NetFlix: I'll be On Their Bad List Soon!

Well, okie dokie, here's my list of NetFlix--this is what I've gone through in basically two weeks of viewing...

The Ones I Highly Recommend:

• I Heart Huckabees: Dustin Hoffman and Lily Tomlin are "existential detectives" solving life's emotional mysteries for their distraught clients. While they and male lead Jason Schwartzman were good, Mark Wahlberg really stole the show as the petroleum-hating fireman. (R)
• Wedding Crashers: Alright, honestly, I thought I was going to hate this, and I really wanted to hate it in the worst way. It looked like such a guy movie... But my sister told me she had felt the same way, and she was dragged by a roommate, and had nothing but glowing reviews. So I figured, "what the hell? I've got nothing better to do." Well, I laughed until I cried. This is the only one I've watched twice. Hilarious. (UR)
• Crash: This year's winner for Best Picture, the DVD did have a little bit of a skip in it, so I gather I missed one of the most emotional scenes. Still, this was a great movie. Amazing ensemble cast, and gripping story line. (R)

If You've Got Nothing Better to Do:

• National Treasure: I very much enjoyed National Treasure, but it wasn't quite in the same league as the above mentioned. Nicolas Cage plays the last son in a long line of fathers who have been seeking a treasure that has been supposedly hidden by the Founding Fathers. The clue lies on the back of the Declaration of Independence. Suspend belief somewhat when he manages to steal the thing. In the interest of fair reporting, Joe fell asleep during this one, but I think he was just cozy, warm, and drowsy before it even started. (PG)
• Mr. and Mrs. Smith: The movie that launched Brangelina. Ok, again, I really thought this was pretty good. My mother-in-law hated it. Brad is John and Ange is Jane, a couple who are experiencing troubles in their marriage. What neither of them knows is that they are both hired assassins, and when they discover this little tidbit, they must rub each other out. Suspend disbelief as Brad and Ange manage to take out 50 or 60 hitmen armed with automatic weapons who can't seem to hit the broadside of a barn, while the 2 of them, armed with little more than peashooters manage to save their own asses and their marriage. (PG-13)
• Cold Comfort Farm: Kate Beckinsale is a recently orphaned society girl in England who decides she will get great material for her novel if she goes to live with her crazy relatives in the country. Not a particularly splendid film, it was nice to look at and it was a decent enough story, but I expected something a bit more. Plus, quite frankly, though I am definitely a dedicated Anglophile, I couldn't understand a freakin' word anyone said and had to put the captioning on for a while. (PG)
• The Aristocrats: 100 Comedians, One Dirty Joke. A documetary by Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller fame) regarding the world's dirtiest joke. A lot of big name stars were on this documentary (Robin Williams, Kevin Pollack, Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Stewart) as were some lesser known comics, who I was proud to recognize (Steven Wright, Wendy Liebman, Richard Jeni). The joke was horrifyingly disgusting. But the documentary was quite well done, and the laughter was infectious. Not for the faint of heart, this one is UNRATED (oooooooooooooooo). (UR)

They call this entertainment? (Ones to Skip)

• Spanglish: I guess Adam Sandler is trying to get more in touch with his dramatic acting side or something, I'm not sure. This was billed as "a hilarious and heartfelt comedy" and all the previews for it looked fantastic. I was really excited when it came in the mail. It was a total snooze festival. Tea Leoni is the overboard soccer mom who's not actually all that crazy about her children or her husband. Her alcoholic mother lives with the family. Sandler is the area's top chef. The family hires a Mexican maid who doesn't speak English. While the whole family is falling apart, Sandler is just trying to keep them together. Zzzzzzzzzzz Even my description of it is boring me. My mother-in-law preferred this one to the Brangelina fest. (PG-13)
• Election: After Reese Witherspoon won the Oscar this year, there was a slew of "We Love Reese" documetaries and countdowns on E! and VH1, and really, what did I have better to do than to watch them? Before we lost the TV Guide Channel to Digital Cable, I was watching this show where they make over ordinary people to look like the stars, and they did one girl to look like Reese Witherspoon. She said her fave RW film was Election. So I put it on my queue, and finding out Matthew Broderick was in it, I thought that would be pretty great too. WRONG. It has a real tame description on Netflix, but it's rated R for a reason... (R)

So, there you have it... Coming for the weekend are The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Arrested Development Season 1--I figured I already covered all of the first season of Lost, so I could catch up on a few other great shows while I'm at it.

I'm sure if this keeps up, I'll be one of those Netflix people who has to start sending their DVDs back to Omaha, but since I only plan to be out another 2 weeks, I figure they can bear with me that long while my leg heals up. Or so I hope.

See you at the movies! (Or in my case, at the DVD player)