The Strangers (2008)

I had heard that this was so scary that my 19-year-old nephew wanted to leave the theater within the first half hour. Excellent for Halloween, then. Right? Well...

The initial half hour beautifully sets the tone -- the atmosphere of sadness and isolation was perfect. The couple at the center of the story were already on different wavelengths, so throw them a curveball and they're unlikely to work together to handle it. And, boy, do they get one hell of a curveball.

Unfortunately, there were way too many "why are they doing that" moments that I just wound up complaining rather than screaming. What a waste of that good initial vibe.

C

Grey Gardens (1976)

This isn't so much a documentary as it is a peek into life at Grey Gardens, a crumbling estate in the Hamptons. It almost feels like a collection of home movies stuck in the player one after another, but, you know, more interesting than "the Smith Christmas: 2005." The subjects are so very different from anyone I've encountered in real life and I just couldn't look away.

Edith and Edie (mother and daughter - 79 and 58 at the time of filming) are the owners of Grey Gardens and they have a most bizarre dynamic. They're undeniably co-dependent, Edith constantly insulting her daughter and Edie non-stop complaining about being stuck in the house which "terrifies" her, but it's obvious that they would be lost without each other. Edith rarely leaves her bed, but is confined to the edge since a parade of flea-filled cats, stacks of damp-looking paper, a hot plate (which she employs to boil and serve corn during one scene), and God knows what else takes up the rest of the filthy mattress. Edie complains about the raccoons taking over the house, but we see her dumping an entire package of white bread in the attic to feed them at one point.

It's hard to know what to think about this, but it's eye-opening in that "I had no idea there were people like this!" way. There's no real throughline here, just a series of lazy arguments, bizarre behavior, tragic housekeeping and possible insanity.

In a word: incomparable.

B+

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

A fast-moving and entertaining movie. Not all that much to it, but satisfied our "popcorn movie" craving quite nicely.

B-

Religulous (2008)

Bill Maher travels about talking to religious folks and it's pretty fascinating. It didn't really have a story or structure, it was just "get a load of this guy" and "whoa -- these people are nuts, just listen to 'em!" Often, Maher's got it right: the people on screen are so heavily invested in their beliefs that they often come off as rather nonsensical. But I'm aware that the editing was handled in such a way that comments seemed idiotic when they probably wouldn't have been with full context. For example, the former head of the human genome project, Dr. Francis Collins, is one of the "believer" interviewees and Maher challenges him with the well-worn "the gospels don't match exactly, but they cover the same subject. How does that make sense?" argument. I'm pretty sure that Collins explained it a little better than the fragment of an answer we saw (I can do that one in my sleep...eyewitnesses never see exactly the same thing/the focus of one guy is different than another's/if they matched exactly, that would challenge the authenticity of the documents, etc.).

Not as laugh-out-loud funny as I expected, nor was it as well-informed as I thought it would be -- Maher often got his facts wrong regarding the beliefs of the religions with which I am familiar. Even with that, though, I never had the sense that he was openly mocking believers. He seemed genuinely interested in giving everyone a chance to talk. I'm sure the goal of this exercise was to allow people to dig their own holes (and, for the most part, they did not disappoint), but he always seemed to be listening -- willing to consider what was being said before rejecting it.

I would encourage everyone -- not just those who don't believe -- to see this. A little self-awareness is never a bad thing.

B+

The Edge of Heaven (2008)

Beautifully made and extremely effective movie about familiar subjects -- falling headlong in love, prostitution, political demonstrations, death -- in settings unfamiliar to me (Turkey and Germany). Each of the three chapters of the movie were effective and haunting on their own.

What I didn't like was the near-misses, e.g. we'd see a mother who is searching for her daughter going one way while the daughter in search of her mother is going the other -- if they'd only look the right way they'd see... There were quite a few of these tortured twists and they began to feel silly after a while. For such a powerful story to use gimmicks in the telling is unnecessary and distracting.

B

So Much So Fast (2006)

It's an extremely interesting and sobering subject for a documentary: a man is diagnosed with ALS and his non-doctor brother goes on a guerrilla research mission for a cure. And it's also incredibly informative about the way the drug companies work and why some diseases get little attention in the medical community.

But, despite the fascinating theme, I don't think much of it as a film. Yes, I felt for the family and the tragedy of a young man losing so much of himself so quickly, but they were not a very interesting group (and I realize it's slightly horrible to admit that). I mean, I don't think that people in crisis have a responsibility to make sure I'm not bored, but I do think that not everything is at its most potent on film. Putting the struggle and the avenues explored and abandoned during research on the page rather than the screen would have been a better choice, in my opinion.

C+

The Visitor (2008)

Wow. Saw this one with my sister and we couldn't stop from looking at each other every few minutes and just smiling. I think I loved every single person on the screen -- it was a pure delight without being in any way sticky.

Tremendous acting, a believable story, and didn't tie up too neatly at the end. Great film.

A

Married Life (2008)

Chris Cooper and Patricia Clarkson are a "perfect" married couple. They are truly fond of each other and work very well together in every domestic situation. But he has fallen in love with a young, sweet widow...so how does he get out of his marriage without devastating his wife?

I had no idea that I was going to like this one so much - reminded me of an old-fashioned noir. The look, tone, and voice-over were just fabulous, as were all four principals.

A-

Frailty (2002)

This is now the third or fourth time I've seen this movie and, if anything, my opinion has gone up. I keep watching it because I keep recommending it and then just wind up plopping down next to whoever's put it in the player (this time I was sharing the couch with AJ). There's something so different about it - a willingness to look kinda dumb for a while so that the payoff is bigger, maybe.

Without a doubt, one of our "good thing we bought it" DVDs -- probably our most-watched, non-comedy title.

B+

Sex and the City (2008)

I would call myself a casual fan of the show. I've watched all of the episodes on DVD and have always enjoyed the dynamic of the central foursome (though I "couldn't help but wonder" how in the heck Charlotte ever crashed into that bawdy group -- she's definitely the one of those things that's not like the others).

So, I was definitely looking forward to revisiting the group, though I was worried that there might not be much story left since so much of the pleasure of SATC was the search that was the real reason for all that sex. Well, my worries were founded. Charlotte's married, Miranda's married, Carrie's getting married, and Samantha is more settled than she's ever been and living in LA with her longtime himbo. Well...what's interesting about that? Apparently nothing since the script decides to rip apart everyone's relationships (except for Charlotte, who gets an extra serving of happy instead. Aww.).

I'm all for bumps along life's road being explored -- but I'm not for characters I feel that I know intimately behaving in ways that have absolutely no resemblance to their TV show selves. Carrie falling apart at the seams and walking away from Big -- BIG?? -- over what amounts to his momentary cold feet? Oh please. This is a man she continued to love through his marriage and her near-marriage -- through dozens of relationships. There's no way. And Samantha behaving like an undesirable, weight-gaining housewife when there's a willing lothario next door to stave off the loneliness? Uh-uh. She would never. And then there's Steve -- with the way he talk-talk-talks everything to death, there's no way that Miranda wouldn't have known how close to danger their marriage was.

You know, maybe this is the way the show always was. Dishing out mini-problems for the gals to be solved by the end of the episode. Unfortunately, this episode was nearly 2 1/2 hours long, so I was just annoyed by the way everyone was taking so long to just wake up and behave rationally, for goodness' sake -- plus Jennifer Hudson was in this one, which didn't help at all. I like it when she sings, but she cannot act.

C+

The Bank Job (2008)

An honest-to-goodness old fashioned caper!

Jason Statham plays Terry Leather, a small-time crook who owes some cash to the mob. He's approached by an ex who claims to have inside information about an easy-to-hit bank. A crew is put together, a plan put in motion, and things go predictably wrong.

It's enjoyable and surprising (based on an actual robbery in 1971) and well worth the rental.

B+