Sometimes hitting the multiplex just isn’t in the cards. That’s when cable, the web and streaming step in to provide an instant movie fix. But how to separate the wheat from the chaff? I’m happy to help; every week I’ll pick a flick and see if it’s worth your time. This week? “The Life Before Her Eyes”.

One horrible development in this new Millennium is the frequency of high school shootings. Yes, these things happened before the 21st Century, but with the advent of social media and the Internet’s all-encompassing eye, it feels as if they’re more personal somehow. As if every bit of information tweeted, Facebooked and YouTube’d brings you in a little closer, until you’re right there beside the survivors. The Life Before Her Eyes gives audiences a peek at how survivors of horrible tragedy may go on years afterward, when “Happily Ever After” may be out of reach.

Diana and her best friend Maureen — seemingly opposite personalities that have managed to form a strong bond — make a pit-stop at the girl’s bathroom before school and find themselves trapped when a vengeful student-turned-shooter finds them. He offers them a Sophie’s Choice; which one should he shoot? Cut to 15 years later, and Diana has what seems to be the perfect life. She’s an art history professor at the college her older husband (the same professor she fell in love with when she was in high school) works for. Her beautiful little girl is in parochial school but is starting to behave just like the wild girl Diana was years before. At the 15 year anniversary of the shooting, Diana starts to unravel, and the ghosts she seemed to have kept at bay begin tearing her apart. Only at the end of the film does the entire story of that day come to light.

This movie pulls no punches, and luckily the actors have the talent to carry the story, and they do it well. Uma Thurman (Kill Bill) plays the adult Diana, a woman slowly breaking under the stress of her past, and it’s an amazing performance. Everything Diana does brings back a memory, and it’s through her self-torture that we get to see what happened that horrible day. Evan Rachel Wood (Mildred Pierce, Thirteen) plays the high-school age Diana, pushing past the typical wild child cliche and going for a deeper, more heartfelt performance. You can see how Diana moves from high school wild child to an adult with the picture-perfect life, because Evan Rachel’s performance lays the groundwork that unites the two.

Eva Amurri (Saved) plays Maureen, a Born Again christian that loves her friend unconditionally (and what a great world it would be if everyone was so open minded). She gets the short end of the stick in terms of character development and growth since she’s already all but fully developed emotionally even in high school, but Eva lets you see how Maureen takes her faith and personal moral code to heart while still being their for her friend.

The movie shifts viewers back and forth in time, from high school to Diana’s adult life, parceling out information about that horrible day in tiny pieces, so you can fully understand the girls and what drives their friendship. The story moves well, a triumph for director Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog) and film editor David Baxter.

As the credits rolled, I found myself asking some tough questions. First in my mind were these; is living in a constant state of guilt and remorse really living? And how many lives do these real-life killers destroy after all is said and done?

Here’s the breakdown:
Would I watch it again?: Absolutely. I’ll probably read the novel this movie was based on as well.
Should you see it?: Yes. Brace yourself for the brutal subject matter and you’ll be rewarded.
Netflix average rating: 3 ½ Stars
My rating: 4 Stars

Without a doubt, a woman who can handle a sword is a true woman in my mind. With the list put together by a buddy Ken, we really can’t do anything but look. Below is a small excerpt from my favorites.

13. Milla Jovovich

Looks:
Acting:
Swordplay:

Milla Jovovich is gorgeous. She’s been a supermodel, gracing the covers of over 100 magazines as well as earning over $10 million dollars from her modelling in 2004 alone.

She can certainly handle her sword too. She wields it threateningly and convincingly in “Messenger: Story of Joan of Arc”, “Ultraviolet” as well as in all of the “Resident Evil” series.

And her acting? Well… Did I mention that she was gorgeous?

11. Jennifer Garner

Looks:
Acting:
Swordplay:

Jennifer Garner first got everyone’s attention in “Alias”. I can’t recall if she ever used a sword in that TV series, but she made up for it in “Daredevil” and “Elektra”.

She’s held her own in some non-action movies as well, which means she’ll likely be moving away from the swordplay as she gets older. That’s a real shame for us blade fans.

9. Lucy Liu

Looks:
Acting:
Swordplay:

In some Bizarro universe, O-Ren Ishii takes down Beatrix Kiddo in “Kill Bill, Volume I” and then things start to really get interesting.

In that world, we get to see Lucy Liu hack her way through four hours of sword-fighting mayhem instead of Uma Thurman. Whaddya think, should we lobby Quentin Tarantino for a “Kill Beatrix, Volume I”? I say Lucy could pull it off.

Lucy’s acting has come a long way from her “Ally McBeal” days. She hangs tough in the other categories as well, which is why she’s near the top of this list.