Wild blue yawners? Nope

Since I've been slipping, here's a two-fer.

From Here to Eternity
This classic sat on my DVR list for a good 3-4 months before I buckled down and watched it recently. And that wasn't the first time I had recorded it, either. I have to admit ... it sometimes takes energy to gear up for these movies you should see vs. the ones that aren't meant to be appreciated. I'm a smart guy and all, but I won't deny that zoning out to "Wedding Crashers" for the ninth time is sometime more preferable to plunging into "Citizen Kane."

That said, "Eternity" was easy to watch. I can't say it was one of the best movies I've ever seen -- its Oscars haul is well-known -- but it holds up all right a half-century later, and at the very least is interesting for all the people in it. The most obvious are Burt Lancaster -- he of making-out-on-the-beach fame -- and Frank Sinatra, who won a statue and revived his career with this movie. But I'd rather focus on two other guys:

1. Ernest Borgnine: Not so much his performance -- which is fine as an evil stockade warden -- but the fact that this is the third movie I've seen in recent months featuring Ernie. C'mon, it's not like he's Michael Caine, and he's also not easy on the eyes.
2. Montgomery Clift: Not sure I've seen him in anything before, but he was pretty good here as the co-lead with Burt. Intense, good-looking ... and apparently a world-class f*ck-up in his personal life. I'm intrigued.

Our story takes place in Hawaii before the Pearl Harbor attack, with Clift as a soldier who refuses to fight on his Army company's boxing team, leading to bigtime harassment. Lancaster is his sergeant, who also has a thing for the captain's wife, leading to that famous beach scene. Meanwhile, Ol' Blue Eyes just wants to have fun but eventually runs afoul of Borgnine. Let's just say that Frank doesn't get to do it his way.

Not a bad story, even if parts are dated -- and apparently toned down from the book, i.e. a brothel becoming a social club. As far a the classics go, though, this one didn't feel like homework.

Red Eye
You may recall my post on this when it was in theaters. Now it's on HBO, and with a bare-bones plot that unfolds in less than 90 minutes, also most definitely not homework.

The terminally cute Rachel McAdams is a Miami hotel manager who finds herself next to a seemingly nice enough man, Cillian Murphy, on her Dallas-to-Miami flight. Alas, Murphy has targeted McAdams, forcing her to move a Homeland Security official to another room in her hotel, presumably so he won't be so secure. What's a girl to do? Ask for another pillow?

Normally, you might expect this story to have a twist or two. Not here, and I originally applauded "Red Eye" for that. I still think it's a nice, taut thriller, but a second viewing had me wanting more from director Wes Craven. There was potential with McAdams' dad, played by Brian Cox. But this great actor is pretty much given nothing to do.

No, the focus here is McAdams and Murphy, and they're both solid. She has the initially-confident-then-wounded-but-ultimately-strong thing down, and he's perfectly icy -- suave at first, then scary-cold. (His blue eyes work well in this part.) True, once the story shifts to the ground, it gets kind of silly. But it's not like you're bored, which makes it an enjoyable B-movie. Just don't think about it too much ... or take a second look.