The Blind Side (2009)

From NetFlix:

Oversized African American Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), the teen from across the tracks and a broken home, has nowhere to sleep at age 16. Taken in by an affluent Memphis couple, Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock) and Sean (Tim McGraw), Michael embarks on a remarkable rise to play for the NFL. Bullock’s performance garnered a Best Actress Oscar nomination and Best Actress Golden Globe Award. Kathy Bates co-stars.

Yes, of course it is maudlin and a bit too goody-goody, but so what ?

There is at most one “uncomfortable” scene in the entire film (Michael fights with some gang-bangers). Note the school dropout in that scene because he figures in newpaper articles toward the end of the film.

This is a standard Sandra Bullock film. Moreover it is actually a feel-good for everyone. Quinton Aaron is NOT an actor. They tried to give him a part in one “Law and Order” episode which was a total disaster.

It pleased me that the Wikipedia article on Michael Oher shows that the movie was very accurate historically.

Southland (2009)

From NetFlix:

This hard-hitting drama follows the trials and triumphs of a group of dedicated Los Angeles cops, including tough veteran John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz), who begins this show’s first season training rookie patrolman Ben Sherman (Benjamin McKenzie). Other characters sworn to serve and protect include Detectives Russell Clarke (Tom Everett Scott) and Lydia Adams (Regina King), single-mom patrol officer Chickie Brown (Arija Bareikis) and more

If you liked “NYPD BLue” or “Law and Order”, you will love “Southland”. Full of tense crime scenes and personal stories, the series is DYNAMITE! Enough said.

The Lovely Bones (2009)

From NetFlix:

When 14-year-old Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is murdered, she watches from above as her family deals with her tragic death — and as her killer prepares to strike again. Torn between vengeance and healing, Susie’s loved ones are forever changed. Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz star in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s riveting, best-selling novel; Susan Sarandon and Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci co-star.

Normally I can start a film one night and interrupt it and resume another night, but NOT with this film. The suspense is extremely well-done and at times very subtle (you watch someone try to replace a floorboard without being heard by the killer a floor below; the movement is excruciatingly slow). Acting is good and the story is heartbreaking and well structured. Certain scenes (e.g. abduction) could be difficult to watch.

I offer one reservation: Susie inhabits the state of existence between death and heaven. This “place” is a seemingly endless succession of sometimes beautiful, sometimes threatening, always imaginative scenes. But enough is enough. I became really tired of watching Susie tread through field after field.

Mark Wahlberg does a fine job as the grieving father. See him also in The Basketball Diaries (1995), The Departed (2006) , and We Own the Night (2007) .

Rachel Weisz plays the mother. See her also in Definitely, Maybe (2008), Enemy At The Gates (2001), and The Brothers Bloom (2008).

Stanley Tucci was a standout and I did not even recognize him because he has hair in this film. His role as the serial killer George Harvey was perfect and impressive.

Sea of Love (1989)

From NetFlix:

Lonely, burnt-out NYPD detective Frank Keller (Al Pacino, in a Golden Globe-nominated performance) is on the hunt for a serial killer who uses personal ads to attract potential victims in director Harold Becker’s taut, suspenseful thriller. Unfortunately, Frank falls hard for Helen (Ellen Barkin), the alluring top suspect in the case. Now, their white-hot attraction could save him — or kill him.

In every Al Pacino film I have seen, his personality is more or less the same: wisecracking tough guy. Although this film is no exception to that comment, the younger Al Pacino here is slightly softer, slightly more vulnerable. His paring with John Goodman works well. Catching the serial killer, while the central theme, is really secondary to Al Pacino’s dealing with his sad personal life. “Sea of Love” is as representative of any Pacino fiilm that I have seen, although he was excellent in Angels In America (2003).

Righteous Kill (2008)

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).

Enemy At The Gates (2001)

From NetFlix:

Set during the infamous World War II siege of Stalingrad, this potent thriller follows a battle of wits and wills between renowned Russian sharpshooter Vassili Zaitsev (Jude Law) and top German sniper Maj. König (Ed Harris). When propaganda from a Red Army apparatchik (Joseph Fiennes) turns Zaitsev into a living legend, it draws the attention of König, who comes gunning for his enemy counterpart. Rachel Weisz and Bob Hoskins also star

Based on a true story (the final credits discuss the existing memorial to Vassili Zaitsev in Russia), you are constantly immersed in the ugliness of a besieged Stalingrad. Possibly the story is a bit predictable (how else could it end ?), but the story is also interesting and its suspense and character interactions work. All the acting is good but Ed Harris as a very self-assured German sharpshooter stands out in my mind.

Comrade Stalin’s spirit seems to hang over the film. I found it difficult to accept him as the motivating leader of the Russian soldiers. But that’s how it was in those times. Moreover, the failure of the Germans to take Stalingrad was an important part of their eventual defeat.

And wasn’t it striking to see Bob Hoskins as a somewhat young Nikita Krushchev ?

Breaking Bad (2008)

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.

Blood Simple (1984)

From NetFlix:

In a jealous rage, Texas tavern owner Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya) hires unscrupulous private detective Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) to not only tail Marty’s two-timing spouse (Frances McDormand, in her big-screen debut) but also murder her and her paramour (John Getz). But events take a surprising turn when the gumshoe double-crosses his client. Joel Coen directs this stylish shocker co-written with brother Ethan Coen.

This is the first film that the Coen Brothers did together. For a recap of their career see the Wikipedia article which makes a table of 17 of their films including Barton Fink (1991), No Country For Old Men (2007), and Romance & Cigarettes (2005).

Violence seems to be their trademark. However, for me the attraction of the film was its firm foundation in gritty, believable reality. Special effects need not apply! The slow acting is pace-perfect. Part of that slow pace owes to an awful lot of actors just staring without saying anything. But in this film that style seems to work. When was the last time you saw a film in which the possible failure of a car to start was especially nerve-wracking ?

25 years ago, a very young Fances McDormand got by with a minimum of acting. John Getz seems to have spent most of his career in TV. Ditto for Dan Hedaya. M. Emmet Walsh is a face you have seen everywhere probably without knowing his name. For me Walsh had the most memorable part: evil with an ironic sense of humor. His part at the end is unforgettable.

If you want to watch Coen brother films, this is the place to start.

Barton Fink (1991)

From NetFlix:

Idealistic playwright Barton Fink (John Turturro) believes writing should reveal the hopes, dreams and tragedies of the common man. When Hollywood taps him to write a movie, Fink develops severe writer’s block and soon falls victim to a strange sequence of events. Unable to combine his deep-seated ethics with Tinseltown’s frivolity, the disillusioned and desperate Fink winds up involved in a murder investigation in this Oscar-nominated dramedy.

In the “NY Times Best 1000” the review for this film raves about this exhilarating original by the Coen Brothers. Therefore I dutifully sat through the entire film. I admit that I could not stay bored for any long stretch because something unusual will soon pop up. John Goodman, not John Turturro, carries the show. John Turturro mostly just sits and stares. I was disappointed in Tony Shalhoub whom I almost did not recognize and who overacted terribly. Judy Davis’ appearance has not changed much over the years, but then 1991 today is only about 20 years ago.

The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)

From NetFlix:

Journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) latches onto an unbelievable story in Iraq when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a man of mysterious origins who reveals he was a “warrior monk” trained by the U.S. Army to develop psychic powers. Jeff Bridges co-stars as Lyn’s mentor, the man who dreamed up the top-secret operation. Kevin Spacey and Rebecca Mader co-star in this Grant Heslov-helmed wild spoof.

Depending on your sense of humor, you might get some occasional good laughs out of this spoof. Ewan McGregor and George Clooney carry almost the entire show, with a little help from other actors. The story line is often weak. There are lots better films to watch. Not every film is a triumph for an actor. Sorry George.