Once

Brilliant! That's the word to describe Once a poignant film about a nameless guy and girl (that's how they're referred to in the credits) who meet by chance in Dublin. He's a vacuum repairman cum busker.  She's immigrated from the Czech Republic and sells flowers and cleans houses. They meet by chance brought together by music, honesty and perception. They develop a relationship that defies easy classification as they both have complicated lives and sensitive hearts.

Neither has much money. His guitar is just pathetic and she has no stylish outfits, but he plays well and she's beautiful. It was quite refreshing to watch two people, in such ordinary clothes and settings,  engage each other, not saying all they want to, developing a unique relationship, that I doubt either will ever forget.

They do write songs together and sing, beautifully. I've ordered the soundtrack.

Due Date

Skip this "buddy" picture. Flying home from China, I wanted some light entertainment and got sucked into the sophomoric vortex that is Due Date starring Robert Downey Jr., whom I usually like. The plot is predictable: two opposites get intertwined and must travel cross country together by a certain deadline. Rain Man worked as did Trains, Planes and Automobiles.

Due Date never got off the ground for me. (I couldn't refuse the pun.) Successful, type A businessman Peter, played by Downey, gets tangled up with the obnoxious Ethan Tremlay. There were enough jokes that made me chuckle in the beginning, though they were guilty pleasure laughs rather than "wow, that's witty" laughs, to keep me watching. Besides I had 12 hours to kill and my first choice, Tangled had some technical difficulties.

The film just went downhill and never attempted much of an ascent. Somehow we're expected to believe the ridiculous, like that the Mexican police can cross the border and pursue drivers in the US. Ethan is sort of funny, but could be more so. The film is just so thin on plot and character.