CATCH AND RELEASE

I caught the ending of this movie one day. And then, a couple of weeks later, I caught the beginning, and of course, had to sit through the whole thing. Both times I kept thinking...who is that guy?...he looks familiar. I'm not even sure I've seen him before, but he looks like someone... who? The guy I was wondering about was Timothy Olyphant, who plays "Fritz" in CATCH AND RELEASE. (It finally hit me that he looks like a young Lorenzo Lamas) When I looked him up, I realized that I'd seen him before in LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD. Quite a different role in that movie - he plays the bad guy. So in DIE HARD, I hated him. But in CATCH AND RELEASE? Loved him!

Jennifer Garner plays "Gray", a young woman who's fiance, "Grady", has suddenly died. After his death, she temporarily moves in with his buddies since she cant afford her place anymore. Together they mourn and help Gray get through her loss. First she mourns the loss of the man she loved. Then she mourns the loss of the man she thought he was, because Gray soon discovers that she didn't know everything about Grady. Like, he had a child that he'd been supporting for a few years. And this child has existed for less time than Gray and Grady had been together. The "other woman", "Maureen", played by Juliette Lewis said, "I'm sorry. You could've just missed him and loved him and not known". To which Gray answers "Not known him".

Kevin Smith plays Sam, the funny sarcastic guy; Olyphant is Fritz, the playboy; and Sam Jaeger is the responsible guy, "Dennis". They are all likeable guys - but Dennis - hate to say it - was totally unnecessary to the story. The other characters' stories go somewhere by the end of the movie. But Dennis is just there. It would have been the exact same movie without him.

But all in all, this is actually a sweet love story of Gray and the man she is finally drawn to as she comes out of her mourning. It's probably predictable, and most probably a date flick. But CATCH AND RELEASE is also sad, funny, and romantic.

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD

Maybe I'm just stuck in a time warp, but I was really excited last year when "Rocky Balboa" came out! And to find out that the fourth "Die Hard" movie was being released this year was too good to be true!! So perhaps my review won't be all that objective, since I knew I would love it before I even saw it!

I went to Sam's Club the week the movie was released, since I knew that I had recently seen the "Die Hard Trilogy" for sale there. My plan was to watch all three movies and then top it off with "Live Free or Die Hard" on the weekend. No such luck. Sam's didn't have it. (and yes, I did the same thing last year with "Rocky Balboa"!). So, off to the theater I went, without refreshing my memories of John McClane's previous adventures. No problem, I got it all...up...here (mental picture: Me tapping my temple...).

"Live Free or Die Hard" was just what "Die Hard" is - suspense, action, witty one-liners, and stunts that you know could've never happened. John McClane is older now, with a troubled relationship with his teenage daughter. He comes across Matt Farrell, a young hacker, played by Justin Long (of "Hi, I'm a Mac" fame) The two get caught up in a terrorist plot that attacks our country's technology, taking down our economic structure. And so McClane and Farrell go on the run to stop the bad guy. Or is that to get away from the bad guy? Bruce Willis is, as always, awesome in his role as John McClane. He's the perfect blend of tough guy, funny guy and not-so perfect guy. Long does a great job with his role - he is really funny. A very cook geek. Kevin Smith also adds some humor to the story - living in the basement at his mothers house, he is referred to as the "Internet Jedi".

With action and suspense from begining to end, "Live Free or Die Hard" was the perfect updated story for all "Die Hard" lovers. In the end, our beloved characters all walk away bruised, bloodied, but safe and victorious. So the only complaint I have is, what happens now with all the chaos in the country from this "virtual" attack? Traffic lights are out, utilities are out, stock market's crashed..and the credits are rolling. I guess...they all lived happily ever after anyway.