500 Days of Summer

IMDB: 500 Days of Summer

Source: Netflix

Date viewed: May 26, 2010

I enjoyed this one. I really liked Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and not just because (perhaps in spite of the fact that) his character's name was Tom. The jury is still out on Miss Deschanel, but her performance here is acceptable, as is the blue of her eyes. I enjoyed the unpredictability, the interplay with the friends, and the non-linearity wasn't too annoying. - T

Simplistic and unconvincing. - A

The Bridge on the River Kwai

IMDB: The Bridge on the River Kwai

Source: Netflix

Date viewed: May 1, 2010

Alec Guinness was great in this, but that doesn't surprise you. I had never before seen this classic, and now I know why it has earned that title. I fully expected a "gung-ho, yay war!" kind of thing, and got just the opposite. I especially liked the looped beginning and ending shot of the circling bird of prey. Things don't ever change. - T

I had seen this movie as a youth, but remembered little beyond the catchy tune the men whistle as they work. This viewing revealed more of a compelling character study than the story of spanning a river. - A

Date Night

IMDB: Date Night

Source: Cinema

Date viewed: April 24, 2010

Our date night was to see Date Night, and it made for quite an enjoyable evening. It's a silly movie, but there's plenty of funny stuff in it, and any movie in which Tina Fey appears in lingerie and does a pole dance (albeit a disturbingly un-sexy one) is a movie that I will see. - T

For the first time ever, I am going to try to make a useful recommendation here in this movie blog. I recommend watching Date Night on DVD at home. The action does not require a big screen, and I'm guessing that the outtakes will be funny. Plus, you can pause the film for as long as your date will let you on Mark Wahlberg without a shirt. - A

Entre les Murs (The Class)

IMDB: Entre les Murs (The Class)

Source: Netflix

Date viewed: March 25, 2010

It must be very hard to be a teacher in situations like this. I didn't always agree with the teacher's (teachers') methods (and I'm talking about more than just his use of "petasse"), but really, I have no idea how one would fix a situation like the one that appears in the classroom in this film. Overall, I didn't love the film. It's a little long, it's very uncomfortable, and it offers no answers. Not even suggestions of answers. I suppose, in that way, that it's very French. Just show things as they are. Well, that's fine, I guess, but it's not a film I'll see again. - T

Everyone speaks French.
The characters are difficult to like.
The situation as depicted seems intractable.
It took us two sittings to get through the movie.
QED, an interesting and challenging movie, but not an enjoyable one. - A