Rain Over Me

Genre: Drama
Rating: 9 of 10 - Any movie with a title based on a song by The Who gets an automatic one point boost on my scale! (Reign O’er Me is from the Quadrophenia Album)

Starring Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle, this movie, while it has a few funny moments, is not your typical Adam Sandler comedy. Not even close. The premise of the movie is coping with grief: when is it OK to resume a normal life after you lose someone you love? A pretty dark and depressing subject that could make for a terrible movie. However, the acting of Don Cheadle and Adam Sandler and the well-written script make this a movie that makes you think, cry, laugh, and appreciate your loved ones.

I won’t give away the plot of the movie here because if you haven’t watched this one yet, you really should. Not a kids movie though. The only very slight disappointment I had with this movie was the ending was a bit abrupt and left you with a few loose ends, but that is a minor complaint.

Ghost Town

Genre: Romantic Comedy
Rating: 7 of 10

This movie starred Ricky Gervais, Tea Leoni, and Greg Kinnear. The movie explores, from my Christian perspective, forgiveness, and specifically forgiving those who have died. The movie doesn’t come right out and say that but that was underlying moral of the story for me.

Ricky Gervais is hilarious as an arrogant introvert dentist whose favorite part of his job is shoving dental equipment into patient’s mouths in order to shut them up.

Greg Kinnear plays the character that the story revolves around… a dead man who can’t get away from his past for some reason. His mission throughout the movie is to find closure, and he plays the smarmy character well.

Tea Leoni plays the dead guys wife and does a great job conveying remorse, grief, and bitterness while still maintaining the quirky sense of humor that she contributes to all of her movies (loved her in Spanglish & Dick and Jane).

Overall, this movie was a great blend of moral depth, humor, and love. The actors chosen were all perfect for their role.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai – Across the 8th Dimension

Rating: Umm.... some 1, some 10
Genre: Comedy / Sci-fi / Adventure / Drama / Documentary

This movie from 1984 is a great blend of classic B movie sci-fi and 80s pop culture. Think “Back To The Future” meets “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” meets Rick Springfield. Then throw in some well-known character actors and some really bad bad acting, sprinkle in quantum physics and a skinny leather tie or two there you have it! The blend makes for a very unique viewing experience.

John Lithgow, Jeff Goldblum, Cristopher Lloyd, Ellen Barkin, Peter Weller (of RoboCop fame)…what a cast, right? You’d think! Actually, John Lithgow does do a pretty good job in his role as a racists-rebel-leader-alien-possessed mad scientist… very over-the-top in a way that only he could do.

The story itself begins with a journey through solid matter that opens the door to worlds within the 8th dimension. Yep, there are aliens in rocks, who knew?! The new-found aliens are caught in race war on Planet 10 and now Earth is smack dab in the middle of the crisis. The stories hero, Buckaroo Bonzai, and his wacky side-kick band made up of physicists and brain surgeons must stop the alien war before the aliens escalate Earth’s own military tension (we’re in the middle of the cold war still, remember?).

In the end, this movie was really, really bad in an unforgettably good way. I watched in the theatres when I was 15 and still have some of the creative, before-its-time imagery burned in my cortex. I still get a kick out of John Bigbooty & John Smallberries, two of the many John’s employed at Yoyodyne Propulsion Systems. Plus, you gotta love those wool chaps. If you don’t understand, I guess you’ll have to watch the movie!

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Rating: 9 of 10
Genre: Documentary

Were you created in the likeness of a monkey or a crystal, or were created by a designer who has unparalleled knowledge? For me, one theory leads to life without hope and the other offers hope.

This movie stars Ben Stein who sets out to explore the anomaly of various college professors who’ve been expelled for mentioning the theory of intelligent design.

Exploring the history of this theory and the conflicting theory of evolution, Ben interviews people who side with each theory and lets their statements speak for themselves. While these are both just theories, this movie leaves you knowing that there is a decidedly over-weighted push for eradicating the teaching (and even mention) of the theory of intelligent design. The balance of fairness is radically skewed and becomes the crux of Ben’s unspoken argument.

So many people have grown up thinking that evolution is fact that, in America, we’ve lost sight of the fact that Darwin himself disproved his theory and had to come up with a modified version. Even his modified theory is still just a theory.

The historical facts revealed in this movie are fascinating to me, especially learning about the Eugenics movement in the USA during the early 20th century. The little known partnerships that the Nazi party had were also eye-opening.

Bottom line for me was this: I believe both theories should get equal airplay in America’s academic settings and be clearly stated as theories, then let the individuals decide for themselves.

Eagle Eye

Rating: 7
Genre: Action

Who is watching you read this? This movie stars Shia LeBeouf in a conspiracy action thriller. His twin brother is a member of the FBI and the day of his brother’s funeral things begin to go haywire…

Caught up in a mad race to escape from the government while trying to uncover an assassination plot, he narrowly escapes death multiple times with the help of an unknown woman who directs his every move via telephone, internet message, and seemingly every other means of electronic communication.

Without giving away the plot, this movie moves so fast that it makes it difficult to predict the final outcome, though you get a sense of it as events unfold. There are enough edge-of-your-seat action scenes and block-buster crashes to make this movie worth watching. Shia does a great job making this movie as believable as it possibly can be.

Everything is Illuminated

Genre: Drama
Rank: 7 of 10

This is story about a collector. Elijah Wood (AKA Frodo Baggins) plays a young man of Jewish descent who is prompted to go on a journey after his grandmother’s death. The last thing his grandmother does is give him an old photograph of his grandfather with another woman. He proceeds to travel to the Ukraine to search for the place the photo was taken. His guides in Ukraine are a grandfather/grandson team who make some very important discoveries of their own along the journey.

This story is a bit slow to develop but ends up having some very poignant and heart-wrenching moments. Be prepared for some confusion and some loose ends, but also some funny and quirky pieces that make this a memorable movie. It is filmed in an unusual style to be sure. It does not follow the typical Hollywood formula, in fact, if you like Hollywood style movies then you may not like this one. I personally loved the ‘remembrance’ segments portrayed in the movie, as well as the soundtrack and the Eastern European accents. Those who are of Jewish descent and have ancestors in Eastern Europe will find it especially moving.

One huge caution: DO NOT watch the deleted scenes! They are like a deranged acid trip mix of Borat and Willy Wonka… the editor did the right thing by deleting them, so don’t bother.

Green Street Hooligans

Rating: 7 of 10
Genre: Drama / Action

This movie was about reputation; reputation in your place of work, your place of education, on the streets, amongst friends, and the reputation you have within your family.

The plot revolves around Matt Buckner (played by Elijah Wood AKA Frodo Baggins), a journalism student who is thwarted from continuing his esteemed college education and thrown into the rough and tumble lifestyle of English firms. In this case, firms are basically soccer gangs. Each soccer club has a group of ruffians who fist-fight rival firms after the match. The familial bond they share is earned with knuckles and blood.

The rep they build is, to them, their reason for living, and their day-to-day jobs are just a way to get them through until the next match. Matt quickly grows a name for himself and becomes engrained in this dangerous lifestyle to the point where he is forced to face and overcome his past.

The underlying message of the movie is that family is more important than reputation, even the reputation within family. Pride, not others, is always our greatest enemy.

Note: This movie, in line with the setting, is very violent and chock full o’ cursing – beware! Also, it helps to watch it with the sub-titles on because the English cockney is so thick.