I Don't Feel at Home in this World Anymore - Netflix Review

Starring Melanie Lynsky, Elijah Wood, Jane Levy, David Yow, Devon Graye, Gary Anthony Williams, Christine Woods, Robert Longstreet, Derek Mears, Lee Eddy and Macon Blair.
Written & directed by Macon Blair.

★★★

This Sundance entry went straight to Netflix, but that's not a bad sign. Netflix is a good home for quirky fare that might be hard to market on big screens.

The film centers on Ruth (Melanie Lynsky), a normal woman who's getting just a little bit fed up with how people are jerks. Then when her house is broken into, she decides to take matters into her own hands to solve it. She enlists the help of her quirky neighbor Tony (Elijah Wood), and the two set out to find her stuff.

The movie does a good job of balancing humor with the darker and darker waters in which it treads. Ruth and Tony meet more and more dangerous people the more they look, but it's all handled in a believable way. And it builds to a genuinely tense third act.

Most indies, people don't see them until they get to DVD/Netflix/HBO, etc., so it's nice that Netflix is able to be a player in the market to pick up titles like this. Between this and I Am Not a Serial Killer and Hush, Netflix is showing it can be good for low-budget genre fare.

Random Movie News - 9/22/12

- Hitchcock will now open in limited release on November 23.  It stars Anthony Hopkins as the famous director Alfred Hitchcock, and the film takes place during the filming of Psycho.  Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, Danny Huston, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg and James D'Arcy as Anthony Perkins.

- Terminators unite!  Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sam Worthington will star in Ten, about an elite DEA squad who steal a large stash from a drug cartel.  They think they've committed the perfect crime, but then someone starts assassinating squad members one by one.  Terrence Howard, Mirielle Enos, Malin Akerman, Josh Holloway, Joe Manganiello and Olivia Williams co-star.

- Elijah Wood will star in Grand Piano, a psychological thriller about a retired pianist forced back onto the stage by a psychopath (John Cusack) in order to save the lives of himself and his loved ones.  Allen Leach (Downton Abbey) and Alex Winter (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure) co-star.

- Victims from the Aurora theater shooting are suing Cinemark for not providing adequate security.  Which means you can expect the police-state mentality to spread to movie theaters now.

FX Thursday Night Lineup - TV Review

ANGER MANAGEMENT - Charlie Sheen's comeback after Two and a Half Men is another laughtrack show, and it's one where the writing isn't near what it should be.  It's actually a safer, blander show than Men, and it's just not funny.  Sheen runs an anger management support group, and the characters around the circle are stock (although it's amusing to watch Barry Corbin do his best Wilford Brimley).  The one-liners are groaners.  Grade: D

WILFRED - I gave up on this show last season, but I've seen the first two episodes, and I'm back in. It's found its voice.  It's much improved now that Elijah Wood's has a job and is no longer suicidal.  Grade: B

LOUIE - Sometimes it's barely a comedy; it's more of a melancholy reflection on mid-life life.  But it stays funny as it reveals truth.  I like how it blends the events of the episode into the stand-up act.  Seinfeld did it too, but that felt detached.  This is part of his life.  Grade: A-

BRAND X with RUSSELL BRAND - Russell Brand, that British comedian whose career's on its way down, now has a show where he takes the headlines of the day and improvs comedy from them, talking to the audience.  It's like he's working out material, but since Brand's worn out his welcome with me, I'd say it's quite skippable.  Grade: D-

Elijah as Maniac, RIP Andy Rooney, etc.

- Elijah Wood (Sin City) and Nora Arnezeder (Safe House) will star in a remake of the 1980 slasher film Maniac, to be directed by Franck Khalfoun (P2). Wood will play Frank, a serial killer who feels like he get a little bit of revenge on his abusive mother every time he kills a woman.

- Casting rumors: Kit Harington and Richard Madden, both of HBO's Game of Thrones, are reading for Arthur in Arthur & Lancelot. Joel Kinnamen (AMC's The Killing) is up for Lancelot. Meanwhile Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), Aaron Paul (AMC's Breaking Bad), and Ben Foster (The Mechanic) are up for the role of Bruce Willis's son in Die Hard 5.

- Longtime 60 Minutes contributor Andy Rooney has died at age 92, just five weeks after his retirement.

Random Movie Stuff - 5/27/11

- Snow White & the Huntsman (starring Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron) had its release date moved up to June 1, 2012. In response, Relativity moved its Snow White movie (starring Julia Roberts and Lily Collins) to March 16, 2012. The Relativity one is said tob e more family-friendly, while Snow White & the Huntsman is going to be more for the PG-13 Twilight crowd.

- Jessica Biel and Bill Nighy are joining Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Bryan Cranston in the Total Recall remake, scheduled to open August 3, 2012.

- Andy Samberg (Saturday Night Live) and Rashida Jones (Parks & Recreation) will star in Celeste & Jesse Forever, about a divorcing couple who try to remain friends. Elijah Wood and Emma Roberts co-star.

- Zach Braff (Scrubs) has joined the cast of Oz: The Great & Powerful, a prequel starring James Franco (The Wizard), Michelle Williams (Glinda), Rachel Weisz (Witch of the East) and Mila Kunis (Witch of the West). It's scheduled to open March 8, 2013.

- Jeff Conaway has died after being taken off life support, which he's been on since a drug overdose on May 11. He was the star of movies (Grease, Pete's Dragon) and television (Taxi, Babylon 5) and appeared on VH1's Celebrity Rehab in 2008. He was 60.