Secret in Their Eyes

I must confess I didn't remember the plot of the Spanish original, but based on my 5 star review I clearly loved it. To refresh my memory, I reread the plot on Wikipedia, and it all came flooding back like a roaring river - I could feel the emotion of the film washing over me again as it did when I first saw it. This remake is actually a fairly faithful (in tone if not detail) to the original, and the acting was excellent across the board. Julia Roberts was outstanding, and Chiwetel Ejiofor is always wonderful to watch. My one main problem was that I felt a large emotional gap between me and the characters - I never felt sucked into their world, and that made the movie falter some for me. But, overall, this was an ambitious project that was handled respectfully and well by director and writer Billy Ray. 4/5

Secret in Their Eyes on Netflix

Love is Strange

Molina & Lithgow are transcendent in this lovely understated drama. I did not expect the end, touching. 3.5/5

Love is Strange on Netflix

The Normal Heart

I can't believe I'm saying this, but this would have been near perfect if a gay actor had replaced Ruffalo in the lead. I normally never feel that way, especially with an actor as talented as Ruffalo is, but his performance rang false to me, and I found myself frequently thinking that I wished someone else led this movie. There were so many strong performances that it just stuck out to me. He wasn't bad, not at all, just... not right. 4/5

The Normal Heart on Netflix

The Tempest

Julie Taymor missed the mark ever so slightly with this retelling but tremendous acting truly saved it. Djimon Hounsou was perfection as Caliban but Mirren not nearly as evil as she should have been. Interesting take. 3.5/5

The Tempest on Netflix