Love Lies Bleeding; The Good Girl

Recess

Here's two movies I watched last week , and they're still on my mind. What better recommendation?   The first one—  I didn't know the name,  having stumbled across it on cable.  The only cast member I'd seen before was Christian Slater, and I couldn't remember his name.  Had to Google the plot line to find it—  Love Lies Bleeding (2008) R Struggling Iraq war veteran Duke (Brian Geraghty) thinks his luck has finally turned when he stumbles upon a drug deal gone bad and finds a duffel filled with cash. He and his girlfriend, Amber (Jenna Dewan), hit the road, unaware that a dirty DEA agent (Christian Slater) has his eye on the money. The young couple must outwit the corrupt and crazed agent, who'll stop at nothing to get them. I see it's an instant-play on NetFlix,  which is good because MoSup will like it.  This is fast paced with good acting all around.  I like Slater anyway, and he is one helluva good bad-guy in this one.  Once I started the The Good Girl, I realized I'd seen it years before, but kept watching.  Both times I was struck by how very good an actress Jennifer Aniston is—  I mean very good.  The character actors in this film are a carnival unto themselves.  John C. Reilly wasn't yet on my radar back then;  that happened  after seeing his breakout role in  Chicago, also released in 2002.  Zooey Deschanel as Cheryl the Retail Rodeo (early K-Mart)  girl promoted to store cosmetician is worth the price of admission. Cheryl: Sit right down here, ma'am. We're going to make you pretty. Now how do you like your hair? Big Haired Woman: What? Are you going to do my hair? Cheryl: No, I just need to know if that's your usual way of wearing it, all big and high. If it is, I'll just put more makeup on your chin to offset it. You're going to want to take a whole bottle of this home with you. It's got quite a lot of ingredients in it, so you're getting a good deal. It's got ginkgo extract in it. Do you know what that is? Big Haired Woman: No. Cheryl: It's extract of the ginkgo, and it makes your skin real slick so that any liquid will roll right off you, be it water, or lemon juice, or urine. I'll put it in a bag for you.   Amazingly, it will keep you on edge despite nominally qualifying  as a chick-flick. The Good Girl(2002) R Justine (Jennifer Aniston) longs to start a family, but she and her loving husband (John C. Reilly) seem unable to conceive. So when the frustrated "good girl" meets a creative, passionate young man named Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal), she gladly escapes into a new world of emotional and sexual awakening. It doesn't take long, however, for Holden's passion to bloom into a poisonous obsession, putting Justine's very world at risk.