Swimming Pool

A Pan's Labyrinth circumstance within the world of a British writer who visits France to write a book! You'd have to see both to know what I am talking about. I loved this story because the discomfort I felt at times was unsettling... as in I didn't know what to expect or why anything was happening. The director did a great job with the heat of the film. The sounds of the wind and grass blowing added immensely to the feel. Often times, for me, it felt like a noir film in broad daylight. The interaction between the British writer and her character in the book, a young, carefree girl on a sexual rampage was interesting and thought provoking. While this film moved slow, it was deliberate and necessary to tell the story. It is very well done and very much worth a watch.

I give it 7 out of 10.
http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/swimming-pool/trailer

Choke

This story was odd and pretentious. I can't believe Anjelica Houston would be part of this film. The film contains a sex addict and his buddy who stumble their way through this film and neither of them are likable. To me, at least one character needs to be liked, and I need to want them to do well. In this case, I didn't care what happened to Victor as he was a despicable man. The story centered around Victor trying to discover who his father is and it was an arduous task due to the dementia his mother (Angelica) suffered. I can see how the script could appear a little interesting, but the execution failed miserably. There are some darker films that make more sense and you can watch and appreciate, but this one sucked!

I give it a 1 out of 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr67ych5pDI

In the Bedroom

A visceral film where I felt what each character was experiencing and feeling in any given scene. There was little dialogue and clever use of imagery to foreshadow what was to come. Tom Wilkenson plays the passive, loving and understanding father of a young man who dates a separated older woman with two children, played skillfully by Marissa Tomei. Sissy Spacek played the mother well, she is an unbelievable actress! The young man's family was a perfect mix of respectable, loving and intelligence but comprised of flawed individuals. It was interesting in that they were silent for much of the film, but you could read what was happening by the superb acting. And as a result of the tragedy, the dynamic between the parents became powerful. The power shift that occurred was integral to the story. The father does the unspeakable. They discovered what was inside of them through the mishap. They found out who they were subtly by moving through their grief. The direction was genius. A great psychological drama!

I give it a 8 out of 10.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3923312921/

Twilight

A unlikely love story between two high school students involving a vampire and a regular human being makes for an interesting plot. The set up of the story was quite good, and the characters were perfectly cast. Kristen Stewart plays Bella, a quiet, pale standard issue pretty new student in the town and gets noticed by the weird handsome kid. The script was well done in that it provided mystery, romance within a story. The main characters had that likability factor. I liked him because he wanted to do "right", and I liked her because she was ultra cool about it all. The chemistry was believable and I think I spy a sequel.

I give it a 7 out of 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDVlQPpVUA8

Speak

I liked this story and found the direction and execution of it to be satisfactory and sometimes interesting. Steve Zahn (who I sometimes confuse with Peter Saarsgard) plays the rebellious art teacher who brings out Melinda Sordino's artistic side and is integral in her "healing." Melinda underwent intense stress due to an event that happened at a party the last day of 8th grade. She holds in this stress for the entire movie, never telling anyone about it and it makes for the "feel" of the movie. She is walking around with a horrible secret and withstanding all the public humiliation of the event without defending herself. You can understand why and can feel her frustration and lonliness. It is a teen movie, along the lines of "13", however, much more benign in content. I happen to love Kristen Stewart, she is the perfect blend of girl next door, and intensity and was perfectly cast for this film.

I give it a 5 out of 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSCzahFXMrs

Pan's Labyrinth

This was a great story filled with imagination and great special effects. It was difficult to distinguish reality from fantasy through the little girl's eyes. Before I watched it, I thought it was more of a fairy tale story, but I was clearly wrong. This story will have you thinking throughout and wondering what was real and what was imagined.

I give it a 9 out of 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqYiSlkvRuw

Bottle Shock

This story didn't move me much at all. The battle between the French and the Californians about wine is interesting, but the execution lacked spark. The beginning of the film has a cool feel, but then the characters weren't super interesting, and or likeable. The script "tried" but fell short of anything monumental. The ending was good, but predictable. This should have been a made for TV movie. I kept watching, but could have easily turned it off. The best part of this movie was Dennis Farina, one of his suits was pretty bad ass... and he reminded me of Burt Reynolds...

I give it a 3 out of 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYs0kblXToA

Role Models

Sean William Scott plays Wheeler and Paul Rudd plays Danny, co-workers who avoid jail by agreeing to community service. The service entails mentoring local youth in the "Sturdy Wings" program run by Gayle Sweeny, played by the hilarious Jane Lynch! Wheeler gets to mentor a precocious 10 year old black boy obsessed with vulgarity and boobs while Danny gets paired up with Augie played by Christopher Mince Plasse (McLovin of Superbad) who chooses to live in the make believe world of the feudal lords of medieval times. Danny is an unfulfilled cynic who would almost accept jail rather than accept the terms of his community service while Wheeler forms an interesting bond with his "little" based on a mutually shared deviant nature. Gayle, Sturdy Wings Manager provided perfect comedic timing through out. The story was cute and the script had all the elements! This film flew under the radar and I am not sure why because I laughed nearly as much as Superbad! The minotaur dance was ridiculous and the whole film pretty funny. No one character was super prominent, although Bobb'e J. Thompson, who played Ronnie really stood out!

I give it a 7 out of 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqnvu5QC2fQ

Wrist Cutters: A love Story

The story takes place in "hell" where each person has taken their own life. Zia, played by Patrick Fugit kills himself over a girl and in the new place finds love with a girl who accidentally OD'd. The film presents an eclectic cast of characters who have all killed themselves and exist in this hot, stagnant world of nothing. All are on a journey of sorts and the ending makes it all worth it. Slow moving, not super, but I do recall a cool song, Love will Tear us Apart, by Joy Division which makes it sort of interesting.

I give it a 4 out of 10.
http://www.terrorfeed.com/index.php?id=wristcutters-trailer

Broken English

A film written and directed by Zoe Cassavetes with Parker Posey as the main, 30 something character, Nora who cannot seem to find love in Manhattan. Nora is best friends with Audrey, played by Drea DeMatteo. There are loads of scenes of Nora living her life alone giving the viewer glimpses of a single woman's life. Being single is portrayed as miserable. Eventually, Nora meets a french man, Julian at a co-worker's party and became too scared to surrender to him and he goes back to France. Nora is all comsumed with finding love and possibly a husband. Distracted by her pursuit of love, she starts to slack at her job, quits spontaneously and then goes to Paris with Audrey to attempt to find Julian. I remember a good song that came on the radio when she was in a Paris taxi, Passing Me By, Pharcyde, such a great rap song... One of the highlights of the film. I love when an unexpected cool and old school song makes it into a film. It makes you realize that the director is on par with your taste somehow. I like the 3 named actresses in this story. There are some great lines with respect to love and its position in people's lives.

I give this a 5 out of 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ynjdDukPxw

A Walk on the Moon

This is a great story featuring Diane Lane as Pearl and Liev Shreiber as Marty, her husband in the 1960s set in the Catskills during the summer. Coming up from the city each weekend to visit his family, Marty finds out his wife is having an affair through his mother (Bubby). Bubby is an integral character in this film and should not be underrated as she serves as the glue in the family. Viggo Mortensen plays Walker Jerome, the sexy, hippy blouse man whom becomes entangled with Pearl showing her a freer lifestyle. He looks phenomenal and was cast perfectly because he looks dangerously handsome enough to ogle, but take seriously, nah... Pearl's daughter serves a metaphorical function in the story as she is 14 years old and meets a boyfriend for the first time at camp. Pearl parallels her life with Walker because she had her daughter when she was 17 years old, the first time she had sex and with her first boyfriend, Marty, now her husband. She relives her youth at a stealth price.

I give this an 8 out 10.

Dazed and Confused

The last day of high school before summer break breeds many parties, excitement and confusion and in this small Texas town, the high school football team quarterback has been given a sheet to sign by his coach promising not to do drugs for the betterment of the team. The quarterback hangs out with the "partiers" in the school and holds onto the sheet until the end of the movie for a stand-off with the coach. Other small themes include a freshman's nightmare hazing by the sophomore boys, (and coming of age afterwards) and the freshman girls' hazing AND the huge party at one of the guy's houses gets foiled by the premature delivery of the beer kegs while the parents were still packing to leave for the weekend. Lots of driving around to rock and roll and problem solving of the tallest order- where to have the party! A simple movie that opens with a great Aerosmith song with no real mind bending plots or situations makes for easy entertainment. I liked the flow of the story, the music, and the coolness of it. Parker Posey's first movie role, albeit small.. how did she manage to get into SO many cool films? Lucky Duck!! Skill is and was involved--- yeah... Makes you remember high school with a fondness....

I give this a 5 out of 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_eTV4lRJYU

Party Girl

Perfectly cast as Mary, Parker Posey takes us on a journey of a 23 year old New Yorker lost in the party scene with no career goals. After being arrested for throwing an illegal party, Mary finds herself calling her librarian godmother to bail her out of jail for the last time. Her godmother continuously compares her to her mother who died in a DWI car accident. What makes this movie so wonderful to me are memories I have of being like Mary outlandishly attired, music inspired, and loving being around people in a party atmosphere. I think every woman has a little Mary in them if you were a bit off the beaten path. The story behind the fun makes it lively and keeps you entangled because you want to see Mary succeed. She has a Lebanese love interest who vends Falafel on the street which intertwines with her finding herself and adds that extra element. Mary has many amusing lines which only Parker Posey could deliver with such charisma! This was her first lead role.

I give it a 7 out of 10.

http://www.blockbuster.com/movies/party-girl-m133988-trailer.html

Henry Fool

What a strange story... I didn't know anything about this when I picked it out and the only notable actor is Parker Posey who plays Fay Grim, brother of garbage man, Simon Grim who winds up being a sought after writer once Henry Fool comes into his banal life.  Henry Fool is a convicted felon who rented the Queens apartment the Grim's had for rent and influenced reclusive garbage man Simon to pursue writing.  Simon's sister Fay looks after their mentally ill mother, and eventually winds up pregnant in Henry's grasp.  While Henry is a fake, he instills inspiration in Simon, but ultimately winds up trading places with Simon.  Henry's good comes out in spurts but mostly he is a reject of society.  This film was LONG.. longer than one would expect and is slow moving without any real action as most of the characters are rather dead emotionally.  I kept watching because I wanted to know how this tale would end.

I give it a 3 out of 10.

Atonement

This was the most annoying movie I have seen in a long time. Perfectly cast, but terribly frustrating. I watched almost 2 hours of 2 people loving each other and not able to be together because of one evil girl. Terrible movie, awful story and long-drawn out explanations for all building up to a miserable ending!

I give it a 1 out of 10. (for great scenery)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATtSfe_DaJU

Chopper

Eric Bana portrays, Mark, a life time criminal with a pension for storytelling and playing both sides. It was a completely mad, out of control movie which didn't make sense half the time. I kept watching because I never knew what Mark was going to do next. Between punching his girlfriend in the face and head butting her mother, Mark said, "Why did you have to go and upset me," or something like that. He was in jail half the film and half the time out stalking and shooting the people who did him wrong. Eric Bana was the perfect mix of insane and sort of kind. He would apologize after being schizophrenic, but then come back and hurt them in the same breath. I cannot believe I sat and watched the whole thing! The Australian accents were thick, the lighting artfully interesting, and the main character nuts!

I give this film a 4 out of 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeXy8BnhhxQ

The Secret Life of Bees

This is a girl's story... Lily, played by Dakota Fanning, killed her mother accidentally when she was 4 years old has lived with her father who is cruel, and doesn't understand her. Lily's father T. Ray, never talked about her to Lily, and she wanted to know more about her mother as she grew older. At about 13, Lily figured out where to to run away to to find love and to find out about her mother. She found August, played by Dana Owens, who took her and her housekeeper, Rosalie, played by Jennifer Hudson, into her pink farm house and instinctively knew who Lily was... This is a film about women, and often times I found myself welling up with tears as so many scenes were unbelievably touching. This read like a Lifetime movie, but I didn't mind.. I was ready for it when I rented it. This is a story about race in the 60s and the place where it wasn't a factor.

I give it a 6 out of 10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSpZJpKCO5w

The Good Girl

A small town depressed 30 year old woman named Justine, played by Jennifer Anniston, works at a department store and meets a 22 year old kid "self named", Holden, played by Jake Gyllenhall and they begin an affair. They both are miserable and fall in to it by design. Justine's husband, played by John C. Riley is a pot head who doesn't understand her. Unbeknownst to Justine, Holden is mentally ill and can't handle the affair. The story is threaded together really well and as simple as it is it is a bit profound, which is hard to do given unsophisticated characters and a small town setting. I think this film is cleverly executed and deserves some merit. So much more happens, and you will have to rent it to find out!

I give it a 6 out of 10.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQBaLr_-Fe8

Junebug

The best thing about this movie was Amy Adams as Ashley. George and Madeline are newly married and take a trip to North Carolina for Madeline's art business and visit George's family while there.  The story depicts a southern family who doesn't express any feelings and George's miserable brother, Johnny, is the rudest and quietest of all.  There is no character development, therefore, I didn't feel for any of them.  The movie should have been titled Ashley, as she was the only bright spot of the film, and married to fore lorn Johnny.  I could see the subtleties of the story.  Madeline and George marry after only knowing one another a week and 6 months into the marriage they visit his family only because they are in town.  Madeline got to know George by seeing the dysfunction of his family, but accepted him despite her discoveries.  There were so many obvious issues in each character, but left unexplained, which left me sort of cold.

I give it a 2 out of 10... and not a 0 because of Amy Adams ability to shine despite all the misery surrounding her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyMNMLppwcw