My March 2008 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.
Underlined titles are direct links to reviews.

Curb Your Enthusiasm 6:2 03/30/08 (B)
Monarch of the Glen 1:3 03/29/08 (B)
Curb Your Enthusiasm 6:1 03/27/08 (B)
Enchanted 03/23/08 (B)
Bee Movie 03/22/08 (A-) 652
Monarch of the Glen 1:2 03/21/08 (B)
Mesmer 03/21/08 (C)
Atonement 03/20/08 (A)
Office Space 03/18/08 (C)
Monarch of the Glen 1:1 03/17/08 (B)
Dan in Real Life 03/14/08 (B)
August Rush 03/13/08 (C)
The Big Bounce 03/12/08 (C)
Things We Lost in the Fire 03/11/08 (A)
Lucky You 03/10/08 (C-)
Helvetica 03/07/08 (B-)
Into the Wild 03/06/08 (A)
Snow Buddies 03/05/08 (C+)
Nurse Betty 03/04/08 ( C+)
The Mesmerist 03/03/08 (D)

Enchanted (2007)

Julie Andrews ... Narrator

Amy Adams ... Giselle

Patrick Dempsey ... Robert Philip

James Marsden ... Prince Edward

Susan Sarandon ... Queen Narissa

Directed by Kevin Lima.

Rated PG for some scary images and mild innuendo.

Bee Movie (2007)

This project was Jerry Seinfeld's passion for a couple of years. It was his idea, he wrote it, and he spent long hours every day overseeing the production.

Barry B. Benson (Seinfeld), a college-educated honey bee, looks forward to a bright and exciting future, but when he realizes that he'll spend his life as a worker bee without any variance or thrill. He can't bear the thought so he escapes the hive and buzzes into NYC to see if he can't find a more fulfilling career.

There he is befriended by Vanessa Bloome (Renée Zellweger), a dear, sweet human being who tries to help Barry find his place in the world despite the protests of her obnoxious boyfriend Ken (Patrick Warburton).

Lots of lessons in this one -- from finding your bliss to ecology -- and enough Seinfeld-isms to keep this adult entertained for the most part.

Other voices provided by Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Kathy Bates, Barry Levinson, Larry King, Ray Liotta, Sting, Oprah Winfrey, Larry Miller, Megan Mullally and Rip Torn.

Directed by Steve Hickner and Simon J. Smith.

Rated PG for mild suggestive humor, and a brief depiction of smoking.

Atonement (2007)

"I can't escape from what I did..."

A mature Briony Tallis (Vanessa Redgrave), a noted novelist, reflects on her life and how one lie she told when she was 13 years old affected the lives of others.

As a young teen, Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) is an odd, rigid and opinionated writer of plays and stories. It's 1935 in England where Briony lives on an estate with her mother (Brenda Blethyn) and older sister Cecelia (Kiera Knightly).

Briony is smitten with Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), the housemaid's son who also attends college with Cecelia, but Briony is confused and upset by the apparent sexual tension between Cecelia and Robbie. Devasted by a note Robbie wrote to Cecelia and after catching Robbie and Cecelia in an intimate interlude, Briony tells a huge lie that sentences Robbie to prison.

At age 18, while attending nurses' training, Briony (now played by Romola Garai), looks to atone for her deceit but is it too late to be of any meaning in the lives of Cecelia and Robbie?

What a powerful film. Young Saoirse Ronan definitely deserved her Oscar nomination for this one and I'll be watching for her in future roles. Kiera Knightly and James McAvoy earned Empire Awards in the UK for their work and Saoirse Ronan was nominated as Best Newcomer.

Brilliantly directed by Joe Wright from a novel by Ian McEwan. The music, set design, and locations all beautifully enhanced the experience.

Rated R for disturbing war images, language and some sexuality.

Dan in Real Life (2007)

"You're a murderer of love!

Widower Dan Burns (Steve Carell) is raising his three daughters Jane (Alison Pill), Cara (Brittany Robertson) and Lilly (Marlene Lawston) while plodding through his otherwise lonely life. As a respected advice columnist, he isn't handling teenage Jane's budding romance very well and the teen's angst makes for a long and difficult trip as Dan takes the girls for their annual reunion at his parent's (Dianne Wiest, John Mahoney) home in Rhode Island.

The morning after their arrival, Dan goes to town alone and while browsing in a bookstore, he quickly becomes smitten with an attractive woman. He works up the courage to invite her to coffee and ends up spilling his story to the lovely Marie (Juliette Binoche). He wants to see her again but she discourages it saying she's just started a relationship, and yet she does give him her phone number. Encouraged by this, Dan returns to his parent's home and mentions that he met a "hottie" in town which causes a bit of a buzz and teasing, especially from his brother Mitch (Dane Cook).

Meanwhile, Mitch is preparing his family for the arrival of his new girlfriend and makes it clear that "this might be the one!" Of course, when she arrives, she and Dan are surprised to see each other and yet they don't let the family know about their earlier meeting.

Dan is, of course, saddened by this revelation but goes through the motion of the family reunion routines, like meals, the football game and the talent show, with this lingering enchantment with Marie. But there's much going on in the household with Dan's several siblings (including Amy Ryan), young nieces and nephews, and dealing with his own daughter's issues.

Dan's mother thinks it's high time that Dan marries again and sets him up with an old classmate Ruthie (Emily Blunt). Dan is not happy. Ruthie's nickname in school was "pig face," but he reluctantly agrees to go on the date when Mitch suggests that Dan and Ruthie double-date with Mitch and Marie.

There's a lot going on in this film with the issues of Dan's daughters and his large family, his own sadness, prospects for a career move, and this burning secret love, but it's well put together and coherent with some very funny bits and tender moments.

Directed by Peter Hedges.

Rated PG-13 for some innuendo.

My personal rating: B

Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)

Steven and Audrey Burke (David Duchovny, Halle Berry) are very much in love with each other. They live a mostly happy life in a Seattle 'burb with their darling children, Harper (Alexis Llewellyn) and Dory (Micah Berry).

There's a rub though. Audrey can't comprehend why her husband has remained friends with his childhood chum Jerry (Benicio Del Toro), a drug addict who lives in the dangerous part of town and who can't seem to shake his destructive habit. But Steven is loyal to Jerry and wouldn't have it any other way. Audrey has trouble hiding her distain for Jerry and resentment of the occasional time Steven spends with him.

As seemed typical of Steven's generous nature, he comes to the aid of a woman who is being violently beaten by her husband on the sidewalk whilst Steven is going to get ice cream for his family. As a result of being a good Samaritan, Steven is murdered.

On the day of the funeral, in shock and deep grief, Audrey suddenly realizes she should let Jerry know. Since he doesn't have a phone, Audrey sends her brother Neal (Omar Benson Miller) to get Jerry and bring him to her home so he can attend services. She knew Steven would have wanted Jerry there but she is, nonetheless, still repulsed by this seedy character and his despicable addiction.

After a time, as Audrey and the children continue to struggle with their grief, Audrey invites Jerry to come live in their garage apartment nominally in exchange for him doing the "manly" chores around the house. To me, it felt as though Audrey wanted to be near Jerry, despite her loathing him, because Jerry carried a part of her beloved Steven with him. The two men had been friends even before Audrey knew Steven. Perhaps she wanted to capture the essence of Steven from the presence of Jerry in whatever way she could in this kind of platonic relationship.

Jerry and the children grow close and he serves in many was as a surrogate father to them -- a role that sometimes leaves Audrey angry and bitter that Steve's job has been usurped. Jerry continues to struggle mightily with his recovery from addiction with the help of Steven's jogging buddy, Howard (John Carroll Lynch), and Kelly (Alison Lohman), a young woman who reaches out to Jerry at the NA meetings he attends.

Both Audrey and Jerry are sympathetic and believable characters. Del Toro's portrayal of a recovering addict is powerful and authentic.

Directed by Susanne Bier.

Rated R for drug content and language.

My personal rating: B+