Secretary (IMDB) (Netflix)
It was never like this at the big firm. Maggie Gyllenhaal is a reluctantly de-institutionalized submissive who also dabbles in self-injury, and James Spader is the lightly sadistic lawyer who doesn't like her typing skills. It's a match made in Krafft-Ebing heaven. As with any boss-secretary relationship, however, there's a subtle tug-of-war over who's really in charge, and inside each character as they come to terms with what really makes them happy.

There's not a clichéd moment in the script, which makes every word count and keeps things interesting, albeit at a leisurely pace. Given his career-long stranglehold on endearing creep parts, Spader is nicely typecast but doesn't mail it in, and Gyllenhaal nails what should be her breakout performance; she's got nuance, spunk and a glowing comic charm that you wouldn't expect from such a role. Much fun in the I'm-so-naughty-for-seeing-this sense.

Sex and Lucia (IMDB) (Netflix)
A woefully inadequate title for this rich, complex and sometimes confusing movie; try "Sex, Lucia, Lorenzo the writer, Two More Women, Another Guy Who's Really Well-Equipped and a Senseless Tragedy." The range of plot summaries in other reviews gives one the sense of being in a film criticism version of Rashomon.

We move back and forth in time, and between reality(?) and Lorenzo's writing. There's also plenty of con brio action that, as stimulating as it is to watch (Paz Vega may be the most beautiful woman in film today), seems at the end to have been mostly a diversion from more substantive but murkier messages. Get to the theater on time, don't check out mentally if you lose the scent for awhile, and you might be rewarded.

Lawrence of Arabia (IMDB) (Netflix)
An epic's epic, nominated for ten Oscars, winner of seven, re-released for at least the second time. Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quinn, Claude Rains, Jack Hawkins, Jose Ferrer and Anthony Quayle. Written by Robert Bolt (Dr. Zhivago, A Man for All Seasons) and directed by David Lean (Dr. Zhivago, Bridge on the River Kwai). Surprising relevance to today's events.

Not taking advantage of this opportunity to see this on the big screen verges on the criminal, but take a nap and pack a lunch; it's 227 minutes long.

Igby Goes Down (IMDB) (Netflix)
Kieran Culkin is Igby, the too-cool-for-any-school teen (parochial, prep and military--nailing the disaffectedness trifecta) with an institutionalized father and a pill-popping, shrewish mom (Susan Sarandon) who's dying of breast cancer. He gets beat up at least three times and the opening scene has him and brother Ryan Philippe killing their mom. A sure-fire comedy premise.

Sure, but the writing is knife-edge sharp, charming without ever becoming maudlin, varied in tone while holding its center. Kieran is the least cute and maybe the best of the acting Culkins, and the rest of the cast is rock-solid and even inspired, adding Jeff Goldblum, Amanda Peet, Claire Danes, Bill Irwin and especially Jared Harris to an already rich mix of alienating personalities.

War Photographer (IMDB) (Netflix)--na
Robert Capa, perhaps the most famous combat photographer ever, said "if your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough." It wasn't an empty aphorism; a landmine in Vietnam killed him in 1954.

This Oscar-nominated documentary of today's version of Capa, James Nachtwey, adopts his credo, using tiny video cameras attached to Nachtwey's still camera as he documents the aftermath of Kosovo and Rwanda, the workers' hell-on-earth in the sulphur mines of Indonesia, the continuing tragedy in Ramallah. It's tough viewing, not from poor execution, but from its unflinching images of the worst aspects of humanity, and Nachtwey's compassionate dedication to bringing them back to the rest of the world.

24 Hour Party People (IMDB) (Netflix)
Beginning in the late '70s, Manchester, England was the leading edge of the punk music scene, and TV host and idealistic music impressario Tony Wilson (Steve Coogan) was its muse of sorts, helping bring seminal acts Joy Division, New Order and Happy Mondays to the world through his Factory Records label and the Hacienda nightclub.

"Party People" recounts Wilson's rise and fall through his own Cambridge-educated eyes (as he continually remind us, just like Harvard alums), and with Coogan's wry comic touch and well-executed breaking of the fourth wall by director Michael Winterbottom, it's an inventive, entertaining and even educational ride through an important part of modern music history (Joy Division's name had an appalling Nazi origin). Here's hoping Coogan makes it into more films.

City by the Sea (IMDB) (Netflix)
There are days when it seems that every bad decision you've made in your life comes back to haunt you. NYPD Detective Vincent LaMarca (Robert de Niro) thought he had finally built a simple cozy life for himself, but then his estranged junkie son is accused of murdering a drug dealer, and the dealer's boss comes looking for revenge. Then it gets worse.

De Niro is mostly his competent self, and the moments between him and girlfriend Frances McDormand are the best parts of the movie. Seeing De Niro cry somehow just doesn't seem right, though, and the rest is stubbornly bleak, with little action or humor to break it up, and the pacing in the first half was slow enough to prompt a fellow audience member to say "I kept looking for a remote control to change the channel." The film takes off in the second half, but not before its undercarriage gets torn up by the trees at the end of the runway.

One Hour Photo (IMDB) (Netflix)
Following the disastrous Death to Smoochy and the well-regarded Insomnia, Robin Williams completes an exploration-of-the-dark-side triptych with this mesmerizing character study of a lonely, tightly wrapped photo shop clerk (he would say "craftsman") who covertly adopts the Yorkins. They're an iMac'd, Mercedes-driving, stainless steel kitchen brand of perfect nuclear family, or so Williams has believed, but as he gets closer, he discovers a flaw under the veneer, causing him to respond the only way he knows how.

While many of Williams's roles have been overly sentimental or "too Robin," he's well-restrained here, and submerges under the make-up to truly become Sy the Photo Guy. The creepiness and tension ratchets up smoothly and smartly, and while it's a reasonably challenging film, there's nothing gratuitous about the action. Will do for photo stores what Fatal Attraction did for extra-marital affairs and Marathon Man did for dentists. Me, I've switched to digital.

Mostly Martha (Bella Martha) (IMDB) (Netflix)--na
A charmer, with the title character as at least the second-best chef in Hamburg, a neurotic whose life gets rapidly more complicated when her niece comes to stay and a new cook threatens her dominance of the kitchen. For Martha, preparing great food is her raison d'etre, but as she's beginning to realize, not enough to make her truly fulfilled.

There are some Lifetime Channel moments, few surprises, and the tasty soundtrack is a little repetitive, but Martina Gedeck's performance is first-rate, sucking you into her world, and foodies will be in their element with the kitchen scenes. A confection for sure, but with more than just empty calories. Stick around for the credits.