1) Rachel Getting Married. I loved this movie. It's an "uncomfortable" movie, with Anne Hathaway (from "Princess Diaries" and "Get Smart") playing Kim, the heading-home-from-rehab sister of the eponymous Rachel. The discomfort of the movie comes from the fact that we--the audience--know just a little more about the family than most of the wedding's other guests do. So while they're all partying with the Brazilian samba dancers, or eating amazing food, or cheering during the dishwasher-loading race, we're sitting on the sidelines, keeping one hand on the fire extinguisher in case something explodes.
2) Donnie Darko. Wow. Talk about uncomfortable. This one was from Netflix. It stars Jake Gyllenhall (in 2001--years before "Brokeback Mountain") as a troubled teenager who has nightmares and hears voices. Add in a book about the philosophy of time travel, an unidentifiable plane engine which falls from the sky into the house, and a six-foot-tall demonic rabbit named Frank, and you've got the feel of the movie. It's weird. Really good, but weird.
3) Goodbye Mr. Cool. This one is from Hong Kong, and also from 2001. It's an odd movie, about a guy who used to be a major gang leader, who has served time in prison and is now trying to start a new life--complete with a son he didn't know he had. Here's the thing--it's mainly set in a Cafe, and the food looks great. Okay, that's not the main thing. Even with the language barriers and the requisite martial arts action, it was still a movie I'd recommend. Just know that, when you get to the end of the disk you need to flip it over (and don't forget to re-set the Captions when you do that).
4) August Rush. I'm sure you saw the ads for this last year. It's got Keri Russell (TV's Felicity) and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (you'll know him when you see him) as the musically-inclined parents of a young prodigy (played by Freddie Highmore--you'll recognize him as Charlie from the Tim Burton "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"). The problem with all of the musical folks? The parents only spent one night together and--due to some plot twists--neither one knows they have a son living in an orphanage. The music (yes, there's a lot of music in the movie) ranges from Irish Pub Rock to classical cello to solo guitar, and by the time you're coming to the end you can't help but hope it all turns out for everyone.
Speaking of turning out alright for everyone... I also admit that last week I spent the money to go see...
5) High School Musical 3 - Senior Year. You've probably figured out by now that I'm a sucker for an old-fashioned musical. And if you've seen any of this franchise, you know that's exactly what you get. Lots of singing, lots of dancing, great clothes and sets, even a little plot. Since this is the first outing in theaters for the HSM crowd, everything was a little bigger, glitzier and more teen-angst ridden. We see the kids we've come to know work their way through their senior year--blending "real life" with life on-stage, using production numbers and songs to move the story along. Honestly, it's really cool--way cooler than high school--even without all of the smoking, drinking and sex of "Grease."
** sidenote ** One of my favorite things about the High School Musical franchise is how they allowed the characters to blend. In #1, the story focused on breaking your own preconceived boundaries and going out on your own limbs. My favorite--and apparently a big fan favorite, considering she goes from bit part in #1 to part of the primary cast in #3--is a big (ie, not stick thin) girl named Martha, played by KayCee Stroh, who is a brain who likes to dance hip hop. Although she didn't even have a memorable name in #1, she practically bookends #3, having now become a cheerleader. She's still bigger than most of the girls in the cast. She's still got big curly hair. And she's great. I love that. ** end sidenote **
Trying to wrap up all five movies in one thought seemed like it would be impossible when I started writing this, but I realized that they all have one thing in common: trying to belong. August Rush is trying to find the music his parents left him. We all want to be a part of the celebration while Rachel gets married. Mr. Cool wants to start a new life with his son. And everyone--including Donnie Darko--wants to fit in in High School.
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