Alli and I had the opportunity to catch up on a couple of movies on Saturday – Eagle Eye and Nights in Rodanthe. It’s been a while since we’ve been to the movies, so after the American Royal parade, we caught an earlier showing of Eagle Eye, then napped for a couple hours, then went back out for Nights of Rodanthe.

Eagle Eye

I don’t want to like Shia LeBeouf for the same reason I don’t want to like any other pop star or movie star people tell me is “the next…whatever”. Usually, “the next…whatever” never lives up to the hype. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), LeBeouf is the real deal. Sure, he doesn’t have a ton of range…most of his characters are eerily similar…but I actually really like the character. He’s funny and doesn’t seem to take himself too seriously.

Eagle Eye is carried largely by LeBeouf, but is buoyed by action sequences that are not quite as realistic as those in The Bourne Ultimatum but are about as exciting. The concept behind the movie has been done before and I won’t give anything away, but it’s more of a statement piece than I expected. The most telling line comes in the last couple minutes of the movie from Secretary of Defense Michael Chiklis. Something to the effect of: “We must be sure that in order to protect our liberty, we need to make sure that we don’t infringe too much on our own liberties.” Patriot Act statement, anyone?

No matter your politics, the movie is really entertaining, especially if you like movies with lots of action. Recommended.

Nights in Rodanthe

Nicholas Sparks movies don’t have a ton of surprises, especially to people who’ve read the books. His adaptations often follow the books to the letter, but that’s OK, because he’s a decent storyteller. Nights in Rodanthe is a love story (duh) about a man who has lost his inspiration and a woman who has lost her identity (not literally). They meet at one of the coolest beach houses I’ve seen in the middle of a hurricane (symbolism, no?) and have a great romance…well…you get the picture.

Diane Lane does a terrific job as Adrian and I really liked Scott Glenn’s supporting character. Mostly, I just liked the story. I hadn’t read the book, but Alli had and I enjoyed it. If you’re a romantic or if you’d like to treat your wife to a romantic movie, I would go check this one out. Sparks’ influence is obvious…in fact, if I didn’t know he wrote it, I would have compared it to other movies that have been based on his books. Treat your wife or girlfriend or inner romantic and go check it out.