The Next Three Days (2010)

I had previously seen only one thing directed by Paul Haggis, Crash. Clearly, he's had trouble keeping up that kind of momentum. He hasn't even written or produced anything released since 2018. But this one looked halfway promising. It's also about to stop streaming on Netflix, so I gave it priority.

In Pittsburgh, Lara (Elizabeth Banks) gets arrested on the charge of murdering her boss, whom she didn't get along with. Few besides husband John (Russell Crowe) believe she even might be innocent, based on evidence and lack thereof. After three years, when it looks like there won't be another appeal, John starts plotting to bust her out, with no willful accomplices. His deadline moves up when she's set to be transferred in, yup, three days....

Maestro (2023)

My parents recommended this to me. I obliged partly because it was easy to find streaming. It actually has the lowest IMDb score of all current Best Picture nominees, but it still looked more promising for me personally than some of the others.

The story follows Leonard Bernstein (Bradley Cooper) from his big break conducting the New York Philharmonic in the 1940s to a retrospective interview in the 1980s, with a bit of skipping. The emphasis lies on his relationship with Felicia Montealegre (Carey Mulligan), whom he marries and has three kids with despite his preference for men. She's not just a "beard" to him; he does love her, at least sometimes. But his extramarital affairs aren't discreet enough to prevent rumors, and they and his heavy smoking and drinking start to drive a wedge between him and Felicia.

Mean Girls (2004)

That's right, the original, not the musical currently in theaters. I had no desire to see it when it debuted, but people have continued to make references to it. Then I put it on my Netflix list and kept passing it over. What finally persuaded me? A limited DVD selection at the Red Cross while I gave platelets. (That unit was having technical difficulties with streaming.)

Cady (Lindsay Lohan) has been homeschooled up until age 16, leaving her good at grades but naive about the social environment at her new high school. Her first friends are outcasts, Janis (Lizzy Caplan) and Damian (Daniel Franzese), who warn her about the elitist clique known as the Plastics, especially leader Regina (Rachel McAdams), Janis's former friend. Nevertheless, when the Plastics invite Cady to join, she doesn't resist. Janis sees this as a golden opportunity to learn dirt on them and possibly engineer revenge. Cady agrees after discovering how bad Regina is -- and then comes dangerously close to becoming just like her.

Elemental (2023)

This got such a lukewarm reception that I might have waited decades to watch if not for the Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination. Then I thought about how it's not reportedly controversial like Wish or Turning Red. At the very least, I knew it would be visually interesting in a way reminiscent of Inside Out.

Element City has long been home to beings made of liquid water, clouds, and a combination of soil and plants, but it has little accommodation or patience for its latest immigrants, the fire folk, who mostly live in a district on the outskirts. Protagonist Ember Lumen (Leah Lewis), a second-gen resident, expects to take over the general store that her ailing father, Bernie (Ronnie del Carmen), founded. But upon a surprise visit, Inspector Wade Ripple (Mamoudou Athie), obviously a water man, discovers enough plumbing violations that he feels obliged to have the place shut down. Ember's pleading changes his mind only after he's sent his report, and together they take it up with his employer, cloud woman Gale Cumulus (Wendi McLendon-Covey), who agrees to ignore the report as long as they can finish Wade's assigned project of fixing a canal leak within a few days.