Category Archives: 2008

2008, Bullying, Crime, Drama, Revenge, Suspense, Violent

Lakeview Terrace (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Director Neil LaBute’s taut thriller follows the Mattsons — Chris (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa (Kerry Washington) — as they settle into their Los Angeles dream house, only to be hassled by their off-kilter neighbor, police officer Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson). It seems Turner disapproves of the couple’s interracial marriage and is determined to drive them away, but as the harassment turns violent, the newlyweds are forced fight back.

Talk about a difficult neighbor! Because the sequence of events is so realistic and possible, the constant sense of “what bad thing is about to happen” is especially palpable. While hoping that the next door policeman will see the error of his ways, I was glued to my seat. Have fun!

2008, Gay theme, Talking Heads

Ciao (2008)

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From NetFlix:

After the death of his close friend, Mark, Jeff (Adam Neal Smith) begins corresponding via e-mail with Andrea (Alessandro Calza), an Italian with whom Mark had an online relationship. Upon Jeff’s suggestion, Andrea comes to visit, and the two men explore Mark’s life and grow closer. A quiet and tender look at relationships and desire, this drama also stars Ethel Lung, Chuck Blaum and John Boles.

Essentially a very quiet talking heads film, there is not a cliché in the entire film, unlike so many gay-themed films. Nor is there any sex. Jeff lived loved Mark but Mark did not reciprocate. Andrea and Mark were a possible pair but Mark dies. Andrea comes to visit Jeff despite Mark’s death and eventually helps Jeff to mourn and accept the situation. It may sound dull (as in, where’s the sex and violence) but I found the film interesting.

Question: Could this story have worked if the relationships were straight instead of gay ?

2008, Drama, Explicit sex, Nudity, Terrorist Attack

Incendiary (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Director Sharon Maguire’s powerful drama stars Michelle Williams as an adulterous young housewife struggling to come to terms with the deaths of her husband and infant son after they’re killed in a terrorist bombing at a London soccer game. Crippled by grief, the widow seeks comfort through affairs with two men (Ewan McGregor and Matthew Macfadyen), inadvertently putting herself in the midst of a dangerous love triangle

Michelle Williams is the center and most of this film. Tangentially her orbit is touched by her husband, by Ewan McGregor, by Matthew Macfadyen, by the son of a terrorist, and most of all by her little boy. Here is an imperfect young woman victimized by an imperfect world inhabited by terrorists. Her story, her reactions, and her final “solution” are a creative set of imagined circumstances that are more or less plausible.

Toward the end of the film her non-acceptance fantasies continued, for me, a bit too long. Don’t expect a perfect ending.

2008, Crime, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Lawyers, Suspense, TV Series

Canterbury’s Law (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Julianna Margulies stars in this prime-time Fox drama as spirited attorney Elizabeth Canterbury, a woman who balances her desire to help others seek justice with her own ongoing struggle to deal with her son’s unsolved disappearance. Though Elizabeth’s professional life is decidedly driven, her personal life with her law professor husband, Matt (Aidan Quinn), is haunted by their shared grief over losing their only child.

Because of her success in the TV-series “The Good Wife” Kathy and I are enthusiastic fans of Julianna Margulies. In that series she is a quiet but determined woman lawyer who has been wounded by her well-known husband’s public adultery.

In this earlier series “Canterbury’s Law” she again plays a lawyer with an entirely different personality. Here she is aggressive, more-or-less honest, with a “seek justice at any cost” attitude.

From what I have seen so far of the series, the plots are involving, well-written, and at the level of the “Law and Order” TV series.

Addendum: Having watched more of the series, I am now even more excited about the series. Don’t miss it!

There are only two DVDs for the series. We watched it with subtitles.

2008, Could Be Sad, Drama, Explicit sex, Military

The Messenger (2008)

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From NetFlix:

An injured U.S. soldier, Sgt. Will Montgomery (Ben Foster), is paired up with by-the-book Capt. Tony Stone (Oscar nominee Woody Harrelson) to notify families of killed soldiers — a job that bonds them as they debate different views on serving America. At odds at first, the two find common ground while facing life’s variety of battles. Oren Moverman directs this poignant military tale that co-stars Samantha Morton and Jena Malone.

You might expect a film about notifying next of kin to border on being maudlin. On the contrary, the film successfully avoids sentimentality mostly due to the varied and unexpected reactions of the next of kin.

It used to be that American film stars, as opposed to British stars, had to be beautiful or handsome. Ben Foster is ordinary looking and he steals the show. (He was the psycho Charlie Prince in 3:10 to Yuma (2007)). Samantha Morton is no runway model but she is perfect in this film. (She was the Irish immigrant mother in In America (2002)). Steve Buscemi has a wonderful minor part. Woody Harrelson plays Woody Harrelson.

Not perfect, but worth the watch.

2008, Could be boring, Drama, Not Feel Good, Rape, Redemption, Violent

Disgrace (2008)

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From NetFlix:

After an imprudent affair with a student, Cape Town professor David Lurie (John Malkovich) flees to his daughter’s remote farm to escape the scandal, only to find tragedy when a trio of black youths brutally assaults them. But Lurie is forced to face apartheid’s lasting repercussions when he discovers that one of the attackers is related to a trusted employee (Eriq Ebouaney) in this pensive drama based on J.M. Coetzee’s novel.

Everyone seems to praise the book which is usually described as dark and tragic. So read the book. Because I have not read the book I had no preconceived notions about the plot, motives, emotions etc. Frankly, the film seemed a bit slow. John Malkovich produces an acceptable South African white accent which is almost a monotone. His daughter is beautiful but not especially a good actor. The film never helps us understand why she insists in staying in her remote house in South Africa, especially after all the horrible things that happen to her.

Not excited about this one!

2008, Could be boring, Crime, Detective, Drama, Explicit sex, Mediocre, Suspense, Violent

Righteous Kill (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Oscar winners Robert De Niro and Al Pacino drive this taut thriller as New York City detectives tasked with investigating a rash of vigilante killings that are linked to an old case, suggesting they might have put an innocent man behind bars. John Leguizamo, Carla Gugino, Brian Dennehy, Donnie Wahlberg and rapper-turned-actor 50 Cent also star in director Jon Avnet’s crime drama, penned by Russel Gerwitz (Inside Man).

Give this one a B (for sometimes “boring”). Some of the details seemed confusing. However, the film adds up to a plot twist that caught me unprepared. Not a total waste. Instead try In the Cut (2003), Edge of Darkness (1986), Desperate Measures (1998) , or Before The Frost (2002).

2008, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Drama, Drugs, Gangs, Nudity, Occasional gore, TV Series, Violent

Breaking Bad (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Diagnosed with cancer and given only two years left to live, high school chemistry teacher Walter (Emmy winner Bryan Cranston) attempts to secure his family’s financial future by teaming up with his former student, Jesse (Aaron Paul), to produce and distribute the illegal drug meth. As Walter slowly builds his empire, his wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), grows suspicious of his erratic behavior, and the DEA starts searching for the area’s new drug kingpin.

NetFlix offers 3 TV seasons of “Breaking Bad” which started in 2008. Put this TV series in the “outrageous situations” category, which at times makes the happenings hilarious and wildly unexpected.

You might not like the theme and the events. Just to warn you, I give examples from season 1:

  • A high school chemistry teacher manufactures an especially high grade of crystal meth. In reality that drug destroys many lives. So you have to accept this premise.
  • At one point two drug dealers threaten the lives of Walter and Jesse in their camper trailer/meth lab. Immediately Walter figures out an escape which seems to kill both drug dealers.
  • Actually one dies immediately. But Walter and Jesse capture the other wounded dealer and imprison him in a cellar.
  • They flip a coin. Heads must dissolve the dead dealer in hydroflouric acid. Tails must kill the remaining dealer.
  • The acid dissolve is actually funny.
  • The killing is a serious bit of drama

So you can see why you might not enjoy this series. For what it’s worth Walter and Jesse play their parts to perfection.

2008, Drama

An Education (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Jenny’s (Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan) Oxford-bound teen life is undistinguished in 1961 London until she’s given a different kind of education after being immersed in the beguiling but hazardous world of cultured and much-older David (Peter Sarsgaard). Even Jenny’s father, Jack (Alfred Molina), is intrigued by him, but her school’s unimpressed headmistress (Emma Thompson) works to keep Jenny’s entire future from crumbling under David’s influence.

Carey Mulligan will just put a smile on your face. And Peter Sarsgaard is charm itself. Without giving anything away, let’s just say you are beguiled into denial for a seductive temporary ride. Emma Thompson has a very minor role, EXCEPT she does place into focus the plight of women in the 60’s: What career choices were available to women graduates of Oxford in that period ? Let’s see – you could teach other women to get into Oxford so that they could then teach … etc.

After all, Jenny is just a teenager. So be kind and tolerate her “education”. Great film!

2008, Biographical, Docudrama, Drama, Feel Good Not For Children, Redemption, Sports, True Story, Vulgar

The Damned United (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Arrogant Brian Clough (Michael Sheen) helms England’s soccer champs Leeds United in 1974 alongside confidant and assistant manager Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall), but he manages to bungle the deal in a mere 44 days, winding up fired. Written for the screen by Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) and based on David Peace’s critically acclaimed novel, this fictionalized account of the notorious sports legend co-stars Jim Broadbent.

You don’t have to be a soccer fan to enjoy this well-made and well-acted film. Possibly the Wikipedia article might help. In fact that article claims that much of the film is fictional. Hopefully the barebones historical facts are accurate.

During the film we do see Leeds cheating during the soccer matches. One of Brian Clough’s contentions was that in fact in the past Leeds did a lot of that sort of thing. There is a lot of soccer slang that went right past me, but it did not really matter.

During the film you don’t see that much soccer playing. Rather the emphasis is on Clough’s arrogance and his relation with other managers and players. In a certain sense the film ends on a happy note.

At the end of the film you get to see actual film clips of the real Brian Clough and Peter Taylor. Indeed I saw a similarity in looks between the actor and the real Clough.

Perhaps the cursing is not appropriate for children.