Movie Review Sunday....A Little Late

Well, after about two weeks of Netflix, we switched back to Blockbuster online. I'm so happy. It's so nice to be able to go into the store and exchange the movies instead of sending them all back after watching them.It just makes movie watching easy and lots of fun! Of course, with March Madness going on, I can't seem to watch much of anything besides college basketball! Why can't every month be March?

This week we've seen a couple of good ones.

Martian Child ~ (Synopsis from Moviefone): The romantic drama 'Martian Child' stars John Cusack as a recently widowed science fiction writer who forms an unlikely family with a close friend (Amanda Peet) and a young boy he adopts that claims to be from Mars. The new couple ignores some sage parenting advice from the widower's sister (Joan Cusack) and gets more than they bargained for when a series of strange occurrences lead them to believe that the child's claim may be true. Based on an award-winning short story by sci-fi luminary David Gerrold, 'Martian Child' is directed by Menno Meyjes and produced by David Kirschner, Corey Sienega and Ed Elbert.

**My Review**

After losing his wife, David, a successful sci-fi writer, decides to adopt Dennis, a young boy who thinks he is from Mars. Dennis has emotional problems and struggles to accept the fatherly love David shows to him. He is kicked out of numerous schools, steals, and when pushed, starts to talk about his home on Mars and how he will be returning there soon.

I think the thing I liked about this story is that I could relate to Dennis. He was scared, alone, felt abandoned and unwanted by his biological parents, and unworthy of love. He struggled with being loved and truly wanted by David, which caused him to act out. I could also relate to David. He was doing all he could to show Dennis his love and make him feel at home. Both of them were hurting and they really needed each other. It was a touching story. I don't remember any language in this one and felt comfortable with letting my children (13 and 9) watch it.

Rendition ~ (Synopsis): Isabella El-Ibrahimi is the loving American wife of Egyptian born Anwar El-Ibrahimi. Anwar lands in Washington, after returning from a business trip to South Africa. Upon his arrival in the US, he is whisked away, unexplained, by government agents. Accused of being a terrorist, he is taken out of the US and thrown in a prison, where he is beaten and tortured in hopes of gaining information. Isabella grows suspicious when her husband does not return and starts her own investigation into his disappearance. With no help from the US government, it's likely she may never know what has happened to her husband.

**My Review**

I was so excited about seeing this film. I waited for it to come to DVD and the first opportunity we had, we rented it. We settled in to watch it and I could hardly wait. An hour into the movie, I was scratching my head. The plot develops very slowly in this one. While I enjoyed the basic premise of the movie, nothing seemed to have any real order. The movie bounced around and never really made you feel as if you knew any of the characters. Even at the end of the movie, I was waiting for some kind of real closure, which never came. The scary thing is that this kind of thing probably does happen with our government. I wanted so badly to love this film but I only slightly liked it. This would have been a great role for Reese Witherspoon if the film had been better. There was language and torture scenes in this one that earned it an R rating.

Awake ~ (Synopsis): Clay is the son of a wealthy businessman and is in love with his mother's personal assistant, Sam. He also has a life threatening heart condition that requires a heart transplant. Clay struggles to tell his mother of his relationship with Sam, fearing her disapproval. The two are quickly married but shortly after, Clay must prepare for heart surgery. While on the operating table, Clay suffers "anesthetic awareness" and overhears the doctors plot to kill him for money. Just when things couldn't get worse, Clay hears his wife, who is involved in the murder plot. Helpless to do anything, Clay mentally retraces his steps in search of answers.

**My Review**

This was a pretty good movie. The plot is good and the story develops well, with a few surprises thrown in. There were a few parts that made me turn away because of my weak stomach. There's a bit of language. Overall, this one is worth watching if you like thrillers.

What have you seen this week? Share it with me. The good, the bad, and the ugly.