The Bad Seed: 1956 horror movie directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Nancy Kelly, Patty McCormack, Henry Jones, and Evelyn Varden. Rhoda is a perfect little girl. She wears perfect little dresses and has perfect manners and perfect braids and is a perfect total sociopath. The people in her life come to realize she’s a homicidal maniac, but how to stop her? Soooo melodramatic. Whatever, it was the ‘50s. Jones and Kelly are way over the top as the creepy maintenance man and high-strung parent. Talk about chewing the scenery. But Eileen Heckart is AMAZING as Mrs. Daigle, the grieving mother of one of Rhoda’s victims. Apparently the book had a different ending, which sounded way juicier, but the Hays Code put the kibosh on that. Do yourself a favor and skip the hokey closing credits, it kills the tone of the final scene.
The House of Sand and Fog: 2003 drama directed by Vadim Perelman and starring Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Ron Eldard. Kathy Nicolo is a depressed alcoholic who can’t seem to get her shit together. Massoud Amir Behrani is a former Iranian colonel who fled to the States with his family, and wound up working menial jobs. Kathy loses her house due to a clerical error, Behrani purchases it from the bank hoping it’s the investment opportunity he’s been waiting for, and they spend the rest of the movie negotiating with each other over said house. It’s not as boring as it sounds. It’s really about two very different personalities from very different cultures trying to navigate a situation that both of their lives depend on. Kingsley and Aghdashloo (heart) are particularly outstanding, and Connelly, of course, cries in like every other scene. It’s really good, but definitely a bummer.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall: 2008 romantic comedy directed by Nicholas Stoller and starring Jason Segel, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, and Kristen Bell. Famous woman breaks up with sweet dude, he goes on vacation to get over her, runs into her with her new famous man, tries to tough it out in paradise while simultaneously developing a crush on the cute front desk clerk. It must be said: I hate romantic comedies. Generally speaking. But this was much funnier than I thought it would be. I was totally surprised by Brand. Jonah Hill was an annoying blip in the movie, and the whole sideplot with Jack McBrayer (Kenneth on 30 Rock) should have been left out entirely. It added nothing to the plot, provided no real additional jokes, and felt like a distraction. Overall, pretty solid guilty pleasure movie.
Bill Cunningham New York: 2010 documentary directed by Richard Press. New York Times photographer and columnist Bill Cunningham might just be the most adorable person ever. Despite being a HUGELY influential figure in the fashion world, he lives a Spartan lifestyle, wears the same blue work coat every day, rides a Schwinn even to black tie events, and eats mainly at cheap diners. He’s kind and very particular and honest and you just want to be his friend. It’s a really great documentary, even if you don’t care much for fashion. In one of my favorite scenes, he’s waiting patiently to be checked in at Paris Fashion Week. While a young intern is checking his credentials, another man comes swooping in, takes Bill by the arm, and tells the whippersnapper “Please, he’s the most important person on Earth.” And Bill just smiles politely and goes inside. Definitely see it.
Henry & June: 1990 drama directed by Philip Kaufman and starring Fred Ward, Maria de Medeiros, and Uma Thurman. Anais Nin had a lot of sex. Thurman’s accent is terrible. That’s pretty much it.
Brick: 2005 neo-noir (stay with me, here) directed by Rian Johnson and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, and Emilie de Ravin. Brendan’s girlfriend winds up dead, and it’s up to him to solve the murder. Because that’s what high school students do, right? Think Dashiell Hammett novel. But with teenagers. But in a good way. It’s clever and the pace is exhilarating and the hardboiled detective story dialogue loses you occasionally but it’s fun trying to keep up. I feel like I could watch this five more times and still catch something new. Totally see it.
Doubt: 2008 drama directed by John Patrick Shanley and starring Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Amy Adams. Sister Aloysius is concerned that Father Flynn has taken an interest in a young altar boy, and the movie centers around her investigation. Is there really something sinister going on, or is she looking for a reason to get the modern and unorthodox priest dismissed because she doesn’t like him personally? It’s brilliant. Streep’s severity is mesmerizing. She just completely owns this movie. Her performance is perfect. Seriously. She does more with a look, with a gesture, than most actresses can ever achieve with far more effort. OK, I’m done gushing. Hoffman is also excellent, Amy Adams holds her own, and despite her very limited screen time, Viola Davis totally earned her Supporting Actress nomination.
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