FYI ... these were part of the eight films I rented from Blockbuster. Ha ha.

(M) School for Scoundrels. (Todd Phillips, 2006) Grade: C-

Thoughts: Roger (Jon Heder) is a loser until he starts taking these classes from Dr. P (Billy Bob Thornton). The movie was so-so but what I really enjoyed was the cast. Todd Louiso (the nerd from High Fidelity), Paul Scheer (Best Week Ever), Horatio Sanz (SNL) and a few others. I’m sure they had a good time doing this movie just goofing around. Billy Bob is always entertaining as jerk. I want to watch the UK film they based this upon.

(M) Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School. (Randall Miller, 2005) Grade: C-

Thoughts: Frank Keane (Robert Carlyle) is a widow baker who helps a man Steve Mills (John Goodman) when he gets into a bad car accident. Frank has to go to Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School to meet Steve’s long time love. Instead, he finds love himself in Meredith Morrison (Marisa Tomei). I wanted to like this move but it was very dull and pointless and I didn’t care of any of the characters. Oh well.

(M) Palwolui Christmas (Christmas in August). (Jin-Ho Hur, 1998) Grade: B

Thoughts: Typical Korean movie where lead character dies never telling the girl he loves how he feels. Apparently, it won a lot of awards and is beloved as a Korean film so that’s cool.

(M) Jesus Camp. (Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, 2006) Grade: B+

Thoughts: A documentary film about children and Christianity in the Mid-West. The film dragged a bit at some points but overall it was interesting. Personally, the film had a strong effect on me because I found it extremely relatable. I was one of those Evangelical Christians who surrounded themselves in their faith, so much so that I was actually isolating myself from the rest of the secular world. I was not as extreme as in the film but I did do the church retreats and passing out pamplets. One of the flaws in religion, in my opinion, is the separation from the world to this narrow-minded view, which alienates you from everyone else. The term "Christian" is viewed in so many different contexts that it makes it hard to talk about faith/religion anymore. I know I’m a Christian but in a way I feel like I need to tuck it away as a side note if I hope to relate to people who are non-Christians. I agreed with the points Cup had as well regarding the impact on these young children.

Movie count: 19