Category Archives: Not Feel Good

2002, Not Feel Good, Revenge

Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

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From NetFlix:

Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an illegal immigrant working as
a night porter at a posh London hotel, stumbles across
evidence of a bizarre murder. He and Senay (Audrey Tautou),
a Turkish chambermaid — and fellow undocumented worker —
venture into the city’s seedy underworld to find out what
happened. Stephen Frears directs this gritty urban thriller.

This film is not for the squeamish. But if you are into revenge, the ending is very satisfying. Such a great villain! Not feel-good and not for children.

2004, Not Feel Good, Spanish

Live-in Maid (2004)

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From NetFlix:

Winner of a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival,
this film tells the story of Beba, a spoiled member of the
Argentinean upper middle class, and Dora, the maid who’s
worked for her more than 30 years. When Beba’s wealth begins
to fade, the relationship between the two women undergoes
subtle and not -so-subtle changes, amplifying the cataclysmic
transformation occurring in Argentinean society. Norma
Aleandro and Norma Argentina star

This film in Spanish (subtitles) is not a feel-good. The ensemble acting between the two women is well-done, understated, but effective. The ending is a real kick. If anyone else sees this movie, I would like to do a sanity check about the ending. And did you by any chance choose sides ?

2008, Not Feel Good, Violent

In Bruges (2008)

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From NetFlix:

After accidentally killing an innocent boy in London, Irish
hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are sent
by their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), to lay low in Bruges.
But, uncomfortable in this foreign city, the two professional
killers soon get into trouble. Complicating matters further,
when the guilt-ridden Ray falls for a girl working on a film
shoot, he finds himself confronting the girl’s jealous
ex-boyfriend.

For me this film was a breath of fresh air. Or as they would say in the film, “this was a breath of F_ _ _ _ _ G fresh air!”. The F-word is used every other second. Ignoring that, the script and the stream of crazy events were an entertaining sequence of surprises. Colin Farrell plays a perfect naive, uncultured, blarney-filled hit man with a conscience (similar to his role in Cassandra’s Dream). The end of the movie is VERY VIOLENT. Not for children.

Makes you want to visit medieval Bruges,

2007, DO NOT MISS, Not Feel Good

The Visitor (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Widowed professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) discovers an immigrant
couple, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira), squatting in
his Manhattan flat and becomes wrapped up in their lives when Tarek is
thrown into a detention center. A wonderful Hiam Abbass co-stars as
Tarek’s mother, who forges an unlikely connection with Walter.
Director Thomas McCarthy’s follow-up to his indie hit The Station
Agent premiered at Sundance in 2008.

Kathy and I saw this at the Embassy in Waltham. It’s an eye-opener into the world of immigration detention centers (nothing harsh, just the utter bureaucratic hopelessness). The acting, especially Richard Jenkins (the father in “Six Feet Under”), is superb. In other words, don’t miss it.

Immediately after the film, Kathy and I were driving in the car when we were stopped by an extremely polite police officer who informed us that our car was no longer registered. Upon inspecting my valid registration, plates, sticker, and license, he decided that the RMV had made a mistake and he would therefore not have our car towed. However, I did have to have a court appearance. I spent the morning at the RMV having them correct their mistake. At least we were not thrown into a detention center and made non-existent.

But the movie was really good.

2007, Not Feel Good, Revenge

Reservation Road (2007)

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From NetFlix:

The lives of Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix) and his wife, Grace
(Jennifer Connelly), are thrown into chaos after their 10-year-old
son is killed in a hit-and -run accident. When the case stalls, Ethan
makes it his mission to hunt down and punish the person responsible.
Violence, revenge and justice collide head on when Ethan finally finds
the man who killed his son. Mark Ruffalo co-stars

I don’t remember seeing Joaquin Phoenix in a bad movie. Considering the good actors that are in this film, somehow the film seemed flat. It is NOT a feel-good movie. But it would probably teach a lot to a child. The story line is compelling and I can see just this sort of thing happening (although the relation between aggrieved father and guilty driver is a bit contrived). I begrudgingly give this film an A.

2007, Not Feel Good

The Savages (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Carrying the emotional scars of an abusive childhood, siblings Wendy
Savage (Laura Linney, in an Oscar-nominated role), a long-aspiring
playwright, and Jon Savage ( Philip Seymour Hoffman), a professor
of drama, now face the challenge of caring for their ailing elderly
father, Lenny (Philip Bosco), despite their emotional disconnect
from him and each other. Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills)
wrote and directed this indie drama

This film paints what is soon to be one of the more typical scenarios
on the American family scene. And what a scene! If you want to
walk away after a pleasant few hours, do not see this film! But the
acting is perfect. And the details are sadly all too accurate. There
will unfortunately be a moment of truth in this film for most of us.

All I can say is, “Thank you Mom for planning and for cooperating
with me to get you settled in a really nice assisted living facility.”

You have once again warned about an A-film

2007, French, Not Feel Good, Revenge

The Page Turner (2007)

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From NetFlix:

As a child, pianist Melanie’s ( Déborah François) dream of
studying at a prestigious musical conservatory is shattered
when the chairwoman of the jury ( Catherine Frot) distracts
her during an audition. Years later, a coincidence leads to
Melanie’s employment in the woman’s household, and she
finds herself in the perfect position for revenge. Directed by
Denis Dercourt, this stylish psychological drama co-stars
Pascal Greggory.

Stephen King’s forte is revenge. But his revenge is usually
physically violent and just plain fun. On the other hand,
“The Page Turner” is French to the core. Subtle, quiet,
polite, it had me on the edge of my seat because I felt
that any minute something really awful was going to happen.

I strongly recommend this movie (NOT FOR CHILDREN)
and will only say “Don’t expect a happy ending”.

Stay alert.

2007, Not Feel Good, Several languages, Violent

The Kite Runner (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Years after fleeing the Taliban and immigrating to the
United States, an Afghan man (Khalid Abdalla) returns
to his war-ravaged homeland to try to repay his debt
to a childhood friend whose trust he betrayed. Marc
Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster’s Ball) directs this
touching story of family, friendship and bravery, based
on the best-selling novel by Khaled Hosseini.

The movie was faithful to the book. There are a lot of subtitles
because the languages are English, Dari, Pashtu, Urdu, and
Russian.

This movie is not for children. For the most part it is non-violent
but does include child rape, a beating, and the stoning of a woman
to death. The most difficult part to watch is one child betraying
another.

Well worth seeing.

2007, DO NOT MISS, Not Feel Good, Revenge

Sleuth (2007)

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From Netflix:

Aging detective writer Andrew Wyke (Michael Caine) squares off
against Milo Tindle (Jude Law), the struggling actor who stole Wyke’s
wife in this twisted — and twisty — plot of deception and double
crosses. Kenneth Branagh directs a gripping screenplay by Nobel
Prize laureate Harold Pinter, who stylishly updates the 1972
original — in which an Oscar-nominated Caine played the Milo
role opposite Laurence Olivier’s Andrew. Double feature anyone?

The movie feels like a play and is essentially talking heads. But what two heads !!!!!!! It is a pleasure to watch real time-honored acting. Michael Caine and Jude Law pair off in the most impressive performance I have seen in a long time.

Beware ! This is Harold Pinter and it doesn’t take long for things to get down and dirty. NOT FOR CHILDREN.

The plot twists are jolting. The ending is perfect. The updated 2007 setting works well.

Don’t miss it!

2007, Not Feel Good, Violent

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

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From NetFlix:

When a 4-year-old girl goes missing in Dorchester, one of Boston’s toughest hoods, private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro (Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan) reluctantly agree to take the case. But the investigation proves tougher, riskier and more complex than they could have imagined. Ben Affleck’s directorial debut, adapted from the Dennis Lehane novel, also stars Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman and Amy Ryan (in her first Oscar-nominated role).

Gone Baby Gone is a “page-turner”. I found it a bit confusing to follow the details. But the real point of the movie is the final choice that Patrick Kenzie has to make. I would really like to hear what choice you would have made.

The real violence is not the shootings but the violence done to the little girl by her mother-from-hell (neglect, not beating) played to perfection by Amy Ryan.