Hide Away

A journey of grief, recuperation from guilt, time for suffering in peace... is the best way I can express the film Hide Away. Agony of the human spirit is brought to life beautifully and poetically. A broken man buys a broken boat. He stays docked through the winter while he goes mad dealing with the demons of his past. "Sometimes one must go completely insane before sanity can be reached"  is what I observed from the main character, played by Josh Lucas. And sometimes madness is best accomplished alone. As he slowly regains his sanity he gradually restores his boat. On land sits The Boathouse Cafe, run by a weathered man with a white beard (James Cromwell) and his captivating daughter (Ayelet Zurer). They assist the troubled man in mending his boat and his life. Hide Away is a story of healing. As gentle and fragile as it is dark and ominous, Hide Away is a rare peek into human emotion.

Friends With Kids

What happens to friendships when people get married and have kids? The answer... all kinds of things, but one thing is certain... those friendships do not stay the same. In Friends With Kids, Jason (Adam Scott), Julie (Jennifer Westfeldt), Ben (John Hamm), Missy (Kristen Wiig), Leslie (Maya Rudolph), and Alex (Chris O'Dowd) are best friends. Everything changes when they all meet for Dinner one night and married couple Leslie (Rudolph) and Alex (O'Dowd) announce that they are having a baby. They say that things won't change and they will still be "cool" and not turn into psycho parents, but time tells a different story. After having kids the six friends meet less often, and when they do meet, things are significantly more stressful. Even married couple without kids, Missy (Wiig) and Ben (Hamm) are growing less happy. The two unmarried friends Jason (Scott) and Julie (Westfeldt) look at the lives of their married friends and realize something... they don't want to become like them. They also realize, however, that they do want to have a child before it's too late. The answer... Julie and Jason decide to have a child together with no romantic attachment... simply two friends conceiving and  parenting the same child.

So one awkward sexual encounter and one pregnancy test later Jason and Julie have a beautiful baby boy, and seemingly the perfect set up. They rest of the group is in awe of how smoothly their situation works and maybe even a little resentful. They take turns with diapers and feedings and even live in the same apartment. Everything is perfect until Julie starts to feel left behind when Jason gets serious with a big busted, young, flexible dancer. Then... the situation flip flops when Julie seems to have found the man of her dreams.

A rustic wood cabin sets the scene for tensions to be let loose and hurled at one another on a group ski trip with all six friends plus kids in attendance. It's difficult to express the complexities and significance of all these different relationships and how they affect one another in a few short paragraphs, so I recommend watching the movie and judging for yourself. If the up and down dynamics of friendships and marriage is something that appeals to you... you will appreciate Friends With Kids. I love these actors. Who wouldn't love Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph? They rock my world :)

Safety Not Guaranteed

Let's just begin with WONDERFUL and AMAZING! This is by far one of my favorite movies of all time! We begin in a conference room during the meeting of a magazine company. The editor asks for fresh titillating ideas. Journalist Jeff (Jake M. Johnson) voices interest in the local advertisement of a man looking for a partner to travel through time with him. Jeff's editor gives him the okay and allows him two interns to help. He chooses bold but somber Darius (Aubrey Plaza) and and nerdy Arnau (Karan Soni). Jeff rubs everyone the wrong way and it turns out that he's not even interested in the story, he actually picked that story because it's where his old high school fling lives. So while Jeff is focused on hooking up, Darius and Arnau head up the investigation to find out who the time traveling man is. Darius approaches Kenneth (the time traveling man), at the grocery store where he works. She goes in undercover as a girl who is sincerely interested in time travel. Eccentric doesn't even begin to describe Kenneth. To the average person he appears completely out of his mind... but kooky as he may be, Darius soon finds that Kenneth is also very good hearted and intriguing. Slowly the two gain each other's trust and begin training for their travel.

 So, the questions remain... is he brilliant or crazy, a genius or dangerous? How will the "story" play out and how far will Darius go to play along? Oh, and who are the big guys in suits spying on Kenneth and watching his every move? To find out the answers to all these strange questions please go see this movie!!!

 Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass have beautifully unique onscreen chemistry. They are a perfect balance of hard and soft, of crazy and sane. This is the first time I've ever seen Plaza, but I definitely hope it's not that last. The repressed emotion and genuine goodness that she shows through her character really connects the viewer to the heart of the story. And Mark Duplass.... I just love Mark Duplass in general. He leaves his character's flaws exposed and that brings a true to life quality to his interactions with other characters. I cannot think of anyone else who could make such a strange person like Jeff so likable. I don't know how he does what he does but I'm so glad that he does it! I love the actors, love the story, love everything single detail about this movie!

The Intouchables

I cannot give this movie enough praise! I think really powerful movies must have three things... compelling characters, a meaningful story line, and effortless flow. Needless to say The Intouchables possesses these in abundance. Plus, this movie is based on a true story. So we have Philippe (Francois Cluzet), a wealthy widower who is a quadriplegic. He and his assistant are interviewing for a new caretaker. One after another comes conservative young men in sweater vests and khakis with health care qualifications and experience until Driss (Omar Sy) storms in. Driss is an alarmingly tall intimidating man wearing a  baggy sweat shirt and jeans yelling that he's tired of waiting. He makes it clear that he has no interest in the job and only wants his paper signed to get unemployment benefits. Unlikely as it may be, Driss catches Philippe's interest and is hired. Driss sticks around because of the lavish accommodations and the generous pay, which is a stark contrast to being homeless. As you could guess... the relationship has a rough start. Driss finds "babysitting" an adult man degrading and beneath him, but Philippe prefers this unsympathetic attitude to being babied. Despite their differences... their relationship ends up working, in fact, the two men form an unbreakable bond that changes both of their lives. I feel like I could never do this movie justice in a simple summary, you simply HAVE to go see it. What an amazing moving story!

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

As far as "end of the world" movies go... I'd have to say that this is my top pick! Seeking a Friend for the End of the World felt genuine and personal. I always love Steve Carell when he plays these thoughtful down to earth characters. Keira Knightley, on the other hand, tends to leave me disappointed, but then I realized... I only feel this way when she plays the dramatic, serious girl. Luckily, in this movie, she's the slightly kooky, slightly weird girl that I enjoy watching. These out-of-the-box characters work well for her, like in the movies Bend it Like Beckham and Love Actually. In the beginning of the movie there's an announcement that the end of the world is near and will be caused by Matilda, an asteroid headed for Earth. Dodge's (Carell) wife literally runs away from him never to be seen again, leaving Dodge alone in his apartment and alone in his life. Somewhere along the way Dodge picks up an abandoned dog and his helpless young neighbor Penny (Knightley). They set off on a journey to find Dodge's long lost love and to find Penny a flight home to England. The twists and turns of the journey as well as the growth and evolution of the characters are engaging to follow. I'm surprised to find such depth in human connection and I'm touched by the things that matter in the end.

Leon: The Professional

WOW... can't believe it took me so long to see this movie! Before anything... I must say that Natalie Portman never ceases to amaze me. This is her first movie and I've yet to see any acting even close to this level from a young actor. Her performance as Mathilda has no equal in my book. Anyway, back to the movie :). The Professonal follows the life of introvert hit-man Leon, played by Jean Reno. Leon lives modestly and quietly in a shabby apartment building. Down the hall lives a quirky little girl named Mathilda (Natalie Portman). To avoid her drug dealing dad, hooker mom, and bully older sister she spends a lot of time out in the hallway. The only person she cares about is her little brother. One day Mathilda is on her way home from the grocery and finds her apartment door ajar. Inside.. she sees her murdered family, even her baby brother. Leon takes her in a protects her, and upon request, he trains her to be a hit-man so that one day she may avenge her brother. "Bad guy" Stanfield, played by the talented Gary Oldman, is a corrupt cop who is in the drug business. Stanfield is responisble for the murder of Mathilda's family. Leon: The Professional is very fast paced and intense, a top-notch cop and criminal movie. If you haven't seen it and aren't easily disturbed by violence, watch it ASAP!

Sound of my Voice

Sound of My Voice is a movie that explores a fascinating but unsettling topic... cults. Based on a true story, young couple Peter and Lorna, who are journalists, decide to join a cult in order to gain insider information and expose the leader, Maggie, as a fraud. Maggie claims to be from the future with knowledge of the catastrophes to come and promises her followers salvation in exchange for their unconditional faith and obedience. The questions are... how far are Peter and Lorna willing to go to get their story? How will the pressure affect their relationship? Is Maggie who she says she is? I was drawn in by the layout of the movie... I was made to feel like I was joining the cult myself, in the room with the woman in white who says she is a time-traveler. The situations and conversations bring to mind important thoughts of the power of persuasion and peer pressure. I thought of the danger of faith without question. Brit Marling, who plays Maggie, is captivating and chillingly eerie. I was blown away by her performance. Sound of my voice will keep you guessing and thinking.