Movie Recommendations

Two movies we have seen recently on Netflix:

1. The Secret Life of Bees. Kind of chick-flicky, but good story and they did a good job of sticking with the book. Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keys portray the three Boatwright sisters in 1964 South Carolina. Sophie especially was convincing as the sweet but damaged May Boatwright. And that kid that played Michael on The Wire is in here with a very 1960s cut-in part in his hair. Oh, and Dakota Fanning, too. And Paul Bettany being nearly unrecognizeable as a bitter, sweaty good ol' boy. Read the book first. Please.

2. Taken, where Liam Neeson tears most of France apart in an effort to recover his 17-year-old daughter from slave traffickers. Considering that this sort of thing actually happens, and as parents of an 18-year-old, it made our hair stand on end to see the setup: Spoiled, naive American girls, indulgent parents who tiptoe around trying not to stifle the independence of their children, throw in some lying to Dad and whaddya get? A huge, heartbreaking mess. Reminds me of both Frantic (Harrison Ford was trying to rescue his wife in that one) and Target (this time it was Gene Hackman). A little too much typical action-movie people-jumping-off-tall-buildings-and-not-getting-hurt, plus an evil/fat/ugly sheik who just doesn't fit in with the rest of the story at all, but still, I recommend it.