Little Children (2006, U.S.)

Kate Winslet is one of the greatest actresses of her generation, if not all time. And Patrick Wilson is great when the psychologically disturbing and dramatic stuff (see Hard Candy). So a film with such a small cast that revolves around the two of them is sure to be a winner.

In an upper-middle class suburb, the lives of a woman with a porn-addicted husband, a man with a disinterested wife, a disgraced ex-cop, and a convicted sex offender dance around each other. It's hard to tell how they'll align (despite the common neighborhood), but eventually all runs together.

I guess this is supposed to be a film about people who can't control their impulses, but to me it seemed more like a film about people who are trapped in unhappy lives and deal with them in inappropriate ways.

It was sad watching these people pathetically run their lives into the ground. And while it was a powerful film, I think it was just too bleak for me. Still, definitely worth watching.

Rating: 3.5

He's Just Not That Into You (2009, U.S.)

It was the weekend, I was bored, I wanted to see a movie, and there was very little playing. That is how I ended up seeing this travesty of a movie.

I liked it so little that I don't think I can even bother scrounging up any constructive comments. The ensemble cast was pretty great, but the characters they played were terrible—shallow, irritating, self-centered, and stupidly causing themselves trouble that would be easily avoided.

In fact, I'm not really sure why I stayed to the end of this one. Perhaps I hoped it would redeem itself. It didn't.

Rating: 1.5