The Family that Preys (2008)

I am a huge fan of Tyler Perry's films.  The first one I saw was "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," and it was a terrific movie.  "The Family that Preys" was much more serious in nature, mainly due to the absence of Madea's crazy character.  Nevertheless, it was a pretty good movie.  The film follows two families, a white upper class family led by Kathy Bates and an African-American family led by Alfre Woodard.  Both matriarchs are struggling with their adult children, and their lives have become even more intertwined then they would ever have imagined.  Even though the two women seem opposite in nature, they have been friends for over 30 years.  There are several sad moments throughout the film, and you genuinely despise a few of the characters, but in the end, the good characters triumph.  I would give this film 3 ½ out of 5 stars.

Ondine (2009)

Colin Farrell stepped outside his comfort zone when he took the role of a fisherman in "Ondine."  This film is about a recovering alcoholic Irish fisherman who pulled a suspicious girl out of the water one day.  The girl thought she had died and insisted that she shouldn't be seen by anyone and couldn't remember her past.  That same day, the fisherman tells his sick daughter the story and she insists that he found a sea creature.  I really wish that the film had followed the whimsy set up in the beginning of the film, but alas it's an Irish film about the gritty reality.  Throughout the film, you are shown the fisherman's struggle with his alcoholic ex-wife who has custody of his very sick daughter as well as a mysterious and creepy man out to find Ondine.  This film only gets 3 stars out of 5 because of the more somber moments that appeared in a film that I thought would be much more based in fantasy than reality.  However, it does have some surprisingly uplifting moments, so I would recommend it to see a different side of Colin Farrell.

In the Loop (2009)

"In the Loop" is a British political satire poking fun at how the Americans used the British as puppets when making the decision to invade a certain Middle Eastern country.  While there were some witty moments, I found the movie to be somewhat depressing just because of how much of the political satire matched reality.  One of the funniest recurring themes throughout the film was the foul-mouthed Scottish politician dealing with the straight-laced bumbling English politician.  There was lots of misinformation and many politicians switched opinions throughout the movie.  Overall, I give it 3 out of 5 stars, because it did have funny moments and it was a movie that needed to be made.  However, I wish it had been more fiction than reality.  If you want a real biting satire, I recommend watching "Wag the Dog."

Hot Fuzz (2007)

It would appear that Simon Pegg is starring in every strange British comedy, and "Hot Fuzz" is no exception.  This is a dark comedy at best with some action sequences, and a bit of unnecessary gore and violence.  I expected a little more quirky British humor and a lot less gore, even though it came from the makers of "Shaun of the Dead."  In this film, an overachieving police officer in the British police force is forced to leave London because he is making everyone else look bad.  They relocate him to a seemingly perfect small town where the officers appear to have never arrested someone before.  However, people keep dying in "accidents" and the new officer starts to suspect that there may be foul play involved.  Former Bond portrayer Timothy Dalton plays a creepy store owner in this town.  I'll give this film 2 ½ out of 5 stars because I didn't laugh very much at this dark comedy, there was too much gore, and there was really only one good action sequence at the end of the film.

The Favor (1994)

Thanks to Netflix and a Friday night in, I watched "The Favor".  I remembered seeing bits and pieces of it years ago on television, but didn't remember the whole story so I gave it another shot.  It's a very quirky romantic comedy about a woman who has been married for ten years, but has been fantasizing about her boyfriend from high school.  She sent her single gal pal out to sleep with him so she could report what happened to him after all those years.  Things get even more complicated when the husband feels his wife is having an affair, the gal pal becomes pregnant, and there's another guy thrown into the mix.  The case features some familiar faces like Bill Pullman, Elizabeth McGovern, Harley Jane Kozak, and a very young Brad Pitt.  Like I said, it's a goofy romcom with a few funny moments, but I probably won't watch it again.  It gets 3 out of 5 stars for the laughs it did provide.

Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill (1999)

In case you don't know, Eddie Izzard is the British transvestite (executive version) comedian.  I remember first seeing "Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill" when I was in college, and I cracked up through the whole routine with my roommate.  My husband and I watched this again last night, and it was just as funny.  He makes fun of Brits as well as Americans and their obsession with guns.  He also picks on the lack of knowledge history by most Americans.  He makes statements about politics, including the European Union and President Clinton.  I will warn you that this routine is not for the easily offended.  However, it is so funny and relevant even when watched ten years later.  Because it is one of the funniest stand-up routines I have ever seen, this gets 4 ½ out of 5 stars.

Freaks and Geeks

I recently finished watching the entire television series "Freaks and Geeks."  Sadly, it wasn't too hard to watch all the episodes because it was cancelled after only 18 episodes.  Each episode is a gem, and it is a series definitely worth watching.  Judd Apatow brought us this series about a group of "freaks" and a group of "geeks" dealing with high school in 1980.  The family of older sister and freak Lindsay and younger brother and geek Sam is also hillarious.  You will see many familiar faces in this series including James Franco, Busy Philipps, Seth Rogen, and Jason Segel.  I was in high school when this show was televised, and I would have loved it then probably even more than I loved watching it now.  It is a real shame that this show was cancelled after one season because it is one of the best ever made.  I highly recommend taking the time to watch each episode to reminisce about the 80s, remember the stereotypes of high school, and think about your first crush.

The Infidel (2010)

"The Infidel" was an interesting comedy about a British Muslim family man who discovered that he was actually born Jewish.  He identified himself as Muslim, but hated the extremists of his religion.  This becomes even more complicated when his son wants to marry a girl whose new stepfather is the head of the strict Muslim order.  Most of the movie was spent on stereotypes of Jews which were not amusing.  The film did look at racism and stereotypes across the board, but was only funny at times.  It did have a good moral story hidden beneath the rough surface.  It gets 3 out of 5 stars.

Letters to Juliet (2010)

"Letters to Juliet" was a delightful romance, but was definitely a chick flick.  The story is based on a legend where women write letters to Juliet in Verona, Italy, and Juliet replies to them about their romantic woes.  Amanda Seyfried played an engaged American who found a 50 year-old unanswered letter, and when she finally replied, the woman came from England to find her first love.  On the road trip to find the love, her grandson and the American quibble and start to possibly like eachother.  It was a fairy tale story that is hard to believe in real life, but leaves you feeling happy at the end.  I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

The Stepfather (2009)

"The Stepfather" was surprisingly well-done for a horror film.  The oldest teenage son in the movie really stole the spotlight.  Sela Ward played the mother who stayed oblivious to the evil of her husband-to-be, which annoyed me to no end.  However, she did redeem herself at the end of the film.  I would classify the movie as more of a thriller than a horror film, and there really isn't any blood or gore to worry about if you are sqeamish.  Truthfully, the most disturbing part of the film occurred in the first five minutes.  The rest of it just kept you on the edge of your seat.  I'd recommend this if you want a light-weight horror film that delivers more suspense than gore.  This film gets 3 ½ out of 5 stars.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

I found "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" to be very disturbing when I first saw it in high school, and it has only become mildly less disturbing with time.  I understand that it is a cult classic, but I really am repulsed by a lot of the film.  There are a couple good songs thrown into the musical, but the plot really disappears as the film progresses and becomes more and more about weirdos dressed up in racy attire.  It's not at all scary except for having to see Tim Burton as a transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania.  The recent homage to the film on "Glee" made me watch it with my husband, but I'll never make that mistake again.  It gets 2 ½ out of 5 stars simply because it was groundbreaking and edgy when it came out in 1975.

The Saint (1997)

"The Saint" is one of my favorite movies, even though others might find it a little cheesy.  This film is full of mystery, crime, and action without gore.  Val Kilmer plays a professional thief and master of disguises with a mysterious past, while Elisabeth Shue plays a brilliant scientist who is one of the thief's targets (professionally and romantically).  Throw in the Russian mob, some cold fusion, and Interpol, and you are left with this delightful film.  I could watch this film over and over again and never tire of it.  It gets 4 out of 5 stars.

Lower Learning (2008)

"Lower Learning" is a film that I could have gone without seeing.  I was lured in by Jason Biggs, Rob Cordry, Monica Potter, and Eva Longoria Parker, but was repulsed by the lack of humor in this "comedy."  There were a couple funny moments, but Jason Biggs played the usual spineless wimp, which contributed very little to the film.  The movie was about an underachieving elementary school with a corrupt principal, an alcoholic teacher, and a drug-abusing superintendant.  The premise is much funnier than the movie.  I'd skip watching this dud.  It gets 2 ½ out of 5 stars.