Tonight Kathy and I watched John Q, one of the movies we received from Blockbuster online. The lead role is portrayed by Denzel Washington. There are also a number of other big names in major roles – Robert Duvall, James Woods, Anne Heche, and Ray Liotta.

The first scene of the movie reminded me of an ill-fated attempt at vacation with friends that I made in the mid ’90s. Thankfully we all lived, except for the car. Aside from some aches and pains, we were uninjured, and nobody needed to check us for donor cards. The woman in the film, credited only as “Beautiful Woman,” was not so lucky.

I saw some similarity between this movie and The Negotiator. Most of the devilish details are different, but the core is the same. Back a man into a corner and leave him no options, and presto, you have a hostage situation.

Even though I could tell where the movie was going most of the time, I enjoyed watching the story unfold. I think this is why I love movies in general. I would make a horrible movie critic, which is mostly why this is a commentary, not a review. I would give almost every movie a thumbs up. For me, it is difficult to rip a movie apart and find some reason for not liking it.

Though I did enjoy this movie, I think The Negotiator was better. The plot twists in that movie were much less predictable, and I’m a big fan of its two main stars. It comes with an R rating because there are a lot of expletives and bullets flying around. This is a problem for many, especially in Utah.