Cybertoad's Blog

Rumor Has It (NetFlix): This is a fictional story based on the classic “The Graduate“. The film is set in modern times and focuses on a woman (Jennifer Aniston) trying to find out who she is only to discover that her family were the ladies depicted in the film. Interesting story idea, same old characters. Despite a good cast – Aniston, Shirley MacLaine, Kevin Costner, Mark Ruffalo – the story just fell flat. It was relatively predictable (aren’t they all nowadays?) and I guess I just never really got to know any of the characters well enough so I really didn’t care what happened to them. Still, it was an enjoyable enough movie that did not require much thought.

Death in Gaza (NetFlix): This was a documentary that had footage originally shot for a film on the children caught in the middle of Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The cameraman though was tragically shot by Israeli-hired soldiers so the documentary became focused on the events leading to his death. It is compelling and painful to see what war and hate can to do the children, how the childhood innocence we take for granted is all but destroyed by these civil wars and how children become seemingly disposable scouts for the rebels. The film seems more focused on the Palestinian point-of-view but you must keep in mind that the filmmakers never had a chance to film the Israeli children. If you are interested in current events, I recommend this film, if only to give those headlines a human – let me correct that – a child’s voice.

Waiting (NetFlix): Ryan Reynolds & Justin Long (the “Mac guy”) star in this farcical look at waitressing in a Bennigan’s-like restaurant. It’s potty-humor all the way and not suitable for younger kids but entertaining. No award-winning acting here but worth a look if you and your buddies need a laugh after a stressful week.

Bright Young Things (NetFlix) This is adapted from a book and is based in London in the 1930’s. It is a British film so I warn you now, it is a bit slow and dry. Still, the characters are well developed, so well developed that you are ready to get rid of them by the time the movie ends. It is a standard youth-with-too-much-freedom-destroy-themselves story-line which may not be interesting enough to sustain you for 106 minutes. I myself am undecided but am leaning toward more thumbs down than thumbs up.

The Lookout (free preview @ Angelika): First of all, I loved seeing Joseph Gordon-Levitt back on camera. He is a fine actor and I like his style. He did a great job in this movie and actually, so did the rest of the actors, especially Jeff Daniels. The story though, left something to be desired. It actually had the potential to be so much more intriguing. Instead, you know how its going to end about 30 minutes into the film. The story is your basic bank robbery gone bad and they try to mix it up a bit by intertwining Gordon-Levitt’s character, Chris’ disability and unstable personality but in the end, the story is pretty standard. I think I would have preferred to see more of the main character and maybe a different struggle or conflict thrown at him than such a stupid and 2-dimensional one as a bank robbery. The acting kept me interested longer than the plot did and that’s a shame and seems like a waste of some talent.