well, the hubby and i subscribed to netflix and being dick broke most of the time and with our dvr fixed, we've been watching a lot of movies. so i thought i'd do some reviews.

here's the key:

one paw up being don't waste your time,
two paws up,
three paws up,
four paws up
and an exceptional movie will be given the coveted four paws up and a tail wag

Birthday Girl

This is an indi type movie featuring Nicole Kidman who plays a russian mail order bride. a status quo, always does the right thing, boring english man sends for her. even though he had been told she speaks english, when she arrives he finds she doesn't speak a word. initially, he tries to send her back, but she feeds some of his darker sexual needs and he begins to fall in love with her.

one day, he comes home from his boring bank job to find two other men with her who she claims are her brother and his friend. he allows the men to stay for awhile, but becomes uncomfortable with their irratic actions.

i won't give away the rest of the plot, but the english teller's metamophosis from milk toast to taking no crap makes the movie worth watching.

nicole kidman, in a seemingly uncharacteristic role, does a stellar job portraying the russian beauty.

though the ending is a disappointment and a bit watered down, i give this movie three paws up for kidman's portrayal, the banker's tranformation and the underlying (yet diluted) darkness.


Saw

well, i'm a sucker for a psychological thriller and this one to me didn't disappoint. i'm not one for blood and gore and this was fairly mild, leaving much of it up to the viewer.

add to that the mystery that unfolds of why the two men are locked at opposite sides of the same room, and it was enough to push me forward and keep me watching.

the jittery camera work helped keep the viewer on edge and added a tension.

however, the biggest disappointment was the ending. with a confusing litany of suspects, the who and the why was unclear when all was said and done.

still, for the edge of your seat tension it created, it gets three and a half paws up.


Maria Full of Grace

or as i like to call it, maria full of crap. actually, i enjoyed the characterization of maria. a poor colombian girl, she was fiesty and adventuresome and not willing just to simply exist in her tiny village.

tired of her job in a flower factory, and not willing to settle and marry the father of her child, (who she doesn't love and who cares more about hanging out with his friends than with her,) she meets man who offers her a chance to be a drug mule.

the money along with the opportunity to travel to america is reason enough for her to take the job. when one of the girl's traveling with her dies from one of the balloons bursting, under false pretenses, she convinces the girl's sister to give her a place to stay.

again, i won't give away the story, but let's just say that if in real life had maria talked to and treated true colombian drug runners as she did those in the movie, she'd have been fitted for a colombian necktie.

while the story and emotion were endearing, and you can't help but root for maria, the unrealistic ending in an apparently realistic movie burst my balloon. exactly what the academy was looking for, but a bit overrated to me, i give this three paws up.

I, Robot

Not being a sci-fi fan, i didn't think i was going to enjoy this movie much. however, will smith is always a winner with his sense of humor.

in a world where robots mindlessly follow instruction and take care of humans' every meanial need, will smith finds one robot who seems to have artificial intelligence, including feelings and the capacity to dream.

although we don't initially know why his character is so anti-robot, we see that he is uncovering some sort of plot which no one else believes in and only with the help of the one robot and one of it's creators, does the ultimate goal become clear.

lots of action, and the special effects are believably unbelievable.

for the special effects and a harrowing look into the future, i give this yes, three paws up.

The Chronciles of Riddick

Again, not a sci-fi fan, but this was totally enjoyable. and again, the special effects were fabulous. i'm told this is the sequel to Pitch Black, but i certainly didn't see it except for the reprisal of Vin Diesel's character.

as the death mongers take over the world, only one race can defeat them. the death monger's leader, half alive half dead, annilated the whole population, except for one, Riddick.

futuristic and bleak scenery aid the story. the costumes were fabulous and quite wicked.

well worth a watch, imo. three and a half paws up.


Sin City

yeah baby, robert rodriquez is hardly wrong. with too many names to mention, this highly stylized, graphic novel looking movie was unbelievable.

liking dark stories with anti-heros, this was right up my alley.

Sin City features four or five unrelated, yet loosely related stories.

Depravity and violence rule the day, as each anti-hero tries to bring a little right into the darkness. filmed in black and white, with touches of color for highlights, this film probably has a limited audience because of the content.

yes, stand and applaud folks, because this one gets a four paws up and a tail wag.


that's it for today, but i'll be back again with more great films worth watching(and some that's not).