"Vantage Point" and "Jumper"; Jack Johnson makes the Rolling Stone magazine cover

We saw two good movies at Sunset Place today. The first was "Vantage Point", starring Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox (pictured at right), Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Edgar Ramirez, and Zoë Saldana. The film is set in Salamanca, Spain, where President of the United States Ashton (William Hurt) is holding an anti-terrorism summit. Over a twenty three minute period, an assassination attempt on the President unfolds. The film loops through this twenty three minute period over and over, each time from the perspective of a different participant, adding a new piece to the larger puzzle with each loop. I was pleasantly surprised by this movie and found it very enjoyable and engrossing.

The second movie was saw today was "Jumper," starring Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Bell, Diane Lane, and Max Thieriot. I was not disappointed in the movie, but definitely not as impressed as I was by "Vantage Point." It is a movie about a genetic anomaly which allows a young man to teleport himself anywhere. He discovers this gift has existed for centuries and finds himself in a war that has been raging for thousands of years between "Jumpers" and those who have sworn to kill them, which the film calls Paladins. Adding to the young man's dilemma, his own mother is a Paladin.

In unrelated but nevertheless important news, one of my favorite artists, Jack Johnson, is on the cover of the current issue of Rolling Stone magazine for the first time ever. I was thrilled greatly when I learned this. I have included a picture of the cover in question out of the kindness of my heart. You can sample some of Jack Johnson's wonderful work at his website, http://www.jackjohnsonmusic.com/. Trust me, you will thank me.