some men subconsciously push others away to maintain their isolation, even though the main source of their torment is this very isolation

I've had a little overdose on a couple of actors lately, as I got closer to the end of this group of films borrowed from my parents' collection. It has been fun to see some movies that I never would have picked out for myself, expanding my horizons. 

The Brave One (2007) - "Struggling to recover emotionally from a brutal assault that killed her fiancé and left her in a coma, a radio personality begins a quest for vengeance against the perpetrators that leaves a bloody trail across New York City."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: female "quest for vengeance" characters are typically focused against their significant others - abusers - and not involved in a "leaving a bloody trail" sort of story
IMDB: 6.7/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 43% Audience: 64%

notable quote: "I'd say it was probably the fall that killed this guy...or it could be the crowbar embedded in his skull. I'd say it's about 50/50. ... Maybe 70/30."
story: intriguing, if stretching the bounds of credulity. (Are there really so few security cameras and fingerprint captures in New York City?)
visuals: excellent
costumes, hair & makeup: very good. The transformation of these characters through the movie, and from scene to scene, shows well through their clothes and makeup
acting: Jodie Foster (Erica Bain) and Terence Howard (Detective Mercer) are both good in their roles. It was my first time seeing Terence Howard in a lead role, and he was great to watch.

intangibles: it's all about girl power - in a "don't try this at home" way!
overall: recommended

Passage to Marseille (1944) - "Five patriotic convicts are helped to escape imprisonment in Devil's Island so they can fight for occupied Free French forces against the Nazis."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: Humphrey Bogart, WWII, and all that jazz
IMDB: 6.8/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 57%

notable quote: "I wish I was in France killing pigs of Germans instead of mosquitoes."
story: über-patriotic, this seemed more like an Allied propaganda film than a movie intended for entertainment
visuals: nothing fantastic
costumes, hair & makeup: uniforms, in black & white with minimal contrast
acting: Claude Rains (Captain Freycinet) and Philip Dorn (Renault) were the best of the bunch

intangibles: this could have been tons better, with so much potential to be a thrilling adventure story of escape and redemption and heroism. Instead it was melodramatic and hackneyed. 
overall: not recommended

Where the Red Fern Grows (2003) - "Where the Red Fern Grows is the heartwarming and adventurous tale for all ages about a young boy and his quest for his own redbone hound hunting dogs."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: I have neither read the book nor seen any of the movie adaptations, and I was intrigued by the idea of Dave Matthews, acting
IMDB: 6.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 68%

story: it's one for dog people
visuals: prettily done, with some nice cinematography and loads of fun shots of dogs
costumes, hair & makeup: the story hinged (in minor ways) on some costuming, which was well matched to the plot
acting: despite the presence of some heavy hitters in the cast, this was TV-movie level stuff

intangibles: I didn't hate it...
overall: recommended - for kids and people who love dogs

Flightplan (2005) - "A bereaved woman and her daughter are flying home from Berlin to America. At 30,000 feet, the child vanishes, and nobody will admit she was ever on the plane."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: the last Jodie Foster movie that I watched was pretty good, so I wanted to see if my streak would hold
IMDB: 6.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 37% Audience: 48%

notable quote: "People will think what I tell them to think. That's how authority works."
story: goofy. I wanted to believe it. I wanted to buy the tension and fear, but it was just so implausible.
visuals: cool set and nice lighting
costumes, hair & makeup: nothing memorable
acting: Peter Sarsgaard (Gene Carson) was the best of the bunch, and Erika Christensen (Fiona) was realistically snotty

intangibles: a very shiny, big-budget miss
overall: not recommended

Schindler's List (1993) - "In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: the last time I saw it, I was in the company of someone who may not have been the right company for me to see it. I wanted to give it another, fresh, chance.
IMDB: 8.9/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 97% Audience: 97%
AFI: 100 Years...100 Movies (original list 1998) #9

100 Years...100 Movies (10th anniversary edition 2007) #8

100 Years...100 Cheers (2006) #3

10 Top 10 (2008): Epic #3
notable quote: "I'd never do that to her. No, I want her to come back to Vienna with me. I want her to come to work for me there. I want to grow old with her."

story: look at the AFI section above, and the Academy Award section below. What more could I say about the story?
visuals: breathtaking, in both senses of the word. 
costumes, hair & makeup: so very well done
acting: there is no wrong note here. The first time that I saw it, I was blown away by Liam Neeson (Schindler) and Ralph Fiennes (Amon Göth). (And yes, I was again brought to anger and tears by them, in turns.) In this viewing, having known at least somewhat was to come, the performances of Ben Kingsley (Itzhak Stern) and Embeth Davidtz (Helen Hirsch) grabbed me from the start and would not let go. Each disappeared into their character, brilliantly.

intangibles: this film is painful to watch, gorgeous, with a wonderful soundtrack. Haunting.

 

Academy Award winner:
• Best Picture

• Best Director--Steven Spielberg

• Best Writing, Based on Material Previously Published

• Best Cinematography

• Best Art Direction--Set Decoration

• Best Film Editing

• Best Music, Original Score
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Actor--Neeson

• Best Supporting Actor--Fiennes

• Best Costume Design

• Best Sound

• Best Makeup
overall: recommended - ought not to be missed

Taxi Driver (1976) - "A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action by attempting to liberate a presidential campaign worker and an underage prostitute."
Source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: this is a classic film, directed by Martin Scorsese, stocked with a (fairly) famous cast. I've tried to watch it before without success so I wanted to give it a fair go.
IMDB: 8.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: N/A%
AFI: 100 Years...100 Movies (1998) #47

100 Years...100 Movies (10th anniversary edition 2007) #52

100 Years...100 Thrills (2001) #22
notable quote: "I don't believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention; I believe that one should become a person like other people."

story: Well, the IMDB description (above) comes fairly close to accurate, but there is both more and less to it than that. "Mentally unstable" scratches the surface of Travis Bickle but hardly sums him up. This is a deeply disturbing film.
visuals: appropriately dark and gritty
costumes, hair & makeup: I think that the costuming is a big part of the movie, but I don't have the personal experience to know how realistic it was. Did teenage hookers really dress like that in 1976? 
acting: anyone who's heard of this knows that Robert De Niro (Bickle) and Jodie Foster (Iris) are in this. However, the role of Betsy, played by Cybill Shepherd, is also of key importance. Betsy combines sophistication and innocence into an aloofness, far above Bickle, setting in motion the events that follow.

intangibles: I did not "like" the movie and will not watch it again, but it was worth seeing
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture

• Best Actor--De Niro

• Best Supporting Actress--Foster

• Best Music, Original Score
overall: not exactly recommended, not because it is bad or low quality. I just didn't enjoy it.

[the title quotation is from the background on Taxi Driver]