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Interesting Film

on May 14, 2013 - 6:00 PM PDT
of The Mirror (1997)

I'll agree with the previous reviewer's comment that the lead actress' voice is hard to listen to. And yet, I found the film fascinating especially with it's look at what it is to make a film in Iran.
While some may not understand what it is he's protesting, the facts that he's serving a 6 year sentence in Iran and is banned by that government from making films for 20 years, show that his protests are being understood in the country.

The part of the film that makes you question whether this is documentary or narrative is excellent film making regardless of any political messages it may contain.

I like Spalding Gray better now

on May 14, 2013 - 5:55 PM PDT
of And Everything is Going Fine (Criterion) (2010)

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful

This documentary is constructed of existing footage of Gray to present a life story according to him. Well, according to Soderbergh and the editor and the widow's takes on Gray anyway. I feel like I understand Spalding, whose work I enjoyed in a sort of abstract way, better than I did through his individual pieces. Definitely worth a watch.

Never Follow James Brown

on May 14, 2013 - 5:51 PM PDT
of The T.A.M.I. Show (1964)

This is a fascinating little bit of cinema and music history. The concert brought together the big names of the moment and a couple of unknowns. The big names have largely lasted. It showed some pretty cool stage performances that you just don't see anymore. I felt bad for the very young Rolling Stones who followed James Brown. He set the place on fire. Poor little Mick did his best rooster move but seriously, don't follow James Brown.

The director pioneered some now standard performance shots and techniques. Really an excellent film.

Life is Sweet really is sweet

on May 7, 2013 - 1:24 PM PDT
of Life Is Sweet (1990)

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful

I saw this on VHS years ago with my mother and am glad to see it available on DVD. It is a little "slice of life" drama that is charming, obviously with Jim Broadbent as the father. The story is original and believable and interesting. Seeing Jane Horrocks in a pre-Ab-Fab role is an extra treat.

Grueling Stuff

on May 5, 2013 - 12:50 PM PDT
of The Front Line (2011)

This flick is rough. Not as rough as war, but not easy to watch if you have a weak stomach. Interesting to see a Korean take on the Korean War. Apparently "MASH" didn't tell the whole story. The guys on the front line are pawns to the schmucks negotiating a truce...for years and years. Meanwhile, men and boys and the rest are dying horrible deaths and many survivors feel as though they've died. The color is largely washed out so it's almost black and white which mitigates the gore that could detract from the storylines and make this even harder to watch. The performances are spectacular.

Native American Mythology Presented Respectfully

on April 8, 2013 - 4:34 PM PDT
of Dreamkeeper (2003)

It's nice to see a variety of Native American legends/myths presented with the same respect shown for greek and roman mythology. It is a bit strange to have the stories pulled from so many disparate cultures, most having no cultural relationship to the lead characters, but still, better than so many other "native american" themed films. Casting Gary Farmer and John Trudell as Iktomi (spider) and Coyote is genius. Small parts but very memorable.

The use of special effects to generate the traditional monsters is also appreciated. As is the lack of a sepia filter. Well done, August.

Never Read the Book First

on January 22, 2013 - 5:03 PM PST
of The Hedgehog (2011)

And then, if the book is mediocre at best, definitely do NOT see the movie. To make this a film, for some reason the girl is given a video camera rather than a diary. Why? Is watching someone squint into a camera inherently more compelling than watching someone write? Anyway, this is a puff piece at best with Josiane Balasko cast as a stereotype...the concierge with a secret life. She did her best with a poor script.

Amazingly humane and personal

on January 7, 2013 - 3:38 PM PST
of A Separation (2011)

This film hit me in the gut. I have almost nothing in common with the characters (I'm not married, muslim, living in a society that separates the sexes or caring for an elderly relative), and yet it felt absolutely personal to me. Everyone is trying to be a decent human and get by, yet they are all flawed and blaming and trying to maintain their self images as well. One of the few movies I plan to own.

Amazing and unvarnished view of war

on November 20, 2012 - 4:43 PM PST
of Katyn (2007)

This one is worth seeing. It's shocking and the basic facts are true. The coverups continue in our current wars but are hardly new.

Quite Interesting

on November 15, 2012 - 2:08 PM PST
of 3 (Three) (2010)

If there's anything I hate, it's feeling like I'm watching the same story with different actors. Not the case here. It has some excellent plot twists and is beautifully shot. It made me want to visit Germany just to see that swimming pool.

Absolutely Amazing

on October 22, 2012 - 9:55 AM PDT
of The Time That Remains (2009)

This movie is so beautifully shot that you forget the horrors sometimes depicted on screen. It's also surprisingly funny given that it is set in post-occupation Palestine from the perspective of an Arab family. The politics are there as a part of life. So is the humor, the foul mouthed neighbor, the absurdity of living under occupation.

Humans Suck

on June 15, 2012 - 11:30 AM PDT
of Project Nim (2011)

I'm an anthropologist. I've known of Nim Chimpsky (yes, his name is a play on "Noam Chomsky") and the questionable ethics of those who handled, trained, and "owned" him through the years. This film further confirms the horror with the full life story of Nim, available also in the book "Nim Chimpsky: The Chimp Who Would Be Human" by Elizabeth Hess. Nim's treatment roughly parallels that of Genie's treatment. Genie is the pseudonym of a young girl kept isolated even from family members in an abusive home. When "discovered" her life was taken over by academic who dumped her in the foster system when she no longer served their needs.

Despite the tragic subject matter, this is a beautiful film. The filmmakers are familiar to you from "Man on Wire" and do just as well on this effort. Their access to and use of archival footage is amazing. They include some reconstructed scenes which may bother purests, but these scenes largely don't detract from the message of the film though they occasionally are distracting if one is very familiar with chimp morphology.

This is overall a wonderful film and would make an excellent double feature with "Mockingbird Don't Sing," the film account of Genie's life. Both are excellent examples of troubling ethics in anthropological, linguistic, and psychological research on human and non-human primates.

Still Hilarious

on June 5, 2012 - 3:53 PM PDT
of The Jerk (26th Anniversary Edition) (1979)

Sure there are a few weak points but so what. This is funny. Steve Martin took a few bits from his stage show, but they work pretty well. Some scenes still make me laugh out loud. I do remember being shocked by the language when the film first came out. It seems positively tame now.

It's also amusing to see what a change their have been in actors. Steve did not wax his alarmingly hairy physique for the shirtless and pantsless scenes. I don't think I've seen that much back hair in an American film in years, well, maybe on a villain or when the hair itself is part of the comedy bit.

This is well worth watching.

If Woody Allen and Nora Ephron Had a Baby Director...

on April 4, 2012 - 12:08 PM PDT
of Tiny Furniture (Criterion) (2010)

it would be Lena Dunham. There are frequent references and homages to Woody and the general style owes much to Nora. The outcome is oddly hypnotic. There are a few LOL moments, like when the main character's arty mother tells her to look for something in the "white cabinet." Our protagonist turns around and faces a wall of white cabinets and begins the search. The question and the answer were both pointless and we know this mother and daughter have asked and answered them all their lives.

Dunham shot this film for about $25,000 and cut it together for about $20,0000. Amazing. I was unaware of that while watching the film and did not suspect this was an extremely low budget project.

What?

on March 20, 2012 - 5:38 PM PDT
of The White Dove (1960)

I understand that is is probably an important film and I can see why. But still...what the heck was I thinking when I put it in my queue? Oh right...I saw it in a textbook about films.
I like offbeat and foreign and slow, but this was further off the beat, extremely foreign and despite being only 67 minutes, felt like it was taking place on a geologic time scale. If you enjoy the nouvelle vague films and czech films, then you can probably appreciate this flick as well. It is interesting to see how Czech film industry and sensibilities developed in directions very different from countries on my side of the iron curtain.

A Seminal Point in Film History

on January 27, 2012 - 6:09 PM PST
of My Life as a Dog (Criterion Collection) (1985)

This is an amazing film. The story is somewhat autobiographical, though not as sad as the truth (is anything ever as sad as the truth?). My favorite line is when the kid has to go sleep with an elderly relative. The old lady turns to him and says something to the effect that if she'd known she was having company she would not have eaten so much cabbage. I laugh every time. Maybe I shouldn't laugh when the kid has been abandoned by his father, his mother is too sick to care for him and he loses his dog. But the look on the kid's face is too much. We've been there. Kids feeling like they've hit bottom. Nothing could be worse. Of course it does get worse. But also better at times and finally life is what it is and you move through it.
The cinematography is beautiful. The script and direction are wonderful. I watch this movie over and over.

The extras on the Criterion Collection disk are well worth watching. The film "Shall We Go To Your Place or My Place or Just Go Home" is a fun little flick. The insights into the director and the films are excellent.

Quiet Meditation on Family

on January 27, 2012 - 6:08 PM PST
of Tokyo Sonata (2008)

Tokyo sonata is done by a film maker known more for his horror films so it's no surprise that he can deal with family life. The father loses his job and tries to hide that truth from his wife and kids...who are of course hiding their own truths. Everyone is so closed off it feels like a Swedish film from the 1970s, in a good way. The striking beauty of the scenes contrasts jarringly and rightly with the dark feelings each character hides. Everyone seems to be living a lie and the greatest fear is being found out.

Guilty Pleasure

on January 27, 2012 - 5:53 PM PST
of Moonstruck (1987)

I love this flick. I hate most romances. I hate overacting. I hate an overwrought soundtrack. I hate many things that this film is. And yet, taken as a whole it is wonderful. I love the overacting when it's Cher and Nicolas Cage having angry makeup sex the first day they meet. I love it when it's Olympia Dukakis complaining about her husband having a mistress. I love the smarmy soundtrack (most of the time) with the gratuitous opera clips. Some people really are that over the top and since almost every character in the film is too much, they come out just right.

Amazing Film about Life on the Border

on January 27, 2012 - 5:45 PM PST
of Frozen River (2008)

The border of the Mohawk Reservation, with Canada and the US (hence the smuggling). The border of homelessness. The border of motherhood. People are desperate and trying not so much to improve their lives, as to keep from losing ground. Very little separates these folks from that "rock bottom" we hear so much about but those of in the middle class rarely experience. One woman chases her husband to another woman's house. The women end up working together to try to undo the damage that the men in their lives have done. The ending isn't "happy" by Hollywood standards, but knowing people in these situations, it ain't that bad.

Cinematically this is gorgeous. The views of the great white north. The frozen river across which people drive at their own peril. The gritty scenes of life near the bottom of the social ladder. It's all beautiful and treacherous so double beautiful.

The directing was done with a light touch. Living in a town with similar activities and similar family relationships, I was waiting for the big bloody beating in front of the bar. I didn't get it. I got more. The daily agony and struggle and striving for human dignity of the chronically poor.

What happened?

on January 27, 2012 - 5:37 PM PST
of Eldorado (2008)

Well, I don't really know what happened, but I had a good time trying to figure it out. It's almost surreal, but not quite. It fits right in with the best films from Belgium of late. Perhaps we need to make this a new genre.

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