The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)

Netflix Synopsis: Andy Stitzer (the hilarious Steve Carell) has a pleasant life with a nice apartment and a job stamping invoices at an electronics store. But at age 40, there’s one thing Andy hasn’t done, and it’s really bothering his close group of friends: To the shock of everyone he knows, he’s still a virgin. The guys at the store make it their mission to change that, but Andy seems hopeless — until he meets single mom Trish (Catherine Keener).

Review: I can see why this movie only gets an average of 2.25 stars and so many bad reviews among Netflix suscribers. I enjoy a raucous comedy now and then but the entire first hour of the movie was like watching a room full of adolescent boys trying to outdo each other with cursing, crude and raunchy sex talk, machismo and the extreme denigration of women. It was disgusting and not amusing at all. An almost respectable story about love and waiting for “the one” did eventually emerge from the wreckage of this movie but by the time that happens it’s just too little, too late to save this movie from it’s own ego. The 40 y/o Virgin could have been a clever and witty comedy but instead should be tossed in the gutter where it apparently strives to be anyway.

Rating:

Submitted by: Brandy 7/22/06

The Visitation (2005)

Netflix Synopsis: When a mysterious stranger arrives in the sleepy town of Antioch, his ability to perform miracles provokes tension among the locals. Ushering the sick and desperate into his revival tent with a pair of healing hands, he wins dozens of disciples who declare him a prophet. But there are just as many townsfolk who believe him to be a fraud — or even the devil himself. Can a former minister who’s lost his faith sort out the shocking truth?

Review: The Visitation was gripping, I was tense, teeth clenched all the way through the entire movie, the very ideas presented are creepy and chilling, especially to a believer. It’s a faith based movie but not preachy in the least and would also appeal to non-believer/secular/mainstream thriller fans. It makes a subtle yet effective presentation without condescending those who are not Christian. Although the story is based very heavily on Pentecostal doctrine (ie..casting out demons, speaking in tongues) which isn’t my personal belief, the ultimate message of deception and falling prey to false prophets is universal to any Bible-based faith. In the end of the movie, it is the Bible that saves the day which I found to be a fitting closure to the story. I also appreciated the very appropriate name of the town, Antioch…Antioch was where the Disciples were first called “Christians”. Fairly good acting, well edited and well filmed, good versus evil and good triumphs but you do feel remorse for the “bad guy” and what he suffered to get to the point he is at in the movie. I have met Randy Travis in person and I am not really a fan based on that meeting but he does okay as an actor in this movie…it actually might have been better if he had received more screen time. Edward Furlong was excellent, he has grown as an actor (and physically as a human being, LOL) since his childhood roles in Pet Sematary 2 and Terminator 2. I still can’t think of him without remembering when he tried to free the grocery store lobsters, lol.

Rating:

Submitted by: Brandy 7/21/06

The Transporter (2002)

Netflix Synopsis: Former Special Forces officer Frank Martin (Jason Statham) is now a courier in the underworld, and his policy of not asking questions has earned him a reputation — and money. But when Martin discovers that his cargo is alive, he opens the package to reveal the bound and gagged Lai (Shu Qi), setting in motion a dangerous chain of events that involves Lai’s father, a French detective and others in director Corey Yuen’s high-action crime drama.

Review: I had no intention of watching this movie, lol. I started watching it because dh was & got hooked. It’s very much his type of movie - lots of action, fight scenes, etc. (look for the oil fight scene - I loved it). This guy’s “job” is to transport packages & he has his own rules. Never open the “package”, no names, and once the deal has been made - it can’t be changed. Things go wrong when he breaks one of his own rules (the package moves in the trunk of his car). While the movie didn’t grab 100% of my attention, I am curious to see if The Transporter 2 is as entertaining.

Submitted by: Mel 7/19/06

Tears of Gold: Gold Star Wives and the Men They Lost (2002)

Netflix Synopsis: This heartfelt documentary examines a part of war that is often overlooked–the widowed wives of those who gave their lives in combat. What do you do when you must suddenly carry on without your spouse? Tears of Gold tells the moving stories of several women who had to face this question firsthand.

Review: As a military wife, I awaited the arrival of this documentary with anticipation. The stories these ladies have to share are the worst fears of any military spouse and I was expecting a very emotional portrayal of the strength of these women. Instead, this documentary plays like an infomercial or recruiting video for the Gold Star Wives organization. It’s something you might expect to find tucked into a “Welcome Packet” or played on a big screen at a National Conference, explaining the concept and the benefits of membership. There were some touching scenes, a couple that even brought tears to my eyes but overall the film is very presentational and unemotional. As a military (Navy) wife and daughter and as an American, I have the utmost respect and admiration for the women portrayed in the documentary…however, I cannot say the same for this recruiting film-documentary. These women deserved a better presentation of their stories than this flat, unemotional documentary.

Rating:

Submitted by: Brandy 7/19/06

The Matador (2005)

Netflix Synopsis: The life of Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear), a salesman forever on the road, veers into dangerous and surreal territory when he wanders into a Mexican bar and meets a mysterious stranger, Julian (Pierce Brosnan), who’s very likely a hit man. Their meeting sets off a chain of events that will change their lives forever, as Wright is suddenly thrust into a far-from-mundane existence that he takes to surprisingly well, once he gets acclimated to it.

Review: The Matador is billed as a comedy but there is nothing really amusing about it. I do NOT like movies with flagrant sex scenes and the sex scenes in The Matador border on X-rated for me, they are offensive. More offensive than watching consenting adults have sex was the reference to sexual relations with minors at least three times in the movie. Had the sex and pedofile-related comments been left out, this would have been a very good movie about the dynamic of relationships, especially between men. The story was well written, the movie was well acted and the concept was unique. Some movies are really good movies but somewhere they cross a line that shouldn’t be crossed, this is one of those movies.

Rating:

Submitted by: Brandy 7/18/06

Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Netflix Synopsis: In this beautiful adaptation of Jane Austen’s much-loved novel, wealthy aristocrat Fitzwilliam Darcy (Colin Firth) matches wits with witty, proud Elizabeth Bennett (Jennifer Ehle). In order to win Elizabeth’s hand and heart, Mr. Darcy meddles in the love lives of each of her isters — but just as she realizes her true feelings, she might have lost him forever.

Review: Fresh on the heels of watching the 2005 big screen version a couple of days before rewatching this version, I am hard pressed to choose a favorite between the two versions of this movie. I don’t think I can, they both have much to recommend and I love them both. I did not feel the chemistry of the cast in this mini-series as much as I did the big screen version but I think the characters were closer to Jane Austen’s vision in the novel. I would definitely recommend this tv movie for those who are already of fans of Jane Austens novels and I would recommend the 2005 version to non-literary types who enjoy a mainstream movie and not into “period” films. I do have to say that Colin Firth is the epitome of Mr Darcy, he owns the role and no one will ever fit the role quite so well as he. I was enchanted with Mr Darcy/Colin Firth from beginning to end, my heart was all his from the first scene on horseback at Netherfield until the final credits rolled, hours later.

Submitted by: Brandy 7/16/06

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Netflix Synopsis: In this retelling of Jane Austen’s novel set in 19th century England, Mrs. Bennet (Brenda Blethyn) is all atwitter in hopes of marrying her daughters to prosperous gentlemen callers, especially when a wealthy bachelor moves nearby. Headstrong daughter Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) meets her match in Mr. Darcy, but misinterprets Darcy’s honorable intentions and jeopardizes her chance at love. Donald Sutherland, Judi Dench and Jena Malone co-star.

Review: Pride & Prejudice is a wonderful adaptation of a much-beloved novel, one of the greatest love stories ever told written by one of the most ingenious writers, ever. The movie was missing much from the book but it was clearly meant to appeal to the mainstream and not solely the literary types in society. It was, at least TRUE to the story which is often not the case with book-to-movie films. In any case, it is impossible to pack the brilliance of Jane Austen into a 2 hour movie and for such a tall order, this movie succeeds very well at presenting the fundamental elements of Pride & Prejudice in a charming and fulfilling manner. Hopefully well enough that many will be inspired to read the book. Jane Austen was a “Renaissance Woman”, well ahead of her time and even today, people can relate to her characters. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and found myself wanting to restart it as soon as it was over and watch it again, immediately. The chemistry between the cast is palpable and endearing. Donald Sutherland was magnificent…his emotion in the the father-daughter scene at the end of the movie brought tears to my eyes. This is the first time I have seen Matthew MacFadyen in a film and I think he did very well projecting the loving and adoring Mr Darcy but I did feel he was missing the mark when it came to interpreting the proud and haughty side of Mr Darcy. His eyes were too soft and kind, I think. Still, I do think the chemistry between MacFadyen and Knightley was enough to make him a believable Darcy, if not a master of the role. All in all, I thought this was a very well put-together presentation of two of the world’s most endearing literary characters of all time. You just can’t help falling in love with the romance of Elizabeth Bennett and the Fitzwilliam Darcy…I fell so hard again that I am renting the BBC version to rewatch and going to buy the book to reread.

Rating:

Submitted by: Brandy 7/13/06

Too Many Girls (1940)

Netflix Synopsis: When East Coast teen Consuelo “Connie” Casey (Lucille Ball) announces her plans to attend the coeducational Pottawatomie College in California, her father agrees — but not before he secretly hires four burly football players to act as her bodyguards. Desi Arnaz, Richard Carlson, Ann Miller, Eddie Bracken and Frances Langford co-star in this rollicking romantic comedy, a frothy musical also notable for being the film on which Ball and Arnaz met.

Review: This was okay, not nearly as funny as the synopsis makes it sound….Long, long Trailer was MUCH better. I wanted to see it because this is the film that Lucy and Desi met on and I wanted to see if the chemistry/spark was visible on screen. It wasn’t, because they rarely had scenes together and almost never spoke any lines directly at each other. Desi did not play Lucy’s love interest in this movie. There was a lot of singing which I normally dont’ mind but these songs weren’t that great…except for the 2 lively dance numbers, those were the best parts of the movie! The last dance number, with Desi dancing and beating on the congo drum was awesome! I never thought of Lucille Ball as a “gorgeous” woman compared to other actresses of that time but she is really beautiful in this movie.

Rating:

Submitted by: Brandy 7/11/06

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006)

Netflix Synopsis: Director Gore Verbinksi takes to the high seas to helm the continuing adventures of swashbuckling Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), young Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and headstrong beauty Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley). Once again, the trio returns to the realm of the supernatural as Jack tries to weasel his way out of a blood debt with the ghostly Davey Jones (Bill Nighy), who threatens the wily skipper with eternal damnation if he welshes.

Review: Being a HUGE fan of the first installment of this Trilogy, I was NOT going to wait to see this on DVD. My son and I went to see it last night. It was awesome, a great continuation of the story. There is plenty of swashbuckling action and a laugh a minute throughout the movie. All the actors were excellent in their roles and Orlando Bloom had a much meatier role this time. Scenery, costumes and special effects were all fabulous. It was everything I expected it to be and more and I am anxiously awaiting the final installment, PoTC: At World’s End. NOTE: If you go see this in the theater, WAIT until the end of the credits before leaving. We left too early and then found out we missed something really good at the end. If anyone sees it and please let me know what I missed! LOL!

Rating:

Submitted by: Brandy 7/10/06

Aeon Flux (2005)

Netflix Synopsis: In the 25th century, a rampaging virus has forced the remnants of humanity into the seclusion of a last redoubt. But political conflict swirls within, and the climate is ripe for revolution. Aiming to hasten an uprising, the leader of the underground rebellion (Frances McDormand) dispatches acrobatic assassin Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron) to eliminate the government’s top leader in this futuristic thriller based on the popular animated MTV show.

Review: Awesome Sci-Fi adventure movie! I enjoyed it. I recently reviewed Ultraviolet and mentioned that it had brilliant special effects but no real plot..well, Aeon Flux has a plot but needed more special effects. I would choose plot over special effects any time though so Aeon Flux rated higher stars for me than did Ultraviolet. Charlize Theron is a fantastic actress and my man from Xena, Marton Csokas, was wonderful! His star is definitely rising, every movie I see him in, he impresses me more and more with his talent. He is definitely an actor to watch, great things will come from him! He has bumped Heath Ledger from my “favorite actors” list as of this movie.
Rating:

Submitted by: Brandy 7/9/06