#54: Ratatouiile

#53: Synecdoche, NY

#52: Hello, Dolly

yay for Wall-E reminding me of this great old musical!

#51: Outsourced (2006)

When his department is outsourced to India, customer call center manager Todd Anderson (Josh Hamilton) heads to Mumbai to train his successor (Asif Basra). Amusing culture clashes soon ensue as Anderson tries to explain American business practices to the befuddled new employees -- and in the process learns some important lessons about globalization … and life. Director John Jeffcoat's delightful comedy also stars Ayesha Dharker and Matt Smith.

lovely. Recommended for an easy afternoon viewing.

#50: The Puffy Chair

When Josh (Mark Duplass, whose brother Jay directs) finds the perfect birthday present for his father, he decides to deliver it in person. But with his high-maintenance girlfriend Emily (Kathryn Aselton) and granola brother Rhett (Rhett Wilkins) along for the ride, Josh's simple road trip turns into a much bigger journey than anyone anticipated. This indie romantic dramedy was an audience favorite at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.

#49: Superbad (2007)

40-Year-Old Virgin veterans Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen team up again as producer and co-star/co-writer (respectively) of this high school comedy starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as best buddies facing separation anxiety as they prepare to go off to college. Attempting to score alcohol for a party (believing that the babes will follow), the boys' evening quickly dissolves into chaos. Bill Hader ("Saturday Night Live") co-stars.

#48: Goldfish Memory (2003)

In this comedy set in contemporary Dublin, Clara (Fiona O'Shaughnessy) is stunned when she finds her boyfriend kissing someone else (Fiona Glascott), setting in motion a string of romantic mishaps for the heartbroken woman and several other lovelorn characters. Marriage, casual encounters and everything in between are explored by this group of relationship-challenged people who ultimately just want the same thing: someone to call their own.

I kept seeing this, but never picked it up. Mildly entertaining.

#47: Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009)

A new assignment hits home for grim reaper Georgia (Ellen Muth) when her latest reaping, Hudson Hart (Jordan Hudyma), turns out to be the secret love of her sister, Reggie (Britt McKillip). Meanwhile, Calvin Kane (Henry Ian Cusick) takes over as Head Reaper, but he's not highly regarded by his undead underlings Daisy (Sarah Wynter), Roxy (Jasmine Guy) and Mason (Callum Blue) in this feature follow-up to the short-lived Showtime cult hit.

enh - like a decent episode, really.

#46: Penelope (2006)

Penelope Wilhern (Christina Ricci) is cursed, and the only way out of it is to fall in love with someone of suitable stock. But how can she possibly find her soul mate when she's sequestered inside her family's sprawling estate with only her parents (Catherine O'Hara and Richard E. Grant) to keep her company? Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon co-produced this unconventional fairy tale about a girl who bucks convention to make her own happy ending.

Kinda ok. Presumably set in England -- though accents were all over the place (I'm assuming they filmed in the UK, and just didn't bother establishing the location as a real place -- maybe for the fairy tale theme?)

Day 82 - Time for a Catch-up Week!

I'm a little behind, as I expected would happen in February-March. Lots of driving, lots of prepping for class, and lots of writing for work. And the truly-free free time spent either dyeing, planning to dye, or spending time with my sweetie.

Lots of interesting looking things in the queue, though:
Elegy (Ben Kingsley)
Dead Like Me: Life After Death
Dear Zachary
Batman & Robin
Buena Vista Social Club
SLC Punks

But today: Penelope

#45: Happy Go Lucky

#44: Rachel Getting Married

When drama queen Kym (Anne Hathaway, in her first Oscar-nominated role), a former model who's been in and out of rehab for 10 years, returns to her parents' home just before the wedding of her sister, Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), long-standing family conflicts begin to resurface. Directed by Jonathan Demme, this touching and humorous drama co-stars Debra Winger and was nominated for a Best Feature Independent Spirit Award, among others.

Debra Winger takes just one bite -- albeit a big one -- out of the scenery here. A lovely movie, really one of the best I've seen so far this year.

#43: What Just Happened (2008)

Harried film producer Ben (Robert De Niro) juggles a lunatic director, a temperamental actor (Bruce Willis) and an out-of-control production while courting a studio head (Catherine Keener) and dealing with his ex-wife (Robin Wright Penn) in Barry Levinson's funny and poignant exploration of the movie business. The all-star comedy is based on the sharply observed novel by veteran Hollywood producer Art Linson.

#42: King Corn (2007)

In Aaron Woolf's thought-provoking documentary, friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis move back to America's Corn Belt to plant an acre of the nation's most-grown and most-subsidized grain in an attempt to follow their crop into the U.S. food supply. What they discover about genetically modified seeds, powerful herbicides and the realities of modern farming calls into question government subsidies, our fast-food lifestyle and the quality of our food.

90 minutes

#41: Who's Camus Anyway?

#40: Flash of Genius (2008)

#39: Outing Riley