district 9 (2009). directed by neill blomkamp.

district 9 (2009) has a jacksonian feel when it comes to head shots and splitting arms and alien cannibalism. of the scifi movies i was forced to watch this year, i must say this is at least 30% better than terminator salvation (2009).

that's a compliment.

the proposal (2009). directed by anne fletcher.

last week i caught the proposal (2009) on request of a friend. proving once again that romantic comedy is really, really hard to do well.

the soloist (2009). directed by joe wright.

the soloist (2009) confirmed the truth about mental illness; that you can't FIX people. especially when they are mentally ill. you can't fix them medications, with motivations, even good intentions won't work. may be all you can do is be there as a friend. 

as experienced by steve lopez: (writing his newspaper article) "I can tell you that by witnessing Mr. Ayer's courage, his humility, his faith in the power of his art - I've learned the dignity of being loyal to something you believe in ... believing without question that it will carry you home!"

another movie with a raw take on mental illness, watch spider (2002)