Twisted Family Antics

I’m starting this a little late - April - but I love movies and think this will be a fun way to keep track of what we’re up to.  Hopefully this page will be regularly updated, although you know how that goes . . . (All movies are ranked on a scale of 1 through 10 stars)

Rambo - (6 stars) I’m only giving it 6 stars because the fire power was so impressive, more bullets expended than any other film I’ve ever seen.  Otherwise, it was really a waste.  Almost everyone dies, and it’s hard to find a reason to care.

I Really Hate My Job - (0 stars) i love Neve Campbell.  I hated this movie, didn’t even finish it.  Sometimes accents are so difficult to understand that it’s not worth the effort.  It wasn’t even a visually attractive setting.  You’ve got to give me something to work with, anything.

The Savages - (6 stars) Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney star in this movie that just never really got off the ground for me.  It was rather depressing.

Hannibal Rising - (10 stars) After seeing the other movies in this series, I was concerned that this movie might not make the cut.  Instead, it actually might be the best of all.  The story documents in great detail how Hannibal became a monster and why, as a child growing up under Nazi rule.  By the end I was cheering him on.  A multi-faceted story that goes deeper than most.

Wedding Wars - (7 stars) John Stamos stars in this movie that’s essentially a Lifetime channel special kind of thing.  But the message makes it all worthwhile.

The Darwin Awards - (3 stars) The first scene in the movie is the best.  From there on it just falls flat.  You keep waiting for more but it never comes.

Happiness - (8 stars) This movie is a freak fest.  If your sense of humor is dark enough to include the subjects of incest and child molestation check it out.  It’s truly an original that delves deep into the potential for crazy in the human mind.  Todd Solondz wrote and directed.  Hard to imagine the mind that could come up with this stuff!  Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Dylan Baker and Justin Elvin are stand-outs.

Into the Wild - (9 stars) Fabulous.  Heart-wrenching.  Idiotic.  Stupid.  This movie about tore my heart out of my chest in the end.  Sean Penn directed this flick and he’s a genius.

Lions For Lambs - (2 stars) Really relatively hideous.  I’ve decided I can’t stand films about war, let alone films that have scenes in the battlefield.  I did not even enjoy Meryl Streep in this movie, nor Tom Cruise, nor Robert Redford.  It jumped all over the place, there was very little continuity, & they never did pull it all together.  Obviously better people than I disagree, since it won several awards.

Domino - (8 stars) Keira Knightley is so beautiful it’s hard to look away.  In this movie she plays Domino Harvey, one of the wildest chicks ever to live on the planet.  I so completely wish I was more like her.  Well, except the part where she’s dead now.  I love Mickey Rourke, too.  The scenes with Edgar Ramirez and Knightley together were HOT!  I think I might have preferred just watching the two of them, in character, make out for two hours.  The movie itself was really depressing, as you know from the beginning it’s not going to have a happy ending.

Untraceable - (8 stars) Diane Lane is one of my favorite actresses and she is very believable in this movie which has some of the most ridiculously creative death scenes I’ve ever seen.  It totally relates to the computer world of today and you’ll jump out of your seat imagining what could pop up on your screen if some freak decided you were his next target.

Margot at the Wedding - (2 stars) This was just an incredibly bad for a movie starring Jack Black, Nicole Kidman, etc.  It’s amazing it was made, considering the fact that the story line was non-existent.

August Rising - (8 Stars) This movie swept me up in the fantasy and held my attention, an emotional story.  Keri Russell is adorable.  Robin Williams’ character was a real freak.

Martian Child - (9 Stars)  Loved it, loved the message, love John Cusack.

Lars and the Real Girl - (10 Stars)  I thought this movie was a comedy, but it’s really not.  It made me want to move to a small town where people would come over and sit with you when someone died.  Really, really touching and heart-warming.  I kept thinking of the guys who went to the theater thinking this was going to be a really raunchy comedy and instead found themselves saying, “What the fuck?”

Death at a Funeral - (10 Stars) Best, best, best comedy of my year.  Black humor.  Such fun.

Rescue Dawn - (7 Stars) Action movie re: VietNam war and the escape of a POW.  I wish more of them had made it out alive.

Half Past Dead Two - (3 Stars) Yikes.  Pretty awful.

Smart People - (9 stars)  Loved all the actors in this, particularly Sarah Jessica Parker.  It’s a very good story and I think relatively true regarding the foibles of smart people. 

Prom Night - (10 stars) Opening night in the theater, so much fun, screaming like a wack job.  I think I may have been the oldest person there.

Awake - (6 stars)  Pretty weird, but a very good twist.  A ridiculous plot.

Dan In Real Life - (9 Stars)  I love Steve Carell.  This movie was painful to watch at points, his ability to show angst on screen is amazing.

Stranger Than Fiction - (6 Stars)  This tended to be rather confusing, but I liked the love story aspect.  Will Ferrell and Maggie Gyllenhaal were oddly hot together.  I can’t believe I just said that.

No Country For Old Men - (8 Stars)  It was violent and weird but still kept us watching.  I would have chosen a different ending, with regard to Josh Brolin in particular.  I do think it’s bizarre that this won Academy Awards, including Best Picture.  What the hell?

Michael Clayton - (9 Stars) I am not a huge fan of George Clooney, but this movie was a great one.

The Brave One -  (6 Stars) I am a huge fan of Jodie Foster, but this movie sucked.  It was even poorly made, as far as on-screen visuals.  It looked cheap.

Wedding Daze - (7 Stars) Nothing special, but Isla Fisher is really cute.

Fight Club - (5 Stars) Just so completely devoid of anything but violence.  How did this become such a popular movie?

Waitress - (9 Stars) Would have given it five if not for the ending.  Especially loved the pie recipes

God Grew Tired of Us - (10 Stars) Documentary.  It was so haunting in so many ways that I literally cannot come up with the words to explain all the ways this touched my heart and mind.  I think everyone should see this film.