4 months, 3 weeks and 2 Days ***1/2

Romanian with English Subtitles

This is a story of two college roommates struggling to get one of them an illegal abortion. Tough movie with difficult material, yet well done.

The Cider House Rules ***1/2

Based on a novel by the same name by John Irving.

Homer Wells (Tobey Maguire), an orphan, has grown up in an orphanage in New England where Dr. Wilbur Larch (Michael Caine), the director of the orphanage has taught Homer how to attend to birthing mothers. Dr. Larch occasionally performs illegal, but safe abortions, to women in need, for all the right reasons, but Homer refuses to do them. One day a soldier (Paul Rudd) and his fiance (Charlize Theron) arrive at the orphanage and everything changes.

The story is compelling, the acting is good and the movie, though not perfect, is quite good. It grapples with abortion, love, and personal choices, among other things. I can't put my finger on why it didn't grab me with a greater force. Close to being really good, but short of being a winner. Nevertheless, it's certainly worth watching.

The Wind That Shakes The Barley **1/2

An account, I imagine a fairly accurate one, of the British occupation of Ireland and the birth of the Irish Republican Army. I imagine it was hellish, as portrayed, but something about this movie left me feeling it missed the mark. Violence was the underlying theme, making the movie difficult to endure. Beautiful countryside and realistic sets and costumes add interest, but the acting simply was not convincing. I would give this movie an average rating (3 stars), but I deducted for the excessive violence.

10 Items Or Less **

Yes, I only give this movie two stars. There was essentially no plot and the dialogue was absolutely dialogue. A failure on every count. I would give it one star, but I am giving it a point because at least they had the sense not to include gratuitous violence or sex. I'm not wasting mine to include a photo from this movie. Don't waste your time watching it.