what's a comfort...? Ohhh.

Average rating: 7.75. Quite an interesting bunch, too.

Trust (1990) - "High school dropout Maria Coughlin (Adrienne Shelly) is having a rough time of it on Long Island. Her father recently died of a heart attack, her boyfriend has left her, and she's pregnant. To make matters even worse, her mother has now kicked her out of the house. But when electronics genius Matthew Slaughter (Martin Donovan) comes into her life, things start to brighten up for Maria. Sure, he's unemployed and a little unhinged, but together they just might have a chance."
length: 1 hour, 47 minutes

source: I own the DVD
I watched it because: it's in my top 3 of all time
IMDB: 7.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 80% Audience: 93%
my IMDB: 10/10

notable quote: "'Your job is making you boring and mean.'

    'My job is making me a respectable member of society.'"

MPAA rating: R

directed by: Hal Hartley (also written by)

my notes: quirky, verbose, stylized, romantic, simple and complex at once, funny and tragic. Hartley's movies are so far out of the ordinary that they are hard to explain.

    It's not for everyone, but, what is?

Award winner:

• Sundance Film Festival:

    ° Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award—Hartley

• São Paulo International Film Festival:

    ° Audience Award, Best Feature—Hartley
• Deauville Film Festival:

    ° Audience Award—Hartley

    ° Coup de Coeur LTC—Hartley

overall: most highly recommended

 

Shooter (2007) - "Having seen his spotter buddy Donnie Fenn die as disloyal brass abandoned them on mission, US Marine champion sharpshooter Bob Lee Swagger resigned to live in the Wyoming Rockies, alone with his dog. Colonel Isaac Johnson uses his fellow Medal of Honor reputation and patriot appeal to lure Bob back for a short mission: working out how a 'suspected' sniper could kill the president, speaking at public venues. After his report, a second speaking guest of honor, Ethiopian archbishop Desmond Mutumbo, is killed 'by accident,' and a local cop fails to eliminate Bob. Shot twice and on the run, he handcuffs rookie FBI special agent Nick Memphis and steals his FBI car, which he drives into the river after a long chase. Unable to treat his wounds effectively, he drives to Donnie's widow (Sarah Fenn) in Kentucky. She helps sew him up and assists his search for the culprits, later joined by Nick, who faces dishonorable discharge or worse but smells a rat and dares dig for the nasty truth on Johnson's White House ploy (rescued by Bob before a torture team disposes of him, too). Taking on the schemers proves dangerous for all."

length: 2 hours, 4 minutes

source: streamed on DISH
I watched it because: it was on    (previously mentioned here and reviewed here)
IMDB: 7.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 48% Audience: 80%
my IMDB: 7/10    note, this is a rare (heretofore unheard of) example of changing an existing rating

notable quote: "'The world ain't what it seems, is it, gunny?'

    'No, Sir.'

    'You keep that in mind.'"

MPAA rating: R

directed by: Antoine Fuqua

my notes: I liked this far better the third time through than the previous time, which I think means I wasn't in the right mood for it earlier. It's a complex, tight story that holds up well.

    This time around, I was drawn as always to Michael Peña as Nick Memphis (a great role, well played) and especially impressed by Levon Helm as Mr. Rate, the charmingly quirky firearms expert.

overall:  recommended

Django Unchained (2012) - "Two years before the Civil War, Django (Jamie Foxx), a slave, finds himself accompanying an unorthodox German bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) on a mission to capture the vicious Brittle brothers. Their mission successful, Schultz frees Django, and together they hunt the South's most-wanted criminals. Their travels take them to the infamous plantation of shady Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio), where Django's long-lost wife (Kerry Washington) is still a slave."
length: 2 hours, 45 minutes

source: streamed on DISH
I watched it because: I hadn't seen it
IMDB: 8.5/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 87% Audience: 92%
my IMDB: 8/10

notable quote: "'Does Siegfried save her?'

    'Quite spectacularly so. He scales the mountain, because he's not afraid of it. He slays the dragon, because he's not afraid of him. And he walks through hellfire... because Brünnhilde's worth it.'"

MPAA rating: R

directed by: Quentin Tarantino (and written by)

my notes: shocking, disturbing, funny, and brilliant (but much too long). I definitely need to see it again.

Academy Award winner:
• Best Supporting Actor—Christoph Waltz

• Best Writing, Original Screenplay—Tarantino
Academy Award nominee:
• Best Picture—Stacey Sher, Reginald Hudlin, Pilar Savone

• Best Cinematography—Robert Richardson

• Best Sound Editing—Wylie Stateman

overall:  recommended

The Wrong Man (1956) - "Musician Manny Balestrero (Henry Fonda) needs money to pay for his wife Rose's (Vera Miles) dental procedure. When he tries to borrow money from their insurance policy, someone at the office mistakes him for a man who had robbed them twice at gunpoint. After Manny is arrested, his defense attorney, Frank O'Connor (Anthony Quayle), works to demonstrate that Manny has an alibi for the crimes. The stress of the case, however, threatens to destroy Manny's family before his name can be cleared."
length: 1 hour, 45 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD from the public library
I watched it because: I like Henry Fonda, and had heard that it's Hitch's only "based on a true story" film
IMDB: 7.4/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 93% Audience: 75%
my IMDB: 6/10

notable quote: "An innocent man has nothing to fear, remember that."

MPAA rating: Approved

directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

my notes: meh. It's tense, but not in a Hitch way. The law isn't particularly well done, some the acting is mediocre (Richard Robbins as Daniel, oh my lord). Fonda is wasted in this awkward role (he was 50, playing 38, paired with 26-year-old Vera Miles, to whom his character was supposed to have been married for 9 years. Ish.)

overall: marginally recommended

 

[the title quotation is from Django Unchained]