this week's netflix

What the #$*! Do We Know: I actually watched this film? documentary? game of charades? awhile back, but I had forgotten to review it until I happened to meet one of the actors last week. The general premise is that quantum physics can improve your life, and we are shown this in two ways: through talking heads and animated science (somewhat interesting) and through Marlee Matlin acting out a plot that demonstrates the general premise (somewhat disastrous). According to the actor I met, some people prefer the straight-up documentary style and some people prefer the wedding scene where cartoon cells try to get it on with each other while the guests at the reception dance around with unexplained medical equipment. Go figure.

Angels in America, Part 2: I was still in New York when I watched the first half of this miniseries, and I'm surprised how long it took me to get back to it. The acting and writing are fantastic, but I'm afraid my reluctance to return had to do with two of my own issues: discomfort with scenes of disease and death and a lack of interest in magical realism. However, the film is so much more than that, and it is definitely worth watching.

Remember Me, My Love: This Italian film reminded me of American Beauty at one point in its portrayal of the way a family can be living together in the same house and yet still have completely separate, secret lives. The characters are engaging - at times amusing, at times cringeworthy - and the plot hinges around what happens to a man who loses his chance with Monica Bellucci.

The Aviator: I wasn't initially interested in this film because it featured Leonardo DiCaprio, but he pulled it off. His Howard Hughes was sympathetically neurotic (when he wasn't hiring women to be his "employees"), even if I can't imagine any actress with whom Leo could conjure some chemistry. I was pleased to see Scorcese toning it down a little, and when he did unleash the violence, it was in the form of the most amazing plane crash scene I have ever seen. I realized halfway through that the majority of my knowledge of Howard Hughes had been gleaned from The Simpsons, so I was thankful for the history lesson.
-