Smokin' Aces Informant

As mentioned in my previous post, this past weekend we watched two "bad" movies that Sandy picked out (he proclaimed he would be selecting "bad" movies for his birthday weekend).  He selected Couples Retreat and Smokin' Aces.

I am trying to quickly knit a baby blanket and was knitting while watching Smokin' Aces, so I wasn't giving the movie my full attention. Even so, I say don't bother watching it - not good.  Movie description, "A sleazy Las Vegas magician agrees to testify against the mob, he embarks on one last hurrah in Lake Tahoe before entering protective custody. But can just one FBI agent keep him safe from a slew of would-be assassins?"  Nothing special.

We did watch a movie this weekend that I have been wanting to see - The Informant. This is a movie based on a true story, directed by Steven Soderbergh, a director I love, and starring Matt Damon. Movie description:

While gathering evidence against his employer, ADM, to help the FBI build a price-fixing conspiracy case, wealthy, affable executive Mark Whitacre, begins to piece together a fantasy world of his own. Based on Kurt Eichenwald's acclaimed nonfiction book about a true-life Corporate America whistle-blower.

I was also knitting for this one but did absorb the hilarious absurdity.  This is a movie worth seeing.  To quote the Portland Oregonian:

It's a terrifically offhanded film, barely breaking a sweat in telling a largely-based-on-truth tale of corporate crime and punishment and personal delusion. And its got a deliciously audacious and cheeky tenor. Too often the movies paint situations such as Whitacre's as moral dilemmas unfolding in an air of sanctimony. "The Informant!" reminds us that scandals involve humans and humans can be pretty silly, most often of all, in fact, when they think they're being deadly serious.