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

Belle de jour (1967, France)

Only the French, I'm telling you. Catherine Deneuve, who I have to say is a very good actress, is a young woman who is in love with her new husband but frigid in bed. So while her husband is at work, she ends up spending her afternoons as a prostitute while staying chaste in her marriage.

Obviously this was supposed to be a commentary on women's desires and how psychological traumas can pervert these desires. Not a bad concept, but I think it could have been executed better. Then again, maybe it was just dated.

Rating: 2.5