Movies!

The wife and I were able to do a house swap to the coast over spring break, and it was amazing. More on the swap, the beach, the casino, and other stuff in another post. This post is solely about the movies (there were a lot of them!) that we watched while on break.

I am going to list the movies, give a brief description, a quick analysis, and give them a score out of five.

Scale: 1-absolute waste of time, 2-not worth you time, 3-worth watching if you have extra time, 4-make time to watch, 5-waste no time and go see it immediately.

Premonition: Sandra Bullock stars in a thriller where one day her husband is dead and the next day he is alive. Decent movie; but did a horrible job of explaining why and how this could be happening. Score: 3.2

Music and Lyrics: Drew Barrymore helps washed up 80’s pop star Hugh Grant write lyrics to a new song and they begin to fall in love in the process. This was a funny, smart, and had a (surprisingly) somewhat believable plot. Good for a date night. Score: 3.9

Munich: The retelling of a true story about Israel’s violent response to the killings of Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics. Intense and thought provoking, this movie was brilliant. Score: 4.3

Mozart and the Whale: Josh Harnett plays the leader of a support group for people who suffer from Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of Autism, who falls in love with a new member. Not a bad feel good movie, but nothing to write home about. Score: 2.8

Shut Up and Sing: Follow the Dixie Chicks as they tour and begin to write and record their best record yet following the craziness after they said that they “are ashamed of being from the same state as George W.” This was an awesome movie, funny, powerful, and all around cool. Cameos from Rick Rubin and Chad Smith (who played drums on their record!!!) send this movie into greatness. Score: 4.7

Come Early Morning: This is a character piece where Ashley Judd plays a tough southern girl who is with another guy every night and has a hang over every morning. This was a pretty good movie, but nothing spectacular for me. Score: 3.3

Marie Antotnette: Sophia Coppola directs Kirsten Dunst in the title role as she marries Louis XVI at the young age of 15. This was a fairly good movie, yet I was expecting so much more from Coppola. The costumes, makeup, and the set were incredible. Score: 3.4

Good Bye Lenin: (A German film with subtitles.) A 20 something West German’s mother, who is a loyal socialist, falls into a coma. While asleep, the Berlin Wall Falls and the socialist regime has died. Desperate to keep his mother in good health after waking from months of being in a coma, the young man tries to pull off an elaborate scheme to keep her from hearing that her beloved party has fallen. A brilliant film that crosses over from drama to comedy and back again seamlessly. Score: 4.4

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School: After seeing a fatal car crash, a lonely widower tries to fulfill the dying man’s dream: to go to a 40 year reunion of dance class. Once there, the widower finds new hope and excitement. I was really excited for this movie as the trailer looked very interesting and moving. But the movie fell far short of that and just seemed a little boring and disjointed. Score: 2.6

The Constant Gardener: A diplomat’s wife is killed in Africa while doing humanitarian work. When he begins to dig into the reason of her murder, he gets caught up in more than he imagined. A powerful, moving, intense, and gripping movie. An incredible look at the powers that take advantage of the extremely impoverished people. Score: 4.8

I would love to hear what you thought of any or all of these movies in the comments.