I’ve had a little bit of free time to watch DVDs lately, and some of them are worth adding to the Movies You Might Not Know list…
“Breach” The story of the end of FBI agent Robert Hanssen’s career, as the bureau works to bust him for being a traitor. Chris Cooper give an intensely low-key performance as Hanssen, with Ryan Phillippe as the rookie assigned to monitor his activities and Laura Linney (who is incapable of a bad performance) as the woman running the investigation.
“In The Shadow Of The Moon” I’m always fascinated by first-person stories from people who have done things you and I will never do. Here’s one about a very select group — the men who rode rockets to the moon, some of whom planted their footprints in the lunar soil — reminiscing about their roles in the Apollo program and their individual missions. Aside from names you know (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, Jim Lovell), there’s Alan Bean, Gene Cernan, John Young, Harrison Scmitt, and Alan Young. Must-see for anyone who grew up during the space race.
“Rescue Dawn” Christian Bale as a Navy pilot taken prisoner after being shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War. The conditions are horrific, but the camaraderie that develops with a fellow prisoner, played by Steve Zahn, and his determination to escape, keep the true story compelling throughout.
“Gone Baby Gone” Ben Affleck (!) directs brother Casey in the intriguing story of a private eye looking into the case of a missing baby in a tough Boston neighborhood. With Amy Ryan as the drug-addict mother, Amy Madigan as the grandmother, Ed Harris as a police detective, and Morgan Freeman as a police captain caught in the middle.
“Love and Sex” Sometimes I recommend movies that aren’t great, but certainly watchable, just because I enjoy the work of the actors in them. This one stars Famke Janssen as a woman looking for love, with boyfriends played by Jon Favreau and Noah Emmerich.
“The Paper” Ron Howard’s look at the inside workings of a newspaper’s editors and managers as they cover a racially explosive story, with an aggressive lead performance by Michael Keaton, and support from Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Marisa Tomei, Randy Quaid, and a small supporting role by Jason Alexander.