Dir: Nancy Meyers, 2009
Warm, funny and very winning. Jane and Jake are divorced and on fairly good terms, but get drunk and have sex one night, then begin an affair. Meanwhile, Jane is having an addition built onto her house and getting close to the cute and similarly divorced architect she's working with. A bit too talky in the first 20 minutes, but that dissipates. This movie is very vibrant, full of humor and family love. The acting is phenomenal. Meryl Streep can do no wrong. Alec Baldwin is charming, bold and funny, proving once again that he was always more than just a handsome face and a killer set of baby blues. I especially love the former heartthrob for going nude and owning his plumpness. And I also have to give special props to John Krasinski, who stole many of the scenes he was in with his adorableness. He plays the husband-to-be of Jake and Jane's eldest daughter, who discovers the affair and is stressed out about keeping it quiet. See it, it's good! But, if you're overwhelmed with Oscar and Holiday season films, you may just watch this one on DVD, because I doubt anything will be lost.District 9
Dir: Neill Blomkamp, Simon Hansen, 2009
Amazingly well-done! Technologically advanced aliens with a nonfunctional mother ship are trapped in Johannesburg, persecuted, reviled and segregated into slums. A government agent, who's overseeing their relocation to a smaller camp further from the city, quickly begins to see things from their perspective. This movie is many things: a sci-fi masterpiece, a metaphor for things including human rights violations, xenophobia, Apartheid and segregation, an intense action film, etc. Above all though, it's simply a well-made (directed, shot, edited) film with a strong story, perfect pacing and authentic acting. There are some really shocking and bloody scenes, but they are too quick and shot in a way that keeps them from being gratuitously gory, whilst remaining horrifying in their casualness. You'll see what I mean when you see it. I wish I'd seen it in theaters.
Stupid, mildly entertaining. A sci-fi comedy about alien organisms taking over the planet. There's no good reason to see this movie. Unless it's on at 2 a.m. and you have nothing better to do and can't will yourself off the couch. This is a little like what happened to me.
Revolutionary Road
Dir: Sam Mendes, 2008
Intense and stark. About the marital difficulties and soul-crushing suburban lives of a couple in 1950s Connecticut. One of those movies you probably want to stop watching because it's making you miserable, but can't because you're captivated. Sometimes sounds a bit more like a play than a movie. Leo and Kate are both wonderful, by turns hatable, pathetic and tragic.
Things I took away from this movie: 1) Do not move to the suburbs in the 1950s. 2) Do not get married. But, if you do, definitely, do not move to the suburbs. In the 1950s. 3) Roe v. Wade must never be overturned. Seriously. 4) People don't really make sense. 5) Divorce is sometimes the best option. Unless you live in the suburbs, in the 1950s, in which case marital problems must be solved with adultery.
Dir: Sam Mendes, 2008
Intense and stark. About the marital difficulties and soul-crushing suburban lives of a couple in 1950s Connecticut. One of those movies you probably want to stop watching because it's making you miserable, but can't because you're captivated. Sometimes sounds a bit more like a play than a movie. Leo and Kate are both wonderful, by turns hatable, pathetic and tragic.Things I took away from this movie: 1) Do not move to the suburbs in the 1950s. 2) Do not get married. But, if you do, definitely, do not move to the suburbs. In the 1950s. 3) Roe v. Wade must never be overturned. Seriously. 4) People don't really make sense. 5) Divorce is sometimes the best option. Unless you live in the suburbs, in the 1950s, in which case marital problems must be solved with adultery.
Amazing, heartbreaking, triumphant, devastating, uplifting. A documentary about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, as seen largely through the eyes of an aspiring rapper. Complete with handheld camera footage (which makes me nauseous, but not as much as seeing the way the people of New Orleans were treated). This movie is indescribably good. The people it profiles are real, honest, compassionate, open, imperfect, victim-survivors you can't help but root for. It's also about more than just Hurricane Katrina, in the same way that the hurricane was about much more than wind and water. I think every American should see it.
Cute and heartwarming. It's about the greatest adventure of all. And, maybe, a little about conservation(ism). I'm not ashamed to say I got misty-eyed at multiple points, especially when it came to talk of the protagonist's love for his wife. And during the montage of their life together. Not as wonderful as Wall-E or The Incredibles, but definitely sweet and worth seeing. 
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