Little Boy

This one was better than expected.  It has a very big heart and some great acting.  3/5 stars.

Unexpected

This film was not terrible; it has a big heart.  But it's not good.  2/5 stars.

Watch a good movie instead.

Wuthering High

This film was extremely disappointing.  1/5 stars.

Bad acting, Terrible story (changed from the book).

Woman in Gold

This film is fantastic.  5/5 stars.  Great story, well-acted.  Great post-production. Tight dialog.  Don't miss it.  Best film we have seen this year!

Ausser Dienst

This book is very interesting (to me).  Schmidt's autobiographic reflections and analysis of the past and present political situation in Germany is spot-on, very enlightening.  He comes across as an eternal optimist and the spirit of enlightened constituency interest.  I really enjoyed his examination of political ethics through the last 1,000 years of German history.  Worthwhile reading.  4 / 5 stars.

Dragon Blade

Puke awful terrible!  Stay away.  0 out of 5 stars.

Boyz N the Hood

I don't know how we missed this one last century.  It is star-studded, well-cut, a great story with good acting, and holds up surprisingly well almost 15 years later.

3 / 5 stars -- still worth seeing.

True Story

Disappointing.  Frequently, "the truth" is more bizarre than anything we can make up or imagine.  In this case, the ending is very boring and banal. 2/5 stars.  Great acting; very good post-production; interesting plot turns (until the end).  Very disappointing "happy ending."

Home (Dreamworks)

Basically as bad as the rotten tomatoes rating, 2/5 stars

A History of the Jews

 

Wow!  This book was very long and extremely depressing.  It is a thick, dense collection of facts, the history of Jewish civilization, Jewish leadership (political, secular, theological, thought) and the relationship of Jews to their ancestral home land, other nation states and other religions.  The epilogue and analysis at the end is very good and makes the book worth reading.  But the unbearable hardships of constant oppression, repeated genocides over 3 millenia, and the suffering they have borne is much much too heartbreaking.  3 out of 5 stars.