Movie Rentals

You Kill Me: A drunken hit man, Ben Kingsley, has been getting sloppy with his job of late and is sent to rehab to get some help for his addiction. On his journey, Kingsley is forced to work at a funeral home, is sent to AA meetings on regularly, and meets a love interest (Tia Leoni). While the bond between the two lead actors is limited due to the somewhat limited time they spend together on screen and also due to the focus being more on Kingsley's character individually at first, this makes for a darkly humorous and entertaining 90 minutes. It's Kingsley's best performance in quite some time.

Entertainment Grade: 6.5/10
Quality Grade: 6.0/10

The Hoax: Richard Gere stars as Clifford Irwin, the author who almost conned his way into a lot of money. Irwin told the story (ambiguously speaking) that he was contacted by the reclusive Howard Hughes about writing a biography on the aviator. Gere gives a superb performance, the best I've seen from him in a long time in this intriguing and entertaining picture.

Entertainment Grade: 6.5/10
Quality Grade: 7/10

Dot the I: This picture has an amateur Memento type feel to it. While it so desperately wants to be as clever as the cult thriller, it believes it's a bit more slick than it actually is. I will admit, the picture was easy to watch, made time go by rather quickly, and there are some good qualities to it, but in the end, it was just a bit too gimmicky and over-the-top to truly be called clever.

Entertainment Grade: 6.0/10
Quality Grade: 5.0/10

Blue Velvet: This is arguably David Lynch's most well-known movie. The unique director goes a more straight-forward storytelling route in this one compared to recent pictures, such as "Lost Highway" and "Mulholland Drive." In "Blue Velvet," Lynch casts a darkness upon a seemingly perfect suburban area, where a young man (Kyle MacLachlan) finds a human ear in a field. The nosy teenager does what is proper and reports it to the police, but becomes so intrigued by the prospect of there being a murder in his town that he becomes intertwined with the case to a very large extent. Isabella Rosselini gives a grand performance as a singer, whose son is kidnapped and is forced to give up her body to the kidnapper to ensure her son's safety. Dennis Hopper is that mad man. While he plays it fairly well, he's so out there in some portions of the film, he becomes almost comical. What the potential subliminal messages are to the film or potential theories to the overall message is debatable. I thought "Blue Velvet" was a very intriguing piece of work, but not my favorite of Lynch and one I probably couldn't sit through again.

Entertainment Grade: 5/10
Overall Grade: 6.5/10

Inland Empire: "Inland Empire" is David Lynch's most recent piece of work and is more in line with his other recent flicks, such as the previously mentioned "Lost Highway" and "Mulholland Drive." So, no, as most Lynch films go, this movie is not for everyone. It stars Laura Dern as an ambitious actress, shows the world of Hollywood from her perspective, and through that, shows a darkness to Hollywood nobody sees outside of the industry. Through some haunting music, symbollically exaggerated images, and an engaging and wonderful performance by Laura Dern, I was very impressed by this film. It's a bit lengthy at almost three hours, but I was so entranced that it didn't feel like a three hour film at all. I may have to see it again to fully appreciate the film, but from what I caught the first time through, here are my grades.

Entertainment Grade: 6/10
Quality Grade: 7.5/10

The Kings and Queen: A French melodramatic dark comedy and one which felt a bit off kilter to me. It mainly revolves around a woman (Emmanuelle Devos) and her life. She's had some misfortune in the romantic department in her past, but her luck has appeared to change, as she met and got engaged to a very kind, successful businessman. But, with her father ailing, her sister in trouble, and her son not necessarily liking his future father-in-law, Devos has to make some very difficult decisions, none of which may be more difficult than having to involve herself with an ex, whom she never thought she'd see again. While the film is funny at times, fairly well acted, and engaging at others, it's also quite cheesy in some parts when it shouldn't be, feels a bit off balance in trying to go too many different directions at once, and in the end, the climax was a bit disappointing. A decent film, but one I don't plan to ever view again.

Entertainment Grade: 5.5/10
Quality Grade: 6/10