One Missed Call

So what is this one about?
Netflix tells us,

Cell-phone messages describing victims' last moments on earth are the only links connecting a string of deaths in this supernatural chiller. When two of her friends die after receiving such calls, college coed Beth Raymond (Shannyn Sossamon) contacts the police, who dismiss her story -- with the exception of Det. Jack Andrews (Edward Burns). The two team up to solve the mystery, but when Beth's phone rings with an eerie refrain, is her number up?

Gee, how original.

And how much did I pay to watch?
Nothing, because I watched it as an On Demand movie on one of the "premium subscription" channels. Maybe Cinemax? Who knows, who cares.

And what did I think?
"What will it sound like when you die?" Probably just like every other Japanese movie remake that came before. In fact, when I was done watching it I had to go to netflix and see if this one was a remake of a movie I had already seen a few years ago called Phone. Turns out it is a remake, but of a film called One Missed Call (duh).

The plot was pithy (shocker) but there were suspenseful parts. I didn't really care what happened to any of the characters. But, lets be serious. The only reason I watch stupid horror movies is on the off chance I might find an actual scary one. This one wasn't really. But, I was still entertained enough.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
It gets a 4.

Milk

So what is this one about?
If you have been under a rock, Netflix will tell us what this one is about.

Sean Penn (in an Oscar-winning role) stars in this fact-based drama about Harvey Milk, the openly gay activist and San Francisco politician who was murdered along with mayor George Moscone (Victor Garber) by disgruntled city employee Dan White (Josh Brolin, in an Oscar-nominated role) in 1978. Director Gus Van Sant's compelling biopic (nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award) co-stars Emile Hirsch, James Franco and Diego Luna.

And how much did I pay to watch?
Nothing, because Devin bought my ticket.

And what did I think?
There were basically two over-riding things I thought of while watching this one. 1) Sean Penn is such an incredibly talented actor. He is just fabulous. 2) Good god this movie was better than stupid, stupid Slumdog Millionaire. You may be able to tell that I saw this before the stupid Oscars, because those were my two immediate thoughts.

Other than those, though, I suppose I did have some other thoughts. I liked that Josh Brolin played the guy who killed Harvey Milk. I liked this because the last role I saw Brolin in was playing George W. Bush in W. Haha, George W. Bush hates gay people and kills them. Oh wait, that is just Josh Brolin. I also liked that the whole story was new to me. I suppose I knew that Harvey Milk was killed, but I didn't know how, or when, or why, or by who. So I liked that. I also liked that it was filmed in San Fransicso...cause hey, I've been there!

I thought the acting was very good. In fact, I thought all the actors were great!!

It was also whispered in my ear that the woman at the begining of the film who says that Milk and Moscone are dead was Dianne Feinstein, and that this basically catapulted her carrer. Or, well, thats what Devin said. I thought that was interesting, and the wikipedia article even refers to it. So, again, it must be true.

On the other hand, though, besides the awesome acting and the fact that it was much better than Slumdog, I think I might have to admit that I am getting a little sick of gay movies. I love gay people. I think they are great. I think they should have all the same rights as straight couples, and all of that goodness (and be serious, how adorable are Ellen and Portia? they are amazing!) but really, I am getting kind of bored of these movies. I guess they just don't tug at my heart like they used to. Maybe I am becoming horribly cold. But maybe I'm just getting bored.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
Milk was good. Milk was great. Penn deserved his Oscar, because dude let's face it... he is so talented.

Overall, it was very good. 8.

Trade

So what is this one about?
Netflix told me,

Based on a New York Times Magazine story, this crime drama starring Kevin Kline delves into a sordid world of international sex trafficking that leads from Mexico City to a New Jersey stash house. In a bid to save kidnapped 13-year-old Adriana (Paulina Gaitan) before she's sold into sexual slavery, her desperate brother (Cesar Ramos) teams with a Texas cop (Kline). Can they find her before she vanishes into a hellish underworld?

before I watched it...because I'd never heard of it, and I watched it on "watch it now", therefore...

And how much did I pay to watch?
Nothing. (Because like I just said, I watched it on "watch it now")

And what did I think?
Well, considering I had never heard that this movie even existed, and therefore had no expectations of how it would be, it was actually pretty good.

You can pretty much always tell if a movie about human trafficking is good by how uncomfortable it makes you feel. There were parts that just turned my stomach during this one, as it well should. That showed me that the movie was much more realistic than other stupid ass movies that deal with human trafficking. (Doesn't that dumb movie Eastern Promises deal with that topic sort of??)

In a lot of ways I really liked that it was so gritty and difficult (with bad, bad things happening to the characters). The story was compelling and suspenseful (though a bit unbelievable in the ending). There were even some Russian mob aspects! (and what trafficking movie would be complete without those?) And even though, apparently, this movie was only in very limited release it did a good job of giving human trafficking a realistic and not very Hollywood treatment.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
Overall, I was very pleased with this film. It was good, and because I didn't know it existed, and therefore had no expectations for it, I was even more pleased.

So, I'll give it a 7.

Der Untergang (Downfall)

So what is this one about?
I will leave this one to Wikipedia,

In the last days of World War II in Europe, the Soviet Red Army is fighting its way into Berlin. Deep within his bunker underneath the Reichskanzlei, Adolf Hitler celebrates his last birthday and lives out his final 10 days isolated from the world, desperately ordering counterattacks that will never happen, from armies that exist only on maps, commanded by men who are most likely dead. Hitler (Bruno Ganz) is presented as he was in the last months of the war: a sick, exhausted man but dreaming still of a Greater Germany amid the ruins of war-ravaged Berlin and callously ranting against the "weakness" and "deserved destruction" of the German people for their lack of resistance. As the Red Army draws nearer and imminent defeat looms over the Third Reich, Hitler is seen alone with his clique which consists of Joseph Goebbels (Ulrich Matthes), Albert Speer (Heino Ferch) and (briefly) SS leader Heinrich Himmler (Ulrich Noethen), along with his personal staff.

Most of the events are depicted from the perspective of Hitler's young personal secretary Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara). Events outside Hitler's bunker are mostly depicted from the perspective of SS doctor Ernst-Günther Schenck (Christian Berkel). On the day before his death Hitler marries his longtime mistress Eva Braun (Juliane Köhler) and they commit suicide together on April 30, 1945, ten days after Hitler's 56th birthday.

(Holy shit that is a lot of links!!!!!)

And how much did I pay to watch?
When I watched this I didn't pay anything, because I watched my own copy of the film on dvd. I did at one time see the movie in the theatre, which made me want to buy the dvd (which I did with an amazon.com gift certificate) so I did spend money on it at one time. But not this time.

And what did I think?
I think this film is amazing. Everything about it is just beyond extraordinary. But, the main thing that is so tragic and poignant about this film is that none of it needed to happen. The deaths of all the officers, the downfall of the whole of the German people. Its tough man. Its tough. And Downfall doesn't step back from slapping you in the face with the cruel and vicious and disturbing realities of that time.

You have to give a war movie that is really realistic a lot of credit. I once watched Come and See (a Belarusian war film that I will refer to in my write up of Defiance) and my professor told me that it is widely viewed as one of the most realisitic and therefore bleak war movies ever made. Downfall was sort of like that.

And, you know, now that I am reading the wikipedia entry on this movie I feel like maybe I shouldn't say a lot specifically about this film (a la Gran Torino, which I did see for a second time, and it was just as amazing the second time. Seriously, have you still not seen Gran Torino???) so that when you watch it (WHICH YOU SHOULD!) you wont have much of it ruined for you. I think that is what I should do.

I will say that the Russian history nerdo in me was very interested to see that many of the Germans who were in the bunker ended up in the Gulag once they were captured. And I will also tell you that the soft hearted, history aware, wimp in me tears up a lot during this one. It is just so, so, so, so, so, so good. It is really amazing.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
This is a movie that I consider pretty much perfect. If someone was like, "Hey Julia, you seem to complain about how movies aren't amazing. So, if you had to pick, what would be a 10 to you. Not a film you like a lot like Love Actually, but a really amazing, flawless, piece of film making?" I would say Downfall.

So, a 10 it is. And, immediately after I saw it for the first time I knew it was one of the best films I had ever seen.

The Longshots

So what is this one about?
Well, I wish I could have gotten the description from the United Airlines magazine, so I could communicate to you what I was faced with in the decision to watch this movie (as opposed to staring off into space for two hours), but, I cannot. We must settle for the Netflix description. Which is,

Eleven-year-old Jasmine Plummer (Keke Palmer) becomes the Pop Warner League's first female quarterback with help from her uncle (Ice Cube), a former high school gridiron star, in this true story directed by Limp Bizkit front man Fred Durst. Despite her skills on the playing field, Jasmine raises eyebrows in her small Illinois town -- until she exceeds expectations by taking her team to the Pop Warner Super Bowl.

And I wondered, "wait, is that Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit?! Yes, apparently it was." Bizarre.

And how much did I pay to watch?
Well, if you want to be technical, since I watched it on an airplane, I paid how much I paid to fly on the airplane...which was $446. Since that would be insane though, I will say I paid nothing, since I watched it for free on an airplane. Woo!

And what did I think?
Well, airplane movies are quite an interesting thing, like I already said. You can either watch a crappy movie or do some other fun activity. My activities of choice included reading a crappy book, or listening to the music I listen to every damn day in the car, or falling asleep. Besides, when you watch a movie that makes two hours pass sort of quickly. And, when you are flying on United you get to watch NBC on United after the movie. HOORAY!!

So, what did I think about the movie? Overall it wasn't that bad. And Ice Cube, actually, is a fairly competent actor! I know, I know, catch your breath and get over the shock of what I just said. Actually, all the actors were fairly competent.

I vaguely remember seeing ads for this movie when it came out, maybe, and I thought it looked like it was supposed to be a stupid sports comedy. It actually wasn't, and it wasn't really that funny at all.

It was actually much more related to civic things, with a community pulling itself up by the bootstraps because they were inspired by one of the community members. And if you know me, you know that any movie that even touches on civic activism is something that I love (see Hairspray... well, once I write it.) But, you could have tricked me, because I was positive the movie took place in Michigan, not Illinois.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
Anyway, it was entertaining enough that I did watch it a second time on my return flight.

And it was surprisingly good, especially Ice Cube.

So, I give it a 7. Woah!