A Serious Man

Starring: Michael Stuhlbarg
Drama, 2009 (Rated R)

A College Professor named Larry (Stuhlbarg) in a small town suddenly finds his life crumbling around him. His wife wants a divorce, his socially awkward brother has camped out on his couch, his children are constantly fighting and his tenure status at the college is in question. To help him navigate this tough time in his life he seeks out the guidance of 3 rabbi's.

• This movie started out weird. When it starts out back in the 1800's and there are subtitles do not be alarmed. It is the right movie.
• The title is A Serious Man and I must say this was a serious movie. Almost too serious. To the point of being boring.
• I got really tired of seeing Larry being such a push over. I wanted to yell at him to just get a back bone already and maybe that alone would solve half of his problems.
• There were some interesting moments but overall this movie was just dry and serious and weird.

1 STAR

Tenure

Starring: Owen Wilson, Gretchen Mol
Comedy, Rated R

An off beat college professor names Larry is up for tenure and just can't seem to get it together. His students love him but he is not well liked by his colleagues, has a tendency towards bizarre behavior, and associates with the only other professor considered more of a black sheep then he is. A new pretty faculty member from a prestigious University who is said to be on "tenure track" makes him feel even more threatened. Can he get an article published and clean up his act well enough to receive this coveted tenure that eluded him at the previous college he worked for and make his retired professor father proud.

• This movie was funny and entertaining.
• The antics of his crazy colleague and his pursuit of big foot and the other various quirky faculty members and students throughout the film are hilarious.
• It has a cute little love story brewing under the surface as well and I really liked watching the relationship between Larry and his dad evolve.

3 STARS

The Box

Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella
Thriller, Rated PG 13 (2009)

Norma (Diaz) and Arthur (Marsden) are a young couple in their 30's who are struggling financially. Out of nowhere a man called Arlington Steward (Langella) appears on their doorstep and offers them a box and proposition that if they push the button they will receive 1 million dollars, however someone they do not know will die. The couple struggles with this decision and questions whether or not it's some kind of hoax or not. They only have 24 hours to decide and the choice they make has consequences that neither one expected and they are faced yet again with a tough decision to make.

• This movie was directed by Richard Kelly who also did Donnie Darko. There is some similarity in the supernatural bizarre story line but not quite as weird.
• I didn't realize that this movie was set back in the 1970's. That was a surprise to me.
• As the story goes on the origins of the box and Arlington Steward is revealed and it begins to make more sense.
• This is a very unforgiving box and a reminder that sometimes it's best to just do the right thing just because.
• It causes one to question your own morality-what would you do? The prospect of 1 million dollars is very tempting indeed.

4 STARS

Serious Moonlight

Starring: Timothy Hutton, Meg Ryan, Kristen Bell
Comedy, Rated R (2009)

After scrawling out a hasty note on a piece of notebook paper Ian (Hutton) is planning to leave his wife of 13 years Louise (Ryan) and go be with a much younger woman. When Louise finds out she keeps him there at their vacation house against his will and vows not to let him go until he falls in love with her again.

• This movie was very funny and has a surprising and bizarre turn of events.
• When Louise said "Til death do us part" she meant it and is determined to make Ian agree.
• Louise is quite obnoxious and although she is a successful attorney she appears to be on the loony side by her actions but the part is played very well by Ryan.
• The other woman, Sara (Bell) is even more annoying then Louise with all of her whining but at the end of the movie I found that I actually felt sorry for her.

4 Stars

Whip It

Starring: Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden
Drama, 2009

Bliss (Page) is a 17 year old reluctant pageant girl in a small town. She stumbles upon a roller derby league, likes what she sees, and tries out. Turns out she's pretty darn good at it but the only problem is that her parents will never approve. She has finally found something that she loves to do for herself and not just to please her mother. As she works on her Roller Derby skills she not only finds her passion but she finds out she's a whole lot tougher then she ever thought.

• This movie bumped around my house for a couple of weeks and I kept putting off watching it in favor of others. I shouldn't have waited so long! This movie was good...and fun to watch.
• Drew Barrymore was the director and she herself had just a small role in the move. I read somewhere that she wanted to be able to identify with the actors and what they were going through on skates so she could direct them better. I think she's done another excellent movie about women. The roller derby girls had heart and character. They were more then just tatted tough girls on skates. I felt like I wanted to know more about them.
• I have liked Page ever since I saw her in her break out role Hard Candy.
• It was great to see Bliss find herself so unexpectedly in roller derby. It may not be a typical pursuit but she loved it. Skating gave her a purpose and something to look forward to beyond the limiting barriers her small podunk town.
• It made me want to go roller skating again despite the fact that I have not thought about nor wanted to roller skate in a long time. I am hoping there is still a place in my city where I can do it!

5 Stars

Gamer

Starring: Gerard Butler, Amber Valletta, Kyra Sedgwick, Alison Lohman
Sci Fi, Fantasy, Myster/Suspense (Rated R)

In this futuristic film the prison system is funded by a game that blurs the lines between reality and video games in which death row inmates can opt to allow themselves to be controlled by players in an actual video game where the blood and guts are real. If they manage to survive 30 games they earn their stay of execution. Butler plays Kable. A video game character/person who has managed to come closer to surviving 30 games then anyone. The world watches as he fights for his life and his freedom. There is a sect of people however, who believe that the creator of this so called game is bent on taking over the world and use Kable as a way to try to stop him.

• Very interesting movie concept. I liked it.
• I cannot even imagine a world where average people can pay to control or be controlled in such a way.
• We get to watch Amber Valletta run around in underwear for the last half of the movie
• It was totally unrealistic but it wasn't meant to be.
• Butler once again delivers a great gritty performance with his muscles on full display.
• I was a bit surprised to see Allison Lohman in this (Drag Me To Hell, White Oleander). It was kind of like seeing Dakota Fanning in Push. She has such a great reputation as an actress that it hardly matters but it was kind of a small role and didn't allow her to show of her acting chops so much.

3 STARS

The Girl In The Park

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Kate Bosworth, Keri Russell
Drama, 2007

The young daughter of Julia (Weaver) and her husband disappears from the park one day. After such a terrible loss Julia sort of checks out of life and never quite recovers. One day she meets a homeless young girl names Louise (Bosworth) and she forms an emotional attachment to her. She finds herself fixating on Louise and blurring the lines between her long disappeared daughter and this troubled young girl.

• I liked this movie.
• It didn't have a real plot or story line but I found it very interesting and enjoyed watching what unfolded.
• If you want action you will not find it here. It just isn't that type of movie.
• Great interesting characters and wonderful acting to go along with it.
• The hubby was on the internet during most of the movie but I was interested enough to focus on it.

3 STARS