EVERYTHING MUST GO: INCLUDING THIS FILM

Congratulations to Will Ferrell for carrying through on a serious role. Mark that one off the bucket list! Problem is, the result was a sad, depressing dud of a movie. Nicky Halsey is kind of a jerk. It becomes apparent once we discover he is an alcoholic which is why he lost his job, after numerous attempts to stop, and now he comes home to find he is loosing his wife as everything he owns is put out on the yard in a hint-hint fashion. He's just not very likable and even though he does make some changes toward the end of the movie, it's just not enough. This film was painful for me to watch, even if he did a good job with his part.

SNOW ANGELS

SNOW ANGELS... LITERALLY

Don't we all think of laying down in the snow, flailing our arms and legs as if to take flight and the carefully standing up to look back and see a beautiful angel, white and fluffy? This movie is not about those kind of snow angels. It is bleak and sad, taking place in a small town where everybody knows everybody. Slowly as the story unfolds, we are introduced to our "major players". Annie (Kate Beckinsale) is a waitress with her friend Barb (kudos for Amy Sedaris in a dramatic role) at the local diner. Her husband, Glen (Sam Rockwell), has sworn himself off the booze and with help from Jesus Father God, he promises his redemption and tries to insert himself back into Annie's and his daughter's lives. Little by little, his true colors show and through a series of drastic events, and eventually bring the plot to crescendo. Beckinsale and Rockwell are amazing in their roles. However, it's Rockwell who rocks this picture. He could have made his character too much to believe true. He stopped just short of that invisible line. Why he didn't get nominated for something is news to me. This film is breathtakingly sad and during the bleakness of the winter, plain depressing. There are no happy endings; but at least they are done right.

BIG bite: Intense movie, well acted and painful to watch, but in a good way.