Awakenings (1990)

This. Movie. Is. Wonderful. From the opening shots to the closing shots, it was fascinating and beautiful and touching and completely captured my attention. This is one of the best performances I've ever seen from Robert De Niro (of course the last thing I saw him in was Hide and Seek, which, you know, WASN'T his best role). Not overly sappy. Not overly cynical. Just from beginning to end, it's a beautifully crafted movie. I'd definitely recommend it. 4.5 stars.

A Civil Action (1998)

Plot: The families of children who died sue two companies for dumping toxic waste: a tort so expensive to prove, the case could bankrupt their lawyer.

Oooh, courtroom movies! Although this was less about the actual courtroom scenes than it was the struggle to actually GET the case to court in the first place. It was a pretty interesting movie, though, with a very nice ending that didn't work out the way courtroom movies usually do. Also I find as I sit down to write this review, I'm not sure what else to say about it. It was a very solid drama that I enjoyed watching, but nothing that popped out at me. Oh well. 3 stars.