The Ice Storm - Kevin Klein, Joan Allen - December 27

This is a flick about suburban couples who have have been married just long enough to think about entertaining temptation in the neighborhood. During a "key" party (throw the car keys in a bowl and let the wives pick) an ice storm complicates things.

After the Wedding - foreign - December 20

This is a Danish film and I wonder if they have a sense of humor. The lead runs an orphanage in India and goes back to Denmark to try and get some funding. He meets a philanthropist who offers him a million dollars...if, and it gets darker from there.

The White Countess - Natasha Richardson, Ralph Fienes - December 14

He's blind and she's an exiled Russian countess. As I recall it was pretty good I just can't remember any of it.

Mr. Brooks - Kevin Costner, William Hurt, Demi Moore - December 11

This is a psychological thriller in which Costner plays a serial killer who gets his jollies killing people. Hurt plays his alter ego well and comically. Moore is the cop trying to catch him. I'm not going to say anything more because the movie is too good. You'll have to see it.

Knocked Up - Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogan - December 7

After an inebriated one-night stand ends up in pregnancy she decides to see if she and the father can "make a go of it." It's difficult because the father is a real slacker. For much of the movie he acted a total loser. He came around, though.

Lookout - Jeff Daniels - December 4

A down-and-out janitor gets recruited (not too willingly) by bank robbers to be their lookout man. The heist does not go as planned. The movie wasn't bad, I didn't fall asleep.

Half Nelson - Ryan Gosling - November 21

This is another one about a hopeless dope who finds salvation through a young (13) student. The acting isn't bad, particularly the student, but the teacher (the dope addict) just doesn't get it. You never feel anything towards the teacher except exasperation, certainly no sympathy. On top of that the movie is way too slow moving.

Disturbia - no-names - November 16

This movie copies the same theme as Hitcchcock's Rear Window Except this time it's a highschool kid confined to his home for a month who spies on his suspicious neighbor. That is the only similarity between this very mediocre movie and the great Hitchcock classic.

Invicible - Mark Wahlberg - November 13

A pretty good relating of a true story of an old (33) guy who shows up at the Philadelphia Eagles training camp for an open try-out. The Eagles have been doing so poorly for the last couple of years that they are willing to try anything. After hundreds of "wannabes" show up one guy makes the cut. His spirit and "all-out" style of play eventually win over the veterans and he not only survives further cuts but makes the team and plays for another three years

Man of the Year - Robin Williams, Laura Linney - November 7

Directed by Barry Levinson, this comedy stars Robin Williams as the irreverent host of a political satire talk show who runs for president. But his stunt to expose Washington corruption goes further than he expects when he actually wins the election. Meanwhile, a software engineer (Laura Linney) suspects that a computer glitch is responsible for the surprising victory, but will she speak up? Jeff Goldblum and Christopher Walken co-star.

Shooter - Mark Wahlberg - November 2

An expert marksman (Mark Wahlberg) is coaxed out of seclusion by colleagues who need his help in preventing a plot to kill the president. But he soon realizes he's been set up when he's framed for the assassination attempt. Can he elude the law long enough to bring the real culprits to justice? That's what we all wonder, but seriously, folks, it's really good. Danny Glover and Michael Peņa (World Trade Center) co-star in this political thriller based on a novel by Stephen Hunter.

The Valet - foreign - October 30

When a photo of billionaire businessman Pierre Levasseur (Daniel Auteuil) and his supermodel mistress, Elena (Alice Taglioni), makes the papers, he gets in dutch with his wife (Kristin Scott Thomas). To trick her and save his marriage, Pierre tracks down an unassuming valet (Gad Elmaleh) who was inadvertently part of the picture and pays him to feign a romance with Elena. But unintended consequences ensue in this merry comedy. A surprisingly enjoyable movie with subtitles in the black margin so they're readable.

Mrs. Harris - Ben Kingsley, Annette Benning - October 26

Dr. Herman Tarnower (Ben Kingsley) became famous after creating the popular Scarsdale diet in the early 1980s. But his constant infidelity caused an enormous rift in his long-term relationship with prep-school headmistress Jean Harris (Annette Bening). This HBO movie tells the true story of the headline-garnering murder that resulted when the refined but mentally unstable Harris shot Tarnower. I reemember when this happened. A good friend married their daughter. Co-stars includes Cloris Leachman and Ellen Burstyn.

The Painted Veil - Edward Norton, Naoni Watts - October 22

He professes to love her and proposes marriage after one meeting. Courtship was a little different in 1925. She accepts in order to get away from her mother. Then her husband ignors her for some reason. It's a real difficult marriage but sur[pisingly not a bad movie.

Sleeping Dogs Lie - Melinda Paige Hamilton (?), Bryce Johnson (?) - October 12

First, she does a perverted sexual act on her dog when she's a teen then, after pestering from her lover (years later) she admits it. Now he won't have any part of her. Kind of a strange basis for a movie. What will they think of next and why do we watch it?

The Verdict - Paul Newman, Jack Warden, Charlotte Pampling - October 5

The movie may be old but it's still good. An old story about a down-and-out lawyer who wins the case against a crooked lawyer and worse judge.

Year of the Dog - Molly Shannon - September 18

Julie read a review somewhere that recommended this as a good comedy. As David advises, never trust a reviewer. The story is about a spinster in her 40s who loves her dog.Unforturately the dog dies. So she goes to the pound for another one that kills another dog so is "put down". She goes back to the pound and discovers that there are 15 dogs on dog's "death row". She asapts all of them and goes slightly bonkers. There's more but it's too boring.

Phantom of the Opera - Andrew Lloyd Webber - September 16

Well done film and great music.

Blod Work - Clint Eastwood - September 15

Clint does good work. This riveting story involves an FBI agent who suffers a heart failure while chasing a criminal and gets a transplant from a murder victim. The victim's sister finds out he has her heart and comvinces him to track down the killer. There are a few twists to the tale that add to the enjoyment.

A Very Long Engagement - French - September 14

A fairly graphic showing of the horrors of the First World War. A girl's fiance gets drafted into the French army and gets court martialled for deliberately getting shot by the Germans. He's sentenced to death and rather than executing him they put him into no man's land where his chance of survival is pretty slim. Meanwhile his intended refuses to believe that he's dead and persues every lead to determine his whereabouts. Well done but not my idea of entertainment, also, after two foreign flicks I'm tired of reading subtitles.

The Lives of Others - German - September 11

This takes place in East Germany before the wall comes down. A successful playwrite and his actress companion become subjects of the stasi's (secret police) secret surveillance program, their friends, family, and even those doing the watching find their lives changing. The real nasty ones don't change, though.

Failure to Launch - Matthew McConaughy, Sarah Jessica Parker,
Cathy Bates, and Terry Bradshaw - September 5

We were in the mood for some light entertainment and this one fit perfectly. Terry Bradshaw is great as the father of McConaughy who doesn't want to leave the comfortable nest of the family home. The parents hire Parker to get him out and you know the rest.

Fracture - Anthony Hopkins - August 29

A pretty good flick about a guy who kills his wife and beats the rap on a technicality (they can't find the weapon). The detective knows he did it and goes to some lengths to ensnare Hopkins.

Charlotte's Web - animated - August 25

Julie wanted to see this one.

Hot Fuzz - nobodies - August 22

A funny trailer and not funny movie.

Zodiac - Jaje Gyllenhall, Ruffalo, Downey, Jr. - August 18

A good flick based on a true story of the efforts of the police and a newspaper cartoonist to solve the mystery of Zodiac, a serial killer in San Fransisco beginning in the late sixties and finally solved in the eighties. I didn't recognize Robert Downey in a goatee. Ruffalo was particularly good as the police investigator.

Hearts in Atlantis - Anthony Hopkins - August 15

A pretty good flick about a guy who can "see" into the future and read people's minds. He befriends a young (11-12) boy who gets some of the same talents. The acting is really good and the Hopkins interview in Special Fearures is very interesting. Finally a good movie.

Thieves Like Us - Keith Carradine, Shellet Long - August 8

Julie read a review that praised this one and it wasn't bad but I couldn't make up my mind whether I liked it or not. Back in the twenties there were these three bank robbers that I would call the "Keystone Robbers." None of them very smart. They killed a few including cops for not very good reasons and, in the end, crime does not pay.

The Wedding Date - Debra Messing, Dermot Mulroney - July 31

Time for a little light comedy that's predictable, but that's OK it was a pleasant diversion. Girl needs date for wedding to save face, hires one, then falls for him (what else?).

The Silent Partner - Elliott Gould, Christopher Plummer - August 3

A little dated (1976) but fun to watch. Elliott Gould as a bank teller anticipates a holdup and takes the money before the robbers and gets away with it until the robbers let him know he has the money and they want it. The story gets better with the addition of Susannah York involved.

Running with Scissors - Annette Benning, Alec Baldwin, others -
July 28

This is the definition of dysfunctional. Annette Benning plays the mother who is really screwed up, Alec Baldwin, the father, isn't bad, the son is loaded with neuroses inherited from the mother, the shrink is a little wierd and his family is totally screwed up. Other then that it's pretty normal.

Into The Blue - unknowns - July 27

Julie read a review somewhere praising this movie. Never trust a reviewer. This is an amaateurish attempt and is riddled with (now I can't think of the word) typical, worn out, hackneyed attempts at acting. It's formulaic and boring.

Born Into Brothels - documentary - July 23

This is a documentary about children born and raised in an Indian (east) brothel. A photographer gives a bunch of the children cameras and they record life in the neighborhood. Some of them escape, others don't. Quite good.

Catch and Release - Jennifer Garner - July 18

We'll watch it tonight. Well, we watched it and now it's nine days later and neither Julie nor I can remember what it was about. We did remember that it wasn't that good.

Come Early Morning - Ashley Judd - July 14

It's hard to judge a movie by the write-up in Netflix. This was OK but not as good as we thought it would be. Ashley plays a woman who has family (parents) problems and rebels with promiscuous sex and booze.

A Bridge Too Far - Sean Connery, Robert Redford, Anthony Hopkins, others
July 11

An old flick with a great cast but too slow-moving. Starting to show its age. World War II saga, "the war to end all wars."

Breach - Chris Cooper, Ryan Phillippe - July 3

An FBI new-hire realizes he's brought in to spy on his boss. A thriller based on a true story. Good flick (finally).


Office Space - Jennifer Aniston - June 23

Unhappy cubies decide to try the old gimmic of skimming the round-off and depositing in their account. The scheme goes wrong when they misplace a decimal. Moderately amusing (I knew I shouldn't have gotten another Aniston movie).


Volver - Penelope Cruz - June 20

This humourous fantasy stars Carmen Maura as Abuela Irene, who revisits her hometown in the La Mancha region - in spectral form - to resolve problems she couldn't settle during her life. Abuela's spirit gradually becomes a reassuring presence to her daughters (Cruz and Lola duenas). That's what the jacket says, I haven't seen it yet.


Stage Beauty - Billy Crudup, Claire Danes - June 16

The movie is about an actor in 17th century England who is famous for playing female parts (as in a "part" in a cast) not...well never mind. At the height of his career the king decides that women should play women and men are forbidden to. he has played women so long that it's difficult for him to play a man (or be a man). Claire Danes finds a way to become a man (heh, heh).


Blood Diamond - Leo DiCaprio - June 13

Leo is a tough guy from Zimbabwe who makes his living(?) stealing diamonds under contract. In the African country of Sierra Leone he is caught in the crossfire of a civil war. It's tough to figure out who's on whose side but it really doesn't make any difference because all of them are shooting at him.


Pam's Labyrinth - Baquero, Lopez, and Jones - June 9

This foreign film's subtitles are for a speed-reader but I got most of them. It's a fairy tale about a sadistic army captain during Spain's fascist days in 1944. For a fairy tale it was rather mean spirited and bloody but I guess I'd say it was well done. (Barnes & Noble didn't have this one so I had to use one from Netflix.)


The Persuit of Happyness - Will Smith et fils - June 6

One thing Will can do is run, he does it throughout the movie...ad nauseum. It's a sad movie about a single father trying to make a sucess of himself when everything goes wrong. When he finally succeeds I was relieved because then the movie could end.


The Good Shepherd - Matt Damon - June 2

Damon is cold and serious throughout this slow-moving, somewhat jumbled story of the beginning of the CIA.


Something to Talk About - Roberts, Quaid, Sedgwick, Rowlands, Duvall - May 29

A medium, ok movie. Nothing great but good cast. He's caught fooling around and she throws him out. Her parents side with him until her father gets caught and then it's women against men. In the end all is forgiven blah, blah, blah.


Children of Men - Clive Owen, Julianne Moore, Michael Caine
- May 26

Alfonso Cuaron directs this film version of P.D. James's classic dystopian novel (and Oscar nominee for Best Adapted Screenplay), a futuristic drama set in a world in which humans have lost the ability to reproduce and subsequently face certain extinction. Things change when a single woman mysteriously becomes pregnant, prompting a conflicted government bureaucrat (Clive Owen) and his ex-wife (Julianne Moore) to join forces to protect her. Michael Caine co-stars. OK if you like this sort.


The Holiday - Winslet, Diaz, Jude Law, Black - May 23

Every once in a while I need a romantic comedy fix. This was it. A great cast did a good job and it was fun and they lived happily everafter. It's an old story of one from England trading houses for a few weeks with one from the States. In this case Winslet and Diaz. They were both suffering from bad relationships and, of course, meet Black and Law. Black was better than expected.


Deja Vu - Denzel - May 18

He's good. The movie was based on the premise of going back in time a few days and changing events which stretched the imagination but I could handle it and thoroughly enjoyed the flick.


Casino Royale - David Craig - May 14

This was pretty good. I liked it that 007 was not a pretty boy who won all his battles without getting a mark on him. He had a lot more character as in the first Connery movies.


Queen - Helen Mirren - May 9

I don't understand how she won an Oscar for this performance. Her facial expression didn't change once, stone-faced for the whole picture. The movie was very slow-paced, it was all I could do to stay awake.


Pirates of the Caribbean; Curse of the Black Pearl - Johnny Depp - May 5

Depp's vamping grows old. CG is pretty good, though.


The Departed - DiCaprio, Nicholson, Damon - March 20

The screenwriter was enamoured with the f-word.I thought the movie was just ok.


The Illusionist - Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti - March 15

I know how he did his tricks but I enjoyed it anyway. Paul Giamatti does a great job of getting into his characters. Now to see Prestige. (I saw Prestige while at Sam's or Tracy's in April and like this better.)


Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont - Joan Plowright, Rupert Friend - March 8

Joan Plowrright is fabulous. She is joined by a great cast of unknowns (to me) and the result is a very entertaining movie. She is a widow who moves into a hotel and accidentally becomes friends with a young, struggling writer. To help her he assumes the role of her grandson.


Over the Hedge - animated - March 2

What they can do with facial expressions is terrific. Some scenes will scare the very young. The exterminator is the best.


Take the Lead - Antonio Benderas - February 26

An entertaining movie about a ballroom dancing teacher who takes over a high school detention period and "saves" the kids.


Donny Brassco - Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, Anne Heche -
February 20

A well done movie about the mob in New York and Miami, almost too well done. An FBI agent, Brasco (Depp), infiltrates the mob through Pacino and he's wired. It's tense but why do I like the mobsters better than the FBI?


House of D - David Duchovney, Robin Williams -
February 13

Robin Williams plays a slightly retarded janitor in the building where Duchovney's character grew up. They become "best friends" and have a hiding place next to thw women's house of detention, thus the title. Duchovney has a small part because most of the movie takes place when he's just a kid (who is pretty good).


In Her Shoes - Catherine Diaz, Toni Collette, Shirley MacLaine -
February 7

Two sisters with opposite life-styles resort to their estranged mother for answers. Very entertaining and good cast.


Shall We Dance? - Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Stanley Tucci -
February 2

A happily married man decides he wants more happiness in his life so he takes up ballroom dancing. He doesn't tell his wife because he thinks it would upset her(?). A mistake. Great dancing and Tucci's a riot.


Au Revoir les Enfants - Foreign - January 29

An interesting handling of a jewish boy's "outing" in a French boys' school during the Nazi occupation.


Lucky Slevin - Freeman, Willis, Kingsley, Lui - January 13

Two weeks later and I can't remember what this is about. I watched the trailer and still can't remember. I hope I enjoyed it.


Little Miss Sunshine - Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette,
Alan Arkin, Abigail Breslin - January 10

This movie had a lot of word-of-mouth promotion which can cause "let-down" but it was pretty good. Usually I don't find another's misfortunes funny but this road trip is hilarious.


Syriana - George Clooney, Matt Damon - January 7

This is another of Clooney's political statements.


Babette's Feast - Danish - January 5

Sometimes I think the best movies are foreign. This was a bit slow moving but entertaining. It's about two sisters growing up under the influence of their minister father. They had to bypass romance for prayer. Then a French cook was hired and her cooking changed some of the thinking.

Who Killed the Electric Car? - documentary - January 2

It's hard to believe that this is true. How could anyone allowed it to happen? This rattles my old conservative bones. I'll have to write the WSJ and get an explanation.
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