Maria Diarrhea's Moviewatch

"No Country for Old Men": I don't want to give too much away, so I'll keep the description brief. The movie takes place in the 1980s in Texas. When a hunter (Josh Brolin, in what may be the best performance of his career) stumbles upon a drug deal gone wrong, he is tracked by a vicious, psychopathic killer (a brilliant Javier Bardem). Right behind them is a local sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones -- love him!), who's trying to catch the killer and save the hunter. The movie is really well done, if a little slow-moving, and I can see why it's on a lot of critics' Top 10 lists. Be warned, though: it's pretty gory. I watched most of the movie through my fingers. If you're squeamish, you might want to pass on this one.

"National Treasure: Book of Secrets": This is the sequel to "National Treasure," which I did also see in the theater and which was surprisingly good. In this movie, historian/treasure hunter Ben Gates is told that his great-great grandfather was complicit in Abraham Lincoln's assassination and tries to clear his great-great grandfather's name. To do this, he must follow clues that take him around the world. It's a mix of "The Da Vinci Code" and "Indiana Jones." It can be a bit cheesy, and you have to suspend disbelief at times, but it's thoroughly enjoyable.

"Superbad": It was superbad. I laughed more during "National Treasure."

"Infamous": I rented this one, and am so glad I did. It tells the story of writer Truman Capote, who in 1959 went to a small Kansas town to research his book "In Cold Blood," about two convicted murderers. I knew Capote was a writer, but that's about all I knew. Now I want to know more. Capote is played by Toby Jones, whom I've never heard of before (but have since found out he is the voice of Dobby in "Harry Potter"!). He is fantastic in this role. And Sandra Bullock is really good as Capote's friend Harper Lee. I know "Capote," another film that came out before this one, got all the accolades, but I haven't seen that one (though now I plan to). I thoroughly recommend this one. I thought it'd be boring, but it's not. If you've got a couple of hours and don't have anything else to watch, give this one a shot.

"The Marine": Ok, don't blame me for this one. My sister rented it and I was bored... It's total cheese. The plot is stupid, the acting is awful, it's entire predictable and completely ridiculous. But you know what? I enjoyed it. It's totally mindless fun.

"The Office": So I know this isn't a movie, but I wanted to catch up on the TV series. I never get to watch it live because it's opposite two shows I watch religiously, so I rented the first two seasons on DVD. If you've seen the British version with the genius Ricky Gervais, you'll like the American version. (And if you haven't seen the British version with the genius Ricky Gervais, what are you waiting for? Rent it. Now.) This show cracks me up. It's uncomfortable to watch sometimes; I often find myself cringing with embarrassment for some of the people. But I guess that's the point. I'm just glad I don't work there!

So that's it, that's my first Maria Diarrhea Moviewatch. Let me know if there are any movies you think I absolutely have to watch. From what I can tell, the writers' strike isn't going to end any time soon, so I have plenty of free time on my hands.