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