Happythankyoumoreplease (2011)

Netflix Streaming over 1/31/12 and 2/1/12
This must be the week of movies with no plot. Nothing happens here either! I should have known better, since it was written and directed by someone who has (at least to my knowledge) never written or directed before. Josh Radnor, you're great on How I Met Your Mother. This character seems like it's just him recycling Ted, just plus an orphan and a bald best friend. The biggest difference is that none of these characters are sympathetic.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 132

Friends with Benefits (2011)

Netflix DVD on 1/20/11
This is just like No Strings Attached, but better written and more entertaining. Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake totally sell me on best friends who try being lovers, and I find this one more realistic than NSA. It gets messy. The lines get blurred. And people end up getting hurt. But in the end, it's happy and things turn out okay. This is a successful rom com definitely, and it leaves you feeling cheered about the state of the world. Love the flash mobs too. And above all, it doesn't take itself overly seriously.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 128

Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)

Netflix DVD with Lauren on 12/23/11
Happy Christmas Eve! This was a decidedly weird movie that, by the end, totally worked. I think that it's partially because it was acted brilliantly (Ryan Gosling got a Globe nom for it) but it also has amazing writing. The connections between the characters aren't obvious or predictable, but they are completely believable when the whole thing is over. The whole love triangle with the baby sitter is a little weird, but I can overlook that in favor of the absolute exaggerated realism of the other situations. It's funny and sort of touching by the end. And Emma Stone, of course, is awesome.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 116

Four Christmases (2008)

Netflix DVD over 12/10/11 and 12/11/11
This is a pretty stupid movie, but it's fun too. I like Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon very much, and they don't seem like a mismatched couple (as happens so often in rom coms). There is nothing new or unique about the characters, though the story is relatively different, and it's not too heavy on the sappy "Christmas magic" message. Good for a laugh, even if not for much else.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 110

Like Crazy (2011)

The Nick with Anna and Lauren on 12/7/11
Huh. This movie was odd. I'm not sure I buy the romance that the story is trying to sell. Two college students fall in love, the British one decides to violate her student visa to hang out with her American boyfriend all summer, and then red tape keeps them apart. What exactly did she expect was going to happen? Plus, from that point on, the couple grows apart but continues to force their relationship to work. Which it doesn't. The film doesn't end on a happy note, nor does it end on a convincing one.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 109

Breaking Dawn Part 1 (2011)

The Nick with Lauren, Kat, Anna, and Sadie on 11/29/11
So...this is the best Twilight movie, huh? I'm not so sure I agree. I think that this movie suffers exactly what the book suffers. There are moments that are interesting, like the sex scene, the tension between Jacob and the rest of the wolf pack, and Bella's extremely SFX intense emaciation by her unborn half-vampire baby, but the rest of the time feels a lot like filler. It's very obviously not the whole story - this was not the best one to split into two films. I was very impressed by the effects to make Bella look like she was starving, though, and the birth scene was fairly intense. The sex scene was fine, but the shot of the destroyed bedroom after was way better.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 106

The End of the Affair (1999)

Netflix DVD on 10/9/11
I have to read this novel for one of my upcoming workshops, and since this got a couple of Oscar noms a few (okay, 12) years ago, I figured it was time to Netflix it. And it's okay. It's just not really memorable at all. The story is told in retrospect from the man's point of view, except for a bit in the middle which inexplicably shifts to the woman, and meanders to its inevitable end. It's slow, which is not necessarily bad - it just makes it feel a lot longer than its 1 hour and 35 minutes. Which is probably saying something. Also, I think the casting is off, because to me, there is really no question between Ralph Fiennes and Stephen Rea.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 95

Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)

Netflix DVD on 9/7/11
I'm reading this book for my next MFA packet, so I figured I would check out the movie. So far, the book is pretty beautifully written, which is good because the movie is epically boring. Javier Bardem has never been my favorite actor and his character's habit of sleeping with a lot of women to make up for the fact that he didn't get his "one true love." The relationship between the two of them is not portrayed as being strong enough to last for 50 years in the movie. I'm looking forward to the book being better.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 85

Cairo Time (2010)

Netflix DVD on 8/10/11
This is a sweet and somewhat sad story. The so-called "whirlwind romance" that occurs between the two main characters is very understated and takes a back seat to what I think the movie is really about - loneliness. It seems that both Juliet and Tareq are incredibly lonely people. They find solace in each other as opposed to romance. It's also interesting to see the way the filmmaker portrays Cairo - it is not romanticized or made frightening. It's realistic.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 69

The Farmer's Wife (1928)

DVD over 8/7/11 and 8/9/11
Can't I be done Hitchcock's silent films yet? They're just not interesting in any way. Certainly not suspenseful (except The Lodger) and not engaging at all. The stories are simplistic and boring, the characters are not developed at all, and there are not nearly enough title cards. Please don't think this is a slight against all silent films - there are several that I have found very effective. Still waiting for the point where Hitch hits his stride.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 68

Jane Eyre (2011)

The Nick with Kat on 4/30/11
I just finished reading this, breaking my cardinal rule of never reading the book first. However, with a handful of very minor changes, this stays incredibly true to the original. Even though I still haven't read anything by Jane Austen and can therefore not make any kind of comparison, I can safely say that I really like the Brontes. I thought that they got the mood of the story right with the film, and besides the fact that Michael Fassbender is way too good-looking to be Edward Rochester, I thought that the casting was very good as well. Well done!
My Netflis rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 28

How Do You Know (2010)

Netflix DVD over 4/21/11 and 4/23/11
This movie was pretty disappointing. With such a good cast (Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson and Jack Nicholson), I was expecting a heartwarming, moving, funny film that was well-acted and well-written. Apparently, that was asking too much. Overall, this isn't a terrible movie, but it came nowhere near the expectations I had for that ensemble. It's also nothing special in terms of plot - generic love triangle rom com.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 25

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Movie Night with Anna, Kat, Mike, Adam and Sadie on 3/20/11
This is an odd movie stylistically and it takes a while to get used to. But, all of Baz Luhrmann's films are like that. The casting is absolutely spot-on (though Leo makes Romeo into the ultimate emo kid and Claire Danes looks remarkably ugly when she cries), especially with Harold Perrineau as Mercutio and John Leguizamo as Tybalt. It's interesting to see what they cut out and what they emphasize. If you can get past the glut of neon and odd editing patterns, it's worth watching.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 16

The Romantics (2010)

Netflix DVD on 2/22/11
This has the same vibe as The Big Chill, the only difference being that these characters are 10 years younger. The acting is pretty lackluster but I think that's the fault of the story - no one really seems to have much to do. There's a lot of carousing in the ocean and walking along the lawn. Not a lot of action. Dianna Argon holds her own in a cast of pretty big names, but she doesn't have much to do. The characters are too superficial to be sympathetic and the ending is far too ambiguous.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 8

No Strings Attached (2011)

Cinemagic Grand with Emica on 2/16/11
This is a pretty traditional romantic comedy, but it's cute and endearing because of the two leads. Ashton Kutcher seems to have finally shed his goofy man/boy persona and carries this role very well. And Natalie Portman is wonderful, of course. The movie is centered around the question of, can two best friends have sex just for sex and go back to being best friends after the sex is gone? Unfortunately from a writing standpoint, the question is negated over the course of the story and never really gets answered. And honestly, I don't know the answer either.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

New Movies in Year Three: 4

195. February 2, 2011 - All About Steve (2009)

Not only is this painful to watch, but it also makes it look like any single, shy woman is one half-step away from being a crazy, desperate stalker. Sandra Bullock, why? I know Bradley Cooper's hot, but really, it was one date (including the most awkward quasi-sex scene I've ever seen and yes, that includes Ben and Brynn from Big Love and James McAvoy and Kerry Condon from The Last Station) and it didn't go so well. Even in the end, when she becomes the accidental hero (of course), she's still not likeable. Or sympathetic. In a romantic comedy, the audience has to at least not hate the female lead. Otherwise, the movie falls flat, just like this.
My Netflix rating: 2 stars

162. December 10, 2010 - Love and Other Drugs (2010)

This is a charming movie that ultimately wins because it doesn't try to be anything that it's not. I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's a quirky romantic comedy, since there isn't much out of the ordinary or strange plot devices. I was actually expecting them to take the one plot device that they DID have in a whole different direction. I'm not sure if I'm happy that they didn't go that way, since that would border on cliche, or critical because that's a flaw in the writing. Regardless, Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway have pretty good chemistry (which throws back to Brokeback Mountain, where I actually believed them as a couple more than Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams who were an actual couple) and it's a solid chick flick.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

158. November 28, 2010 - Where the Heart Is (2000)

Though this isn't a great movie, it is heartwarming and it certainly shows that Natalie Portman can act. It was one of those that I somehow missed, though I would have been right in the target demographic when it came out. I finally watched it now since James Frain (Forney) showed up on last season of True Blood as the delightfully demented vampire Franklin. I was surprised by how much I liked this. The cast is great and the story, though sort of cliched by now, is pretty touching. But, I have to say - Americus? Really?
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

145. November 9/10, 2010 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

I think I had only seen this once, a long time ago. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of Inception. Both of them get the tone right on for all of the scenes that take place inside someone's head. Sometimes it looks normal on the surface, but there's always a hint of something just a little off if you're really paying attention. You know how much I adore Kate Winslet and this movie got her her fourth Oscar nomination. And naturally, it won for Best Original Screenplay (just as Inception is probably going to this coming February/March). I especially like the title, which, as Kirsten Dunst says in the film, is from Alexander Pope's poem "Eloisa to Abelard":
How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!

The world forgetting, by the world forgot.

Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!

Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;
The heroine in this poem is onto something, I think. Sometimes forgetting does seem like the easiest way.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

122. September 15, 2010 - Letters to Juliet (2010)

I very much enjoy Amanda Seyfried as an actress. I think that she has come a long way since Mean Girls (and I'm not just saying that because I used to live in the same apartment complex), but I question her most recent choice of films. This and Dear John are two of the most saccharine films I've seen come out in a long time. That being said, there is a fascinating story that comes out of this movie and it has nothing to do with the plot. Apparently, the whole story about Juliet's secreteries who reply to letters sent to Juliet herself is true. Heartbroken women from all over the world send their woes in letter form to Shakespeare's most famous heroine and both men and women from Verona volunteer their time to reply to each and every one that they get. To me, that is a far more touching story than anything presented in the movie.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars