Real Women Have Curves

seven out of ten

I've been meaning to watch this movie for a very long time since I am a fan of America Ferrara the heroine in this film. The movie is about a chubby girl who is pressured to lose weight, not go on to college despite great potential and instead work at her sister's 'sweat shop' where she sews dresses too expensive for any of the workers to ever dream of owning. Its a story with heart about body acceptance, and the struggles that are inherent when you are the children of immigrants but one that I did not feel was directed or told as best as it possibly could- still it was good and there is a sequence in the dress shop where America encourages all the women to love herself that is worth watching the entire movie for anyways!

Donkey in Lahore

nine out ten

This is a documentary I saw recently and found absolutely fascinating simply because its an unlikely concept: An Australian white goth guy falls in love with a traditional Pakistani girl in Pakistan. He converts. He marries her. Then they spend two years apart trying to get her sponsored. It's a very powerful documentary that is very realistic and shows how difficult a long distance relationship is, and the pressures and regret that the young Pakistani girl now feels to have married this man despite her brother's begging her not to. Overall just very real and very raw. Worth seeing.

Rachel Getting Married

one out of ten

This movie was not good. I expected a great indie flick about a young mentally unstable woman returning from the institution for her sister's wedding and a good introspection of her life and the family dynamics. Maybe this happened, I didn't see it. What I saw was a home video of Rachel. Getting. Married. Yeah, that's what this is. Someone needed to seriously edit this film as some scenes went on far too long. I felt like the director was in love with how they were directing instead of focusing on the story itself and the fact that there hardly was any.

Meet Bill

Bill is a nice guy who gets walked all over by everyone in his life. This movie is about him coming to terms with that and figuring out what he wants out of his life. In the meantime he's volunteered to mentor some kids on the practice of his family banking business. One of the kids sticks and then promptly helps "change his life." Eh. The movie was mediocre, it could have been so much better. I didn't think it was very funny, or believable. And in my opinion, the ending, sucked.

The Sensation Of Sight

This is a film about a man struggling to escape despair (PTSD) after witnessing one of his students commit suicide. The film follows him, the dead student's brother, and a random dude. Its an indie flick and I feel a) it was too incredibly slow b) trying really hard to be deep c) the characters, several of them like Dylan and his sister were so annoying I would get distracted when they got on the screen. Thumbs Down.

Juno

seven out of ten

Perhaps I had too high hopes for this movie which got 100% positive reviews from Rotten Tomatoes. This movie is about a high schooler who gets pregnant and decides to give the baby up for adoption. It follows her dealing with pregnancy and also her interactions with the prospective adoptive parents. I thought she was kind of annoying. The baby daddy was not nearly as sympathetic to me as I think he was supposed to be. And Jennifer Garner did an okay job but every time I see her in anything, I always just feel her acting. I get taken out of the movie. The movie was okay. For a review that I agree with more read this.

Dan in Real Life

eight out of ten

This is a film about a widower with three girls and his struggle to raise them and possibly find love. Dan is an advice columnist but this aspect of his life is not focused on. The focus of the film is on a long weekend visit to Dan's parents for what seems like Thanksgiving with all the children coming home for one of those family scenes of heartwarming football games and giggles that just makes you feel all warm and mushy. While visiting his parents he goes to a bookstore and meets a beautiful woman with whom he shares one of those life changing conversations where he feels like this woman might be "the one"... unfortunately when he returns home he realizes this woman is dating his brother. That's the premise of the story and we watch how these different themes unfold. I thought it was a great film though I could have done without the Soundtrack. Never have I been that distracted by a soundtrack, truly horrendous, but otherwise a good film.

Black Snake Moan

seven out of ten

This is a story of two troubled souls. One, a girl in her twenties whose boyfriend is off at sea while she battles a lot of... issues. The other, an older man whose wife left him for his brother and is coping with the anger he feels. He finds the girl on his lawn one morning, nearly dead. He helps her heal and as he gets her help he learns she has a... reputation. He decides its his job to cure her and help her fix herself. What follows it the meat and potatoes of the film.

Its a good film, superbly acted and worthy of Oscar nods for Ricci though I'm unsure she'll be nominated so. Its not as deep as I thought it might be or as the movie thinks it might be, but its interesting, its different, and it does make you think.

Little Miss Sunshine

Nine out of Ten

This is a movie that illustrates best why I love indie flicks. And this is the little indie flick that could as its up for so many Oscar nods that it makes my head swivel. Follow a very unlikely beauty pageant contestant as her family teeters along in a very symbolic yellow bus all the way to California to help her win. I love this film because it shows a family that is dysfunctional yet loves one another and I love the pointedly obvious yet still endearing metaphors and symbols of the film! The ending will turn even the most annoyed watcher into a fan because it is truly priceless!