The Darjeeling Limited - mediocre, at best. Waste of time. Three brothers are on a train in India in some sort of quest, that, inexplicably, involves consuming cough syrup and pills, as well as smoking an endless stream of cigarettes. This nonsense exemplifies Hollywood in one of its ceaseless impulses, and it is not a pretty sight. Owen Wilson plays the eldest of the three brothers, wearing head bandages and a domineering streak that is baffling. Adrien Brody is stuck in a time warp, it seems, and wearing oversized glasses he keeps flipping onto his forehead. Jason Schwartzman plays the third brother, who lusts after the waitress/stewardess that serves them lime drinks. The film meanders, and then flops.
Manchurian Candidate - very good. Denzel turns in a stellar performance as a Desert Storm veteran,
rather than a Korean War vet, played by Frank Sinatra in the original
film version (1960). Meryl Streep plays the bitchy mother to perfection. The film veers on the melodramatic or absurd, but the action and the acting, especially the acting, pull it back, and make it work.
Adaptation - too much Cage. Way too much. Even Streep and Chris Cooper, in the end,, can not overcome that hurdle, good as they are.
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