The Break Up
This 2005 film directed by Peyton Reed stars Vince Vaughan and Jennifer Aniston (doing a decent job I must add) as a mismatched couple who meet and end up hitched only to realize their mistake several years on, which, of course, ends in a ‘break up’ that provides the film’s premise. Aside from the initial fight that spurs the break up (which is good), the rest of this film has been done before (and done better). My rating: 5 out of 10.

Water
Water is set in 1938 colonial India and centers on the story of a young child, Chuyia, who is left a widow after her arranged marriage husband dies. In these times Hindi widows have the option of killing themselves on their husband’s funeral pyre; marrying her husband’s younger brother; or taking a vow of celibacy and solitude. Little Chuyia’s parents decide to leave her at a “widow’s house”. There she meets the home’s matron, Madhumati and two older widows – Shakuntala and Kalyani – who help her through a transition she doesn’t fully understand. Woven among this story is the story of Gandhi (a little forced I thought) and the murky truth of widow houses in India at this time (a truth I won’t reveal so as not to spoil the movie). Water, directed by Deepa Mehta, is a difficult film to watch (it is long on character development; short on plot and action), and, while absolutely gorgeous to watch, frustrated me to the point where I wanted to yell ‘get to the point already!’. My rating: 6 out of 10.

Flightplan
Poor Jodie Foster must have been short of cash to agree to take on this role. Enough said. My rating: 2 out of 10.

Thumbsucker
This 2005 UK production was directed by Mike Mills and stars Keanu Reeves (who is always hot even though I admit he can’t act) and Tilda Swinton (who can do no wrong in my books). The story here though is about Justin, played by Lou Taylor Pucci, a 17-year-old kid with the annoying childhood habit of sucking his thumb. As you can expect, this is wrecking havoc on his home, personal and school life and has left Justin adrift in a sea of loner-ness. Keanu, in full Bill-and-Ted’s-Excellent-Adventure wackiness, opts for hypnosis to solve the problem while the school’s psychologist prescribes him drugs. The result is a new Justin, drug addled, oversexed and trying to figure out his wonky family life. The story is carried by Pucci’s acting and tells a good story of teen angst, addiction and drugs. Not for everyone that’s for sure but it will have you thinking of your own thumbsucking in a new way. My rating 6 out of 10.

---