Sunshine Cleaning (2008, U.S.)

I went into this movie thinking it would be more comedy than drama, but let me be the first to tell you that isn't the case.

The best thing about this movie is that the characters were so real. A lot of times, characters are so obviously "characters" rather than "people," but not here. This family consists of a single mom who works as a maid, her young (and very strange) son, her (even stranger) father, and her screw-up sister. Their mother died when they were a child. Other characters include a married cop who the older sister is having an affair with, a group of shallow women she knew in high school, and a one-armed vacuum salesman. Every single one is so believable.

Also, what an usual story. This family is struggling to survive, and the main character hears that cleaning up crime scenes is a lucrative business. She drags her sister, who has just been fired from another job, into the work, and Sunshine Cleaning is born. The older sister sees herself as someone who helps others in a small way when they're going through a tough time. How they both react to the business tells a lot about their personalities—and how their mother's death changed them both and their relationship with each other.

This one is definitely an original, and quite well done.

Rating: 3.5

X-Men (2000, U.S.)

I can't lie, I was confused for most of this movie. Partially because I was talking to Jeff through most of it, and partially because I never read or watched X-Men as a kid. Mostly I wanted to watch the trilogy so that I could watch and understand Wolverine because a) I have become a Hugh Jackman fan (especially since he hosted the Oscars) and b) Aaron Jeffrey is in it!

Still, I thought it was pretty sweet. For starters, the aforementioned Mr. Jackman was awesome, and the rest of the cast was great too. The special effects were really believable, which is sometimes all one can ask of a movie like this. One thing that did really bother me was when the script obviously dropped the ball. For instance, Storm is letting herself (and everyone else) get beat up, and I assumed she just couldn't use her powers inside. Then five minutes later, she uses her powers to save the day. Why couldn't she do this earlier? I don't know.

So yeah. Good casting, good special effects. That pretty much sums it up.

Rating: 3.5

Streets of Fire (1984, U.S.)

This film was part two of a B-movie night with my friends. It was shockingly bad, and yet somewhat enjoyable.

First, the plot is poorly conceived. It seems to be set in the 1950s, and a weird creepy guy (who wears leather overalls and works out of a biker bar / strip club with a strangely androgynous stripper) kidnaps an 80s rock star with the purpose of physically using her. However, her ex-boyfriend comes back to town and goes to find her (at his sister's request) with the help of her current paramour and an unlikely (and very butch) woman he meets in a bar.

It is strange and nonsensical but strangely riveting. I especially loved the sidekick, McCoy, who was played by Amy Madigan. Absolutely hilarious. Then there was young Diane Lane pretending to be a hardcore 80s rock goddess and Willem Defoe with his evil face and leather overalls... It was terrible, but also almost enjoyable. Yeah.

Rating: 2.0

Torque (2004, U.S.)

Would you like to see a terrible action movie often hailed as The Fast and the Furious on Motorcycles? If so, look no further! Before I have to say anything else, I have to defend myself by saying that I watched this movie with a bunch of friends on a B-movie night. So I knew it would be bad.

There are a lot of motorcycles. I guess they're cool. There are rival bike gangs, who are beyond lame. Also, one of the gangs is primarily black, and it is incredibly racist. I mean really, Ice Cube? (Not "Why did they cast him?" but "Why would he do it?") Also, the few Asians in the film were beyond stereotypical. We called the main Asian character Red Dragon, because he wore a red dragon biker jacket. Painful.

The plot was insubstantial: good guy framed for murder must prove his innocence, which involves a lot of motorcycle stunts and explosives, of course. He has a "sexy" love interest, but several of us were in agreement that this woman (although in her late 20s) looked old and worn out. Yuck.

Basically, it sucked. But the lead actor was kind of cool in the delivery of his lines... "Why yes, this is a terrible movie and my lines are even worse, but look at my over-the-top bad boy smirk!" Oh yeah.

Rating: 1.5

Duplicity (2009, U.S.)

This film was all anyone could ask for. It's funny. It's smart. There's romance. There's espionage. There's Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. This totally redeems Owen for the travesty also known as The International.

First of all, the plot is completely over the top. Two companies trying to beat each other out in the market for hair care products or lotion or some such silliness. They are so extreme about corporate secrecy that they have whole security teams protecting the chemical formulas and laying false trails for the competitor. Enter Ray and Claire, who may or may not have known each other before and who may or may not be on friendly terms. Each is the head of security for one of the companies, and they may or may not be working together to fleece both of their employers.

It is truly remarkable the way the filmmakers integrated this complex plot with a touch of romance and a lot of humor. The writing was superb, and I was very impressed. Of course Owen and Roberts were great, although it was very strange to see them together for the first time since Closer without attributing some of their earlier characters' characteristics to the current set. But eventually that wore away, and their chemistry and acting skill was very apparent.

One other thing I have to say about this film is this—what a score. Of course, I'm biased because I love James Newton Howard, but I actually didn't realize it was his until the credits. Two of my favorite scores are his—Peter Pan and Defiance. Peter Pan is whimsical but beautiful, very fairy-ish. Defiance (which is my opinion was robbed, robbed, robbed of the Oscar by an infinitely inferior score) is heartbreakingly beautiful, tragically lovely, whichever set of seemingly contradictory terms you want to use. Anyway, I could gush about him all day. The point is, this score was very different, but just as perfectly appropriate to its film as the other two I mentioned. It was lighthearted and upbeat. (This part reminded me a bit of the Catch Me If You Can score). It had a hint of sneakiness that fit with the espionage, but also a hint of something else more appropriate to the romantic aspect. It was masterfully done.

I don't think I can offer any higher recommendation for a film like this than these two words: Fun. Smart.

Rating: 4.5