Toy Story 2 (1999)

Netflix Synopsis: Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Woody (Tom Hanks) and the rest of the toys in Andy’s playroom are back! When Andy goes off to cowboy camp, an obsessive toy collector kidnaps Woody, and it’s up to Buzz and the gang to save their pal. With a story that’s great for kids and adults, amazing technical work from Disney and Pixar Animation and the voices of Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Wayne Knight and more, Toy Story 2 is among the best sequels ever made.

Review: I enjoyed the original more, I think, but this one was cute. Just not as great as I had hoped. It could have been that I just wasn’t in the mood to watch it at the time, but since I had it around the house since before Christmas, I really wanted to watch it and mail it back. I figured it was relatively a good movie to watch at Christmas time, although it was not a Christmas-themed movie. The toys were all really cute in their roles. I loved the piggybank and Mr. Potato Head best. But I just enjoyed the original more than the sequel, which is usually how it is.

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Submitted by: Kathryn 12/31/06

Mulan: Special Edition (1998)

Netflix Synopsis: Disney brings an ancient Chinese legend to life in this fun-filled animated film. Ming-Na Wen voices Mulan, the tomboyish Chinese girl who disguises herself as a boy so she can fight the invading Huns (”Miss Saigon”’s Lea Salonga provides Mulan’s singing voice). With a little help from wise-cracking dragon Mushu (Eddie Murphy), she just might save her country — and win the heart of handsome Captain Li Shang (B.D. Wong) while she’s at it.

Review: I had been looking forward to seeing this Disney movie, but I was quite disappointed in it. Usually, I love Disney movies and they keep my attention, but this one was quite boring and I found myself doing other things while I watched it. I did watch this on videotape, rather than DVD, but that is because Netflix doesn’t have it, a friend lent it to me. Her daughter is adopted from China, but she oes not like it and I can see why. It did not keep my attention, much less a child’s.

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Submitted by: Kathryn 12/31/06

The Notorious Bettie Page (2006)

Netflix Synopsis: Although she longed to be an actress, an unassuming girl from Nashville, Tenn., would ultimately become the nation’s first bona fide bondage queen. Provocative filmmaker Mary Harron delivers an intimate biopic about 1950s pinup girl Bettie Page (Gretchen Mol), who whetted many a male appetite with her raven locks and sadomasochistic poses before becoming the target of a U.S. Senate investigation and converting to Christianity.

Review: This was a very interesting biopic look at the life of the “Queen of Pin-ups”, Bettie Page. The movie deliberately makes it very obvious that Bettie was highly intellectual. She barely missed being her high school Valedictorian and she went on to earn her Bachelor’s degree during a time when women in college were not taken very seriously. Yet the movie also attempts to show that Bettie was naive about the fetish industry. I don’t believe she was as clueless as the movie suggests but she did have a very innocent air about her which is a huge part of what made her such a success in the pin-up industry in the first place. The Notorious Bettie Page is very well-executed however there are so many defining events in Bettie’s life that are missing so this can only qualify as a very brief summary of part of her life. There is a little bit of background from her youth and then the focus becomes the bondage/fetish portion of Bettie’s career. Oddly enough, although Bettie Page is best known for her fetish work, it was actually a very small part of her career…more of a sideline to earn extra money.The ending of the movie is very brief and we don’t find out what happened to her after the point where she is saved. (Wikipedia has a VERY good detailed biography here, if you are interested). The vintage filming techniques and the contrast and transition between Technicolor and black & white is superb, it’s very realistic and entirely appropriate for the film. Gretchen Mol does a great job as Bettie, she owned the role. This movie would have been a 4 star for me if it had been a more complete biography.

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Submitted by: Brandy 12/30/06

The Solid Gold Cadillac (1956)

Netflix Synopsis: Howard Teichman and George S. Kaufman pillory big business and big businessmen in this adaptation of their Broadway play. Laura Partridge (Judy Holliday), a minority stockholder with 10 shares of stock, brings the arrogant execs of a large corporation to their knees. To stop her constant complaints, they give her the puffed-up position of Shareholder Relations … but this cushy job doesn’t satisfy the conscientious Miss Partridge.

Review: Judy Holliday plays Laura, a stock holder that takes on the board members. It really starts when she questions them concerning their upcoming salaries, which she finds to be way more than they are worth. Mr. McKeever (Paul Douglas), the founder of the company heads off to Washington DC for a new job and gave up all holdings in his own company. He works with the contracts area and his former firm is expecting ‘favors’ to come their way. When they can’t take anymore of Laura’s questions at the stock holder meetings they give her a job, where she decides to find a way to keep herself busy. Every time the board tries to ‘reign’ her in with their small minded thought process, Laura explodes with her own ideas. I absolutely love this movie, it just makes me smile and feel good no matter what mood I am in. Judy Holliday and Paul Douglas are great together and you will recognize some of the other cast members.

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Submitted by: Bear 12/29/06

The Descent (2006)

Netflix Synopsis: A pleasure caving trip turns frightful in this horror film written and directed by Neil Marshall. Six girlfriends, led by thrill seeker
Juno (Natalie Mendoza), go spelunking a year after a tragic incident. But when they get trapped under the earth, all rationale escapes them as they start to suffer from limited oxygen and delusions — or are they? Now, the friends must find a way to escape the cave and the murky creatures that lie within it.

Review: This movie starts out great. I really like the plot and feel of the movie for probably the first half. It grabbed my attention right from the very beginning when the tragic incident occurred. It has an adventure feel to it, and I could feel myself getting claustrophobic when they get trapped in the cavern. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions with each other and I really cared about what happened to them and was rooting for them to find a way out.

And then the creatures showed up, fulfilling the horror part of the movie. Although I think they were well on their way to fulfilling that before then. There were several jump-in-your-seat moments and some icky ones before the creatures, and I would have been happy had they continued on that route. But then they veered off into the “scary-things-chasing-you” type of horror, which I still ended up liking. My heart raced the whole time while I was willing them to find a way out while fighting these creatures. Lots of gross moments from here on out and more blood than you can shake a stick at.

I gave it a 4 at Netflix, cause I really did enjoy it a lot, but dropped it to a 3.5 here, cause although I did really enjoy the movie, it left me a bit confused at the end. There was so much blood that I began to not be able to tell the women apart, so I wasn’t sure what happened to which lady. If anyone else has seen this, please tell me what happened to who! Did someone get out at the end, or was that the same lady who went insane? I couldn’t tell! I should have popped it in again this morning and rewatched the ending in the light of day, but I already packed it up and stuck it out in the mailbox.

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Submitted by: Patti 12/29/2006

A Scanner Darkly (2006)

Netflix Synopsis: Keanu Reeves shoulders another futuristic role in director Richard Linklater’s sci-fi thriller based on Philip K. Dick’s novel. Working as an undercover cop in a world where almost everyone is addicted to Substance D — which produces split personalities in its users — Fred Arctor (Reeves) sets up an elaborate sting to nab a notorious drug runner named Bob. But little does Fred know that “Bob” is … his alter ego.

Review: OH-MY-GAWSH. I could not stand A Scanner Darkly. I did manage to finish the movie but ended up with a headache from the twitchy and repulsive animation. I have seen this effect in the Charles Schwab ads on TV and a similar effect known as “vectoring” is used within the graphic arts communities I frequent online so I am not unfamiliar with the style. I just find it extraordinarily creepy when animated. I had no idea this movie was animated in the first place so if I had realized they used this technique, I would have avoided this movie at all costs. The mere seconds of a Charles Schwab ad are enough to cause my head to throb and an entire movie was sure to give me a killer headache, and it did. As for the story itself, it was actually pretty boring. I don’t even know if the actors were good or not, except for Woody Harrelson’s character, Luckman. Luckman was definitely good for a few laughs although I felt rather guilty for finding humor in a guy who was “tweaking” due to drugs. I suppose the animation made it easier to laugh at what would normally be morose at best. On the other end of the spectrum, Robert Downey Jr’s character was extremely annoying, I just wanted him to SHUT UP already. I now know why A Scanner Darkly was on the lists of Worst Movies of 2006, I am adding it to my personal “Worst Movies Ever” list.

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Submitted by: Brandy 12/29/06

All The King’s Men (2006)

Netflix Synopsis: Sean Penn stars as corrupt Southern politician Willie Stark in this remake of the Oscar-winning 1949 film based on Robert Penn Warren’s novel. The charismatic Stark wins the populist vote, but behind closed doors, he’s as underhanded as the predecessors he smeared. Ex-reporter Jack Burden (Jude Law) unwittingly helps Stark gain political power, but it’s just a matter of time before the governor’s crooked dealings are exposed.

Review: All The King’s Men has moments of pure brilliance but unfortunately those moments cannot carry the entire movie. The cast is a stellar group of thespians so I expected much more from this movie than it delivered. Sean Penn was especially strong in the role of Willie Stark but that is due more to his powerful screen presence than a truly great script. Anthony Hopkins as Judge Irwin was also a notable performance and my opinion of the movie might have improved if Hopkins would have had more screen time. The only part of the movie that really held my interest were the scenes in which Anthony Hopkins was present, his character is what kept me committed to finishing the movie. There was one scene, close to the beginning, that DID have me wanting to rise from my seat and shout a few “Amens”. It involved Sean Penn giving a speech which includes the line “If you don’t vote, you don’t matter”. Strong words and a strong speech that I absolutely agreed with, it was a dynamic scene. But, as I said….the few truly great scenes do not save this movie from being a snoozefest most of the time.

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Submitted by: Brandy 12/28/06

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (2006)

Netflix Synopsis: Diego (voiced by Denis Leary), Manny (Ray Romano) and Sid (John Leguizamo) return in this sequel to the hit animated movie Ice Age. This time around, the deep freeze is over, and the ice-covered earth is starting to melt, which will destroy the trio’s cherished valley. So, they must unite and warn all the other beasts about the desperate situation. Drea de Matteo and Queen Latifah also lend their voices. Carlos Saldanha directs.

Review: I think they were referring to the storyline but that is just my opinion. It wasn’t a bad movie but I found it annoying that the only way they could fill time was bring in Scrat who only had one good scene imo, which was with the piranhas. Basically they have to flee the area b/c the ice is melting and they need to get to higher ground. You meet new characters, another mammoth and 2 possums who end up traveling with the Manny herd. Some of the lines are funny but for the most part I wasn’t impressed but then it takes a lot of impress me when they make a sequel. Part of the film seemed out of sequence from land to ice to land to ice, but as my kids said I was over thinking the movie. For me it was a one time deal, I prefer the first one so much more.

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Submitted by: Bear 12/28/06

Lady In The Water (2006)

Netflix Synopsis: Helmed by Oscar-nominated director M. Night Shyamalan, this unconventional bedtime story was first conceived as a fable for his children. When apartment building manager Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) discovers a water nymph (Bryce Dallas Howard) residing in the complex’s swimming pool, he rearranges his life to help her return to her mythical home. But if he fails, it may mean the end for her world — and for his.

Review: This was a great movie. From the very beginning I was captivated, the dull tones and colors of the apartment building and its surroundings made the movie feel very classic. I love the bedtime story angle, it was new and refreshing. Bryce Dallas Howard does something amazing onscreen. I find her presence to be comforting and soothing in both of the M. Night movies I have seen her in. I am not sure if it is the writing, or the actress, but she is amazing. I think that the concept of this film shows just how much thought and originality Night puts into his scripts. The furthering of the story on our end requires the main character to get more info to further the story on their end, which I thought was a nice touch. I also thought it was funny that the only character who died was a film critic. As Bob Balaban pointed out in the extras on this disc, perhaps it was Night’s revenge to the critics who continue to find reasons to take away credibility from this amazing writer. The scrunt was a great way to add a nemesis to the film and we saw more and more of it as the story progressed. It was definitely a scary creature. The mythical Narf was a great mix between a mermaid and angel and a fairy and her makeup and dialouge was perfect. I loved it.

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Submitted by: Heather 12/28/06

Invincible (2006)

Netflix Synopsis: Average Joe and devoted Philadelphia Eagles fan Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg) manages to land a spot on his favorite NFL team in open tryouts. He’s just lost his wife and his job as a substitute teacher, but by impressing the coach and winning a place on the field, Papale turns a terrible year into a winner in this inspiring film (based on a true story) from the producers of the similar, baseball-themed The Rookie.

Review: Like CGI family comedy, the feel-good sports drama genre has likely been visited too many times for most viewers. But because I am an NFL fan, I like Mark Wahlberg and I’d heard good things I figured I’d give this one a shot. I’m glad I did and here’s why.

Invincible isn’t just a feel-good sports drama, it’s also very real. What I mean is that this is pretty much what really happened (based onninterviews found in the extras). The football scenes, including try outs, sandlot, training camp and real NFL games, look very authentic (unlike losing an eye in the endzone… a completely ridiculous scene found in the supposedly “realistic” Any Given Sunday). The portrayals of Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear) and Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg) were accurate down to their personal mannerisms (great acting). And even the town surrounding the action seemed real (1976 Philadelphia) to it’s depressed, inner city, blue collar time.

This movie works like Rocky worked except there wasn’t that one final fight where the hero wins it all. In fact, the hero here doesn’t carry the team at all; he pretty much is just a good special teams player with a big heart. And that’s enough here because the rest of the movie, the “living the dream”, feels so real that an unrealistic Hollywood ending would have seemed phony.

There were some weaker elements of the movie. The love interest, while well played, was practically insignifcant and hard to care about. There was unsatisfying closure to the story line where Papale’s wife leaves him and insists through notes that he’ll never be any good. And probably most annoying of all was the yellow filter this entire movie seemed to be shot in. I realize the attempt was to immerse the viewer into a dirty, dark and depressing place and time but I hate this filming technique (beginning to be used more and more in shows like CSI: NY (blue filter) and CSI: Miami (bright yellow filter)).

Over all though, great flick!

The Good -
Mark Wahlberg and Greg Kinnear were awesome,
Movie feels very real (not exagerrated for dramatic effect),
Feel-good story.

The Bad -
Filmed almost entirely in an annoying yellow filter.
Some subplots unecessary or insufficiently closed.

The Ugly -
Nothing.

Rating:

Submitted by: Brian 12/28/06