Movies
Appaloosa. (11/16/08). Old fashioned, gritty western with pleasantly basic yet quirky characters. Recommended.
Quantum of Solace. (11/14/08). Bad Bond film. Paper thin, non-stop, non-sensical chases by boat, car, and plane. No wit, no good dialogue, no good women. Not recommended.
Religulous. (10/14/08). Bill Maher's documentary seeks to encourage viewers to doubt major religions. A Michael Moore style documentary is not the right vehicle for this goal. Try a book like Will Durant's "The Story of Civilisation, Volume 1." Nice try, but not recommended.
Body of Lies. (10/10/08). Good acting by Leonardo diCaprio but too long, mediocre plot, no love story. Marginal recommendation.
Ghost Town. (9/??/08). Very funny movie starring Ricky Gervais as a dentist who can see and talk to ghosts. Small movie but recommended.
Bottle Shock. (9/16/08). Good story about Napa Valley wines defeating best of French wines in a blind tasting in France 30 years ago. Unnecessary Hollywood touches detract from story, but still recommended.
Vicky Christina Barcelona. (8/26/08). Interesting and entertaining rumination on love (from Woody Allen?). Good to great cast, set in Spain. Attend the Patricia Clarkson character. Recommended.
Tell No One. (8/21/08). Well done French thriller with subtitles. Highly recommended if you like murder mysteries.
Tropic Thunder. (8/16/08). Very funny in parts, but highly uneven with no love interest. Better than Zohan, but not recommended.
WALL-E. (8/14/08). Imaginative, very well executed Pixar animated love story between two robots. Prefer real love stories. Optional.
The Dark Knight. (8/12/08). Worthy sequel to Batman Begins deserves the hype and starry-eyed reviews. Aaron Eckhart's movie with great supporting work from Heath Ledger. Highly recommended for those over age 15.
Get Smart. (7/10/08) Many funny moments, good cast, but romance between Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway does not work (father/daughter?). Nope.
Hancock. (7/06/08). Pleasant, dark turn on standard action hero fare. Good Will Smith vehicle. Optional.
Wanted. (7/01/08). Silly plot, James McEvoy disappoints, but good Matrix-like special effects and a dominating, effortless performance by Angelina Jolie lights up the movie. Recommended only for serious action or special effects buffs.
The Incredible Hulk. (6/28/08). Love story does not work, so movie does not work. Not recommended.
Iron Man. (6/25/08). Excellent action film including a love story that works. Jeff Bridges is a good villain. Awaiting sequel. Recommended.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. (mid-to-late June). Unnecessary,somewhat flat sequel. Not a bad movie, but optional.
Kung Fu Panda. (6/10/08). Well-done children's cartoon seen because of family connections. Recommended if you like such movies. Too scary for three year olds!
You Don't Mess With the Zohan. (6/7/08). Don't go see this Adam Sandler vehicle either.
The Visitor. (5/15/08). Wonderful, small film about a mentally dead widower who finds two immigrants living in his little used NYC apartment and the changes they bring to his life. Highly recommended.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall. (4/22/08). Grosses out many, but not me. Very funny if you can tolerate raunch. Shot on the north shore of Hawaii.
Nim's Island. (4/14/08). Children's film (good), but not recommended for adults.
Under the Same Moon. (4/16/08). Nice, small movie, just like the previews. Travels of young Mexican boy to join his mother in the U.S. Recommended.
Stop-Loss. (4/7/08). True anti-war film. Effective, seems realistic. Added to my understanding of the ramifications of Iraq war and how soldiers are treated. Lacks a love story. Surprising ending. Recommended.
"21" (3/30/08). Ennobling story of the M.I.T. blackjack team. Contains nice, small love story, pleasing shots of present day Las Vegas casinos, and enough escapism to earn my recommendation. Kept wishing Toby McGuire was lead actor matched with lovely Kate Bosworth.
In Bruges. (3/27/08). Shot on location in Belgium tourist town. Quirky, humorous, violent little amusement with Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes, who looked like Voldemort. Recommended.
The Other Boleyn Girl. (3/15/08). Two lead actresses are lovely but not sufficient to redeem this grisly movie. Should be missed, even on DVD.
The Bank Job. (3/10/08). Nice little heist movie. Recommended.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. (3/08/08). Nice cast, well acted, too flat for my taste. Not recommended.
Vantage Point. (2/23/08). Okay thriller with too heavy a reliance on a flashback device and not enough character development. Still, it worked for me. Recommended.
Persepolis. (2/18/07). Oscar nominated black and white French cartoon about a young girl growing up in Iran from 1978 to 1994. Elegant, funny in part, tragic overall. Surprisingly entertaining. Should have won Oscar. Recommended.
The Savages. (2/15/08). More Oscar research. As a Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman fan, I knew the acting would be good, but this film is too much of a downer to recommend. Why are people making films that cannot be redeemed even with the best possible acting?
Definitely, Maybe. (2/14/08). Well-crafted, entertaining love story. Recommended. (The third lead actress is not Amy Adams, though she is a dead-ringer.)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. (2/08/15). Memorable, startling, altogether original film. Highly recommended. Thanks to the director for casting an endless succession of beautiful women in the subordinate/supporting roles. See this film!
There Will Be Blood. (2/05/08). As a Paul Thomas Anderson fan and dedicated Oscar researcher, this was necessary viewing. Day-Lewis deserved his best actor Oscar, but cannot recommend the film. As usual, PTA gets carried away at the end.
Atonement. (01/31/01). Film has a "best picture" feel about it. Satisfying sound track, good acting, mournful plot. Highly recommended.
I Am Legend. (01/02/08). Will Smith does a good job of making this depressing tale of post apocalyptic Manhattan somewhat entertaining. While I rated the movie a 7 (of 10), in the end, there is nothing here that needs to be seen. Not recommended.
The Great Debaters. (01/01/08). Pleasant, uplifting, well-acted historical drama about a small Black college in the South with a top flight debate team. Not especially exciting, but recommended.
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