recount

HBO managed to make a pretty fascinating slice of American history excruciatingly dull, in spite of Laura Dern's fabulous performance as the supremely misguided Katherine Harris. I also enjoyed seeing Ed Begley Jr. impersonate my former employer, David Boies.

body of lies

this movie is better than it looks like it will be, particularly in the second half. there's an actual plot twist spy thriller in here, not just another war-is-really-awful movie. although it undoubtedly is, and I really didn't appreciate the gratuitous torture scenes. but the romance is sweet.

war, inc.

either we're not ready for a comedy set in the war-torn Middle East, or this just isn't funny, in spite of good efforts from John and Joan Cusack, Hilary Duff, Marisa Tomei and Ben Kingsley. I already know corporations are evil, and I don't laugh at jokes about beheadings and pimped-out teenagers.

the duchess

fabulous clothing and a sad story about a woman who just can't get her husband to love her. oddly enough, the film portrays the duchess as beloved by the people, when apparently she was actually reviled. it's an interesting story but, as with most period pieces, too long.

pride and glory

the premise of this movie is really tired - a family of corrupt cops, some clean, some crooked - and the plot unravels with nary a surprise. but if you have a thing for Ed Norton or Colin Farrell, the two-plus hours go by fairly quickly.

the go-getter

if you can stand another indie movie about a road trip, this one is refreshingly free of random violence and over-the-top quirkiness. Jena Malone and Bill Duke steal the show.

paranoid park

Gus Van Sant, a teenager, a dead man, a skate park, and little J from Gossip Girl. it reminded me how much it felt to be young.

nick and norah's infinite playlist

full disclosure: I was once a roommate of Pete Sollett, the director of this movie. and he did a great job! aside from the caricature exes - if they were less awful, the romance would have been stronger, but the cool New York settings, cameos, and adorable perfomances by Kat Dennings and Michael Cera made it all worthwhile. plus I was the only one in the theatre, which always makes the movie experience extra fun.

the foot fist way

a white, suburban, tae kwan do instructor abusing his students and unfaithful wife is not, in my mind, funny. but maybe I just didn't get it.

the secret life of bees

I didn't look at my watch once during this adaptation of a book I read but forgot. Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keys shine as sisters to the grand Queen Latifah, who trains little white girl Dakota Fanning in beekeeping during the civil rights era. it's totally schmaltzy but if you're in the mood, it looks real pretty.

w.

one word: unsatisfying. I wanted a narrative, not little pieces of random events in the awesome, terrible story that is 'w.'s rise to fame. I would have gladly sat through another hour if only Stone had pieced it all together. or some of it at least.

jellyfish

this Israeli movie about three women in Tel Aviv is everything you want in a foreign film - it's grounded in very real characters whose lives become unforeseeably intense, it's beautifully shot, and it's short - it tells you a story and then it's done. a breath of fresh air after too much American television and politics.

rachel getting married

everything about Anne Hathaway's portrayal of a needy junkie who's done the most awful things to her family but still demands their love and undivided attention rings frighteningly true. there's a lot of music in this movie, as there usually is at weddings. it gives you that sort of awful, love/hate, yearning, family feeling - in a good way.

towelhead

this is a fascinating, disturbing, and very sexual tale about a thirteen year old who grows up way too fast, with the help of a predatory army reservist, a classmate, and a pregnant hippie. it's also about racism, patriotism, feuding families, and everything coming-of-age. Summer Bishil outshines all the great actors around her (Toni Collette, Maria Bello, Aaron Eckhardt). Peter Macdissi is also excellent as her strict, hypocritical father.

deception

nothing about how awful this 'thriller' is should have surprised me, but I did hope for a teeny bit more. Michelle Williams is looking way too skinny, Ewan Mcgregor too wide-eyed and nerdy, and Hugh Jackman too slimy. it's so hard to be someone so rich and successful that you don't have time for relationships so you just go to high class New York hotels and have 'dates' with fabulous-looking strangers. clearly, only danger and trouble can ensue.