Ah Midterms... what a perfectly good way to ruin anybody's week. For those of you that actually have a job, you might remember midterms and all of the hours of your life they have stolen. Well, here is your chance to get those hours back, with the picks of the week:

RENT THIS:
Funny Games (2008, Michael Haneke)
Plot provided by the Internet Movie Database:
In this exploration of our violent society and how depictions of violence reflect and shape our culture, a middle-class family submits both physically and mentally to the torture, violence, and death foisted upon them by two young, unexpected, white-gloved visitors at their vacation retreat near a lake.



The Breakdown:

Michael Haneke is well known internationally as a very talented New German Cinema director. Not commonly known is the fact that Michael Haneke originally made this film in German in 1997, and remade it in 2008 after it's international success. Typical of most New German Cinema, this film features long takes, and has an obvious influence from the French New Wave. This deeply disturbing film has a knack for making the audience feel uncomfortable not only by showing disturbing images, but by directly addressing the camera as well. This is far from a Hollywood film, and therefore is not for everyone. However, I do suggest this film to anyone who enjoys horror flicks. Germans know how to make people scream!

SEE THIS IN THEATERS:
Shutter Island (2010, Martin Scorsese)
Plot provided by the Internet Movie Database:
It's 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient from Boston's Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital. He's been pushing for an assignment on the island for personal reasons, but before long he wonders whether he hasn't been brought there as part of a twisted plot by hospital doctors whose radical treatments range from unethical to illegal to downright sinister. Teddy's shrewd investigating skills soon provide a promising lead, but the hospital refuses him access to records he suspects would break the case wide open. As a hurricane cuts off communication with the mainland, more dangerous criminals "escape" in the confusion, and the puzzling, improbable clues multiply, Teddy begins to doubt everything - his memory, his partner, even his own sanity.



The Breakdown:
I have been hearing a lot of complaints about this movie, and not enough praise. Let me trash everyone that feels it necessary to trash this movie. Hollywood Cinema has been well established for over 40 years now, and is represented by movies that are easy to understand and follow in terms of the narrative. I honestly do not care if you think you are a genius for "figuring out" this movie, nor do I care if the movie is "too easy" to understand. The point of the film is not the twist, it is how the story plays out. I leaned forward on the edge of my seat the entire movie and was completely satisfied with all aspects of the film. If you came to see this movie and was expecting an unsolvable mystery and crazy twist ending, go see an M. Night Shyamalan flick, and keep your uninteresting, unqualified opinions to yourself.

Special Request Review:

One of our esteemed fans have requested that I do a special belated Valentine's Day Special Review. What better movie to review for this special occasion then Valentine's Day (2010, Garry Marshall)

Plot provided by the Internet Movie Database:
February 14th, Valentines Day, is not a national holiday, but it is one of those days that must be celebrated. There are "special someones" in your life who expect to receive romantic gifts from their lovers. Commercialism has put a tremendous amount of pressure on men to give their lovers a romantic day with all the trimmings. Women are under pressure to have a man, or they feel desperate and unloved. Valentines Day follows the lives of several couples during this day. Their stories are told through the interconnections they have with each other. Some will find romance in their relationship, and others will feel the heartbreak of ending a relationship. In this Russian roulette world of finding love, everyone in the film is asking for advice on how to find and keep true love.



The Breakdown:
Every once in a while I see a trailer for a movie I know is going to be bad, but I find it necessary to give that one special movie a chance to prove me wrong. That movie is Valentine's Day. Why did I give this movie a chance? -Honestly, I thought it was going to be exactly like He's Just Not That Into You (2009, Ken Kwapis). That movie was underrated and fun. Valentine's Day is the exact opposite. The characters are way too many, and underdeveloped, leading to confusing acting that leaves many questions to be asked. Even for the older people out there, I would find something better to do than see this movie.