193. January 25/30, 2011 - Countdown: The Sky's On Fire (1998)

According to this film, the hypothetical hole in the ozone layer is going to kill us by cooking us to death as we hike in the desert (a valid danger, but not limited to times when there is a hole in the ozone layer) and by driving hoards of bugs into our homes (scarier when it was the Bug Man on Buffy the Vampire Slayer). This is fun to watch as a bad movie and definitely funny to think of as being taken seriously. Bradley Whitford looks a little like a tool with such short hair and John Corbett is sort of adorable as the Scientist Who Saves The Day.
My Netflix rating: 2 stars

190. January 27, 2011 - The Craigslist Killer (2010)

Yep, it's a Lifetime movie. And yes, it's sort of overdramatic. But it also only happened a year or so ago. When real life events get turned into movies (even Lifetime ones) that soon, they're bound to be melodramatic. I will say that I find it hard to believe that his fiancee would be that dumb in real life. Please tell me that they hyped that up for the movie. Also, I'm offended that they put the killer in a BU sweatshirt - I know he was in BU Med School, but do you really have to remind all of us BU grads about that?
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

178. January 4, 2011 - Pride (2004)

Nothing more than a live action The Lion King, this takes beautiful live animal footage and gives it cheesy special effects to make the lions talk. It had such an amazing voice cast that I thought it would be worth watching - at least it was short. Poor Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren and Sean Bean. And really, does anyone believe Martin Freeman, even just his voice, as a villain? Disney did it better.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

172. December 27, 2010 - Temple Grandin (2010)

This is an example of a smart biopic, since there is a story at the center of the plot as well as a person. Temple Grandin grew up with autism in a time when autistic children were institutionalized for life without a second thought. But she managed to graduate high school, college and graduate school and go on to design humane systems for animals in slaughterhouses - that was unheard of for autistic people at that time. Claire Danes' performance is phenomenal - her mannerisms and speech pattern make her unrecognizable as Claire Danes and transform her entirely into her character.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

157. November 27/28, 2010 - Asteroid (1997)

This was made the year before Armageddon and Deep Impact and yet it still feels like it ripped off both of them. Actually, it's more like Armageddon and Independence Day had an unfortunate love child. Imagine every disaster movie cliche and meld them all together. Of course, this was a TV movie, so I guess I shouldn't have had any hopes. Michael Weatherly was in it when he was very young. Oh Logan Cale, even you couldn't save this movie.
My Netflix rating: 2 stars

58. May 5/12, 2010 - Mrs. Harris (2005)

The most interesting thing about this movie is the number of people who show up for bit parts or cameos. Lisa Edelstein, Chloe Sevigny, Cristine Rose, Mary McDonnell, Ellen Burstyn and Cloris Leachman all show up at some point or another, but their presence is the only thing that makes this worth watching. It's hobbled together from pieces in three different narrative forms, but flashbacks, documentary-style interviews and melodrama do not mix well. The story is choppy and confusing, with none of the suspense and intrigue that it could have had.
My Netflix rating: 3 stars

49. May 2/3, 2010 - Soldier's Girl (2003)

This is a really moving and upsetting story. It's fairly graphic, both sexually and violently, for a made-for-TV movie, but it was aired by Showtime (and they show Dexter, so I suppose this was tame for them). The story drags in the middle - it seems that it was intended to establish the strained relationship between Barry and the rest of his infantry unit, but the heart of the story is the relationship between Barry and Callie. The tension within the unit is obvious. You don't need to spend so much time on it. The scene with Callie in her living room towards the end is heartbreaking.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

22. March 12/13, 2010 - My House in Umbria (2003)

This is a drama that tries sometimes a little too hard to be a mystery. Even so, it succeeds in being a touching story - mostly because of Maggie Smith. Everything she does turns to gold as far as I'm concerned. Whether it's playing old Wendy in Hook or Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter, she commands every scene that she's in. Chris Cooper is painfully cruel as an American guest in her Italian villa home and the little girl's performance is very powerful. Despite its flaws (strange extended dream sequences and a weak sideplot about terrorists), this is a beautifully-shot and touching story.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars

20. March 10, 2010 - James Dean (2001)

I am not a huge James Dean fan. I recognize that he was a great actor of his time and I am very curious as to what his career would have been like if he hadn't been killed in a car crash after three films - Paul Newman-esque? More like Marlon Brando? Or would he have suffered the fate of other young actors who faded early? But as much as I'm interested in him in that respect, I really don't get him as a heartthrob. I do, however, really like James Franco, which is what led me to rent this. It's a very interesting look at a life that I knew little about and a fun look at what filmmaking was like in the 1950s. Elia Kazan is a major character, as is Martin Landau, but they don't appear as wooden charicatures of famous people - they are portrayed as real people, just like Dean.
My Netflix rating: 4 stars