Smiley Face

This movie was HILARIOUS! I am a huge Anna Faris fan and cannot believe how cute and funny she is! She should have Jennifer Anniston notoriety due to her appearance and obvious comedic acting ability. I like her much better than Jennifer Anniston because Anna takes chances and doesn't mind looking foolish and still manages to retain her attractiveness. I vote ANNA FARIS for America's Sweetheart!! She convincingly plays a stoner in this film like no other I have seen on television, besides maybe, James Franco in Pineapple Express or that kid in Grandma's boy, Dante, who owns the monkey. I have literally watched Smiley Face 4 times and enjoy it just as much each time. A super funny part is when Jane F. played by Anna is in this house, stoned, and is lying about who she is to escape the cops from finding her, and sits and thinks about framing things she likes and comes up with lasagna, and goes to ridiculous lengths in her imagination and how she will hang a picture of President Garfield and tell the story of how Garfield the cat loves Lasagna and how she loves it, and I am not doing the story justice, but trust me it is so ludicrous and hilarious... The film centers around a journey a very stoned girl takes after smoking pot in the morning and then getting the munchies and eating an entire plate of cupcakes, not knowing they were baked with pot! She needs to pay the electric bill, replace her roommates cupcakes and meet her dealer but gets off track by so many events.. aka Harold and Kumar go to White Castle! SO FUNNY!

I give it an 9.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLCzta7BROE

Descent

I had no idea what I was getting into with this one and watched it the night before Thanksgiving. I also never quite realized how beautiful Rosario Dawson was until I watched Descent. I also sort of wish I NEVER watched this film because the ending was disturbing beyond belief and dragged out for WAY TOO LONG!!! It was torture.. Rosario plays Maya, a smart student from Baltimore who attends a college and meets a football player. He pursues her relentlessly and she reluctantly agrees to get together with him. He winds up raping her and the story continues.... Maya begins a turn for the worse as a result of this very unfortunate incident. I have no idea why I continued to watch it.. I think it is sort of like viewing a car accident. The slow and purposeful direction was impactful, but at the same time lingered on the rape scenes WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO long, and it was AWFUL. I forget about Rosario's great performance and the relevance of the journey down after rape, which is significant because of the elongated rape footage...

I give it 1 out of 10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUzHBEk6FMs

Lymelife

My friend, Mark Pason, asked me if I had seen this film and I said, "A film about Lyme Disease?" He said, "Trust me, it's your kind of film, check it out." So, after hooking up my Roku, this was my first viewing experience. I liked the raw, 1970s feel of the direction very much. Rory Culkin plays the lead, Scott Bartlett, who's dad is played by Alec Baldwin, Mickey. As much as I can detest Alec Baldwin in real life, I LOVE HIS ACTING! He is so funny.. not since Providence, have I seen him shine in all his slimy glory! Rory Culkin is a great actor, and I loved watching him as well... It is a coming of age story about Scott, who's family friend's daughter, Adrianna, with whom he holds a secret affection. Cynthia Nixon's character, Melissa, is Adrianna's frustrated mom. Melissa is sick and tired of her husband's antics due to his Lyme disease, played by Timothy Hutton. This was before Lyme disease was accepted as a real illness and it is clever how Hutton's character sees a mirage of a deer almost constantly in the back yard, taunting him, due to Lyme disease being deer tick related. Odd and quirky, and fun, and at times emotional, this film was pretty good. I liked the cast!

I give it a 5.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5j6QAkGbNU

Empire Records

The soundtrack contains this one band, Quicksand, song Thorn in My Side, which I had no idea was in this film, but is not included on the soundtrack! I love Quicksand. They are an old school band my friend,Jeff Unger, introduced me to in college back in the old days! In the 80s it was very cool to work in a record store and the story centers around some local misfits working in an indie record store that is about to be bought by a big corporate conglomerate due to the dying art of indie music. The manager, played by Anthony LaPaglia, is an older musician who encourages the employees be themselves by allowing them to play their favorite music loudly in the store, etc. Robin Tunney (who I love) is a troubled girl who eventually shaves her head ala Brittany Spears in the film. Brittany must have been copying Empire Records!! Anyway, it isn't a deep movie but shows how different people can find common ground. It is entertaining to a certain degree, but given the story line and my love of the concept,...
I give it a 4.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyVutj2oEpk

The Big Bad Swim

I watched this because my friend, Michael Ellenbogen, who is in the "business" posted something about it on his Facebook page. I didn't know anything about it and was surprised that it took place in Connecticut in the Groton area. It is a small budget indie that focuses on an adult swim class. Adults taking a swim class is a clever premise and I liked what they did with it, however, it was incredibly slow moving and not overly thought provoking. The character development wasn't great and I didn't feel for any of them. The teacher was a young Olympic hopeful, (story killer) who was unusually depressed but physically super attractive. His class contained some characters who befriended one another and we got a glimpse into each of their lives, but again, it was remiss in making any real emotional connection from me. It wasn't terrible, but certainly not riveting. We see that emotional connection with others enhances lives, but we all know that already.

I give it a 3.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJNR5Nl2_VY

Happiness

This film is an incredibly twisted bunch of despicable characters weaving a web of total dysfunction throughout a disturbing life in the day of.... Lara Flynn Boyle and Philip Seymour Hoffman are the notable actors in this ironic, dark, and thought provoking drama. Happiness is an ironic title given how much each character is suffering. Todd Solondz is the father of bizarre and addresses many taboo subjects in this story of a family chock full of problems. He depicts mental illness with a dark comedic flair that is so Todd Solondzesque... unmatched by any other auteur in the industry. If you have absolutely no sense of the Flannery O'Connor dark humor, you would serve yourself well to pass this by as either you "get it" or you don't. The average American film goer will not get this film and will not laugh at the "funny moments", and believe me as much as it is disturbing there are points where you must laugh, but you sort of hate yourself for it when you do.... Solondz delves into the darkest corners of human ailments in Happiness and it is truly not for the faint of heart. The story weaves in and out of a family comprised of 3 daughters, 2 grandchildren and the grandparents; each rife with issues that plague the secret underbelly of American existence. There is a lot of deadpan humor and the delivery is genius at points and remarkably shocking. This was a courageous film making effort and Solondz is to be applauded. The end of the film is just as crazy as the whole thing. I don't want to reveal any of the story because I would have to sit and type the whole thing because even sharing one scene would make me ludicrously remiss as it is entirely impossible to fathom. If you are seeking to be shocked, and if you want to laugh at the unforgiveable and want to feel that your life is unusually "normal" pick it up and give it a whirl, otherwise, steer very clear if you aren't into irony.

I give it a 7.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkQ_JxoWUP8

Out of Sight

I don't know how I missed this film in 1998! It is rife with notable actors including: George Clooney, who plays Jack Foley, a bank robber, Jennifer Lopez, who plays Karen Sisco, a Federal Agent, Steve Zahn who plays a dummy, Don Cheadle who plays Maurice, a common criminal, Ving Rhames, who plays a fellow inmate, Dennis Farina, plays Karen's father, Isaiah Washington, another criminal, Luis Guzman the ugly actor who is in EVERYTHING and one of my all time faves, Catherine Keener! Steven Soderbergh really chunked it up with names and directed this fun film with style! I liked that it was comedic, a romance, and a drama all wrapped up into one entertaining film! I liked every minute of it, and actually found George Clooney appealing in it. I don't typically adore him, but he did lend this film a certain Cary Grantesque lead in the looks department. The two main characters, Jack and Karen make an unlikely connection when she inadvertently gets involved in a prison break, wrong time, wrong place. She is locked in the trunk with George Clooney who's face is painted but manages to seduce and interest her with his conversation although she was held beyond her will. This film had all the classic elements for a great story and was often clever. I was talking with a friend today and I said Jennifer Lopez was an "interesting" choice given the other line ups, but she quickly reminded me of U Turn and a couple other great independents that Jennifer was in before she went all mainstream.. for the money.

I give this an 8.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_GOrRyhABg