I think he has talent, and I think he did a great job in this film. Nonetheless, the film felt very "standard" and predictable. Furthermore, I don't tend to like stories about the mafia, especially when they are skewed to look like good guys. Gone in 60 Seconds - 4 Some recent interest in Angelina Jolie's work made me want to see this again. I couldn't remember much of it, and after seeing it a second time I now know why -- there isn't really much there. A few standard car chase scenes, some typical Hollywood bad jokes, some decent music; but no story to pull me in. No character development that interested me. Rumor Has It... - 5 Yes, it is true that I sometimes get a typical "girlish" streak and like to see a standard romantic comedy. Sometimes you run across these suprising little gems. This was not one of those, but rather a more typical story. The only thing interesting is the way they tried to tie it back to The Graduate.