Drama: Winter Passing- 2006

Upon learning that a New York City publishing agent (Amy Madigan) will pay dearly for the love letters her novelist father (Ed Harris) wrote to her late mother, a desperate Reese Holden (Zooey Deschanel) returns to Michigan after seven years away from home. But instead of the reclusive man she expected to find, she discovers her dad has formed a deep connection with a struggling musician (Will Ferrell) and an ex-grad student (Amelia Warner). (Per Netflix.com)

Grade: C+

This movie was an engaging, and thought provoking look into the seemingly lonely and somewhat troubled life of a young girl, and a point in her life where she is learning more about her family than she ever thought possible. The acting in this movie was great, and very believable. This is certainly a movie to watch if you are in the mood to "feel" things.

Drama/Tear Jerker: My sister's keeper- 2009

A former defense attorney (Cameron Diaz) finds herself back in the courtroom when she and her husband (Jason Patric) are sued for medical emancipation by their 11-year-old daughter, Anna (Abigail Breslin), who is expected to donate a kidney to her dying older sister. The subsequent trial tests ethical boundaries and the limits of parental love. Joan Cusack and Alec Baldwin round out the cast in this powerful drama based on Jodi Picoult's novel. (per netflix.com)

Grade: A+

This movie is a non-stop tear fest, with so many moments that will bring you to tears you may actually go through a box of tissues. The story is wonderful, the message is powerful, and the acting was amazing. This is one of those stories where you'd better be prepared to cry, and have a strong emotional response.

Drama based on real life: W.-2008

Fallow the life and career of former president George W. Bush in this "satiric retrospective" of the positives and negatives of his life.

Grade: C+

This was a wonderfully acted movie, and honestly led me to understand Bush in a whole new light. This is definitely an interesting insight into his life, and regardless of weather everything in this movie is completely factual or not, it was a great watch, and definitely kept me interested.

Romantic Comedy: Couples Retreat- 2009

When one couple in a group of friends realize their marriage may be on the brink of ending, after several unsuccessful attempts at getting pregnant, they plead with their friends to join them at the retreat, in order for them to receive the group rate, which they begrudgingly agree to. As the retreat moves on it seems like more than just their marriage is on shaky ground.

Grade: C+

This movie had some pretty good actors, and all of their parts were played well. I had a few problems though. First of all the wives in this movie seemed WAY to young for the husbands, almost unbelievably so. Also, it just wasn't one of those movies that had me consistently laughing, although it did have it's moments. I think I can say that it was worth the watch, just wasn't as funny as the trailer made it out to be.

Crime Drama: Eastern Promises- 2007

In an Oscar-nominated role that requires him to bare all, Viggo Mortensen reteams with director David Cronenberg for this intense thriller set in London's seedy underworld, starring as notorious Russian gangster Nikolai Luzhin. Luzhin finds his normally steely resolve compromised when he learns that a midwife named Anna (Naomi Watts) has discovered incriminating evidence against his "family" in the pages of a dead woman's diary. (per Netflix.com)

Grade: C+

This movie started out very slow to me, and was almost hard for me to get into. It wasn't until about 30 minutes or so into it that I began to enjoy it. This movie was VERY character driven, and was mostly dialogue, although it was interesting, and the few very short "action" scenes were good, especially the roughly 5-10 minute sequence of Viggo Mortensen fighting for his life nude in a steam room. The story was a good one, it just seemed that they took a story that could have been 20 minutes and made it into a movie. I can say that, for the most part, the acting was very believable.

Comedy/Suspense: The 'Burbs-1989

Every neighborhood in America has that one house on the block that just seems off, and the people who live there seem even more off. This is the story that fallows a group of neighbors as they attempt to investigate their strange, and down right creepy neighbors, in an attempt to prove that they are murderers.

Grade: C+

This was a pretty funny movie, with Tom Hanks doing a fantastic job as usual. There's also a lovely little part for Corey Feldman, which is always funny to see. The only "downside" was that there wasn't "constant" laughs, but, as with many comedies, that's not always the case. All in all it was pretty funny, and worth the watch.

Drama based on real life: American Gangster-2007

This movie fallows the life of Frank Lucas, played by Denzel Washington, during his rise to, and ultimate fall from, control of one of New York's most powerful African American gangs of the 60's.

Grade: B+

Denzel Washington played this role wonderfully of course, as well as the entire cast. The organization of the movie, and sequence of events definitely keeps you on your toes, and the intertwined story lines of both the "good guys" and "bad guys" makes it all the more interesting. This is definitely not a movie to watch with the kids!