Dogville (2003)

Here's the deal. If you already know people are basically bad, whether on their own or in a group, you can skip this film. However, if you are sometimes lulled into a sense of bonhomie toward your fellow man, I suggest you pick up the paper. Any paper. Or watch the news.

If you are really feeling down on humanity and want to verify that the world is as crappy as you think, pick up this film. Nicole Kidman is a barefoot woman in a fur running from someone trying to kill her when she arrives in Dogville, an ugly little town of about 20 people. The townspeople reluctantly take her in and she agrees to work in exchange. This may start like Snow White and the 7 guys, but it ends up about where you would expect. Slavery, definitely. Worse? You bet. If you make it through to the end (this is a three hour film), you may get a little satisfaction. But I didn't. Ick. Pass - just read the paper.

Glorious 39 (2009)

This is an interesting movie; far from perfect, but very interesting. I found it to be essentially about the evil that can be found in complacency. And it's about betrayal - a very terrible betrayal.

A young woman lives a very privileged life with her family: mother and father and two younger siblings. They are wealthy, with historic homes in the country and in London. They have no needs unmet, and are surrounded by beauty at every turn. WWII is about to start. I had not previously been aware of the "appeasement" movement, where people wanted to give Hitler money and concessions to keep themselves out of war. I guess it's logical. People didn't want anything about their lives to change.

Anne, the young woman protagonist, stumbles across some of the acts being taken by her relatives, and she learns where she stands with her family.

The acting is great. Jeremy Northam and Bill Nighy are wonderfully evil. These are two of my favorite guys. If you like either of these two actors, English period dramas, war dramas, Julie Christie, or beautiful English countryside, pick this one up.

Inside Job (2010)

Well, this won the Oscar for best documentary for a couple of reasons. First, the 2008 financial collapse was a hot button topic - and the Academy loves those hot buttons.

It's also a good movie. It's got a good narrator (Matt Damon) and some spicy interviews. Nevertheless, it's a total downer. If you have read the paper over the last 4 years, you can probably skip it. If you want to watch, make sure you have something on hand to cheer yourself up after viewing. Maybe some internet shopping? Drugs?

Danny Lloyd of The Shining (1980)

The Shining is so good it amazes me. I'm reading the book again, and I keep checking behind me in the house to make sure there are no monsters.

A large part of movie is Danny Torrance, who was played by six year-old Danny Lloyd. This kid is so amazing in the film that I wish I could see more movies with him. But I can't. He did one more film and said he wasn't interested. That may be even cooler than his performance! No Lindsey Lohan crap for him.

Summertime (1955)

I had a hard time watching this. Katherine Hepburn is a spinster on vacation - alone - in Venice. She is desperately lonely and sad. She meets Rossano Brazzi. The use of the word spinster, the overblown language, the handling of the topic itself - all of these things bugged me. I would recommend you rent Monkey Business or African Queen or Desk Set instead. (I believe she's a spinster in the last two, and it's not sad or weird in those films, but kind of cool.) That's a big spectrum of her work, and they're all better than this.

Ides of March (2011)

I can see why this got mixed reviews. It's a very cynical movie, and I suspect that is not what most people like to see.

I liked how topical it is. It's an election year, and Governor Morris (George Clooney) is running for President. He is currently battling in the primary. His staff is legion, but we're focused on Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Ryan Gosling. Both are idealistic in different ways and to different degrees.

The opposition tries to steal away Ryan Gosling, and this sets off an ugly chain of events with Phillip S-H. Meanwhile, an intern enters the picture - female, of course. Each time I started thinking - This could never happen! - I would remember John Edwards' recent campaign. Or some other campaign. This shit happens.

So the movie is cynical. It also slips into some weird shots and moods at times. A couple of BIG scenes are set up in cheesy ways, which lessens the impact of the plot. I was actually distracted by some of these shots, so the mood lessened. So - not a perfect film, but a fun one. And George and Ryan are never a problem to watch for a couple of hours.

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

This one was in my book of 1000 movies to watch before you die. It's thought provoking, so I see why they put it in.

There is no real plot in this movie. Henry and Otis live together in Chicago in a hovel of an apartment. Both are ex-cons. Henry is killing at will throughout town - all women, I think. He follows them home from malls or picks them up hitchhiking, whatever comes along. Sometimes we see the killing, sometimes we don't. If the killing is shown it is in a flat, unemotional manner, with no explanation. It occurs, Henry moves on. Then Otis's sister Becky moves in with them. The balance is upset, and I hit the fast-forward button a lot at this point. I found it hard to watch.

The point of the movie, to me, is a question. Why do we find this type of movie interesting? There are so many shows about serial killers, and movies, and books, that it seems we must be fascinated by them. Do we idolize them? This movie does not idolize them. It is repulsive. The life Henry lives is repulsive, and Becky never had a chance. This movie is very depressing, and in that regard, the sets are great. The physical world shown here is very depressing.

I would watch this if you own the 1000 movies book, or if you have a deep interest in serial killers.

I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)

This is an odd movie, and not necessarily in a good way. There are times when it is interesting, and the performances are great - by Jim Carrey, Leslie Mann and particularly by Ewan McGregor. However, the tone is odd, and the characters are not understandable, but it's a different story. I would have liked to understand a lot more about what motivated these people. No such luck.

Jim Carrey is a closeted gay man married to Leslie Mann. They are an ostensibly religious couple, and it's sincere on her part. When Steven (Jim C) gets in a serious car accident he has an epiphany and comes out of the closet. Actually, he storms out of the closet, and to support his new lifestyle he becomes a con man. He's pretty good at the conning, but keeps landing in jail nevertheless. On one of those stays he meets Phillip Morris (Ewan). They fall in love.

And then the rails come off the track for this movie. This is not a comedy. It's a tragedy. It plays out like a farce with romance, but it's not. It's a sad movie about a mentally ill man and the people who love him.

I would pass. Watch Beginners instead. If you like Jim Carrey, you have a favorite movie of his. Pop it in.

The Big Heat (1953)

This movie has a well-worn plot (even for 1953). The police commissioner is on the take and a criminal boss runs the town. Glenn Ford won't give up investigating the suicide of another cop and the subsequent death of a b-girl, so the mob kills his wife (intending to get him). He proceeds to avenge her death.

The great part of the movie is Gloria Grahame. You may remember her from Oklahoma? She plays the gal who just can't say no? She's also in another fav of mine: A Lonely Place with Humphrey Bogart. She is awesome here, and she made the movie worth watching. At a run time of 90 minutes, you could watch it just for her.

Midnight in Paris (2011)

What a piece of crap. I cannot believe this is nominated for anything. Carol and Jim were watching this with me, and we were all reading the paper within thirty minutes of the start of the film. Carol pointed out that this dialogue would have been better if Diane Keaton and Woody Allen were saying it, but we agreed that nothing would have kept this from sucking except a new script, better sets, real characters, and the disappearance of Owen Wilson.

Just pass.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011)

This is getting pretty crappy reviews from Yahoo users. Based on the trailer, I was prepared to feel the same way. I emphatically did NOT want to see this film! But mom and I were on a roll. Six movies in six days - this was day 6 and this was our assigned film. It was the only Academy nominee still in the theaters we needed to see (other than Foreign, a category that cannot be seen in its entirety before the awards).

So we went - more to keep our streak going than anything else. And I've said it before, but it bears repeating: low expectations are sometimes wonderful.

This movie was far less and far more than I thought it would be. First of all, I was expecting a tearjerker from the get go. Not the case. The quick story - Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock are a happily married couple with a son - very precocious, possibly with Asperger's, but the tests were inconclusive. Tom dies in one of the 9/11 towers, and the family is broken. Kid finds a key in dad's closet and is sure it is a message from his dad, goes on a city-wide search for the lock that fits the key. (BTW - same premise in Hugo with the automaton. There was a needed key there as well, and dad died in a fire.)

This kid, as played by Thomas Horn, is not that likeable. Interesting? Yes. Made me cry? No. The story was a bit out there, the dialog was not sympathetic; in general I did not feel this movie was going for the Steven Spielberg non-stop cry. That's cool with me.

But I wasn't that interested in the film initially. I was not engaged. Then, about half way through I got interested. I was shocked at this. And the movie got better. I really liked the ending. And the great part? Stephen Daldry did not tie up every story line with a pretty little bow. You have to think in this film, pay attention, put some pieces together for yourself, and not expect to know all the answers. I like that.

So, if you only have time to see a couple movies before the awards, watch The Artist and The Descendants, maybe the Help on DVD (I detested it, but it's up for a lot of awards and will win some). You'll get the most bang for your buck there. Catch this one on video. I don't think it will win anything, but it's definitely watchable.

The Grey (2012)

Finally. We finally saw something that was fun fun fun this week! OK, to recap, Iron Lady blew me away for Meryl Streep's acting, but the movie was so-so. Hugo was great, but I wasn't jumping out of my seat. My Week With Marilyn was mediocre at best. Albert Nobbs SUCKED!!

So we went to see the movie with the wolves. And Liam Neeson. Liam has been on the payroll path lately, which I understand. It's good to make money, and lame action / adventure fills the bill. I imagine it's kind of easy too, unless the physicality of the role is demanding. So you get A-Team. Taken. Crap like that.

But The Grey is fun!. It is by the same director as A-Team, Joe Carnahan, but you would never guess it. There is a team of guys in the Arctic / Alaska, presumably at an oil rig, and they're heading home for vacation? The winter? Who cares. The plane goes down in the frozen wasteland tundra. Good plane crash scene. And the cold looks very real. These guys are frozen - hair and beards and fingers - all frozen. The sound is good, too, with lots of wind. And then, of course, howling and growling starts.

See, there is this huge pack of wolves, and it's winter and they're pissed and probably hungry. The guys that survived the crash look yummy and are a good way to vent anger as well. So the wolf pack starts picking them off, just like on the Discovery channel.

Liam's character is some kind of violent sniper type. His job at the drill site was to watch out for wolves and other predators and shoot them before they get the employees. So he understands the wolves, and definitely understands that the survivors are outmatched, under-supplied and ill-equipped to make it out alive. But they have to try. The acting is great. The effects - the wolves and the snow and the wind - are superb. I jumped a couple of times, which I love. I love scary animal movies. Especially when they're good.

Go see this one.