This week's movies

Here are my thoughts on the latest batch of Netflix rentals...

The Queen is a fantastic movie, I thought. Initially, I found it interesting seeing how they got actors who looked like the royals in real life, but as the movie progressed, the actors were so convincing in their roles that I forgot that they weren't actually the real people involved. I honestly think that this film should have gotten an Oscar for costume design, because everything was spot on. The film tells the story of the week between Diana's death and her funeral, and how Queen Elizabeth II and Tony Blair reacted to it and interacted with each other. The film is strongest in its portrayal of the private moments of the royals. The most private of these moments are led up to, with the actual moment itself being left offscreen. This scene set-up is a brilliant way to capture the struggle this family has at being private while living in the public eye. Helen Mirren's performance is reason in itself to watch the movie. From the beginning of the film, where she turns to look at the camera straight-on, she is the Queen. And the scene with the stag near the river is one of the most powerful in the movie.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

The Pursuit of Happyness is another very good movie, but it leaves you feeling very, very tired. The key word in the title is not "Happyness" but rather "Pursuit." If you're looking for a movie that will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, this is not it. Instead, it's about the grueling struggle that Will Smith's character goes through to provide for himself and his son. They live on such an edge--often surviving day to day--that I found myself feeling tense throughout the entire movie, just waiting for something bad to happen to them that would finish them off. I do think this movie, along with Barbara Ehrenreich's book Nickel and Dimed, should be required viewing/reading for every middle-class and above resident of the US, because both offer an incredibly insightful perspective on why it's so difficult, if not impossible, for those who make minimum wage to get things that we take for granted, such as a place to live, transportation, and an education.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5

The 40-Year-Old Virgin wasn't very good. I think it would have been much better if it were a lot shorter. I saw the unrated version, which is 133 minutes, and even the theatrical release was 116 minutes. For a gimmick-comedy like this one, you can only drag it out so long before it gets boring. The first half of the movie shows Andy (Steve Carell) trying out various ways of dealing with being a virgin; the second half shows his developing relationship with Trish, who doesn't know he's a virgin. The second half was a lot better than the first, because it showed character development on Andy's part, rather than just his friends trying to help him/making fun of him. But I still think they must have forgotten to hire film editors for this one--it would be decent at 90 minutes, but definitely boring at 2 hours.

Rating: 1.5 stars out of 5

Catch and Release looks like a chick flick, and it pretty much is one, but without the feel-good moments of romance. It tells the story of Gray Wheeler (Jennifer Garner) who finds out secrets about her fiancé Grady after he dies and ends up falling for his friend Fritz. Instead of feeling mushy and happy, I just felt slightly concerned for Fritz and Gray's budding relationship, since she seemed to be hardcore on the rebound and they never did anything but have sex. Not that there's anything wrong with sex, but to believe the relationship, there should be a bit more, you know? Also, there were too many subplots squeezed into the movie, some only developed by monosyllables between two of Grady's male friends. I love Jennifer Garner and all (and Kevin Smith is occasionally funny in a supporting role), but her dimples and charm can only carry a poorly written movie so far.

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5