Mrs. Henderson Presents - 3 stars

Mrs. Henderson Presents was billed as being much more racey and interesting than it is. Mrs. Henderson is a wealthy widow who opens a cabaret. Ticket sales slow, so she decides to have nude models on stage. The film is well made and easy to watch. Dame Judi Dench is always great.

Vera Drake - 3.5 stars

Vera Drake is set in gritty 1950s England. She is the perfect wife and mother trying to help out anyone who needs it. This is a lovely film with great acting and a very good story line. I don't want to spoil it by saying more about the movie except that the tone of the movie is serious. If you look at the synopsis or reviews of this (and just about any other movie) it will spoil half of the film!

Breakfast on Pluto - 2.5 stars

Breakfast on Pluto is all style and no substance. "Kitten" is a young transexual who is searching for her mother in London. It's very beautiful and stylized, but the story doesn't really move along. Liam Neeson plays the priest who takes him in as an infant.

House of Sand & Fog - 3 stars

The title of the House of Sand & Fog doesn't tell you anything about the film. Starring Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley, this is a story of tortured souls who just can't get anything right. That's exactly what you would expect from a movie starring these two actors. Jennifer's life is falling apart - her husband left her, she has no job, and she's just been evicted. Ben's family seems very proud and successful, but it's all a house of cards. They come together when Ben buys Jennifer's house at an auction after she's been wrongfully evicted. Be prepared for a depressing movie.

Thumbsucker - 3.5 stars

Thumbsucker is a slow, but entrancing slice of life movie. Justin is a 17-year old thumbsucker who is trying to "change." Everyone around him has sound advice that they don't take themselves. The acting is very good and so is the writing. The film doesn't take any easy outs, like harping on the thumbsucking too much. The cast is good with a couple of young newcomers starring with Vincent D'Onofrio and Vince Vaughn, who look a lot alike. Surprisingly, Keanu Reeves does a good job and is especially hot at the end.

Mission Impossible III - 3 stars

I saw Mission Impossible III at the Arclight Cineramadome. You probably don't know what that is, but can tell it's cool. It's a huge theater in Los Angeles with loud sound and a giant screen. Anything you see there is an experience.

You get exacty what you expect with this flick. It is pretty obvious with one or 2 good turns, mostly decent acting with a lot of action. It's probably much better in the theater than at home. Kudos to Tom Cruise for not completely sucking and for getting 10 years younger. Phillip Seymour Hoffman delivers yet another fabulous performance. Can this guy possibly disappoint?

Jarhead - 2.5 stars

Jarhead fulfills its mission to be yet another war movie. It's pretty watchable because of the great cast - the magnetic Jake Gyllenhaal, creepy Peter Scarsgaard, Jamie Foxx, and several others. It's pretty good at depicting how people change based on their surroundings and experiences, but is quite generic otherwise.

Thank you for Smoking - 4 stars

Thank you for Smoking was a very nice surprise. The movie was fresh, creative, well acted, and well written. Rob Lowe is a treat as the eccentric Los Angeles movie exec. Katie Holmes was acceptable, although I kept waiting for her to bear her breasts. Rumor has it that nut-job Tom Cruise had the scene pulled.

Writer/director Jason Reitman, son of Ivan Reitman, did a great job illustrating the slime that is lobbying and politics. The tobbaco lobbyist is able to manipulate everyone and villianize the sweet William H. Macy who plays a Senator from Vermont.

A good watch for anyone.

Cruel Intentions - 4 stars

I love Cruel Intentions. It's total trash. I'm rating this movie highly because I can watch it over and over and it has some great scenes. It is not, however, a brilliant film by objective standards.

Over-sexed, over-mature, spoiled teens manipulate each other in this Dangerous Liaisons remake. Ryan Phillippe is as delicious as I've ever seen him. There is only one moment in the film where his acting is atrocious. Sarah Michelle Geller (Buffy) is evil as Kathryn and Reese Witherspoon is well rounded as Annette. The only downfall of the movie is Selma Blair completely sucks.

During filming, Reese & Ryan met and fell in love. They now are married with 2 children.