Vicki Cristina Barcelona (2008)

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"Speak English!"
Twenty-something friends Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) go to Spain for the summer before Vicky's impending wedding to Doug (Chris Messina). Originally they are to stay with Vicky's parents' friends (Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Dunn) but they are swiftly enchanted by a sexy Spanish artist, Juan Antonio Gonzalo (Javier Bardem) who whisks them away to the island of his birth and woos both of them. Little do the women know that the recently divorced Gonzalo continues to have a tempestuous relationship with his artist ex-wife Maria Elena (Penélope Cruz, who won the Oscar for this role) and it's about to explode again.

Written and directed by Woody Allen.

Run time: 1 hour, 36 minutes

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving sexuality, and smoking.

My personal rating: B+

Towelhead (2008)

When thirteen-year-old Jasira Maroun's (Summer Bishil) mother (Maria Bello) moves in with her boyfriend (Chris Messina), Jasira is sent from Syracuse to live with her rigid, Lebanese father, Rifat Maroun (Peter Macdissi) who is a NASA engineer living in Houston and an American citizen.

Rifat is cold and distant from Jasira but very controlling and demanding. Their redneck neighbor Travis Vuoso (Aaron Eckhart) considers Rifat to be a Hussein-lover even though Rifat is diametrically opposed to Hussein's position against the United States. Despite this, Rifat arranges for Jasira to babysit for Vuoso's eight-year-old son so she can earn money for college; Rifat has decided Jasir will be an engineer.


Between the ethnic slurs Vuoso's son and her classmates throw at Jasir, she learns all about racism but must also face the fact that her own father is racist, too. While he has an American girlfriend (Lynn Collins), he totally disapproves of Jasir's African-American friend Thomas (Eugene Jones III).

When the Maroun's new neighbor Melina (Toni Collette) is concerned about the pressure Jasir's is under from her father and also suspects that Vuoso may be sexually harassing the girl, she offers friendship. In her darkest days, Jasir takes refuge with Melina and her husband Gil (Matt Letscher).


An intense and disturbing story of a girl finding herself and finding what those around her mean to her life.

Screenplay and directed by Alan Ball and based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Arab-American Alicia Erian.

Run time: 1 hour, 56 minutes

Rated R for strong disturbing sexual content and abuse involving a young teen, and for language.

My personal rating: B