A couple more movies from the recent Blockbuster stack: "Invincible", and "All the King's Men".

Read about them after the jump...

Disney's "Invincible" starring Mark Wahlberg is one of those standard issue predictable, feel-good, happy-ending Hollywood productions that actually makes you feel good.

It's based on the true-life Cinderella story of a Philadelphia bartender who earns a walk-on spot with the Philadelphia Eagles NFL pro football team. Historical footage at the end adds authenticity. The only unpredictable elements of the story are the bad things that don't happen.

There's an interesting backstory involving labor strife in the 1970s, and of course Mark Wahlberg's character becomes a symbol of their struggle and gives them vicarious hope to cling to. The 70s soundtrack, costumes, and hairstyles are perfect. Pretty good movie, I'd recommend it. It may even be a good family film, except for the rough-around-the-edges characters and mild profanity. Teens might pick up a positive message, though.

"All the King's Men" starring Sean Penn is about Willie Stark, a character based on notorious Louisiana governor Huey Long. It's pretty good, but something's off about it. Maybe the script, maybe the direction, not sure.

The sets and cinematography and overall production try to capture the South of William Faulkner or something, but the screenplay sort of lets the movie down in that regard. In my mind, it doesn't incorporate much Southern nuance or Louisiana spice. The populist movement themes of the story could just as well have been set in Kansas during the depression except for the accents.

The editing could be better, too. The movie is too long by about half an hour, and there's a lot of jumping around in time and repetitive flashbacks that seem unnecessary and distracting, at least to me. The score is distracting, too, and needlessly jarring at times in full on Dolby Digital.

The acting is mostly superb, though, with Sean Penn turning in a fascinating but sometimes over-the-top performance as Willie Stark/Huey Long. The real star, though, is Jude Law as Stark's trusted confidant, who turns in a restrained portrayal of a complicated character. Tony Soprano is mostly forgettable as Stark's second in command and behind the scenes mechanic. Part of James Gandolfini's problem is his apparent genetic inability to effect a believable Southern accent. Anthony Hopkins showed up on the wrong set for the wrong movie. Mark Ruffalo's character is critical to the story, but we don't learn much about him. I was never exactly clear who Patrica Clarkson's character was or what her role was supposed to be. Stark's bodyguard and trigger man Sugar Boy is an interesting minor character. Kate Winslet is a nice set decoration.

All that said, it's still a pretty good movie with high production values and an all-star cast. I'd recommend it.