Double Feature

March 2006 - Hello. My name is Jennifer Wade. And I love Greg Kinnear. There. I've said it. I love Greg Kinnear. Not likely to win an Oscar anytime soon, but so what. I like him. Let me tell you about two of his movies.

In The Matador, a 2005 comedy/drama, Kinnear plays Danny Wright, a down-on-his-luck businessman from Denver. He goes to Mexico City hoping to close a big deal. At the hotel bar, he meets Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan), a secretive, world-weary guy with a penchant for telling highly inappropriate jokes.

Eventually, Noble confesses that he's a hit man, a "facilitator of fatalities." And, several months later, when Noble becomes the target of a hit, he shows up looking for help from his one and only friend. As Noble reminds Wright, "You owe me."

Overall review: Liked it. Brosnan is a middle-aged man and hes not afraid to look like one. At one point, he struts his stuff through the hotel lobby, wearing only tight briefs and boots. Kinnear is also good, and they're given a script that's full of surprises. Just when you think you have things figured out, you find out differently.

The Matador is rated R. If you missed it in theaters, it should be out on DVD by summer.

Kinnear is about the only thing I liked about Godsend, a 2004 sci-fi thriller. The fact that Rebecca Romijn-Stamos is in it ought to tell you something. Robert De Niro also stars though, for the life of me, I can't figure out why.

Kinnear and Romijn play Paul and Jessie Duncan, a married couple celebrating the eighth birthday of their son Adam. Unfortunately, the next day, Adam is creamed by an out-of-control car and killed.

Not to worry. Dr. Richard Wells (De Niro) can make it all better. He approaches the distraught couple about having their son cloned. Paul and Jessie go to Wells' Godsend Institute in the middle of nowhere. The good doctor sets them up with a house and a job and, nine months later, Adam II arrives.

On Adam II's eighth birthday, things start to go bizarre. The boy starts having creepy visions and answering to the name Zacahary. Don't worry, says Dr. Wells. Well, Paul's not falling for that. He discovers that the good doctor is not so good after all, and that he's the reason Adam II isn't as sweet as Adam I. The ending leaves things open for a sequel, but I seriously doubt anyone will bother to make one.

Overall review: Ehhh, it was OK, and that’s just because I'm partial to Greg Kinnear. I totally didn't buy Romijn-Stamos, and De Niro wasn't on screen enough to save this movie. For that matter, I don't know if anything could have saved this movie.

Godsend is rated PG-13. If you must see it, you can find it on DVD.