Tomboy 2011

      A family moves into a new home and neighborhood outside Paris.  Mom is going to have a new baby soon, Laure is 10 years old and her younger sister, Jeanne is 6 years old.  Laure wears her hair short and wears boyish clothes, Jeanne has long curly hair and she likes to wear her ballet costume.  Laure starts to meet the kids her age in the neighborhood but she tells them her name is Mickael and lets them think she is a boy?  Jeanne doesn't tell their parents and goes along with this idea so she can tag along to play with the kids her age.

     This is a very quiet and slow paced film with very little action.  It's all about facial expressions and personal interactions.  I had a difficult time maintaining my interest because of the pacing.  3* (This movie is OK)

84 min, Drama directed by Celine Sciamma with Zoe Heran, Malonn Levana, Jeanne Disson, Sophie Cattani, Mathieu Demy, Rayan Boubekri, Yohan and Noah Vero, Cheyenne Laine, Christel Baras.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 7.4 out of 10, 97% critic 82% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Machine Gun Preacher 2011

     In Pittsburgh PA, Sam Childers is a very tough guy, a former drug dealing biker just released from the Department of Corrections.  His wife picks him up, she tells him she has a new job with benefits.  "No way, you're going back to your stripping job for the tips!!"  He's got to get out of this house right away, he rides off on his motorcycle to the biker bar, he's got to get some booze and some heroin.  Can't live without it anymore.  His friend is played by Michael Shannon, they are both on the same page.

     Sam really turns his life around, he travels to Northern Uganda and South Sudan with a preacher working in Africa.  He comes back changed and with a vision of making a difference.  He helps his friend turn his life around too.  But, can you win a war on your own?  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

 

129 min, Action directed by Marc Forster with Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon, Kathy Baker, Madeline Carroll, Souleymane Sy Savane, Grant R. Krause, Reavis Graham, Peter Carey.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 6.8 out of 10, 29% critic 63% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

King Corn 2007

     Two best friends from college rent an acre of Iowa farm land to grow corn.  This is the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation and the high fructose corn syrup explosion.  Ammonia fertilized ground, genetically modified seeds, weed herbicides, heavy equipment and emphasis on high yield.  The corn raised on this acre cannot be eaten off the cob, it must be processed first.  The corn kernels have very little protein and a large amount of carbohydrates.  Corn grown for eating is just the opposite, lots of protein and less carbohydrate with a good taste and tender kernel.  The friends follow their corn through the food system, learning troubling information about how we eat and how we farm.

     Their experiment did not turn out at all like they expected.  They went into this project thinking they would grow corn that they could just go out to the field, pick and eat.  The small farmer doesn't exist anymore, he must take up acreage from the neighbors that don't want to grow, bigger is better.  Machinery allows a farmer to do it all and do it all well.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

88 min, Doc directed by Aaron Woolf with Bob Bledsoe, Earl L. Butz, Dawn and Ian Cheney, Don and Elna Clikeman, Ken Cook, Loren Cordain, Curt Ellis, Audrae Erickson, Dean Jarrett.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 7.0 out of 10, 96% critic 77% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Last Detective: Friends Reunited 2005

     Inspired by Dangerous Davies novels by Leslie Thomas, a college reunion is held two decades after graduation.   Dark secrets, jealousies and long-buried issues of resentment come to the surface at the gathering.  One of the men is later found dead and the prime suspect is a former drug addict with no alibi 

     It may have been better to start with Series 1 of this set but since this was a Library DVD, I had to take what was available.  This is interesting, I was able to guess some of the outcome but not who was involved.  Not as exciting or tense as the Wallander series with Kenneth Branagh.  3* (This movie is OK)  

60 min, Crime directed by Leslie Thomas with Peter Davison, Sean Hughes, Rob Spendlove, Charles De'Ath, Billy Geraghty, Emma Amos, Vineweta Rishi.

Note:  Blockbuster 4*, imdb 7.7 out of 10, not listed on Rotten Tomatoes.

Everything's Cool 2007

     For two decades researchers, activists, scientists and progressive politicians have struggled to interest the American public and the federal government in global warming.  Industry funded think-tanks and lobbyists have worked just as hard to dilute and dismiss the issue as hysterical.  Hurricane Katrina sent a real message that a storm like this was because of global warming and climate change.

     Well, is it a surprise that the Bush administration (born, bread and founded on big oil and it's consumption) stuck it's head in the sand and let other countries carry the ball on this issue?  Is is another surprise who was paying all the naysayers.  We've been held hostage by big oil for too many years, we should be way ahead in alternative fuels, impressive gas mileage and electric cars.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

89 min, Doc directed by Daniel B. Gold, Judith Helfand with Daniel B. Gold, Ross Gelbspan, Bill McKibben, Ted Nordhaus, Rick Piltz, Michael Shellenberger, Sheila Watt-Cloutier.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 6.2 out of 10, 50% critic 73% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Home 2009

     Aerial footage of 54 countries, a depiction of how Earth's problems are all interlinked.  The activities of humanity are threatening the ecological balance of the planet, possibly to it's limits.  The first 15 minutes are of Earth's beginnings, the next hour details the progress of man on Earth.  Most of the remaining portion describes global warming and the crisis of carbon emissions.  The final few minutes are actions being taken to stem global warming.

     I did not like the soundtrack music for this film, how many collections of church music were searched to create this?  The gloom and doom is real but it makes a knot in your stomach, how can one person combat any of these dire warnings?  The aerial photography is beautiful.  It seems the actions we're taking are too little and too late to reverse our mistakes?  3* (This movie is OK)

  

118 min, Doc directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand with Glenn Close, Jacques Gamblin.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 8.4 out of 10, 0% critic 85% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Go Further 2003

     In 2001, a group headed by actor and activist Woody Harrelson traveled up the West Coast talking about natural and organic living.  They had a bus powered by recycled hemp seed oil and a group rode their bikes.  They made many stops to speak to individuals, groups and college students at campuses.  Woody counted the trip a success if only one person changed their way of living.  

     The group ate vegan meals and tried to have a light footprint on the earth.  I'm not so sure about the green spirulina algae they ate in the mornings because of the extreme green look of it?  Their fruit bowl breakfast and an avocado chocolate pie both looked very good.  I think this film is ahead of it's time in awareness of how we need to live on earth.  How long can we continue to take and not return?  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)  

78 min, Doc directed by Ron Mann with Woody Harrelson, Ken Kesey, Tom Ballanco, Jessica Chung, Steve Clark, Sonia Farrell, Michael Franti, Rob Heydon, Joe Hickey, Joe Lewis, Bob Weir.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 6.5 out of 10, 61% critic 65% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

No Man's Land 2001

     A Bosnian soldier and a Serbian soldier confront each other in a trench between their lines in a "no man's land" area.  The upper hand goes back and forth, it depends upon who has the gun, they are waiting for dark.  Both are injured with bullet wounds, one in the shoulder and the other in the stomach.  Another wounded Bosnian regains consciousness and they discover there is a bouncing mine underneath him.  None of the men know how to diffuse the bomb, there is no choice but dress his arm wound and leave him on the bomb.  The UN comes but their mission is not to intervene in the conflict, they can't diffuse the bomb either.
    This is not very good, at least it is not very long!!  It is barely worth reading the subtitles and not worth the 98 minutes.  I had a hard time paying attention.   2* (I didn't like this movie)  

98 min, Drama directed by Danis Tanovic with Brank Djuric, Rene Bitorajac, Filip Sovagovic, Georges Siatidis, Serge-Henri Valcke, Sacha Kremer, Alain Eloy, Simon Callow, Mustafa Nadarevic.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 8.0 out of 10, 93% critic 92% audience on Rotten Tomatoes

Ingreedients 2009

     Filmmaker David Burton is also a registered nurse, he's surprised to learn that he and his fellow nurses are not trained in nutrition.  They are seeing a lot of people in hospitals, is there a link between more illness and our food supply?  Could trans fats and hydrogenated oils have something to do with the patient increase?  Trans fats have been shown to be a cause of heart disease which is the #1 cause of human death.  Burton is very concerned since he has a young daughter and he wants her to have healthy food.
     It is very interesting that the label of 0 trans fats on a package means the food can still contain up to .5 grams of trans fats per serving!!  Some manufactures have changed the serving size in order to be able to claim 0 trans fats on their packages.  As consumers and people who have to eat, let's face the fact that for any packaged food, the shelf life and lower cost ingredients are more important than human heath!!  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

76 min, Doc directed by David Burton with Christopher Ashey, Jennifer Bellino, David Burton, Marianna Carroll, Kevin Conwell, Chris Cote, Caitlin Cullen, Robert DeMaria, David Dewey.

Note:  Blockbuster 2 1/2*, imdb 7.3 out of 10, no critic review 100% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Captain Abu Raed 2007

      Children in a poor neighborhood of Amman Jordan lead a hard life, some aren't able to go to school because they need to earn money for the household.  Abu Raed is an elderly janitor working at an airport, he finds a discarded pilot Captain's hat in the trash.  He wears it home and the children suddenly think he is a Captain, they want to hear stories of his travels. 
      He forms friendships with the children and discovers the realities of their lives.  There are some tough scenes in this film, one of the boys is living with a drunken and abusive father.  Abu sends the police to their house but the father is clever.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

102 min, Drama directed by Amin Matalqa with Nadim Sawalha, Rana Sultan, Hussein Al-Sous, Udey Al-Qiddissi, Ghandi Saber, Dina Raad-Yaghnam, Mohammad Qteshat.

Note:  Not listed on Blockbuster, imdb 7.3 out of 10, 76% critic 80% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Friends with Kids 2011

     Two best friends for years with no romantic interest in each other decide they would like to have a child.  They are friends with two couples with children.  They don't want a marriage with children if the kind of life their friends have becomes your life.  They think love, marriage and children doesn't work, all good qualities go out the door and the bad ones are highlighted.  Julie has a baby boy and Jason is the father, both devote themselves to splitting their time raising him until Julie meets Kurt and Jason meets Mary Jane. 
     The premise is good but this becomes so predictable and every scene seems the same, constant fighting among the married couples, some ease and bliss between the two singles.  Talented actors with not much to work with, just going through the motions.  I loathed some of the language, it is not needed.  3* (This movie is OK)

107 min, Comedy directed by Jennifer Westfeldt with Adam Scott, Maya Rudolph, Jennifer Westfeldt, John Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Chris O-Dowd, Megan Fox, Edward Burns, Kelly Bishop.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 6.2 out of 10, 68% critic 55% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Corporation 2003

     Corporations have all the legal rights of a person since a late 18 century Supreme Court decision.  They have become very powerful across the globe, economically, politically and socially.  In many cases, their bottom line has been such a driving force that money is seen as the end all regardless of what takes place to get there.
     I found many very interesting facts presented in this film, especially alarming is advertising teaching children how to "nag" their parents more effectively in order to get them to buy what the child wants.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

145 min, documentary directed by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, with Mikela Jay, Rob Beckwermert, Christopher Gora,, Nina Jones, Richard Kopycinski, Karen Lam, Sean Lang.

Note:  Blockbuster 4*, imdb 8.2 out of 10, 91% critic 88% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Beautiful Truth 2008

     A fifteen-year-old boy's mother dies suddenly in a tragic accident, naturally he becomes distraught and is nearly expelled from school.  His father becomes increasingly concerned and decides to begin home-schooling.  The family lives on a reserve in Alaska and Garrett is very sensitive to the needs of the orphaned animals that come into his care.  He's learned that their diet is very important and can be life or death in the beginning of their lives.  Garrett sets out to study the claims made by Dr. Max Gerson on the importance of nutrition and that diet can cure cancer.
     Very interesting, Garrett travels to meet and interview the people who have information for his study.  This film encourages you to find out more on your own and to evaluate your own nutrition.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

92 min, Documentary directed by Steve Kroschel with Charlotte Gerson, Jay Kordich, Garrett Kroschel, Joyce Riley, Howard Straus.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 6.0 out of 10, 47% critic 71% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Fairy (la fee) 2011

     Near the industrial sea port of Le Havre in Belgium, Dom works the night shift in a small hotel.  A woman arrives asking for a room with no luggage and no shoes.  She tells Dom that her name is Fiona, she is a fairy and she can grant him three wishes.  Dom gets a ketchup bottle top stuck in his throat, somehow Fiona knows this is happening and comes downstairs to his aid.  He asks her for a scooter and free gas for life as two wishes.  When he wakes up, there is a blue scooter beside him?  Fiona gives him a key to a gasoline storage unit so he can have the free gas for life.  Wow, two wishes have come true!!
     This really pinged by weird meter!!  Fiona and Dom dance underwater and on the hotel rooftop?  I don't know if I have ever seen another movie this weird and unusual?  They are both different and unexpected looking actors too?  3* (This movie is OK)

93 min, Comedy directed by Dominique Abel with Fiona Gordon, Bruno Romy, Dominique Abel, Philippe Martz, Vladimir Zongo, Willson Goma, Didier Armbruster, Lenny Martz.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 6.2 out of 10, 92% critic 55% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Mamitas 2011

     Felipa is a serious, studious girl from New York, she is temporarily living with relatives in the Echo Park neighborhood of LA.  She is a high school senior hoping to get a grant to attend college.  Jordin is also a senior but he is all swagger and attitude, he is suspended from school for insulting his teacher.  He learns some valuable lessons during his time away.
     It isn't long before you want to take Jordin's hoodie and throw it into the trash!!  He uses it has a shield against what he doesn't want to face.  It's easy to be a teen when you don't want to know what the real world will hold for you after graduation.  3* (This movie is OK)

109 min, Drama directed by Nicholas Ozeki with E.J. Bonilla, Veronica Diaz-Carranza, Josue Aquirre, Maynor Alvarado, Kimberly Burke, Jennifer Esppsito, Joaquim de Almeida.

Note:  Blockbuster 2*, imdb 3.7 out of 10, no critic review 90% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Higher Ground 2011

     Inspired by the autobiography, This Dark World: A Memoir of Salvation Found and Lost by screenwriter Carolyn S. Briggs.  Corinne Walker is a young girl with a sister, her mother is going to have another baby.  Her parents get a divorce which is very upsetting to the sisters.  Corinne marries Ethan, becomes a member of a tight-knit small fundamentalist community and becomes a mother herself.  She wants to have the "perfect" life but how does that happen?  She's questioning and searching for her way.  She's particularly upset when her best friend develops a brain tumor, it's removed surgically but her friend is changed forever.
     I like Vera as an actress and I liked this film.  It's interesting to see Corinne and her sister growing up and their family.  Then her own family and her choices when she is an adult.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

109 min, Drama directed by Vera Farmiga with Norbert Leo Butz, John Hawkes, Joshua Leonard, Michael Chemus, Dagmara Domino, Taissa and Vera Farmiga, McKenzie Turner.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 6.2 out of 10,81% critic 65% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Perfect Family 2011

     The local Catholic Church has nominated two women to be Catholic Woman of the Year.  These two have been in competition with each other for different awards from the beginning of their school years.  Eileen Cleary thinks she may have a chance to win this award, there will be a celebration luncheon for the winner and a special absolution of sin ceremony.  Within a short time of learning about the nomination, she finds out her son has left his wife and children, her daughter is getting married to her girlfriend and her daughter is five months pregnant!
     This is funny, how long can one person keep pretending that everything in their life is coming up roses and they have the "perfect family?"  Nothing is right but Eileen will continue to march forward on her own path!!  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

84 min, Comedy directed by Anne Renton with Kathleen Turner, Emily Deschanel, Jason Ritter, Richard Chamberlain, Elizabeth Pena, Sharon Lawrence, Kristen Dalton, Laura Ceron.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imbd 5.2 out of 10, 48% critic 40% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Inspector Morse: The Remorseful Day 2000

     Chief Inspector Morse is in very poor health, he can't do much about it medically except watch his drinking.  He becomes involved in a year old murder case with new information.  A petty burglar is being released from prison, he may be a suspect since he committed crimes in the neighborhood.  Inspector Lewis is supposed to be handling this case but Morse cannot keep himself from becoming involved
     It seems like there are too many suspects, too many clues, new and old.  It's too difficult to keep the people and the clues straight.  The victim does not seem very likeable and you cannot get interested in her.  2* (I didn't like this movie)

99 min, Crime directed by Colin Dexter, Stephen Churchett with John Thaw, Kevin Shately, Meg Davies, Eddie Webber, Anna Wilson-Jones, Paul Freeman, James Benson, Clare Holman.

Note:  Blockbuster 4, imdb 8.7 out of 10, not listed on Rotten Tomatoes.

Here 2011

     Will travels for a living working on satellite mapping of different countries for Google, he is now in Armenia.  He meets Lubna, she is a photographer and has just returned to her home country.  He is on his own and working, she has a lot of family in the area.
     There isn't much to this movie and not much to say about it either.  Travel, argue, hide from family, argue with family, travel, argue.  Repeat again for 126 minutes. 2* (I didn't like this movie)

126 min, Adventure directed by Braden King with Ben Foster, Peter Coyote, Lubna Azabal, Alla Sahakyan, Armine Zeytounchian, Nick Wagner, Narek Nersisyan, Garik Chepchyan.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 5.9 out of 10, 77% critic 50% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Encounters at the End of the World 2007

     Filmed in Antarctica, profiles the different men and women who have dedicated their lives to furthering science in remote and inhospitable conditions.  Animal researchers, volcanologists, an underwater diver, a scientist studying neutrinos, another studying ice bergs.  Even the  driver of a huge bus nicknamed Ivan the Terra Bus and pipefitter are not left out.
     Very dramatic pictures of the life in the water under the ice and the penguins must be included too. Werner Herzog may have raided the collections of many churches for the background music?  I saw this film several years ago but I remember only one scene?  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

99 min, Doc directed by Werner Herzog with Scott Rowland, Stefan Pashov, Doug MacAyeal, Ryan Andrew Evans, Kevin Emery, Olav T. Oftedal, Regina Eisert, David R. Pacheco Jr.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 7.8 out of 10, 94% critic 80% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

In the Land of Blood and Honey 2011

     It's 1992, a civil war is going on in Yugoslavia.  Ajla is a Bosnian, she has moved to help her sister with her baby boy.  She goes to a dance club and meets Danijel, he is a Serbian soldier.  They are having a wonderful time until a bomb explodes right outside the club.  Some of the people are injured and others are killed, Ajla and Danijel stay to help.  Ajla and her sister are removed from their apartment by Serbian soldiers, Ajla is separated from her sister and taken to an internment camp.  Danijel is one of the soldiers in charge at this camp.
     Bosnians and Serbs, we cannot tell them apart but they hate each other and are being eliminated from the face of the earth because of who they are.  Terrible and difficult to watch atrocities go on for a long time without intervention.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

127 min, Drama directed by Angelina Jolie with Rade Serbedzija, Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic, Nikola Djuricko, Branko Djuric, Milos Timotijevic, Alma Terzic, Goran Jevtic.

Note:  Blockbuster 2 1/2*, imdb 4.1 out of 10, 55% critic 45% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Me, Too (Yo, tambien) 2009

     Laura and Daniel are opposites, she spends her free time at crowded clubs and singles bars, trying to escape her problems with strangers.  Daniel is 34 years old, his life is defined and judged by the fact that he has Down's Syndrome.  Daniel falls in love with Laura on his first day at his new job.  He is a recent university graduate working in the Dept of Social Services.  His mother refused to let him be plopped into programs, she wanted him to go to public school and worked with him to help him achieve his full potential.  Despite their differences, Laura and Daniel form a friendship that helps them both.
     Life is a struggle for Daniel, he is in a category of preconceived notions because of his condition.  Laura is suffering but in denial of her problems and she doesn't know any way to overcome them.  In many ways Laura is in more of a struggle than Daniel.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

103 min, Drama directed by Antonio Naharro, Alvaro Pastor with Lola Duenas, Pablo Pineda, Isabel Garcia Lorca, Antonio Naharro, Pedro Alvarez-Ossorio, Maria Bravo, Consuelo Trujillio.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 7.0 out of 10, 83% critic 79% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Waste Land 2010

     Vik Muniz is a successful New York artist, he has the idea to visit the Jardim Gramacho landfill which is on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro.  His plans turn out entirely different from what he expected, the people who are catadores (pickers) at the landfill become his friends.  Instead of just presenting art with the landfill as a backdrop, he makes art using pictures of the friends he has made.
     This landfill is the largest in the world and an unbelievable place.  As soon as a truck comes in with a load, the people gather what they've been sent to recycle.  The items they retrieve are stacked at the edge of the area for different trucks to pickup.  Vik's visits to the landfill change the lives of the workers, many are able to go to different jobs because of the money they receive from his art.  I would have liked to this to hold my interest more, seemed a lot of work to read the subtitles.  3* (This movie is OK)

99 min, Doc directed by Lucy Walker, Karen Harley, Joao Jardim with Sebastiao Carlos Dos Santos, Suelem Pereira Dias, Fabio Ghivelder, Jose Carlos da Silva Bala Lopes, Iris Rodrigues Garros.

Note:  Blockbuster not listed, imdb 7.7 out of 10, 100% critic 91% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Avengers 2012

     Loki comes to earth through a portal from his realm, he wants to start a war he is sure he can win.  Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. calls on a group of super humans to form The Avengers and help save us from Loki and his soon to arrive army.  There are a lot of different personalities in The Avengers group, Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye.  They begin to bicker and taunt each other instead of keeping an eye on Loki.
     The dialogue from this film will not go down in history!!  Black Widow replies to the remark of here comes a party, "It doesn't look like a party?"  Iron Man replies to we need a plan of attack with, "Attack!"  I saw this is the theater, it's long, it's loud, it's bright, it's non-stop action if that's all you want in a film?  According to the reviews, this must be what people want?  3* (This movie is OK)

143 min, Action directed by Joss Whedon with Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg.

Note:  Blockbuster 4 1/2*, imdb 8.7 out of 10, 92% critic 96% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Food Matters 2008

     A documentary examining American food, the conclusion is reached that were are over-industrializing our food production.  Our health care costs are rising every day and are we becoming sicker every day because of what we eat?  Check any ingredient list on a package and look at the chemical additives in "natural" foods.  We are eating more and getting less in the way of nutrients.
     Doctors go to medical school but they are not taught nutrition.  Americans are cautioned not to take too many vitamins but how many people have died from vitamin overdose?  How many have died from from drug side effects and drug overdoses?  Pharmaceutical companies influence doctors and people, what is their profit bottom line for a year?  If we started taking vitamins, eating better and could we be healthier without drugs?  4* (I really liked this movie)

80 min, Doc directed by James Colquhoun, Carlo Ledesma with Vicky Blewitt, Ian Brighthope, Jerome Burne, Phillip Day, Matthew Foster, Charlotte Gerson, Jamie Hunt.

Note:  Blockbuster 4*, imdb 7.7 out of 10, no critic review 78% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Love's Everlasting Courage 2011

     In the early west, Clark is young husband is struggling to find water on their farm, he's behind on loan payments to the bank and will not be able to bring in a crop if he can't get water.  The bank is putting pressure on the family to make the payments.  Clark's wife Ellen takes a job working as a seamstress at a tailor shop in town to earn money for the payments.  Clark's parents come to visit and his father helps Clark try to find water.
     I wanted to like this but it's so predictable, you don't even have to guess what is going to happen next.  Couldn't there be a slight element of surprise?  3* (This movie is OK)

98 min, Drama directed by Bradford May with Wes Brown, Cheryl Ladd, Bruce Boxleitner, Julie Mond, Morgan Lily Willow Geer.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 5.6 out of 10, no critic review 67% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Being Flynn 2012

     An adaptation of a memoir by Nick Flynn, Another Bull.... Night in S... City.  Nick grew up without his father, his mother Jody tried very hard.  She working two jobs to keep them going.  His father was a writer, always working on the next best seller novel but passing bad checks and going to jail along the way.  Nick wants to be a writer but he doesn't want to be like his father in any way shape or form.  He begins a job at an inner-city homeless shelter as a change of pace from having no job. 
     Maybe the novel is good but this is a waste of time for everyone involved!  I don't know who decided this would make a good movie requiring the talents of talented people?  It's just slogging to watch and get through with not much hope of it getting better along the way?  The only tiny redeeming value is that it does show the physical and mental struggle of being homeless.  2* (I didn't like this movie)

102 min, Drama directed by Paul Weitz with Robert De Niro, Paul Dano, Julianne Moore, Olivia Thirlby, Eddie Rouse Jr., Steve Cirbus, Lili Taylor, Victor Rasuk, Liam Broggy.

Note:  Blockbuster 2*, imdb 6.5 out of 10, 54% critic 46% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

4:44 Last Day on Earth 2011

     She's a painter, he's an actor, they live in a large apartment high above New York City.  We see how they spend their day but this will be their last day together.  The next day the world comes to an end a few seconds before or after 4:44.  Many will still hope for some kind of miracle but these two have accepted their fate.
     You will find this to be good if you like to watch people go about their day with normal activities and a huge elephant in the room?  Filled with scenes about other people around the world during this extraordinary day.  About halfway through, I just gave up and fast forwarded to nearly the end so I could see what the end would be like.  Would this be just almost normal, like their day?  2* (I didn't like this movie)

82 min, Drama directed by Abel Ferrara with Willem Dafoe, Shanyn Leigh, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Hipp, Dierdra McDowell, Triana Jackson, Trung Nguyen, Anita Pallenberg, Jose Solano.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 4.5 out of 10, 50% critic 30% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Prometheus 2012

     Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway are an archaeologist couple, they have been tracking cave drawings made by different and separated cultures all showing a large man and several planets.  They believe an advanced race of humans arrived on Earth and this may be the origin of life.  The year is 2093 and the space ship Prometheus has taken the couple to planet LV-223.  Everyone on the ship has been in hibernation for two years except David, an android.  The ship has landed near an alien structure and a group sets out to explore.  A sudden violent storm causes everyone but two men to hurriedly return to the ship, the two left behind were thought to have already left for the ship.
     I saw this in the theater and everything about this movie is very bright and loud except for everything alien.  Anything alien is dark and black, it sounds very ominous and it is.  After watching this, it takes a while to piece this together to try and figure out what happened.  I wonder if eating cabbage and going to bed was the basis for this screenplay?  3* (This movie is OK and very weird)

124 min, Adventure directed by Ridley Scott with Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Sean Harris, Rafe Spall.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 7.6 out of 10, 73% critic 72% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Deserter (Simon, An English Legionnaire) 2002

     Based on a true story, Simon Murray is from Britain, he wanted to get married but his girl is marrying someone else.   He joins the French Foreign Legion in North Africa and finds it much different than he thought.  The training is brutal, physical and physiological cruelty, harsh conditions and not enough food.  There isn't much choice, once you've signed the paperwork you have to survive, there is no leaving.  It seems everyone has a different reason for being there.
     This is a 2012 release, probably offered again because of the recent high profile roles of Tom Hardy (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Warror, This Means War, The Dark Knight Rises).  This is good until the end, I thought the end seemed like a quick finish or a cop out?  Based on a true story though?  3* (This movie is OK)

90 min, Drama directed by Martin Huberty with Paul Fox, Tom Haardy, Kate Maberly, Altor Merino, Felicite Du Jeu, Yorick van Wageningen, Bruno Munoz-Rojas, Javier Alcina.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 5.2 out of 10, no critic review 40% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.