The Whisperers (1967)

Man oh man did I hate this movie. Admitting this makes me feel a bit ashamed because most of the articles I've read about it (the ones that prompted me to TiVo the TCM broadcast) praise it as a clear-eyed view of the working-class elderly being discarded to fend for themselves. Does my reaction mean that I don't care because this story left me cold? Of course I'm going to be on my own side: so, no!

Everyone in this story is so aggressively unlikable (with one bland exception), including the edging-into-insanity main character, that I just hated my time watching. I know that it shouldn't matter: right is right for everyone blah blah blah -- but this is a movie, not a documentary. Give me someone to care about or I'm just going to be waiting for the credits.

D+

Right At Your Door (2007)

The idea of this movie is great: "dirty" bomb goes off in LA making the air of questionable quality. The citizenry is advised to seal themselves indoors, so Brad -- home alone at detonation -- does just that. When Lexi, Brad's wife, stumbles to the door covered in soot and banging to be let in, she personifies the danger out there...and he keeps her right where she is.

So, good premise and decent performances....but. 1) Despite a decently short run-time, it still felt a little stretched out -- though that could have something to do with the fact that it's the first movie I've viewed at the dining room table on my laptop over Netflix's streaming service rather than on my comfy couch. Should that make a difference? 2) I'm sick of characters who put those they purport to love in unnecessary danger out of pride or anger (and I'm talking about Lexi's treatment of Brad -- not the other way around) 3) The twist ending is ridiculous. Come on.

C+

In the Land of Women (2007)

When a young writer gets dumped by a way-too-beautiful-for-him model (and if he weren't so self-obsessed, he probably would've seen it coming), he decides he's gotta get out of town. Conveniently, his grandmother could use some live-in care because she's crabby (alright, crabby AND old) so he packs a bag for Michigan. Across the street lives the Hardwicke family: cheating husband, lonely wife, bitter older daughter, and clever younger daughter.

This movie isn't breaking any new ground -- everyone learns a little and grows a little -- but I rather liked it. The performances are strong, the dialogue is often smart, and it didn't get too cute for its own good.

B

Wings (1928)

Two men -- a scrappy do-it-yourselfer and a pampered, yet surprisingly grounded, rich boy -- are in love with the same girl. Since she's too nice to tell scrappy that she's got no romantic interest in him, each believes she's theirs. The guys go off to war together and quickly realize they rather like each other.

It's a pretty impressive effort. The scenes in the air are terrific -- some footage of actual WWI dogfights are used and they blend really well with new shots. However, it's just way too long. I wound up watching the last half in double-time (love to do that with silents).

B

Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Ex-cop ropes two other desperate men into helping him rob a small-town bank. Since one's black and other one's a natural-as-breathing racist (his first line in the film is delivered to a little girl he refers to as "pickaninnny"), his work is cut out for him.

The movie seems like it should work, but it also seems like it's trying too hard to moralize -- especially when you factor in the ridiculous finale. A near miss.

C+

Tony Takitani (2005)

The name "Tony" singled him out from his classmates in Japan. The fact that he nearly raised himself while his father was on the road playing jazz was another thing that made him different. He was almost bred to be alone and his skill at precise, but cold, drawings gave him the perfect lonely career: bent over a desk producing technical illustrations. When he falls for the colorful and much-younger Eiko, his loneliness dissipates but a fear that it will some day return is constant.

I just loved this movie -- at first I didn't know what to think because it's so unlike anything else. It's narrated in an almost monotone with the characters sometimes raising their heads to meet the camera and deliver a line directly to us, breaking the fourth wall very briefly before slipping back into their film world. It somehow managed to deliver a complete life in a very short runtime, while still feeling leisurely and poetic.

Blew me away.

A

Vacancy (2007)

My defense? The trailer made this movie seem somewhat original: the VHS tape in the seedy hotel room is a snuff film and, um, wait. Does that room in the movie look like this room?

Damn trailer doing its "make this piece of crap look watchable" job.

D

Reservation Road (2007)

Truly ridiculous movie about a hit & run and the contrivances that follow.

Elle Fanning once again demonstrates why she's the go-to Fanning when you want a stiff "Christmas play in the living room" performance, while everyone else seems killed by horrible direction and an even worse screenplay.

Simply a botch of a film.

D

The Sterile Cuckoo (1969)

Liza Minelli plays Pookie, a motormouthed social outcast who sets her sights on Jerry, a quiet boy from a neighboring college. Although he's not much interested, her persistence finally wears him down and their ensuing relationship makes up the rest of the film.

Pookie's a pathetic character -- wearing her wackiness like a costume to disguise the fact that she doesn't fit in anywhere -- and while I found her insufferable, it's hard to fault the film for it because I remember college pretty clearly.

The ring of truth doesn't make up for the fact that I didn't care about either of the leads, however.

C+

Wristcutters: A Love Story (2007)

Patrick Fugit plays Zia, a typical underachiever who gets so depressed over a break-up that he kills himself. But his life doesn't end...he just winds up in a drab purgatory town "a little worse" than the real world, populated with fellow suicides. He's got a cruddy little job and a cruddier little apartment, complete with a roommate who's tons of eh.

When Zia gets wind that his girlfriend killed herself shortly after he did, he decides to find her. He sets off in a beat-up car belonging to his one friend -- a colorful (well, as colorful as you can be when smiling's not allowed) former Russian rock-star wannabe who lives with his entirely suicided family. They pick up pretty Mikal, who's looking for the people in charge because she doesn't think she's supposed to be there and, well, ROAD TRIP!

I know it's not a great movie, but it's definitely something new and I just really got into it. There was a surprising amount of heart and I felt kind of transported. I wouldn't have minded tagging along on their trip...though I don't know if I'd have been able to stop myself from smiling on the journey.

B+

Apocalypto (2006)

Lots of cool stuff happens. There's great action and exciting chase scenes -- but there's just so much of the chase and near escapes and pure luck that it got rather tiresome after a while.

The first couple of scenes are great. We get to see the everyday life of the tribe and are introduced to several of the people; I was enjoying the camp and the easy humor the families shared. Too soon, however, there's upheaval and it's non-stop from there. The only breaks we got from the tediousness of "what can we throw at this guy NOW" were the times when we left the captured protagonist to look in on how his pregnant wife and young son were faring down in the deep hole where they hid during the attack on their camp.

Basically, Apocalypto doesn't wind up delivering on its terrific set-up. If I had to choose between a film starting or ending well, I'd always choose END well, so...dang.

C+