MOVIES YOU SHOULD ADD TO YOUR NETFLIX

"In Bruges" is a great movie. I saw it at Blockbuster for a number of months and continually walked past it because it starred Colin Ferrell and with all due respect to Colin, he hasn't picked the best movies of late. I really enjoyed his performance in the indie film Tigerland and It seems like he has had a string of bad films ever since. I was expecting this one would join the pack of other duds. Then I watched this TV show featuring the best movies of 2008 and this one was rated high on someones list, so I figured it has to be a decent rental. The plot is great, the dark comedy aspect was intriguing especially since Ferrell delivers some great one liners throughout the film and the location - Bruge, Belgium - was pretty spectacular - filed with rich history mixed with a classic European appeal. I highly recommend this film, you will enjoy Ferrell because he final finds a character with substance and delivers one of his best performances to date.


"The Wackness" was totally great film I knew I would like from the beginning. I wanted to see this film when it was out in theaters but I'm glad I was able to see it at home chilled out on my couch. The story revolves around a pot selling recent high school graduate and his friend/psychologist/pot client, set in NYC, 1994. First off, the 90's reference and music set it up to be an automatic his if you ask me. The main character is Josh Peck - who got his start playing a character on a Nickelodeon TV show. Apparently he lost a lot of weight - he was quite the chubby kid when he did TV. He played the part very well, I was intrigued by the character's vulnerability with being a virgin and learning from a classmate who has experience and the patience to teach him how to make love to her. Ben Kingsley was his consistently great self with this role that is a far cry from Ghandi - but is complex in a special way. He plays a good man in a unfilled marriage and feels like he has finally hit a brick wall in his life. At one point he makes out with one of the Olson twins at a bar. The relationship between the characters Peck and Kingsly portray is the center piece of this film that takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions. I enjoyed the simplicity of the plot and the deep passion of the characters.


"Towelhead" is a film that makes me appreciate how good I had it while growing up. The poor little girl in this film is forced into some adult decisions at a very young age. From shaving her pubic hair, getting her period, dating boys out of her race, inappropriate touching/molesting by a neighbor - she has to deal with a lot of bullshit at a very young age. Yes, her parents were pretty much horrible, always making their needs come before hers and really didn't provide an open dialogue for her to be able to ask questions or communicate her needs, but you do get a sense that they love her even though they are selfish assholes. This film also shows how down right uneducated people are with other cultures. The film shows several instances of people placing labels on this young girl because of the way she looks and not knowing how completely asinine they are when their assumptions turnout to be completely wrong. "Ugly uneducated Americans" are depicted very well in the film. Towlhead made me more conscience of the many needs and hardships females have while maturing into adulthood and offers up a tale that I hope resonates with parents and caretakers of children, as there are many lessons to be learned from this heart wrenching film.