feel better with Oliver Stone...

I got a chance to catch Oliver Stone's U Turn on TBS last night. I had seen it once before when it was initially released back in 1997, and I liked it quite a bit back then. However, this time I noticed just how fresh all of the acting was in that movie. Indeed, the film is littered with great actors in small, idiosyncratic roles that are akin to irreverent one-liners in a gritty comedian's routine. The movie contains performances from the likes of Sean Penn (in a great, subtle performance far removed from his oppressively emotional roles in Mystic River and 21 Grams), Nick Nolte (who plays a jealous, hateful husband with a wicked sense of humor), Jennifer Lopez (who proves that she can act well, especially in sexy, subdued roles like this one), Billy Bob Thornton (playing a demented car mechanic who's got the upper hand despite the fact that he's living in a hellhole), and the great and sorely underrated Laurie Metcalf (playing a bus station clerk who has a most comical nervous breakdown). If you haven't seen this movie, it is classic Oliver Stone, and it is thoroughly enjoyable. I'd give it an A-.