Netflix Top 100 - 77. Syriana

This movie is incredibly complicated, but still entertaining. It expects the audience to be smart, and well informed about what is happening in the Middle East,and it succeeds on many levels. George Clooney plays Bob Barnes, a man with a "heart" in this movie and in the Middle East which is rare for both.

The stars in this film are all good and like movies like Traffic and Crash all these different plot lines tie together in the end. This is a good movie but not a great one, although Clooney deserved his Best Supporting Actor Oscar. Well filmed, well written and well worth loading...Just Queue It!

Netflix Top 100 - 78. Up

What a remarkable movie! 15 minutes into the film and I was crying like a baby. This film is so well made and beautiful to boot. It is the story of Carl (Ed Asner) who loses his beloved wife whom he has known since childhood. He is a lonely old man who is somewhat of a curmudgeon and reluctant to conform to society.

Through a series of unfortunate events he is being forced to give up his home to developers when he gets a brilliant idea on how to escape these pitfalls. He goes on a journey to South America and brings a stow away Wilderness Explorer named Russell(Jordan Nagai). The two of them travel to find his ex wife's most favorite place to visit on earth-Paradise Falls. Once they reach the falls, more hilarity ensues with a great cast of characters including, Christopher Plummer, as Charles Muntz, Carl's boyhood idol. Great movie for kids and grown ups alike. Just Queue It!

Netflix Top 100 - 79.I Love You Man

In this little buddy flick, the script fails again to live up to the talent involved. How can a film go wrong with Jason Segel, Paul Rudd, Jamie Pressly, Andy Samberg, John Favreau, Jane Curtin, and you guessed it-Lou Ferrigno?! I mean you have Lou Ferrigno, do you really even need a script? Of course you do, and this movie is proof you need good writing to compliment a great groop of people.

Rudd plays a groom to be who basically has no guy friends who can fill the role of best man. He is involved mostly with his bride to be and doesn't really care to make time for his guy friends. As a result, he has no best man, and he is disconcerted with his position. So he tries to find that best man and meets Jason Segel with whom he forms an odd relationship. Laughs follow but not as many as I expected with the group of actors. It's a decent movie buy not one I would move to the front of my Queue. Watch it if you're bored and not expecting much from a movie, then you're bound to be pleasantly surprised with this one.

Netflix Top 100 - 80. Million Dollar Baby

Clint Eastwood was a great actor, but he is an even better director. Like every Eastwood directed movie this is a raw, honest portrait of a relationship between a down and out boxing trainer, Frankie Dunn (Eastwood) and an up and coming woman boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank). Wonderfully shot and written this movie is both triumphant and tragic.

Nominated for 4 Academy Awards, Eastwood takes you inside the world of boxing where Frankie has been training for years. However he is always left to nurture young boxers until they reach stardom and then dubiously dumped. He is distraught over an estranged relationship with his daughter and when Maggie asks him to train he is reluctant.

However after some convincing he begins training her and finds out she is a great boxer. Swank and Eastwood share great chemistry and this movie appears to be a "Rocky" in the making but then the plot takes a painful and unusual turn. A gritty, and wonderfully shot movie this one will tear your heart out but it's worth it. Definitely Just Queue It!

Netfilix Top 100 - 81. The Aviator

I keep forgetting what a good actor Leonardo De Caprio is, but as always I'm reminded in this movie. This movie won 5 Academy Awards and was nominated for best picture, and it is a very good movie. Filled with an all star cast including Alan Alda, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reily, Alec Baldwin, and even Gwen Stefani, this movie delivers a great story. The only problem, it's a very long story.

Personally, I have been fascinated by Howard Hughes since I was a child, so the movie was perfect for me, and it even left out a lot of his life. However, what a fascinating life he had. He was incredibly intelligent, good looking, and quite a ladies man despite his odd personality. But it seems like Martin Scorsese tried to cram all of Hughes' life into the movie. He did an admirable job and this one is definitely a good movie, but you might want to again break it up into two nights of viewing; it's 170 minutes long.

Beautiful shot, and wonderfully entertaining. Just Queue It!

Netflix Top 100 - 82. Failure to Launch

I like romantic comedies, I really do. "Notting Hill", "Sleepless In Seattle", and "When Harry Met Sally", are some of my favorite movies. But this is not even in the same league. Why? Two words - Terry Bradshaw. Terry Bradshaw? Shouldn't he be on the NFL today criticizing quarterbacks like Ben Rothleisberger and not trying to act.

I'll keep this one short and sweet. Matthew McConaughey plays Tripp, a hapless live at home 30 something who's parents played by Kathy Bates and the aforementioned Mr. Bradshaw want out of the house. So they hire a relationship consultant played by Sarah Jessica Parker to help get him out. I would like to say non stop hilarity ensues but it doesn't. There are a few laughs but for the most part this movie fails to live up to the potential of it's stars. And I mention stars, not supporting cast because any movie that has Terry Bradshaw as more than a bit player is already flirting with disaster. Don't Queue it and don't even watch it on cable. Just avoid this one altogether.

Netflix Top 100 - 83. Iron Man 2

Sequels have such a hard time matching the success of the origninal movie and this is no exception. I was so excited to see this movie but disappointed when the movie ended. What an exceptional cast! Don Cheadle, Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sam Rockwell, and I'm sorry but I can't go on, but let's just say the talent was there to make a great movie.

Unfortunately, there was one problem, the script. It was all over the place, and the characters were not as believable as the first movie. And there was one casting that didn't work out well; Mickey Rourke. He was amazing in "The Wrestler", but here he just looks like a Russian version of Randy the Ram Man; oh and a homeless version too, no trailer to sleep in. In addition, his character is supposed to be a genius and a brilliant scientist? Come on, really? At least make him seem like a scientist, not a car mechanic who can weld crap.

Scarlett Johansson is so unbelievable hot in role that I forgot she was fighting guys in the movie. Absolutely smoking, and the rest of the cast was equally good with Don Cheadle filling in admirably as Tony Stark's best friend and fellow freedom fighter. So if they had touched up the script and recast the villain this would've been worth the wait. If I were you, I'd wait for it on cable.

Netflix Top 100 - 84. 500 Days of Summer

This is a great little romantic comedy with a twist. And the narrator tells you up front that this movie is "not a love story". And yet it was still romantic anyway. It stars Joseph-Gordon Levitt as Tom. Why does a guy have two last names? Was he married twice? Anyway, Tom is a greeting card writer who falls in love with a coworker named Summer, played wonderfully as always by Zooey Deschanel.

The movie follows a weird time line roaming back and forth sometimes starting near the end of the relationship and flashing backwards to the beginning but all of this works to great effect. Well shot, and an ode to downtown Los Angeles architecture this is a good movie, funny, entertaining, and not so predictable. Best of all it's an honest portrait of a couple's relationship. Just Queue It!

Netflix Top 100 - 85. Night at The Museum

A great family movie which started out for me as a bad idea to watch, but turned out to be a very funny movie. A great cast with a funny premise and as usual Ben Stiller turns out to be just as great a comedy actor as his father Jerry. Stiller plays Larry a hapless loser security guard who can't get his life together and is forced to work at the Museum of Natural History, on the night shift.

What he perceives to be a horrible position turns out to be a wonderful experience, because strange things happen in the museum at night! Costars Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke, and even Mickey Rooney. Stiller is great and always but his supporting cast is even better. In trying to earn a living and impress his ex wife Larry has to also take care of his son as well. Which leads to some great family fun. This is definitely a movie for both parents and kids to enjoy. Just Queue it!

Netflix Top 100 - 86. Defiance

A fairly decent movie, but could've been great, considering the cast. Liev Shreiber and Daniel Craig star as two Jewish revolutionaries caught in the middle of WWII who escaped to Poland and establish a revolutionary camp in that region.

The movie portrays the flight and fight of the Bielski brothers who despite their conflicts did their best to save themselves and 1,000 other Jewish refugees from the German and Polish armies. A good movie to rent but not as good as it could have been. Too bad, the premise and caste were perfect for a classic movie! Watch it but don't expect too much.

Netflix Top 100 - 87. The Men Who Stare At Goats

If you're looking for a good Cohen Brothers movie you're not going to find it here. Not a bad movie, but not a great one either. None of the great acting like in Fargo, The Big Lewbowski, or even Burn After Reading. More like a poor version of O'Brother Where Art Thou. I was not expecting much but even then I was slightly disappointed. The director, Grant Heslov tried to make a Cohen brothers movie but failed in the endeavor, despite a slew of great actors.

To be sure it's worth a $3 rental, and I'm sure over the years it may become a cult classic like Lewbowski, because a bevy of weird performances from Jeff Bridges, George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, and Ewan McGregor.

McGregor is a journalist in Iraq who stumbles upon Clooney in the desert who explains he is a former member of the New Earth Army. The whole plot surrounds this secret military experiment, the New Earth Army, conducted during the 60's and 70's by Bridges to try and combat the enemy using a soldier's paranormal powers. Clooney is great as Lyn Cassady, the telekinetic prodigy of the army's experiment and Bridges pet student, while Spacey plays the villain and is great in this role. As usual it contains the standard weirdness, and you wonder at times where the movie is going. There are flashbacks to the present and past until it just kind of ends with a bizaree reunion of all the principals in the military experiment reuniting in a camp in Iraq.

Needless to say it's a decent film, but there were times I wished I were like the goats used in the military experiments. Dead. Rent it don't buy it. And don't expect too much from it, you'll be disappointed. Lower your expectations and you might be pleasantly surprised.

Netflix Top 100 - 88. Fractured

Anthony Hopkins is such a great actor, that he can even make this movie interesting for a while. He plays a self made man, Ted Crawford, who is accused of trying to murder his wife. He runs into a very sharp, young District Attorney, played by Ryan Gosling, and he outwits him through most of the movie.

And although outwitting Gosling doesn't seem hard, considering sex doll was able to manipulate him in "Lars and The Real Girl", Hopkins as usual plays a smart, creepy criminal. He does a great job of drawing you into the plot but unfortunately the ending of this movie is not as rewarding as expected. Oops I gave it away, I guess you shouldn't load it onto your queue. I wouldn't ; it's not worth it.

Netflix Top 100 - 89. Wanted

They say when you're watching a movie, you should suspend disbelief. Well in this movie they ask you to suspend any doubt period. Curving frigging bullets? 125 pound women kicking the ass of men and women twice their size? Refrigerated pools that repair any broken bones you might have or damage to your face?

This movie is a crock! Skillfully filmed and artfully done, I believe more in Muggles and Wizards than I do any part of this movie. Apparently there is a league of assassins that kill people to keep the order of the world, and I guess they can literally fly through the air, and kill people with a pebble, or a paper clip.

James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie play assassins who secretly kill people at random to keep the balance of power in the world. And how do they decide who to kill? A LOOM?! Surely I thought this was a joke. Anyway, the cast is great and the cinematography is good too, but this film should be renamed "Unwanted", because after I watched it I regreted it immediately.

Netflix Top 100 - 90. Transformers

This is a great movie based upon an even better cartoon series and it is classic. I was trying to conceive of how they were going to make this into a movie but Michael Bay did a wonderful job of bringing this cartoon series to the "big screen". He brings all of the great characters from the television series to life and the computer generated effects coupled with the live action shots are awesome!

Not too mention there is more eye candy like Megan Fox sweating, and running in a skimpy outfit this movie is a little boys dream and some big boys as well. If you like action you don't even need to know the plot, but here it is in a nut shell.
Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LaBeouf, is the great grandson of an explorer who discovers one of the Decepticons encrusted in ice in Antartica. Well inadvertently Sam alerts the Decepticons to his whereabouts and that he has a map to discover the "Cube", which is the source of power for the former inhabitants of the planet Cybertron. Too keep it short the inhabitants of Cybertron are the Decepticons who are the "bad robots" and the Autobots who are the "good robots".

The war on Cybertron destroyed their planet and now they have carried the war to earth and are fighting over our world. Optimus Prime leads the Autobots while Megatron is the leader of the Decepticons. These robots can transform themselves into cars, airplanes, etc. which allows them to go unnoticed to humans.

Sam has a map to the Cube and is wanted by both sides and the ensuing movie is just a series of chase scenes and fight scenes to help keep him alive and keep the Decepticons from stealing the Cube. Megan Fox plays an unwitting witness to the whole situation when Sam picks her up in his new car. Regardless of the plot this is a great action flick and if you have surround sound and a big tv, crank it up loud and enjoy. Worth adding to your Queue.

Netflix Top 100 - 91. The Lake House

Chick flick alert. This is not as bad as "Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood", or the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants", but it is a chick flick for sure. Based upon a Korean film "Siworae,The Lake House", or "Il Mare", this is kind of a strange almost supernatural film.

Reeves and Bullock play Chicago professionals who separately inhabit a Wisconsin Lake House, and at different time periods, but are somehow able to communicate via this "magic mailbox" in which they leave letters for one another. Apparently Bullock leaves a letter for the next tenant when she moves to Chicago but for some reason Reeves receives the letter even though he is inhabiting the house 2 years prior to Bullock. A classic "what the hell is going on here?" plot line.

The two correspond via mail throughout the movie with Alex (Reeve) who is an architect and Kate (Bullock) a doctor. It is odd because they are writing to one another but two years apart. In any case, they share incidences with one another such as Kate losing a book, and Alex giving her a guided tour of places, until finally they decide to meet. However Alex never shows so Kate is distraught but all in all I won't give the plot away but it's a love affair in two different time zones.

It's almost like a "Sleepless in Seattle" or "Serendipidity" for a couple living two years apart. Somewhat strange but romantic at the same time. Not bad but not great. If you're a dude watch it on cable, but if you're a girl load it in your Queue.

Netflix Top 100 - 92.Man On Fire

I was surprised by this movie! Surprised by how much I enjoyed it, and surprised by how well it was made. The premise is simple...Denzel Washington plays John Creasey,ex CIA operative who is hired to guard a ten year old girl (Dakota Fanning).
The plot line thickens as the girl is kidnapped and Washington goes through a series of bad guys to get to her. And I mean literally goes through them, he shoots them, blows them up, and eventually he finds out who has kidnapped this young girl.

I liked the film. It is jaggedly shot much like "City of God", simply written, acted well, and I believed its story line. The only thing that was slightly unbelievable was how many bullets it takes to take down Denzel Washington. But watch the end and you'll figure it out. Good movie and worth loading into your Queue.

Netflix Top 100 - 93. 27 Dresses

I can watch Katherine Heigl in anything because she is ridiculously hot. This movie is a decent romantic comedy with Heigl doing a great job, but I just have trouble seeing her as a person who is not being "hit on" every five minutes. When you look like she does, it doesn't come across as believable that she can't score husband, and that she's always a bridesmaid and never the bride. But since this was the premise of the movie, I have to believe it's true.

Heigl plays Jane, a women who has participated in 27 different weddings but always as a bridesmaid. She is uber efficient and adores helping with every little detail of each wedding, but secretly she yearns after her boss (Edward Burns) who doesn't even know she exists. In fact, she knows her boss so well that she coaches her sister in the subtleties of dating him. Soon her sister is engaged and this is where things spiral out of control.

Knowing that her sister is about to marry the man she loves she sabotages the entire wedding and goes from being completely altruistic to selfish. Covering the "social scene" is a local reporter played by James Marsden, and he is self effacing in this role and good but not great. He covers Jane because first of all he can't believe she's been in 27 weddings, and secondly because it makes for a great story.

As Jane is set upon ruining the wedding, Marsden's character publishes the story about her in the paper and effectively destroys her reputation. She is crushed by his lack of loyalty and distraught because the two were "falling" for one another. This is a great date movie to watch at home, but an even better "Girl Night In" movie to watch with all your lady friends or gay friends, or whomever. Worth a look.

Netflix Top 100 - 94.The Guardian

Another movie where I had a hell of a time getting through all of it. Again, who is funding these horrible flicks and even better yet, who the hell is writing them? I would like to strangle the person who threw in so many overblown movie cliches into this already weak plot. I nearly choked on them: yes there was that many.

Kevin Costner plays Ben Randall a legendary rescue swimmer who trains elite Coast Guard units. I suppose he's legendary because he's still swimming even at his advanced age. Or maybe because somehow they managed to make a movie based on this absurd premise.

Regardless, he runs into hotshot Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) and trains Kutcher on not only legendary rescue techniques but he guides him on the lessons of life. I only have one question, "Who the hell thinks Ashton Kutcher can act?" He is a good comedic actor but even that's a stretch. He should stick to "Punked" cause this film Stunked.

Netflix Top 100 - 95.There Will Be Blood

Jesus is Daniel Day Lewis a good actor! This movie is wonderfully contrived, filmed, and masterfully directed but it would be nothing without Lewis. His Oscar winning performance as Daniel Plainview, a rich oil tycoon is peerless. He is simply put, a friggin bastard.

The movie follows Plainview's humble beginnings in the oil business and follows his route from journeyman to oil tycoon. Along the way Plainview adopts his partners son, due to an untimely death, and then takes on a young preacher while expanding his empire.

The preacher, played by Paul Dano, is a lot more trouble than Lewis' Plainview could ask for, but in the end Plainview wins out. This film is wonderfully shot, very violent, very gritty, and a great portrayal of a "robber baron", and what he will do and whom he will alienate to keep his fortune. Lewis deserved the Oscar and who deserve to treat yourself to this film.

Netflix Top 100 - 96. Atonement

I tried to watch this movie several times but because of it's length and my relatively short attention span, I had a helluva time getting through the film. However once I did, I realized it is a great movie. Well acted and beautifully filmed this movie tells really the tragedy of a lie and how it affects the lifes of everyone involved.

The entire story involves really 3 characters. Briony, played wonderfully by Saoirse Ronan, reads a lustful letter and witnesses her older sister(Keira Knightley) in a sexual encounter with a servant's son. (James McAvoy) She has a tremendous crush upon McAvoy's character and basically lies about him committing this terrible crime. She ruins the love affair between the two and the movie revolves around how this lie affects the rest of their lives.

It is a beautiful movie, with pictureque settings and a wonderful period piece. The cast is great and as usual Knightley is almost ethereal in her portrayal of the older sister. Halfway through the film you want to strangle Briony but you realize the story would not have been possible without her lie. Definitely worth a look.

Netflix Top 100 - 97. Fool's Gold

I am going to be honest. I didn't even finish watching this movie. It was that bad. First of all it stars Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, which is about as shallow as you can go in the depths of the acting profession. I know I am not an actor and can't portray these roles as well as these two particularly "gifted" individuals but I also don't claim to be a cop but I can criticize an officer's use of excessive violence if I see it.

And excessive violence is what should have been used on the writers of this particular movie, and probably everyone involved as well. I always wonder how these movies get made and I still have no idea.

Regardless, both leads do what they can with the script and both have been good in roles more suited to them, but I only have one question after "almost" watching this movie. Why the hell is Donald Sutherland slumming. Geez Don are you low on cash? I guess everyone involved with this film is now, especially the producers.

Don't even watch this on cable. It's god awful.

Netflix Top 100 - 98. - Click

Adam Sandler seems so infallible at the box office and this movie is no exception. It is a typical Sandler movie with fart jokes, boob shots, and Kate Beckinsale as his wife?! Are you kidding me?

But apparently as usual Sandler is not kidding, and judging from the gross for the film it killed at the box office. I stopped watching Sandler movies at the box office after that wonderfully awful remake "The Longest Yard". But I watched this one because first of all I have always liked Adam Sandler movies no matter how juvenile, and secondly I just love to look at Kate Beckinsale, especially in hot shorts.

This is a typical Sandler movie with a little twist. It tries to be heartwarming and steals the theme from "It's A Wonderful Life". Sandler plays architect Michael Newman, who stumbles into the "beyond" section of Bed Bath and Beyond where he meets a weird clerk Morty, played by Christopher Walken. Morty gives Michael a remote control which basically allows him to rewind and fast forward through his life.

At first, he uses it to comic effect, but as the movie moves forward he realizes he can use it to fast forward through the boring parts of his life and get to the good parts. And then the sappiness comes into play, with Sandler missing out on a lot of his life due to his continued use of the remote. He learns that he gets promoted, but he is also in need of marriage counseling.

It basically uses the motif of a life in review to some funny parts but my recommendation is to watch it when it comes on cable or Direct TV. Not worth the "click" on Netflix.

Netflix Top 100 -99.The Good Shepherd

This is an absolutely wonderful movie if you're baking a turkey and have nearly 3 hours to kill. It's ideal for a long distance flight, while waiting for a root canal, or before and during major surgery. If you have the patience to watch for 3 hours this movie gladly enough pays off in some ways.

With an absolutely all star cast, this film, directed by Robert De Niro, is very good. IF YOU HAVE TIME! It stars Matt Damon as Edward Wilson who is recruited by the CIA during the beginnings of the Cold War and tracks his career from the very outset. It is an intricate look into the life of a CIA executive and shows how America developed its National Security agenda and how it impacted the lives of many of its men. The cast again is first rate with De Niro, Alec Baldwin, Joe Pesci, Timothy Hutton, John Tuturro, Jason Patrick, and Angelina Jolie as Edward Wilson's wife.

Despite it's great direction, and stellar cast, the movie gets slow at times so I would suggest breaking it up into 2 nights of viewing. Damon does a great job as usual, of portraying an emotionless follower of America's defense agenda during the Cold War. He is cold calculating and very subdued but this adds to the complexity of his character. Angelina Jolie also does a good job, but somehow I found it hard to believe that her ultra hot looking character would fall for the rather bland and banal Wilson. Yes he gets her pregnant but come one, I don't believe she would ever have sex with him no matter how drunk she was!

A very well written but exceedingly long screen play lead to an engaging film but again, if you have time to kill it's worth a look.

Netflix Top 100 - 100. Firewall (2006)

A typical Harrison Ford movie thriller but one that received very little publicity or acclaim. This movie is "not that bad". I was expecting a lot less from it but it turned out to be much better other so called "thriller" movies.

Harrison Ford plays a bank executive who is basically forced by a criminal(Paul Bettany) to rob the bank in which he just developed an elaborate security system. The crooks thinking they have leverage on Ford, threaten his wife and family, but it turns out he is too smart for even them.

There are a couple of odd twists and turns in this movied, namely I found it to be entertaining. Despite the fact that it is directed by "acclaimed" British director Richard Lorraine who made the movie "Wimbledon". This movie is so much better even without Kirsten Dunst in little white shorts. Costars Virginia Madsen, Alan Arkin,Robert Patrick, and Robert Forester. Check it out.

Paranormal Activity 2

Jesus talk about saving money on production costs?! They claim this movie cost millions to make...uh really? Because I own a HD video camera and since all of the scenes were filmed on hand held or "security" cameras why would this thing cost millions to make.

I'll give you a hint...director and actors fees. The two stars of the original make cameo appearances and the structure is all based upon their relationship to the current family being stalked in this picture. This is a PREQUEL people! And it is much the same as the first but not as surprising because all the "scary" parts were done in the first movie. The same foreshadowing takes place but with different twists and it's not a bad movie at all.

In fact they go a bit further than the first movie by attacking a dog and injuring people in the film. It's a well made movie, but it has the same characteristics as the first. Here's a hint...when there is a loud humming or rumbling sound that means the "demon" is on the loose and is about to possess somebody or do something scary. It is a great effect, but after the 10th friggin time it kinda loses it's "scariness". Halfway through the movie I was getting bored with the shocking effects. Here's a minor hint, if your relative looks insane then they are insane. And in each of these movies they make the guys out to be complete idiots who won't admit there's a problem. One thing I know about men. We are visual and if we see some shit go down, we will firmly believe there is a problem. But in both movies the guys are in denial. So finally when they do come to their senses, it's too always too late.

Fortunately for me, I watched this on video so it wasn't too late for me to figure this movie's plot. Hahahaha. Definitely a rental, but would have been much better in a theatre. If you wanna be scared stiff watch this in the dark. The POV view is the best part. And it is scary, especially with the lights off and no clothes on. Wait....even with clothes on it's frightening. Rent it and enjoy it, and don't treat it like the "Blair Witch Project".

The Kids Are Alright

A great movie about lesbians and how they raise a family. But how many bad movies about lesbians have you seen? Well for me, not too many.

This movie is about two lifelong partners Nic, played by Annette Benning, and Jules, played by Julianne Moore, who have children from the same sperm donor. They seem to have a happy little family, but as the kids approach adolescence they want to know who their father really is.

It turns out their dad is this hip, restaurant owner, Paul (Mark Ruffalo) who turns out to be so cool, I needed a jacket to finish watching the movie. However, this persona of the laid back hipster comes to destroy the family. Mark comes in and basically screws up a somewhat good family environment, regardless of the same sex marriage issue. And ruins everything. The funny thing is, that he's so incapable of thinking anything he does is not cool, that he doesn't realize how disastrous his actions are. As a result the who family dynamic is thrown off, until everyone realizes they really care about one another. It's a really good movie, but only worthy of a rental. I would have seen this in the theatre only because of the Oscar hype and the oral sex scenes which are actually funny. Good movie.

-M

Inception

What an incredible movie even on the small screen. Okay, you're going to need a Thomas Guide and a GPS system just to follow the plot line, but let me give you a brief overview.

Cobb, played by Leonardo DeCaprio, is basically a thief who works to steal your thoughts in dreams. This reminds me a bit of the movie "Dreamscape" with Dennis Quaid, from the 80's where characters would invade your dreams and kill you.

Regardless, Cobb has a bit of "Extraction" go awry and so the client named Saito decides that he wants to conceive of an idea and implant it into the mind of a competitor. The idea is call "Inception", hence the title of the movie, and if Cobb is able to instill this idea in the target it will change the history of energy forever.

However, Cobb is still troubled by the suicide of his wife, Mal, played wonderfully by Marion Cottard, who cleans up nicely after "My Vie En Rose". In his dreams Mal shows up and sabotages his plans consistently. As a result he hires a new architect, Ariadne, played by Ellen Page, who does a great job. She designs a dream world for their new target to move through for the Inception.

Cillian Murphy plays the target, Robert Fischer, who is set for the inception. As the movie progresses they devise a series of dream layers in order to set up the inception. The fascinating part is how many layers of dreams their seems to be and how they contrive to plant this idea in Fischer's dreams. It is an incredibly complicated idea, with so many dream layers that at one point I thought, "Am I watching the movie "Inception", or am I dreaming I'm watching this movie."

Great movie, in or out of the movie theatre, and definitely worth the rental. Especially on Blu Ray which is phenomenal. Definitely rent it.

-M

Winter's Bone

A wonderful movie which takes you inside the world of the hill people of the Ozark mountains and really gives you a sense of the culture. The main character Ree played by Jennifer Lawrence is wonderfully portrayed and the supporting actors are phenomenal. She searches through the whole move for her lost father and encounters all kinds of scary "relatives" along the way. Beaten, threatened and finally she finds out exactly what happened to her drug "cooking" father. Great story line and it really pulls you in to the culture.

It is a small movie which no doubt will win many critics awards and deservedly so. The acting is great, the cinematography is wonderful and the story is interesting.

It does such a good job of portraying the scary culture of the Ozarks so much so, that I would never want to visit there let alone live in that type of environment. My "relatives" aren't always inclined to beat or kill me, so I'll stay where I'm at thank you.

-M