Martha Marcy May Marlene 2011

     Martha is living on a farm operated by a cult, she really doesn't know what she has gotten herself into.  The cult expands by just picking people up who needs a place to stay.  In the beginning, she believes everything she is told but gradually she learns that there is a lot going on that she doesn't know about despite the fact she has been there for 2 years.  She calls her older sister who comes and picks her up, she tells Katie that she had a boyfriend and he lied to her.  OK, this doesn't explain why at Katie's house she went swimming nude, why she sleeps in her towel after a shower, why she can't seem to fit in with normal people?

     I didn't know what this was about before watching this film, there is a lot of weirdness and it does peg my weird meter.  The one important item that I learned is that you NEVER want to become a member of a cult.  Their plan is to keep what is wrong with them hidden as long as possible.  Then how do you get away?  3* (This movie is OK)

106 min, Drama directed by T. Sean Durkin with Elizabeth Olsen, Christopher Abbott, Brady Corbet, Hugh Dancy, Maria Dizzia, Julia Gamer, John Hawkes, Louisa Krause, Sarah Paulson, Adam Thompson.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 7.2 out of 10, 90% critic 72% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Henning Mankill's Wallander: Morkret 2005

Also known as The Overdose or The Darkness:

     A young girl has committed suicide, then her father is discovered to be missing 2 years after her death.  Linda Wallander, Kurt Wallander's daughter is determined to solve this case.  She discovers that another girl from the same school has attempted suicide and a third girl is hit by a car escaping from a van.  Three cases of exploitation and abuse, who is behind these crimes?

     This is different from the Kenneth Branagh Wallander series, it's in Sweden but with subtitles.  You really have to pay attention plus get used to different actors and characters.  This is good.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

90 min, Crime directed by Stephan Apelgren with Krister Henriksson, Fredrik Gunnarsson, Mats Bergman, Stina Ekblad, Marianne Morck, Douglas Johansson, Hohanna Sallstrom, Lena Endre, Ola Rapace, Sverrir Gundnason.

Note:  Not listed on Blockbuster, imdb 7.1 out of 10,  no critic review yet 63% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

And They're Off..... 2011

     A hard luck horse trainer attempts to turn his fortune around by convincing his unstable girlfriend to become a jockey in his mockumentary comedy.  He's got one more chance to train and run a Derby winning horse.  Everyone gets interviewed, even one guy who doesn't even know the trainer?

     This is supposed to be like Best in Show but it is not funny.  It is interesting to see the behind the scenes of horse racing but not a comedy.  3* (This movie is OK)

90 min, Comedy directed by Rob Schiller with Sean Astin, Cheri Oteri, Mark Moses, Gigi Rice, Mo Collins, Lil JJ, Martin Mull, Susan Yeagley, Koji Kataoka, J.T. Sherwood, Jamie Cuzick, Kevin Nealon. 

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 3.0 out of 10, no critic score yet 20% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Wallander: The Fifth Woman 2010

     In seemingly unrelated incidents, three elderly men are murdered.  They were all regarded as bullies and womanizers by their employees and families.  Their demise is not been something to cause them to mourn their loss.  Wallander is shocked by this since his own father has just passed away suddenly.  Is there some connection between the men who have been killed even though the methods have been different?

     This is good, Wallender is once again on shaky ground mentally and physically.  It's a strain to investigate these elderly men after his own personal loss.  4* (I really liked this movie)

90 min, Crime directed by Aisling Walsh with Claire Cox, Howard Swinson, Kenneth Branagh, David Warner, Polly Hemmingway, Tom Hiddleston, John-Paul Hurley, Richard McCabe, Stefan Karlsson.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 7.1 out of 10, not listed on Rotten Tomatoes.

Mister Foe 2007

     Adapted from a 2002 novel about a 17 year old Scottish boy still struggling with the drowning death of his mother in a nearby loch two years ago.  He thinks his stepmother murdered his mother in order to gain a husband and property.  He runs away to Edinburgh and gets a job working in a hotel kitchen.  He begins to really like Kate who gave him the job but he still has emotional problems.

     Hallam's stepmother Verity has boundary issues, his father kept some details quiet about his mother's death.  No wonder he has emotional problems.  Has anyone every heard about counseling?  3* (This movie is OK)

96 min, Drama directed by David Mackenzie with Jamie Bell, Sophia Myles, Ciaran Hinds, Jamie Sives, Maurice Roeves, Claire Forlani, Ruthie Milne, John Paul Lawler, Lucy Holt.

Note:  Blockbuster 3*, imdb 7.1 out of 10, 72% critic 72% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

Pariah 2011

     Alike is 17 years old, she's a sweet and soft spoken girl who tries to follow the wishes of her mother.  There is another side of her that her parents don't know, she likes girls and not guys.  She changes her clothes after she leaves her house for school and she doesn't like the clothes her mother buys for her to wear.  Her mother presses her father to talk to her but he keeps putting it off.  Alike is having the same struggles in young love relationships as anyone her age and she comes home in tears.  She gets into a fight with her mother and leaves their home.

     Alike's mother and another mother in the same position do not want to accept the people that their daughters are.  There are a lot of stresses in Alike's house, her father probably has a girlfriend, her sister is not having the same problems.  This is powerful.  3 1/2* (I liked this movie)

87 min, Drama directed by Dee Rees with Adepero Oduye, Pernell Walker, Aasha Davis, Charles Parnell, Sahra Mellesse, Kim Wayans.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 6.9 out of 10, 96% critic 81% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Dish and the Spoon 2011

     Rose feels very angry and betrayed when her husband tells her he's been having an affair.  She hops in her car and heads to the Delaware seaside.  Her parents have a cottage there and it's also where the "other woman" lives.  She meets a young man who is stranded, sleeping by the beach and it's nearing winter.  He came to Delaware to be with his girlfriend but she went back with her ex-boyfriend.  They form a bond through their despair and despondency.

     You keep waiting for something to really happen but they are just hanging out in the entire movie.  I understand their pain and circumstances but is there anything else?  Listed as a comedy but it's not funny either.  2* (I didn't like this movie)

92 min, Comedy directed by Alison Bagnall with Greta Gerwig and Olly Alexander.

Note:  Blockbuster 3 1/2*, imdb 6.7 out of 10, 58% critic 63% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.