Dark Water, Gracie's Choice
I really didn't realize how accustomed I'd become to being able to access the internet during breaks and at lunchtime throughout the workday - until it was cut off this week due to some of the recent Windows security vulnerability issues going on. Hopefully, things will return to normal next week.
I finished watching another couple of rentals.
Dark Water (2005): This remake of the Japanese movie Honogurai mizu no soko kara (2002) (which was based on a novel) is a pretty faithful adaptation of that film. I only noticed a couple of minor alterations from the American version. Jennifer Connelly, Tim Roth (barely recognizable to me - I thought it was just someone who looked like him), John C. Reilly and the rest of the cast turned in solid performances. The story is about a woman trying to start a new life with her daughter (Ariel Gade from Invasion) after separating from her husband (Dougray Scott). They move in to a low-rent apartment, where strange occurrences begin to happen. Is the woman, who had a troubling relationship with her own mother, disturbed and a negative influence on her young daughter or is there something supernatural at work?
This is usually marketed as a horror film, but I'd say it's more of a dramatic thriller. Yes, there is a supernatural element and at its heart it is a ghost story, but it's a pretty tame one, in my opinion. It was released theatrically with a PG-13 rating, but for some reason the DVD I rented was an unrated version. I'm not certain what was different in the DVD, but I'm assuming the "unrated" category was because they didn't want to take it back to the MPAA to be reviewed for the DVD rating. There is no gore or nudity and only minor language and violence.
Gracie's Choice (2004): Not my usual type of movie, this film produced for the Lifetime channel was really quite moving and had me in tears several times. Kristen Bell was amazing as Gracie, the 17-year-old half-sister of several siblings whom she had been more of a parent to than her drug-addict, flaky mother, played by Anne Heche. It's based on a true story and really showed the kind of stength and resilience and love a person can exhibit, no matter the obstacles they've faced or how young they are. Inspiring.
Also, the DVD has a 15 minute interview segment with Kristen Bell, Anne Heche, Diane Ladd and Peter Werner, where they each talk about the ways in which they were inspired by the real-life "Gracie" and by each other's commitment to the film.