Ugh. So much hate for that movie. I thought my head was going to explode from all the whining.

Just watched All About My Mother and really enjoyed it. The story was all over the place and I kept thinking one thing would happen and something else entirely would happen instead, but Almodovar managed to keep everything on track and not lose any threads which was impressive. I ended up caring about all the characters much more than I thought I would because the performances were really strong. And for every heavy emotional moment there were also moments that were hysterically funny.

Next up: Kissing Jessica Stein.

I liked Kissing Jessica Stein it was a cute movie...

Just rented the Break Up and must say am glad I did not watch it in cinemas - the concept was nice and it had some funny moments but overall pretty meh

I got Monster House based on the raves that you guys have given in this thread and honestly, I was a little disappointed. It was kind of cute overall, but the whole backstory for why the house became that way was pretty ridiculous and silly. And I found the best friend Chowder to be annoying and an idiot.

Last night I got This Film Is Not Yet Rated from Netflix. It was really amazing, I thought. I may have to purchase this one myself. Who knew the MPAA was such a hush-hush organization? Not me.

And though I'm not a Kevin Smith groupie, he totally won me over in his speech about how in his idea of a perfect ratings system, films depicting violence against women would be the most severely rated, because to him, it's the worst kind of movie violence, and there is far too much of it in movies these days. I wish I could go back and find the exact wording, but it was good.

I just rented this and really liked that part too. Although I do think the point would've gotten across just fine without the little rape montage they threw in there after he said that.

The Illusionist and The Covenant. Because I thought it would be fun to get one really good movie and one really bad movie.

And it was bad. We had a really good time mocking the whole thing. I get that they were going for a "It's like The Craft! But with guys!" vibe. But hell if I could tell one guy from the other and the plot made no sense. Of course. The only surprise was that the shifty friend didn't actually betray them all. And the locations were weird. The beach is overlooked by a cliff but the whole thing is oddly woods adjacent.

It is cute, and I like it...up until the resolution which drives me nuts.

I watched You, Me & Dupree and A Prairie Home Companion this weekend. The first was mildly amusing, but only because of Owen Wilson and Seth Rogen. It was also badly paced, which made it seem about five hours long.

A Prairie Home Companion, on the other hand, was absolutely delightful. My family listened to the radio show for years and Garrison Keillor's voice is like aural comfort food. I loved GK's red Sauconys, I loved Dusty and Lefty, and I adored Meryl and Lily together.

I watched Little Miss Sunshine and don't think I've been so completely indifferent to a movie in a long time, it was just kind of there, though I thought Abigail Breslin was very good and Paul Dano was great.

Next up was Wassup Rockers or Larry Clark pervs on sweet Latino skaters, it's very slow until they start getting into accidental trouble all over Beverly Hills, and Janice Dickinson makes a hilarious last minute appearance. It would have been better had I been stoned.

I also watched Sherrybaby which I thought was really *really* good, and Maggie Gyllenhaal was fantastic, playing a difficult to like much less understand character. I'm not sure it added a whole ton of new perspective to the Junkies R fuckups story, but it was one of the better ones.

Yeah, I totally failed to get whatever it is that everyone else loved about Little Miss Sunshine. I give it props for being the first film I really liked Greg Kinnear in, but beyond that? Meh. And I have to say that I actually had a strongly negative reaction to the teenage son throughout the movie. I honestly hated that kid. Perhaps I'm just played out on "super deep teenagers who stay silent, but when they finally speak, speak TRUTH" archetypes. But whatever.

Oh I thought the kids character was a horrible trite cliche, but I felt like the actor cut through alot of it, I think he managed to make me believe he was an actual person by really selling the way you can love/hate your family in equal measure, that no one else is allowed to hate them like you are, because they haven't put in the *hours*.

I just had a marathon two weeks of Battlestar Galactica, which I am totally obsessed with now and so had to download season 3 from itunes. It really is incredibly fantastic and engaging on every level.

Between BSG viewings we squeezed in Paradise Now which was tough to watch but very, very good. And it ended up surprising me with the way it ended. Highly recommend this one.

Next up is Half Nelson and This Film is Not Yet Rated, which I can't wait to see now given the good reviews here.

I saw Clerks 2 with my husband last night. It was a little uneven, but got a few big laughs out of me. I'm not a huge fan of Kevin Smith movies, but I think I may have to see the original Clerks now to fill in all the blanks.

I should also be getting Half Nelson this week from Netflix. I can't wait to see it.

I just saw The Wicker Man -- the original, not the Nic Cage bearsuit karate one -- for the first time. Definitely the best evil pagan musical I've seen in a while.

No, seriously, what...what? The plot is kinda weak, but I barely noticed, because my brain was too busy going WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT I WANT MY MOMMY.

The original Wicker Man (let us pretend the remake never happened, until we need another joke to make at Nicolas Cage's expense) is a placid, benign, even tedious little mystery, right up until, oh the last 10 or so minutes, with all the >>burning and the killing and the chanting and the singing<< and whatnot. Never has a such an unremarkable film been so redeemed, if that's the word, by such a horrific sucker-punch of an ending.

So I finally saw Dazed and Confused and I gotta say, I'm kinda disappointed. I didn't hate it, but I just don't see the acclaim or affection. I actually think (and I don't often say this) it was way too short. Too many characters, too little time, and it's hard to really care about any of them deeply when you barely get to know them. At one point, one character kisses a girl, and she asks him, "Don't you have a girlfriend?" At which point, I thought, "He does? Where did this come from? I thought you were his girlfriend?" I shouldn't be that confused in the middle of what is supposed to be a tender moment.

And how funny is it that McConaughey has taken so much of his life's philosophy (including the name of his production company) from his character? Maybe I misinterpreted it, but I thought his character was meant to be a pathetic jackass, still hitting on high school girls at his age. Did he not get that at all? Or is he even more ironic than I thought?