Cutting it Close

I didn't know if I was going to be able to beat this challenge, but I met my goal just under the deadline.  From May 2nd to June 2nd I was able to watch 65 movies.  Hooray!  Now I can go back to having a social life.

An updated List of Films:

1. Seven Chances
2. Life of Pi
3. Children of Heaven
4. Marathon
5. Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na
6. Timecrimes
7. Henry Jesus Christ
8. The Mighty
9. Goon
10. Eagle Vs. Shark
11. The Hidden Face
12. Bliss
13. Mad About Mambo
14. The Inbetweeners Movie
15. Dil Bole Hadippa!
16. The Way
17. L'Auberge Espagnole
18. The Awakening
19. Fatal Attraction
20. Skyfall
21. Bully
22. Soapdish
23. Kolya
24. African Queen
25. V/H/S
26. His Girl Friday
27. Your Sister's Sister
28. Celeste and Jesse Forever
29. Blue Valentine
30. Elizabethtown
31. Sleepwalk With Me
32. Stuck Between Stations
33. Tonight You're Mine
34. Somewhere Between
35. Weekend at Bernie's
36. The Scapegoat
37. Super High Me
38. Extract
39. Atlantis: The Lost Empire
40. What to Expect When You're Expecting
41. Que Pena Tu Vida
42. The Pill
43. Heckler
44. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
45. Blackout
46. The Human Experience
47. The Rescuerers
48. A Little Help
49. Swinging with the Finkels
50. Marilyn in Manhattan
51. House at the End of the Street
52. Another Gay Movie
53. General Education
54. Nobody Walks
55. I Hate Valentine's Day
56. Adopting Terror
57. Kissing Cousins
58. Fever Pitch
59. The Dictator
60. Strictly Background
61. Killer Klowns From Outer Space
62. Grave Encounters 2
63. Funny Games
64. Baby Shower
65. 30 Beats

And one last time.  Crazy Netflix categories:

Witty Romantic Foreign Dramas

Critically Acclaimed Emotional Documentaries

East Asian Dramas Featuring a Strong Female Lead

Comedies from the 1920's

Witty Romantic French Comedies

Witty French-Language Dramas

Quirky Independent Movies

Emotional Independent Dramas

Foreign Comedies

Australian Movies Based on Real Life

German-Language Thrillers

Independent Comedies

Suspenseful German-Language Movies

Critically Acclaimed Witty Comedies

Quirky Independent Dramas

Feel-Good East Asian Movies

Sentimental Romantic Comedies

Independent Dramas Based on Contemporary Liturature 

Inspiring Sports Movies

Raunchy Late Night Comedies

65. Marilyn in Manhattan

Marilyn in Manhattan is a documentary that covers the height and end of Marilyn's career.  Basically it starts with the opening of Seven Year Itch and the end of her marriage with Joe DiMaggio.  Then covers how she teamed up with Milton Greene to create her own company in New York City.  Her days at the Actor's Sudio.  Her marriage to Arthur Miller which caused her to break up her partnership with Greene.  The fall of Marilyn Monroe Pictures.  And briefly her addiction to sleeping pills that would ultimately cause her death.

If that description seemed a little shallow it's probably because that's how the documentary felt.  They just skimmed the surface and all the interviews and narrations seem to put her in the best light all the time.  I'm not saying she is a horrible person, but she wasn't always this helpless victim they make her seem like.  I feel there are probably much better documentaries out there that reveal more information about this woman.

Rating: **

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

64. Seven Chances

Ohhh Buster Keaton.

James Shannon (Buster Keaton) has been in love with the girl next door for forever.  He keeps working up the courage to tell her but falls flat everytime.  His work isn't going any better because his business is in a lot of trouble.  He does seem to catch a break when his attorney brings him some good news.  His grandfather has died.  Okay that's not the good news.  The good news is that in his will he left James seven million dollars.  There is just one catch.  He has to be married by 7:00 pm on his 27th birthday or else he doesn't get any of the money.

Seems simple enough right?  Well, his 27th birthday happens to be today.  With the clock ticking he goes to his love right and away and asks her to marry him.  She agrees but when he starts talking about how they need to be wed that day he starts to lose her.  Then came diarrhea of the mouth and he just kept making the situation worse by going on about how he could marry ANY girl.  Naturally she feels a little annoyed with him and declines his proposal.

Stressed and heartbroken he goes back to his business partner who convinces him to marry another girl.  He can always get a quickie divorce in Reno.  He reluctantly agrees, only to save their company.  The compile a list with seven names on it and he goes about asking all of them to marry him.  Them and just about anything in a skirt (even a Scottish man).  This man must be cursed though because he is getting turned down left and right.  Which turns out to be a good thing because after having some time to calm down, his lover decides that she well marry him and sends him a message right away.

Meanwhile, James's business partner puts in add in the paper asking for someone to marry James in order to get 7 million dollars.  All they have to do is meet at the church at six.  Naturally woman are drawn to money so hundreds of girls in wedding gowns show up.  Which creates probably the most iconic chase  scene in Keaton's career as James hears news of his beloved waiting to marry him.  But will he get to her before the clock strikes seven?


I friggin' loved this movie.  Keaton's a classic.  I had seen the chase scene before in school but even the first few minutes had me laughing at this movie.  It's short, simple, and to the point.  The only thing I was a little iffy about, and this wasn't a big deal back in the day, was I'm pretty sure there was someone in black face.  I've heard it use to be a popular homage to vaudeville acts and since Keaton came from vaudeville this might possibly be so.  But that was the only thing that took me out of the movie.

Rating: *****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZSTM3knaao

(Just a snippet of the chase scene)

63. Marathon

Cho-won (Seung-woo Cho) is a young man with autism, which has taken a strain on his family.  After getting lost at a zoo, his mother vows that they will be together forever and after that starts trying to get him into different activities.  The only one that she thinks he really enjoys is running.  So for the past few years she has been pushing him into becoming the best runner he can be.

When a magazine comes to interview her, they mention a marathon coming up and if Cho-won would run in it.  The idea intrigues her and she looks about getting him some proper training.  The principle at Cho-won's school recommends an ex marathon runner who is currently teaching at the school to fulfill community service hours for a DUI.  After lots of begging, pleading, and even cleaning his apartment he agrees to coach Cho-won.  It starts out a little rough, with coach just telling him how many laps to run as he gets drunk, but he starts to take a liking for the boy.

As the marathon gets closer, the stress gets higher.  One day Cho-won's mom and the coach get into a terrible fight and she fires the coach.  Later on, Cho-won wanders off on her and when she finds him he  is getting beat up for grabbing a girl's ass (he is obsessed with zebras and is drawn to any sort of animal print).  She ends up rescuing him and yelling at the man but when she hears Cho-won shouting over and over about being a "special child" she has a break down.  Cho-won recalls the story of getting lost at the zoo and she apologizes profusely before collapsing.  She is taking to the hospital and it's there she decides that she has been pushing Cho-won too hard.  She doesn't even know if he likes running or if he is just doing it because he is afraid she will abandon him like at the zoo.

They stop all training and Cho-won starts learning professional skills.  Even though they tell him to forget about the marathon, he finds his registration for the race in the mail and sneaks out in the early morning hours to compete.  But Cho-won has no idea how to pace himself.  Worried for his safety Cho-won's mom, brother, and coach head to the race to find him and stop it before it takes place.

I feel like a did a terrible job summarizing this movie.  It's not so much about Cho-won competing in a marathon but more about the relationships involved in raising/coaching/living with someone with special needs.  In this case autism.  I think it did a great job showing that while also telling this sport story.

Rating: ****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKz3Uoqn7qc

62. Adopting Terror

Pretty sure this was a lifetime movie.  At least that is what it felt like.

Not able to have a baby of their own, Tim (Sean Astin) and Cheryl (Samaire Armstrong) adopt a baby named Mona.  The child was taken away from her parents and they weren't too happy about it.  Her dad, Kevin (Brendan Fehr) shot a social worker over it.  But since the social worker broke into his property to soothe the screaming baby, he got out of the charges pretty easily.

On Mona's first birthday Kevin approaches the family in the park and although he doesn't make any threats, makes it quite clear that he is intent on getting Mona back.  He starts to stalk the family to the point where Tim creates a panic room and buys a gun.  The police are absolutely no help because he hasn't made any actual threats yet.  And the only one that seems sympathetic is their social worker Fay (Monet Mazur) but she too does nothing.  Maybe that's because Fay is Mona's biological mother and she is helping Kevin to get their daughter back.

This movie just annoyed me because it seemed way to easy for these people to try and get their daughter back.  I'm pretty sure if you shot and killed anyone you'd be in jail for more than a few months.  And then why wouldn't they run background checks on their social workers to make sure they weren't crazy bitches.  Plus at one point Kevin escapes the trunk of a car that exploded.  You're not a super villain so why won't you just die?  Then to top things off at the end of the movie they have a 4-5 year old playing a 2 year old.  Geeeez.  Biggest two year old I've ever seen.  Don't even get me started on the car seat they were too cheap to buy.  They would always show them going to the car but never the car seat.  Maybe I'm just crazy but all the little details were bothering me.

Rating: **

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pvfCVQ8FAQ

61. The Scapegoat

When John (Matthew Rys) gets fired from his job as a school teacher in the 1950's, he doesn't have a whole lot going for him.  No family, home, job, or even friends.  So when he meets his Doppelganger, Johnny, at a bar and finds out that Johnny has forced them to switch places her doesn't seem too upset.  Now don't get me wrong, he is freaking out.  But I know I would have flipped shit if someone forced me into a new life.

Anyway, now being the head of an aristocratic family he finds himself facing challenges he never even imagined.  Such as dealing with mistresses, solving the families financial troubles, and racing a daughter.  Through out all this time though no one even suspects he is someone he is not eventhough they keep commenting on how he seems different.  His daughter even notices his smell.

After awhile, he starts to grow and care for this family that he has never had.  And they start to appreciate him much more then the original.  In fact, the family starts acting whole again.  When John falls in love with Johnny's wife is when trouble starts to happen.  You see because Johnny decides to come back one night and sees the two in bed together.  Johnny comes up with his own plan.  While the family is out he forces his wife to write a suicide note.  Then pumps her full of morphine.  Luckily John finds her in time and they are able to save her life.  Now, John must battle Johnny for the life they are currently sharing.

I feel like I've already mentioned by love for mistaken identifies.  Now just throw in a fish out of water element and I'm all ears.  However, the character seemed a little slow moving into becoming part of the family and it wasn't until the threat of Johnny coming back into the picture that I felt he truly belonged here.  But I did really like the ending of the movie.  There is a quote but I don't want to give it away that I thought fit nicely.

Rating: ***

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZCjXx8UVSc

60. 30 Beats

Julie (Condola Rashad) is a high school student (?), maybe in college, that is a still a virgin.  And sick of waiting around for the right moment, she decides to take things into her own hands.  She goes over to Adam's (Justin Kirk) apartment.  I'm pretty sure Adam use to be her sister's teacher but whatever.  She comes right out and asks him to take her virginity and like any man with nothing better to do he agrees.  

Afterwards Adam has trouble getting it up with other girls.  He asks around and when desperate times call for desperate measures ends up going to a psychic named Erika (Jennifer Tilly).  When he doesn't take her card reading abilities seriously she steps up her game and says she may now a remedy to help is "wounded sword".  He agrees and after rubbing strange oils and herbs over his junk, she tells him to imagine the two of them doing something sexual.  It seems to work because then they have sex.  

The next day he leaves and since Erika doesn't have any clients around she calls her booty call Diego (Jason Day).  After they too do the dead, he confesses that he is in love.  But not with her.  With a woman he has only seen but hasn't got up the courage to speak to.  Erika tells him to take blue roses and a lemon to her.  That will get them talking and soon they will become lovers.  He does as he is told and follows her to her house where he confesses that he wants her.  Laura (Paz de la Huerta) tells him she is not able to return his love because she has had multiple heart surgeries that have left her void of passion.  

At least until she goes to her chiropractor Matt (Lee Pace).  Once he is done cracking all her bones, she comes on to him and even though he tries to resist because it is unethical, they have sex in his office.  Afterwards Matt goes over to Kim's (Vahina Giocante) to take her away to the Hampton's for the weekend.  But with a storm approaching they decide to just stay in and have sex.  When Kim goes to work at the Waverly Hotel the next day, she talks to Julian (Thomas Sadosk) who has been staying at the hotel all week.  He is quite smitten with her voice and wants to meet her in person.  She agrees but brings along a friend for support and eventhough she lies about who she is at first, he recognizes her voice and the three end up having sex.

If that's not enough for Julian, he goes and visits the best prostitute in Manhattan, Alice (Ingeborga Dapkunaite).  Afterwards, Alice gets a text about a new job.  A man hires her to take their son's virginity.  She meets up with Sean (Ben Levin) - the virgin - and after lots of coaxing they maybe have sex.  I'm not really sure because it just cuts to them in an ambulance because apparently he slipped, hit his head, and had to get stitches.  But when he asks her if they had sex she says yes and it was wonderful.

When he gets out of the hospital, he is a new man.  He goes over to his best friend's Julie's house and when the conversation of sex comes up, he proposes that they should try it together.  

Ughh.  I don't want to sound like a pervert, but considering this movie jsut revolves around people having sex, they don't show a whole lot.  Plus they gave the movie this gross grainy over saturated B-movie look.  I'm not really sure what the point of it was.  I think just to get people's attention because it didn't add to the story at all.  Well, what limited story there was, which didn't give the actors a whole lot to work with, which ended up with some pretty weak performances.

Rating: *

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Iy6gPnPlks

59. Tonight You're Mine

Adam (Luke Treadaway) is set to perform with his band at a music festival in Scotland.  When he arrives, his car is ambushed by a new band on the scene called The Dirty Pinks.  They start arguing and one of the organizers of the festival comes over to smooth things over.  He makes everyone join hands and take part in a prayer but when they doesn't seem to work he handcuffs Adam to Morello (Natalia Tena) before running away with the key.

Stuck together, Adam and Morello make their way around the festival.  When Adam's model girlfriend finds him handcuffed to a complete stranger she gets pretty pissed and Morello doesn't make things any easier.  She eggs her on making it seem like something is going on between Adam and herself.  Only when her boyfriend shows up does she regret this decision.  Luckily her boyfriend is more understanding and when they run into Adam's girlfriend later she gives him another chance.  The foursome wonders around the music festival and even performing and its on stage that Adam and Morello start to become friends.  In fact, Adam feels a connection with Morello that he doesn't feel with his girlfriend.  So when his band mate presents him with a key to the handcuffs he shakes them off.

As the festival continues to two grow closer together.  When Adam's girlfriend begins to notice, he doesn't deny his attraction to Morello and they break up.  Which also results in Morello's boyfriend dumping her.  Feeling like loser, Morello drags him off to enjoy more of the festival and even get in a mud fight.  The moment finally feels right and they start kissing and then some as they wash themselves off.  However, when the festival organizer asks them for the handcuffs back and news gets out about the key Adam waived off, there seems to be trouble in paradise.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that they did all the filming for this movie during the festival, which describes the use of long takes and lack of studio lighting.  And if this is true I applaud them.  That would be a total nightmare filming a feature length movie in just a few days surrounded by thousands of drunks.  Needless to say they got some pretty impressive shots for the conditions they were working with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lW7WuORqeKI

Rating: ***

58. The Dictator

Aladeen (Sacha Baron Cohen) is the dictator of Wadiya and has been since he was a small child.  His lead adviser Tamir (Ben Kingsley) is annoyed with the way he is running the country and with the fact that he should have been the heir after Aladeen's father died.  So, he plans a way to get him out of power.  He takes Aladeen to America where he is kidnapped.  They were suppose to kill him but all they were able to do was cut off his beard before he escaped.  Beardless, no one seems to recognize Aladeen as he stands outside the UN where he is suppose to be giving a speech.

Aladeen's double goes and gives the speech for him.  A speech that was written by Tamir which declares that Wadiya is going to be a Democratic country.  This way Tamir can sell their country's oil and become filthy rich.  Aladeen won't hear of it and starts a protest.  That's when he meets Zoey (Anna Faris), who thinks he is trying to protest Aladeen and is all for democracy.  She offers him a job at her shop that is completely for feminism, vegans, organic, and political refugees.  Aladeen doesn't want anything to do with her.

Later he finds himself in Little Wadiya where he wanders into a restaurant filled with people that he supposedly executed.  It's there that he finds Nadal (Jason Mantzoukas), an ex nuclear researcher that was designing a bomb for him.  Nadal agrees to help Aladeen if he puts him back in power so he can finish the bomb.  The two decide the best approach would be if Aladeen took a job with Zoey so he could get a security pass into the hotel where Aladeen's double is staying.  While taking the job, Zoey shows him new ways of living and they end up falling in love.

So amongst all the ridiculous you have going on in the movie, there is that backbone cliche love story.  Most of the time I would love this, but I just didn't buy that these characters would ever been friendly with each other let alone in love.  They should have just focused on the ridiculousness of Sacha Baron Cohen.  And even though this movie was filled with celebrity cameos and comedians that I love it was just ok.  I feel like all the best moments in the movie were seen in the trailer.

Rating: **

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYplvwBvGA4

57. Blackout

Karl (Aiden Gillen), in preparation for the arrival of his daughter the next day, gets into an elevator at his apartment building, which is currently being renovated.  Joining him in the elevator is a young woman named Claudia (Amber Tamblyn), who has blood splattered all over her face.  As the doors begin to close, a hand pops in between them causing them to open once again.  Tommy (Armie Hammer), with piercings, tattoos, and bandaged fist, walks into the elevator.  They go up a few floors when all of a sudden the power goes off and the elevator stops.  When the lights come back on they realize they are stuck in this elevator.

Throughout the movie, you start to learn more about these characters as the foreshadowing hints at not everyone being a stand up citizen.  Karl's wife committed suicide a while back and he has been raising his daughter with help from a nanny (?).  He tends to go out at night, get drunk, and talk about his dead wife to pretty girls.  Claudia has been taking care of her grandmother while going to school.  Her grandmother says she needs to relax and have more fun and convinces Claudia to go to the beach with her.  On the way to the beach, the grandmother gets hit by a car.  Due to her old age the doctors don't think she will have long to live and Claudia was sent back to the apartment to get a wedding pitcher so that her grandmother could die with her love.  Tommy is a young punk that has recently been seeing a young woman.  When her dad comes back drunk and angry one night he hits her and Tommy comes to her defense.  He convinces her to run away with him and meet him at the airport later that night.

Since the three are desperate to get out, Tommy tries climbing up the shaft to the next open level.  This is easier said than done as Tommy falls back down to the elevator, snapping one of the cords and making it so the elevator is totally dependent on the emergency brakes.  He also ends up breaking his legs.  As time goes on, the people's patience is tried and they become more agitated with each other.  That's when Karl reveals to Tommy while he is high on pain pills, that he is a serial killer and if he doesn't get out soon he is going to cut Tommy's throat and rape Claudia.

Sounds like a pretty good idea but I felt as if something was missing.  Maybe there wasn't enough of a reveal that Karl was the actual serial killer.  He just seemed a little off the whole movie.  I feel like serial killers are better at hiding their true selves because you know I know so many of them (does Dexter count?).  But this might be the first movie I've seen where Armie Hammer didn't seem like such a dummy.  Then there wasn't enough suspense and struggle between the characters leading up to the climax.  It was just lacking a bit.  Then again how much more can you do while stuck in an elevator?

Rating: **

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

56. Another Gay Movie

Andy (Michael Carbonaro) just graduated from high school and is about to head off to college.  There is only one problem.  He is still a virgin.  Well, he is a virgin when it comes to penetration (that's a sentence I never thought I would write).  Luckily he is not alone.  His best friends Nico (Jonah Blechman), Jarod (Jonathan Chase), and Griff (Mitch Morris) all are virgins.  After being harassed by Muffler (Ashlie Atkinson) about their lack of experience they decide to make pack to loose their virginity by Muffler's Labor Day party.  Sound familiar?  Because it should.

Andy, who is pinning over his German teacher (well now ex-teacher), tries his luck online and actually ends up talking to his teacher.  He goes over to the German's house but it turns out he broadcasts his BDSM "dungeon" online while people tell him what to do.  So naturally, Muffler finds him on the set and tells everyone about it.  Plus Andy has the overbearing father, still trying to be cool, that barges into Andy's room at the most inopportune times.  And let's not forget the whole apple pie I mean quiche scene in the movie.

Meanwhile Griff decides that his butt is not big enough.  So he starts going to the gym to try and improve it's size.  That's where he gets hit on my his trainer, who also happens to be an exotic dancer.  He gives Griff his business card and tells him to call sometime.  But Griff is in love with Jarod and just doesn't have the courage to tell him. When Jarod starts dating a guy he met while playing softball, Griff gets jealous.  Jarod doesn't seem to notice though and continues to get closer to the new guy.  But whenever they get close to having sex, he seems to chicken out and go a little soft.

And let's not forget Nico, who is searching for an older gentleman to show him the way and talk about Betty Davis with.  He first finds a guy online who isn't quite his type but he figures might as well give it a try.  Nico goes to his house the man ends up doing drugs, dancing up a storm, and ODing.  When the paramedics come they are able to revive him and continue the dance party while Nico leaves the room.  His next encounter happens with Survivor's Richard, who he invites back to his house.  Right when they are about to have sex, Nico suffers from diarrhea and is mortified by the fact that Richard heard him fart.

As the Labor Day party approaches, it is looking pretty hopeless for everyone except Jarod.  They all go to the party and right away Jarod heads off to a bedroom with his meat head.  Griff, feeling down that Jarod is hooking up with someone else, runs into the trainer and starts making out.  But he can see the silhouettes of Jarod and his boy through the curtains and can't seem to concentrate.  The guy takes a hint and tells Griff to tell Jarod how he feels before its too late.  Griff runs up to the room and gets there in the nick of time.  He confesses his true feelings and surprise!  Jarod feels the same way and they make love and then have sex and then just fuck.  Still feeling embarrassed about his latest mishap, Nic wanders around the party until he stumbles upon Grandpa Muffler (George Marcy) who was exactly what he was looking for.  And on the pool table they end up having sex.  Now there is just one more to go.  Andy, sitting all alone at the party, suddenly get ambushed by the rejects (Meathead and Stripper Trainer).  They decide to take him into the other room and use him for sex.

If you can't tell the plot basically is a gay American Pie to the point where they use the same jokes.  I'm not sure if it's suppose to be a parody movie or just a gay rip off.  Andy is Jim.  Nico is Finch.  Jarod is Oz.  Muffler is Stiffler etc.  I think I would have enjoyed this more if they just did their own version instead of following the plot of American Pie.  Although they did have some funny moments and guest appearances but overall I was disappointed that it wasn't more original.  I did enjoy the drag mom though.

Rating: **

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACgXr1BP6yA

55. Baby Shower

Angela (Ingrid Isensee), pregnant with twins, invites her closest friends to a secluded country home she has been staying at for a baby shower.  When the friends arrive they are surprised at how well Angela looks considering what has happened to her recently.  You see, she just found out her husband has been cheating on her and her mother has died, which is why she is now living by herself in the middle of nowhere.  Well, all alone except for Julio (Alvaro Gomez), who has been watching over the upkeep for her.

During the party, the phone keeps ringing but no one picks it up.  It's her ex-husband Felipe (Nicolas Alonso) trying to talk some sense into her but she won't hear any of it because she just found out that Felipe is about to go on a trip to the Bahamas with one of the women she invited to her party.  She demands to know which girl it is, but they have made a pack not to tell until after the safe delivery of her babies.  She gets into such a fit that the only person who is able to calm her down is the hippie cult lady.  While she is resting the other girls try to leave, but none of their engines are working.  When they try to call a mechanic they find that Angela cut the cord.  So now they are stuck until Julio comes back to try and fix it for them.  That's when they start to disappear, one by one, by a man who takes them back to barn (sometimes not even a barn) to punish them for what they've done to Angela and the babies she is carrying.

Ehhhhhh... What to say.  I wasn't a huge fan of this movie.  Too many characters introduced at once and I didn't like any of them except for the assistant who didn't have much of a role because she was the first to die.  It was just a gore fest with a small plot to it.  But I didn't really care if anyone lived or died.  It was the worst thing I have ever seen.  But it wasn't good either.  I just kind of waited for it to be over.

Rating: *

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r_P0wn2DLc

sorry couldn't find one with subtitles

54. Your Sister's Sister

On the one year anniversary of his brother's death, Jack (Mark Duplass) drinks too much and makes an ass out of himself.  His best friend Iris (Emily Blunt), who also use to date Jack's brother, is the only one who is able to cheer him up.  Turns out the last year has been really rough on Jack.  So she tells him he needs to take a sabbatical.  She tells him to ride his bike to her father's island house where he can be only with his thoughts and nature to try and figure his life out.  

He takes her advice, but when he gets there he finds out he is not alone.  Iris's sister Hannah (Rosemarie Dewitt) is also there on sabbatical.  Hannah just broke up with her girlfriend of seven years and is finally free to do whatever she wants.  And after drinking a bottle of tequila together, what she wants to do is Jack.  Jack goes along with it.  She puts a condom on him and about three thrusts later its over and they fall asleep.

Iris gets the day off of work and decides to head out to the house and see how Jack is doing.  She has no idea that Hannah is there or that they just slept together.  Although Jack is a horrible lier, she doesn't even suspect anything happened between them.  Maybe the fact her sister is a lesbian has something to do with it. As the weekend goes on the three learn more about each other.  For example, Iris tells Hannah that she is in love with Jack but doesn't know if she should say anything that might ruin the friendship.  Then Jack finds out that Hannah has desperately wanted a baby for the past couple of years.  

While Iris and Hannah go for a walk, Jack digs the condom out of the garbage and fills it up with water, just to make sure.  And to his horror, water starts pouring out everywhere.  Meanwhile, Hannah confesses to Iris about sleeping with Jack.  Iris runs back to the house to confront Jack and in doing so Jack tells Iris about the holes in the condom which makes Hannah spill the beans about Iris being in love with Jack.  Whew.  That was a terrible run on sentence but I don't care. 

Yet again.  Another movie with limited locations and actors, which makes you really focus on the story and not so much about the surroundings.  They did put a new twist on the whole, in love with my best friend story line.  Not too many of them end with the possibility of one being the the father of your lesbian sister's child.  I know this is a minor detail but why did Emily Blunt keep her accent?  Rosemarie Dewitt didn't have an accent?  But after awhile I stopped caring about that and just enjoyed the movie.  At times it did seem a  little long, but I feel like the characters were believable and I loved the ending.  That's not sarcasm.

Rating: ***

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wglzH4dUoLQ

53. Stuck Between Stations

Casper (Sam Rosen) gets leave from the army to attend his father's funeral.  While he is home, he stops at a bar to get a drink and sees a familiar face.  It turns out to be Rebecca (Zoe Lister Jones) or as he remembers her Becky.  The two went to school together.  When he sees her with a group of guys that seem to be giving her a hard time, he goes to defend her honor which ends up as an ass kicking for him.  Outside the bar, she meets up with him to return his hat and even though she doesn't remember him they end up talking.

In fact, she goes to a party with him that is filled with people she doesn't remember from high school.  At the party she keeps getting calls from a professor that she used to sleep with.  Turns out his wife, who is head of the department, found out about the infidelity and stole Rebecca's computer that has her dissertation on it.  She tries not to think about it and just enjoy the night using Casper and his friends as a distraction.  They end up leaving the party and run into Casper's hipster friend Paddy (Josh Hartnett) who leads them to a circus party (typical hipster).  Throughout the night Rebecca and Casper learn more about each other but they made an agreement earlier that the night would not end with a kiss.  They would just stay friends.

Rebecca finally answers the professor's phone call and tells him that he better show up at her apartment in five minutes.  Not wanting to face him alone she takes Casper with her.  When they get to her apartment, he is waiting for them without the computer.  They get into a big argument which results in Casper putting him into a headlock.  They leave him and go to a park to get high.  That's where they come up with an idea to steal back her computer.  Casper has a narrow escape, but manages to retrieve the laptop for her.  As the night winds down, they go to Casper's house for one last beer and talk about some heavy issues.

There's something magical about just running into a person or meeting a person and spending the whole night together and then going your own way in the morning.  Maybe because IT NEVER HAPPENS.  But just because it's not realistic doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it.  At first I was a little thrown with the split screen action they had going on because I wasn't familiar with the characters yet or the pace of the story, but as the movie continued I grew fond of it.  Also, why don't I ever get invited to these crazy circus hipster parties?  I can see how this movie wouldn't be for everyone.  The character's don't always seem likable and there isn't a lot of action, just kind of wandering and talking.  But if you like character pieces then I think you would enjoy this movie.

Rating: ***

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLgX5Zw1LD0

52. The Hidden Face

Fabiana (Martina Garcia) takes pity on a man, Adrian (Quim Gutierrez) crying in the bar she works at.  Even though her friend warns her that men only cry when they are feeling guilty, she goes home with him anyways.  What starts out as a one night stand turns into a relationship as he asks her to stay at his house with him.  Alone in the country house all day she begins to explore and feel more at home.  However, whenever she is in the bathroom she gets the feeling that she is not alone.  When police show up at Adrian's house, she learns that his girlfriend Belen (Clara Lago) has disappeared and that he is a suspect.  But she stays by his side and in his house because he is a rich, handsome, Maestro that she is in love with.

Rewind!  Belen and Adrian live happily together in Spain.  One day he comes home with good news.  He has been offered a once in a lifetime opportunity in Bogota for one year.  He asks her to join him and she leaves her friends, family, and job behind to follow him to Colombia.  She finds a country home for them to rent from an elderly German lady, Emma (Alexandra Stewart) and everything seems to be going fine until she gets the feeling that things are so innocent between Adrian and one of the violinists.  She finds comfort in talking to Emma who shows her a secret room hidden behind the closet and bathroom mirrors.  When Belen finds Adrian and the violinist having a drink together in his office, her jealousy takes over and she decides to teach him a lesson.

Curious to see how he would react if she left, she packs up all her belongings and leaves a message saying that she has gone back home.  Then she goes into the secret room.  But since Adrian was coming home early to surprise her, she quickly locked herself in the room, without the key to get her out.  Now she is forced to watch as Adrian brings home a new girl, Fabiana.  Even though Fabiana is not the brightest bulb, she figures out that Belen is trapped (in the closet?) and she is the only one that not only knows, but also holds the key to her freedom.

I find the whole idea behind this story very appealing, so naturally I was hooked once I realized it wasn't a haunted house story.  I think everyone has had that time in their life where they got pissed and wondered what people would do if they just up and left.  But to be punished for doing it and then force to watch the love of your life moving on without you.  That sounds pretty terrible.  Not to mention being trapped in a dark cold room filled with Nazi memorabilia.  It kept the story simple which is refreshing because I feel like this could have been much more complicated.  But for the most part it was a story, in a house, revolving around three characters.

Rating: ****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG2aosEpQMs

51. Dil Bole Hadippa!

This movie taught me sooo much about cricket. Which isn't really saying much considering I know almost nothing about the sport. 

Veera (Rani Mukerji) has one dream in life.  To play for her country on the men's cricket team.  They have played Pakistan and lost to them for the past nine years.  However, Veera is stuck working for her father at her village's theatre company while she waits for chance to fulfill her dreams.  

Sick of losing to Pakistan year after year, Choudhary (Anupam Kher) decides to recruit his son Rohan (Shahid Kapoor), who happens to play cricket in London where he lives with his mother.  He tricks Rohan into coming to India and once there convinces him to stay for 6 months while he trains the Indian team so they can win against Pakistan.  He agrees to please his dad and holds open try outs for people to join the team.  Veera hears about the open try outs but when she goes to the field, they won't let her participate because she is a woman.  But when she is forced to play a man onstage for her father, she gets the idea to dress as a man and try out for the team.  

She ends up making the team disguised as Veer and starts training with the team.  It's only when she accidentally falls on top of a model trying to get with Rohan that he cover is close to being blown.  When Veer lands on top of the model, she dumps her drink all over her.  Veer goes to the locker room to clean up and ends up taking a shower.  When Rohan comes to see what the model is screaming about, he follows Veer to yell at him about being disrespectful.  He opens the shower and before him stands a naked Veera.  She quickly recovers telling him that she is Veer's sister.  Embarrassed Rohan leaves and apologizes to Veer.  When he realizes that he never apologized to Veera he goes onstage in the style of Shah Rukh Khan (is it sad that I know that).  Afterwards the two start hanging out more and he even confesses that he is in love with her and he wants her to be his girlfriend.  This however came the night before the big game.  So instead of answering his question right then and there, she tells him she will let him know depending on how he plays during the game.

The game is off to a good enough start, but when Veer makes a great catch and everyone jumps on top of her, one of her colored contact lenses comes out.  Rohan finds the lens and when he looks into her eyes he sees who she really is.  Bum bum bum.  

Friggin Bollywood.  I have no idea why I love these movies so much.  They are over the top and just a ball of cheese (hmmm maybe that's why I love it).  Plus add in the classic storyline of disguises and mistaken identities.  You had me hooked since she put on a fake beard.  Although it was still kind of obvious she was a woman (wrap those twins down girl).  Plus strong female characters always a plus.  It was an enjoyable movie.  There were a few things I didn't understand.  The model girl just tends to disappear.  Plus he seems to get super pissed when he finds out she was lying the whole time.  And then (SPOILER) when he blows her cover, shouldn't India lose the game based on a technicality?  Whatever.  Don't care.  Loved it.

Ratings: ****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ-kme829JE

50. Eagle vs. Shark

Lily (Loren Taylor) works at a fast food chain.  At the same time everyday her crush Jarrod (Jemaine Clement) walks in and orders.  One day while the more attractive cashier is on break, he comes in with an invitation to an animal party he is throwing.  He tells Lily to give it to her, but when she does the cashier throws it away.  Lily takes it out of the garbage can and decides to go to the party with her brother.  

Dressed as a shark, she goes to the party which has quite the...ummm... interesting turn out.  At the party Jarrod, who is dressed as an eagle (hence the title) starts chatting her up and its clear these two socially awkward adults have some sort of spark between them.  At the party they have a "Fight Man" video game competition.  The winner gets to fight Jarrod.  Lily, now nicknamed Dangerous Person, plays the game and ends up getting to the final round where she will fight Jarrod.  During the fight, she can't take her eyes off of them and he wins the tournament.  

Later, while showing her his room, they have sex.  Very very brief sex.  The next day he asks her on a date, but ends up standing her up because he suffers from depression and needed to be alone.  He comes to her house to apologize and while there tells her he is going to be out of town to beat up his high school nemesis.  Unfortunately he has no way to get there.  Since somewhere in this storyline they have become boyfriend and girlfriend, she has her brother drive them.  She meets his family, when out of nowhere he dumps he because he has too much going on right now.  

Stuck in a town she doesn't know with her ex-boyfriend's family, she is pretty miserable.  But she starts to come out of her shell more as she gets to know his family better and he starts realizing what a mistake he had made.  

I probably did a horrible job of describing this movie because after writing it I don't think I would watch it.  But I loved this movie.  It had an offbeat humor that I found charming even though both characters, actually almost all the characters, were quirky.  Then you have Jemaine who almost seems to be playing the same Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords minus his wingman Bret.  It's a hard sense of humor to describe on paper but I guess it almost felt like a New Zealand version of Napolean Dynamite.  Completely different storyline though.  

Rating: ****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9JU84ZmZyo

49. Heckler

I just want to state that if for some reason Jamie Kennedy ever reads this God awful blog and I have offended him anywhere on it, I'm sorry.  Please don't track me down and ask why I said what I did.  It's nothing personal.

Heckler is a documentary produced by Jamie Kennedy and following mostly Jamie Kennedy about heckling/hecklers or anything that might be considered heckling (criticism).  The movie starts as a series of talking heads describing what the dictionary might define hecklers.  It then has chapters throughout diving more into the subject.  Such as how one deals with a heckler, and the difference between criticism and heckling, and when has that criticism gone too far.

I'm pretty sure anyone who is a fan of stand up comedy would like this movie, if not for the brief moment their favorite comedian is on the screen.  There are humorous stories and other ones that make you cringe.  At first I wasn't that into the documentary because it just seemed like Jamie Kennedy was whining about the fact that seemingly no one finds him funny and he is a person with feelings.  But once it got to the debate on what's the difference between a critic and a heckler is when I found it getting interesting.  It is an interesting debate that's for sure and comedians, coaches, and critics alike had some good points.  Then it started to get into internet blogs and made me feel like a horrible person for anything I have ever written on this site.  I don't think I'm that harsh of blogger though.  I don't recall ever telling someone to kill themselves.  I might have made comments about my brain melting away or wondering how a movie ever got made but I don't think anything was too harsh.  Anyways back to this movie.  I thought it wrapped up quite nicely and even though a few scenes throughout the movie seemed staged, you did get a sense of Kennedy coming to terms with the criticism and even maturing more about the subject matter.

Rating: ***

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZDtw1hEKfI

48. The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys

Okay.  So I watched this movie over a course of a week.  Let's see how well I remember it.

Francis Doyle (Emile Hirsch) goes to a catholic school with his best friend Tim Sullivan (Kieran Culkin).  Since they hate the evil nun that teaches to them, Francis, Tim and two other boys start working on a comic book called "The Atomic Trinity" (even though there are four of them).  In the comic book they fight off the villainous Nunzilla.  The movie goes back and forth between real life and this comic book adventure.

Sullivan gives Margie Flynn (Jena Malone) a love note that he says is from Francis, even though it's not.  Whatever the note said inside, it peaked the interests of Margie and the two start hanging out.  They talk about ghosts and spirits and what not before they briefly make out.  Later Margie confides in Francis about how she used to have sex with her older brother.  Naturally, this freaks Francis out, but he still likes her.  So they still continue to hang out which seems to be getting in the way of Francis and Tim's friendship.

When the class goes on a field trip to the zoo, they see a cougar.  That's when they get the idea to drug the cougar, sneak it outside of the zoo, and put it in the nun's office.  Brilliant idea right?  When the friends figure out Sullivan isn't kidding around they decide it's too dangerous leaving just Sullivan and Francis to figure out the details and follow through on the plan.  While working together, Francis just can't keep the secret to himself anymore.  He tells Sullivan about Margie and her brother and then one day in gym class, Sullivan lets it sleeps to him that he knows.  Naturally this puts a bigger rift into their friendship that only gets worse when the nun finds their comic book and expels the two boys.  They only reconcile over their attempt at one last prank.

First off, I want to blame Netflix if I didn't seem to understand story lines or just forgot things all together because the sound on this movie was all over the place.  I was constantly turning it up and down.  Get your shit together Netflix!  Considering the young actors in this movie, I thought everyone did a fairly good job.  Especially Emile Hirsch.  I could have done without the comic book sections of the movie however.  I thought it just kind of slowed it down to reiterate things we already knew in the movie.  Maybe if they didn't make it look like a 90's Saturday morning cartoon.  Shouldn't it be more of a comic book style?

Rating: ***

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWtJpUCxU4Y

18 Movies in 4 days?!

Holy shit balls, Batman!  I have definitely been slacking.  Quick update before I hole up in my apartment after work to watch as many movies as I can.  Arrested Development will just have to wait a few days.

Updated List of Movies:
1.  Life of Pi
2.  Children of Heaven
3.  Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na
4.  Timecrimes
5.  Henry Jesus Christ
6.  The Mighty
7.  Goon
8.  Bliss
9.  Mad About Mambo
10.  The Inbetweeners Movie
11.  The Way
12.  L'Auberge Espagnole
13.  The Awakening
14.  Fatal Attraction
15.  Skyfall
16.  Bully
17.  Soapdish
18.  Kolya
19.  African Queen
20.  V/H/S
21.  His Girl Friday
22.  Celeste and Jesse Forever
23.  Blue Valentine
24.  Elizabethtown
25.  Sleepwalk With Me
26.  Weekend at Bernie's
27.  Super High Me
28.  Extract
29.  Atlantis:  The Lost Empire
30.  What to Expect When You're Expecting
31.  Quen Pena Tu Vida
32.  The Pill
33.  The Human Experience
34.  The Rescuers
35.  A Little Help
36.  Swinging with the Finkels
37.  House at the End of the Street
38.  General Education
40.  Nobody Walks
41.  I Hate Valentine's Day
42.  Kissing Cousins
43.  Fever Pitch
44.  Strictly Background
45.  Killer Klowns From Outer Space
46.  Grave Encounters 2
47.  Funny Games

Netflix Categories:
Witty Romantic Foreign Dramas
Critically Acclaimed Emotional Documentaries
East Asian Dramas Featuring a Strong Female Lead
Comedies for the 1920's
Witty Romantic French Comedies
Witty French-Language Dramas
Quirky Independent Movies
Emotional Independent Dramas
Foreign Comedies
Australian Movies Based on Real Life
German-Language Thrillers
Independent Comedies
Suspenseful German-Language Movies
Critically Acclaimed Witty Comedies
Quirky Independent Dramas
Feel-Good East Asian Movies

47. Skyfall

I'm probably going to offend people with this because honestly I'm not a Bond fan.  However this one wasn't too bad.  I think it may be my favorite yet.

James Bond (Daniel Craig) is tracking down a man who stole a list with all the agents information on it.  He is assisted by Eve (Naomie Harris) and after a very long crazy fight between Bond and the man with the list, she is able to set up a shot to try and take him down.  It's not a clean shot though and there is a great chance she might hit Bond.  M (Judi Dench) tells her to take the shot.  She does.  And she ends up shooting Bond who falls off the train and into the water below.

He assumed to be dead by the agency when in fact he is living life in some remote area where all he does is drink the days and nights away.  When the list becomes public and agents start dying, he goes back to London to track down the man with the list and end the killings.  But he has to be reinstated again and take all the original tests.  Although M says that he has passed all the tests, its clear he was struggling the whole time.  They hook him up with some new gadgets courtesy of Q (Ben Whishaw) and send him out into the world.

He manages to track down the man he was fighting earlier and after a few fights and kills and even a Bond girl, he is brought to a deserted ghost town on the middle of an island where he meets Silva (Javier Bardem). Silva was also a spy back in the day but feels that the trust he put into M was the reason for his downfall.  So he is set on getting his revenge and killing her.  And Bond can either join him or be against him.

That was a very brief summary I know, but I feel it would take forever to describe all the fights and characters and ending.  The movie looked gorgeous minus a few fake looking shots but come on are you really going to put them on top of a speeding train going over a bridge just to make it look 100% real.  Nope.  And I loved Javier Bardem in this movie.  He was unsettling, which I feel is usually the case when he plays a villain, and conniving and always seem to be a step ahead of him.  Plus I'm pretty sure he had a crush on Bond which always makes things more interesting.  I feel there were throwbacks to earlier Bond movies because names seemed familiar, so I'm sure anyone that is a Bond fan will appreciate that.  Also I liked that they decided to simplify things more for the finales.  They didn't need this huge set where things are blowing up and buildings are collapsing.  It was just a few people barricading themselves in a house.

Rating: ****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kw1UVovByw

46. House at the End of the Street

Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence) and her mother Sarah (Elisabeth Shue) move to small rural town where they rent a house next door to a murder site.  Years earlier, a young girl murdered her parents in the house.  They say she drowned but they never found her body so urban legend has it that she is living in the woods.  At a block party or some sort of neighborhood gathering, Elissa meets Tyler (Nolan Gerard Funk) who invites her to join his save the planet (or something cheesey like that) after school group.  Really its just a giant party where everyone is getting wasted.  Typical high school.  He tries to get with her but she manages to fight him off.  Distraught she leaves the party and starts the long walk home.  Cue the stranger to pick her up.

At first she takes her mother's advice and does not get in the care, but once it starts raining she excepts the ride.  The stranger is Ryan (Max Thieriot) who lives next door in the murder house.  In fact it was his family that was murdered there and now he works at fixing up the house while going to community college.  Elissa feels for this depressingly sweet neighbor boy.  The next day she takes over a CD for him and the two start to get to know each other a little bit better.  But not well enough to know about his sister being alive and well and living in a room in the basement desperate to get out and cause chaos.  As they continue to get closer, the townspeople seem to hate Ryan more, plus it's getting more difficult for him to keep an eye on his sister.

I don't want to give away the ending, but I may just do so in this paragraph.  You've been warn.  Although the film had a look and feel of being one of those classic grainy B movies, there seem to be something lacking.  Maybe it was the lack of chemistry between the two main characters or possibly that I don't buy a skinny little guy would be capable of breaking someone's foot with just his hands.  They did have a couple of good scare moments.  The one that comes to mind is when the lights go out in the basement and the flashlight keeps turning on and off.  However, and this could be because I'm a nerd, I thought the story was kind of predictable.  It's a remake you say?  Well guess what I've never seen the original and I still new what was going to happen.  They also seemed to have elements of the story that seemed unnecessary because they didn't go into it.  Why do we need to see his parents taking drugs?  He never mentioned it to her.  I'm not even sure he was old enough to know what was going on?  Seemed pointless.

Rating: **

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w16stVhviHc

45. Mad About Mambo

I'm not going to say this is a good movie, but it probably is a guilty pleasure.

Set in Northern Ireland, catholic Danny (William Ash) wants to be a professional football player after graduating high school.  Right now he hopes to play for the Belfast, a protestant team.  However, Danny seems to lack a certain focus and rhythm.  When Belfast signs a catholic Brazilian to play, it gives Danny the idea that maybe he should take up the samba in order to improve his game.

Since he goes to an all boys catholic school, he convinces his friends to help him learn the samba through how to videos, but when they doesn't work he seeks out professional help.  He goes to his first dance class and meets Oliver (Theo Fraser Steele), another high school football player.  Except Oliver is there to support his girlfriend Lucy (Keri Russell), who hopes to win the young Irish Latin dance competition.  Oliver decides to befriend Danny and invites his soccer team to play a friendly match with his school's soccer team.

During the game, Danny trying hard to impress Lucy accidentally trips Oliver, breaking his foot.  Not being able to play soccer or compete in the dance competition with Lucy, Danny offers to be Lucy's new dance partner.  At first she refuses but when he calls her a spoiled brat that gets everything she wants, Lucy decides to show him how to dance to prove him wrong about her.  They start working together, and Danny improves his dancing and game tremendously.  Enough to earn him a tryout with Belfast, the same day as the dance competition.

It sounds cliche and at times it is, but I was cringing where I should be and laughing where I should be and almost cheering (let's not get carried away) when I should be as well.  However, the whole timing of the romance between the two characters seemed a little off.  And Oliver was too nice to the point where I thought he was gay, and if he wasn't gay then I felt bad because he did nothing wrong.  Plus there was an element of the movie that seemed to be focus with whether or not the Lucy character would end up in England or stay in Ireland, and they made it seem like she would be staying for a guy if she did, which pissed me off.  But otherwise I thought it was very cute.  A good chick flick.

Rating: ****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_ohzo55kIA

44. Celeste & Jesse Forever

I absolutely loved the first 10 minutes of this film.  Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) seemed to have a great dynamic.  They hang out all the time, have ton of inside jokes, it's almost like they have their own language with each.  When they go out to eat with their couple friends, Beth (Ari Graynor) and Tucker (Eric Christian Olsen) -- who are about to get married, Beth storms off in a fit of rage.  "It's just two fucking weird!"

Why is that you ask?  Because Celeste and Jesse have been separated for the last six months and in fact are going through a divorce.  Neither sees anything wrong with their relationship.  They've been best friends forever and now that they aren't together, they fight a lot less.  Jesse doesn't seem them as friends.  He figures he will just give her some space, and they will eventually get back together.  One night when he is drunk and leaving a concert he gets a call from Celeste.  She needs help building an Ikea dresser, but as both fail to build the dresser and turn to alcohol they end sleeping together.

In the morning Jesse thinks this is a sign they are going to be getting back together, but Celeste makes it very clear that is NOT going to happen.  Feeling hurt, Jesse starts seeing other people and asks for some space.  Since Celeste is going on a book tour.  While away, she realizes how much she misses him and that she does indeed want to get back together.  When she returns the two meet up but before she can say anything he drops on bomb on her.  While they were separated he slept with another woman.  And now that woman is pregnant and he wants to give it a try with her.  Cue downward spiral for Celeste.

The movie kind of reminded me of a break up I head.  Now it wasn't a marriage and it wasn't six years (kill me), but it was the whole best friend thing.  Except I was Jesse and the guy was Celeste (and no.  no pregnancy was involved).  So I could kind of relate to that movie.  But I felt like it was more depressing than I thought it would be.  I was expecting some cute comedy, what I got instead was a realistic portrayal of getting over a break up.  I thought the writing was good and although it wasn't a gut buster, it did have moments.

Rating: ***

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQoH1IGRB3w

43. The Pill

Oh boy.  How to I explain this movie without making it sound like all women are crazy and all men are dicks...  I probably can't.

Free spirited (if that's what you want to call it) Mindy (Rachel Boston) invites writer Fred (Noah Bean) back to her apartment for a drink after meeting earlier that night.  It's pretty obvious what her intentions are.  Fred on the other hand seems really hesitant the whole time.  But more like a chicken rather than nervous kind of hesitation is that makes sense.  They play a drinking game and one thing leads to another and they almost have sex.  Almost as in, Fred took too long putting on a condom and Mindy fell asleep.

Later in the night, she awakes to a "happy" sleeping boy so she decides to wake him up by getting on top of him.  Instead of letting him do the responsible thing and put on a condom she holds him tight hoping it would bring them closer together.  In the morning, Fred is about to leave when he remembers having unprotected sex.  He asks her is she is on the pill.  Nope.  Catholic.  Fred starts freaking out, when Mindy reassures him that she knows her body and she isn't ovulating.  That answer isn't good enough for Fred.

He forces her down to the local pharmacy, where he makes her take the morning after pill in a very jerkish way if you ask me.  Naturally she gets annoyed and pissed off and walks off leaving him with the bill.  When the pharmacist rings him up, he tells him to make sure she takes the pill with food because she might throw it up.  She also has to take the second pill in twelve hours.  Not having Mindy's number, he quickly pays and then chases after her.  He tricks her into eating breakfast with him by pretending to be interested in her.  When his true intentions come out (but not the mention of the second pill), she uses it to her advantage and makes him come to her ex boyfriend's with her to get the rest of her stuff and even tells her family that Fred is her new boyfriend when they show up to her brother's wedding.

Throughout the day Fred becomes more drawn to Mindy.  But he has to leave her briefly to greet his live in girlfriend when she gets home from a business trip.  Now this girl, Nelly (Anna Chlumsky), is the exact opposite of Mindy.  And Fred's demeanour changes the moment they are together.  He fakes an excuse to get back to Mindy so he can make sure that she takes the second pill, but things go a little sour when Mindy finds out about Nelly.

Netflix gave it a pretty low rating and I even read a couple of the reviews on Netflix about this movie, however I didn't think it was that bad.  Sure it was a little ridiculous at times and the characters didn't seem quite fleshed out, but it was an interesting idea.  I feel like they could have gone about it to make the people not seem crazy.  But it had me laughing (maybe not for the right reasons).

Rating: **

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neNUxd4sbxo

42. Blue Valentine

When the family dog gets hit by a car, Dean (Ryan Gosling) and Cindy (Michelle Williams) take their daughter to Cindy's father house so they can get things in order.  They decide after mourning the dog, that they should go and spend a night out.  They get a hotel room and go out to buy liquor for their night.  While at the store Cindy runs into her old boyfriend Bobby (Mike Vogel), which gets her all out of whack for the rest of the night.

Now flashback to years earlier.  Dean just got a job as a mover, and helped to move an elderly man into a retirement home.  That's where he meets Cindy, who is visiting her grandmother.  He is very upfront with her and gives her his company card because he feels as if it's love at first sight.  Cindy however has a boyfriend.  Or at least when they first met.  I may be picking this up wrong because I was half paying attention at the time.  But I'm pretty sure Bobby forgot to pull out during sex, which pissed Cindy off so she dumped him?

Back to the present.  Dean is trying to get his wife in the mood, but nothing seems to be working.  She is still in a funk from earlier.  And instead they end up getting drunk.

And past again (because I like this storyline better).  Almost a month has gone by and Dean has yet to hear from Cindy.  He decides to take a chance when he finds an old locket from the man he helped move.  He goes back to the nursing home but the man has died and Cindy is no where to be found.  But later on the bus, he runs into her and they end up talking the whole night as the wander around the city.  Eventually they end up sleeping together.  A few weeks later, she takes a pregnancy test.  Whoops.

Present.  After eating some food to help sober up they once again try to rekindle the flame.  But when Dean mentions he wants to have another baby, she starts to freak out and pulls on his hair.  When he gets angry and tells her to stop they get in a huge fight and she locks herself in the bathroom until Dean passes out.

Past.  She tells Dean she is pregnant and that it may not be his.  He goes with her to get an abortion but at the last minute she changes her mind.  Dean seems happy with the news and wants to give having a family with her a shot.  When Bobby finds out that Cindy is seeing someone else, he gets extremely jealous.  He finds out who Dean is and then goes and beats him up pretty badly.

Present.  Cindy gets called in to go to work and leaves Dean all alone.  When he wakes up he is confused on where she went.  He drinks the rest of the vodka they bought the night before and goes to her work.  After making a big scene their relationship is hanging in the air.

I thought the acting was great in this movie.  It seemed so natural and fluid which can be difficult when you're jumping through time the way this movie did.  One second their happy and in love and the next she seems repulsed by his touch, which if it was Ryan Gosling no woman would be (I don't care how bad his hair gets). I thought Cindy as a character was cowardly though so that got on my nerves a little bit.  And it did seem a little drawn.  But the movie did a great job showing the ups and downs of a relationship.

Rating: ***

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DRm8hy7fu4

41. Kolya

Netflix keeps telling me how much I love foreign films so I figured I should start watching more.

Set in Prague in 1988, Louka (Zdenek Sverak) is a concert cellist.  He use to be part of the philharmonic after being blacklisted by the government because he has a brother that emigrated.  So now he is trying to make a living playing funerals.  Needless to say it doesn't pay the greatest, so he takes up other odd jobs as well.  He has sworn he would never get married because he was going to dedicate his life to music.  But that doesn't mean he can have a couple lady friends over ever now and then or whenever he gets the opportunity really.  He owes the groundskeeper at the graveyard a lot of money and the groundskeeper knows just the perfect way to get it.  He has an aunt who has a niece that is looking to become a Czech citizen.  She just needs to get married.  If he agrees to marry her then he will get a large sum of money.

Although he doesn't speak one word of Russian (which is what she is), he gets desperate and agrees to marry her.  But soon after the marriage she runs off to West Germany to be with her married boyfriend, leaving her five year old son Kolya (Andrei Chalimon) behind.  At first the boy stays with his grandmother, but after she has a stroke and dies, Kolya goes to stay with Louka.  Although Louka is a annoyed with his new roommate, he lets him stay in case the police question his fake marriage.  He soon begins to care for the boy, something he didn't think possible.  And even starts turning down woman and taking responsibility for Kolya.

The film was a little slow at times, but that Kolya was too cute.  And pair him up with a grumpy old womanizer, brilliant.  At times it didn't seem like the two really liked each other and I wasn't sure if Kolya was just shy or hated him but towards the end of the movie they really started to click, which I guess is the point.  I was just really annoyed with the mother.  Who does that to their son for a married man?  Ugh.

Rating: ***

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DRm8hy7fu4

40. The Mighty

I've seen bits and pieces on TV but never saw the whole movie until today.

Maxwell Kane (Elden Henson) feels that he doesn't have a brain.  He has been held back in the 7th grade and is pretty big for his size already.  He lives with his Grim (Harry Dean Stanton) and Gram (Gena Rowlands) because his mother died when he was young and his father is in jail for murder.  When he meets his next door neighbor and reading tutor, Kevin (Kieran Culkin), his life changes.  Kevin has Morquio's syndrome and requires the use of crutches to walk.  Although he may not be the most physically intimidating, his way with words give him the confidence and courage to stand up to his bullies.

Kevin pays Max to go to the Riverfest with him because his mom won't go alone.  And it's there that their friendship is solidified.  When Kevin can't see the fireworks going off, Max picks him up without asking and puts him on top of this shoulders.  Then when the bullies arrive, Kevin directs Max on what direction to run and therefore avoids danger.  Once their friends they go on many quests and journeys.  However the doctor says Kevin doesn't have much longer.  His organs are growing, but his bones have stopped.

When Max's father gets out of jail the attitude around his house is a little tense.  One night, Max thinks he sees something in his room.  He gets up to investigate and his father grabs him and covers his mouth.  He takes him away in the night.  Now it's up to Kevin to use his superior brain to save Max.

Obviously, this movie is going to be a tearjerker.  Cripes.  Just like Simon Birch (or as my coworker refers to it "Little Idiot Boy") and My Girl you know from the beginning that its going to be a struggle to get through this movie with dry eyes.  The chemistry between the two kids clicked instantly and you really believed that Elden was the gentle giant and Kieran was a smartass.  To think that both of their next movies would be She's All That.

Rating: ****

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55NnLGNeZ-k

39. Swinging with the Finkels

After nine years together, things have gotten a little stale for Alvin (Martin Freeman) and Ellie (Mandy Moore).  Wanting to save their marriage together, they begin to seek advice from some of their other friends.    They try role playing, or making things more intimate, or even adventurous activities with a cucumber, but nothing seems to work.  When it's mention that "If they aren't getting it at home, they are going to get it somewhere else", Ellie decides that maybe they should try swinging.  That way everything is out in the open and there isn't any cheating or lying.  Alvin seems a little hesitant but with some prodding from his friends decides to give it a try.

They place an ad online and after interviewing a number of interesting couples, they finally settle on one.  But before anything can happen Alvin learns that his best friend Peter (Jonathan Silverman) had an affair and possibly has an STD now.  When Peter's wife Janet (Melissa George) finds out she keeps him out of the house.  Seeing what sleeping with another person can do, Ellie seems to get nervous about the situation.  Meanwhile when Alvin asked Peter why he did it, Peter said that they too were going through a dry spell but didn't try anything to fix it.

When they meet up with the other couple, things seem a bit awkward.  But they manage to spend the night with them.  In the morning, everything seems different and what they hoped would bring them together actually did the opposite.  Alvin goes and stays with Peter in his new apartment while the couple takes some time apart from each other to figure things out.

I'm sorry, but I don't think the idea of swinging would ever help a relationship.  If you need to sleep with someone else in order to feel attractive to your spouse again, then maybe you should just get a divorce.  Don't over complicate the situation.  Anyway, the movie had it's moments that were cute but it just seemed like weird casting to begin with.  Why pair Mandy Moore and Martin Freeman together?  Plus it seems like Mandy Moore has trouble with chemistry in a lot of her movies.  But Martin Freeman?  Adorable as usual.

Rating: **

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tKycPLM0po