Despite having recently watched The TV Set, I went ahead and watched another Hollywood commentary, The Deal.  Whereas the former was about a first-time director, the latter was about a last-time producer. William H. Macy was just about to call it quits permanently (i.e., die) when it struck him he could make one last joke at Hollywood’s expense. Setting out to make a Benjamin Disraeli biopic with a popular action star (LL Cool J) in the lead, we follow his misadventures all the way from the pitch to the premiere. Not as overtly bitter as some movies about The Biz, The Deal is endearing and silly.

The extremely silly Extreme Movie (from Dimension Extreme films) is a string of vignettes about young people trying to and having sex (with the exception of Jamie Kennedy. Can’t he play with kids his own age?). I watched it for Michael Cera and was not disappointed by his sketch. It was a little rushed, but they barely had any time or a budget. I think my second favorite was Andy Milonakis’ unconventional love story (at least he’s got biology as an excuse).  A lot of the people who made this film are in my age group, and yet I really felt I was too old to be watching it.

A Few Day in September is an espionage thriller starring Juliette Binoche and a handful of American actors which takes place in the several days prior to the World Trade Center attacks. I was a bit hesitant despite the star power (Nick Nolte, John Turturro) thinking that perhaps this film had “something to say”. However, I love espionage and I love Juliette Binoche, so I expected I would probably enjoy watching, but I really didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. I thought it might be similar to a Bourne film, less fantastical but just as tense and action-packed. It was not. It really was more of a character study of those who were planning to attend a fateful meeting on the night of the 10th. Had I known prior to watching that this is actually a French film, none of this would have been so surprising.