The weather in this area is terrible. For seven months of the year, it’s just cold and miserable. Maybe since we’re at the tail end of it and summer is (hopefully) coming soon, my anticipation is turning into suffering.

I’ve stopped choosing movies directly to avoid the common issues everyone encounters when scrolling through Netflix. My 7,000 DVD disc changer has a ‘random’ button, so I force myself to watch whatever pops up. However, there are a few rules:

• Must watch at least 30 minutes no matter what.
• Can’t be something that’s impossible to watch.
  • A broken DVD with terrible audio.
  • A foreign movie with no subtitles.
  • Something I promised my wife we’d watch together.
• Must be new to me.

This opens my viewing experiences to movies I would have never chosen intentionally. Last night’s random choice was fairly decent.

The King of California is entertaining but ultimately forgettable. It’s a heist film in disguise and balances pacing similar to Lost in Translation or In Good Company. These films were released in a period when storytelling didn’t rely on big CG fights and sky beams.

Michael Douglas excels as always, and the supporting actress (Evan Rachel Wood) was decent in her less demanding role. It’s certainly worth a watch.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐