Inside Man

Inside Man (2006)

Dispatched to a crime scene where a bank robbery is in progress, police detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) hopes to apprehend the cunning thief (Clive Owen) so he can make his case for a promotion. But when a savvy negotiator (Jodie Foster) with questionable motives arrives on the scene, an already unstable situation threatens to implode. Spike Lee directs this tense action-drama co-starring Willem Dafoe and Christopher Plummer.

My Two Cents: H'wood should make more movies like this -- smart and captivating w/o coming off as pretentious, light but not superficial; Denzel's best performance I've seen in quite a while.

NetFlix Rank: Really Liked It
IMDB Rank: 7/10

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

Tommy Lee Jones stars in and directs this dark comedy set on the Texas-Mexico border. After accidentally killing a man, heartless border patrol officer Mike (Barry Pepper) quickly buries the body in an unmarked grave. But ranch foreman Pete Perkins (Jones) learns of his friend's death, kidnaps Mike and drags him on a harrowing journey to Mexico to bury the man in his hometown. Julio Cesar Cedillo, January Jones and Dwight Yoakam co-star.

My Two Cents: It's slow, and longer than it needs to be, but it has a soul. Jones, Cedillo and Pepper all give great performances.

NetFlix Rank: Liked It
IMDB Rank: 8/10

Kicking and Screaming

Kicking and Screaming (1995)

Declining to accompany his girlfriend (Olivia d'Abo) to Prague, Grover (Josh Hamilton) chooses instead to move in with other new college grads who can't quite break the gravitational pull of campus. Reluctant to step into adulthood yet, afraid they'll end up like bartender and professional student Chet (Eric Stoltz), the friends wrestle with leaving the past behind. Writer-director Noah Baumbach delivers a funny, honest look at postcollege angst.

My Two Cents: Though I had difficulty identifying with the characters, Baumbach captures the the "what now" uncertainty brought on by college graduation. This film resonated with me, but probably isn't for everyone.

NetFlix Rank: Liked It
IMDB Rank: 7/10

Syriana

Syriana (2005)

George Clooney (who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar and Golden Globe for his role) plays CIA operative Bob Barnes in this political thriller by Stephen Gaghan. America is at the beck and call of the Middle East when it comes to the oil industry, and all its players -- Washington, sheiks, oil companies, field workers -- intersect with each other. The star-studded cast includes Matt Damon, Amanda Peet, Chris Cooper and William Hurt.

My Two Cents: Compelling and suspenseful, if nothing else; But despite its flair, it meanders through too many scattered sub-plots to effectively act as anti-big oil propganda (which I assume was its intent).

NetFlix Rank: Liked It
IMDB Rank: 7/10

Idiocracy

Idiocracy (2006)

To test its top secret Human Hibernation Project, the Pentagon picks the most average Americans it can find -- an Army private (Luke Wilson) and a prostitute (Maya Rudolph) -- and sends them 1,000 years into the future. But when the time travelers arrive, they find a civilization so dumbed-down that they're the smartest people around. Mike Judge and Etan Cohen ("Beavis and Butthead") reteamed for this futuristic farce.

My Two Cents: Brilliant and terrible; A puerile piece of semi-social commentary that I'm embarrassed to say made me roar with laughter on more than a few occasions. Judge is a lunatic and a genius.

NetFlix Rank: Really Liked It
IMDB Rank: 6/10

Walk the Line

Walk the Line (2005)

Among the pantheon of great country singers, Johnny Cash (played here by Joaquin Phoenix) may just be the most enigmatic. James Mangold's film distills Cash's transformation from man to icon -- from his hardscrabble days on an Arkansas farm to Sun Records in Memphis, Tenn., where Cash finally found a way for his talent to come into its own. Reese Witherspoon plays his beloved June, alongside co-stars Robert Patrick and Shelby Lynne.

My Two Cents: A great soundtrack and wonderful chemistry between its two lead stars masks the fact that this is an average movie about a guy whose life story isn't nearly as fascinating as his musical catalouge

NetFlix Rank: Liked It
IMDB Rank: 6/10

Little Miss Sunshine

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Convinced their little Olive (Abigail Breslin) is beauty queen material, parents Richard (Greg Kinnear) and Sheryl (Toni Collette) and the rest of the family embark on a life-altering road trip to a pageant in this madcap comedy. Struggling motivational speaker Richard pushes Olive to win, while her silent brother (Paul Dano), depressed uncle (Steve Carell) and nursing-home reject grandpa (Alan Arkin) add their own quirks to the mix.

My Two Cents: Many films explore themes like dealing with a dysfunctional family and coping with loss. Few do it in an endearing manner thats both dark and comedic, and even fewer do it as well

NetFlix Rank: Really Liked It
IMDB Rank: 9/10