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Need for Speed the movie is based on the video game. Usually you see a video game developed due to the popularity of the movie. As the title suggests there are a lot of fancy expensive very fast cars racing each other and the law. Many car crashes with explosions. Part of the movie was getting from the East coast to the West Coast in time for the race. It reminded me of the movie Smoky and the Bandit. This is an enjoyable movie if you like car chases, car crashes and cool looking cars. Check it out at KPL.10/24/2014 04:02:08 PM, by Gary | Add a Comment Topics: Action
Autumn Sonata (1978) is a masterful portrait of the kind of personal conflict embedded within family relationships fraught with regret, shame and disappointment. The great actress Ingrid Bergman (who only worked with Ingmar Bergman once) puts in a fantastic performance as the aging classical pianist who tries to reconnect with her two adult daughters, both of whom she has emotionally neglected over the years in pursuit of her career. Racked with guilt, Bergman clumsily attempts to express her deep feelings of regret and love for her eldest daughter (played by the great Liv Ullman) over the course of a long awaited visit. A brilliant a depiction of the corrosive discord between a parent and child, Autumn Sonata's evocative power revealed that Bergman was still a master at the melodrama by excavating both he and Ingrid's personal challenges with mediating family, love, art and career.
There is a rich documentary film tradition that has chronicled our nation's struggle to address the sources and solutions of systemic poverty and income inequality. Films like Roger and Me, Poor Kids: An Intimate Portrait of America's Economic Crisis, Two Nations of Black America, American Dream, The Queen of Versailles, The Corporation, Harlan County, USA, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Down and Out in America, Inside Job, have all with their unique perspectives attempted to shine a critical light on the political, cultural and socioeconomic forces that contribute to endemic hardship in a country where national rhetoric and historical myth about opportunity often run counter to the research data about access to resources, class privilege and wealth accumulation. We can now add the new film Rich Hill to that list, a film that details the everyday struggles of several families in the tiny town of Rich Hill, MO. The film focuses on three young men who are entering their coming of age years, fraught and complicated in any context, but for them, the difficulties of growing up without financial advantages are compounded by their parents' struggle with chronic unemployment, health problems and incarceration. Each boy clings to the idea that the American Dream is real and attainable even when the statistics are clearly working against the likelihood that the boys will escape such cyclical poverty. It isn't all doom and gloom, as the film does show the children doing what average American teenagers do and think about. While the film concentrates on a very small town, much of the film can be read as a reflection of the challenges facing large swaths of both rural and urban cities alike.
Cult writer/director Nicholas Ray made his legendary mark with his post-WWII output, including classic gems like They Live By Night (1949) Rebel without a Cause (1955) and Bigger than Life (1956). Ray's indelible take on the Western genre was unique and altogether misunderstood during its time. Much of the heavy subtext of the film was either ignored or quickly dismissed by critics who thought Ray's film was intended to be a standard, cliché-filled Western with easily consumable elements. Instead, Ray's Johnny Guitar functions as a subtle allegory indicting the anti-communist, witch hunts that were taking place during the time. Joan Crawford and Sterling Hayden give great performances as the misunderstood outsiders who clash with the local townspeople over real and perceived injustices.
Every year there is at least one movie that stands out among the rest, one that possesses the entire creative package and that works substantively on a variety of levels, including emotional, intellectual and visual. Last year, it was the film The Great Beauty that blew me away. This year's pick is the Polish language film Ida, a masterful work of direction, acting, writing, and cinematography (you won't find a more beautifully lit and framed film). It's a film that seamlessly weaves together the residue of historical tragedy into the contemporary lives of its two main protagonists, echoing the truism that to a certain extent, societies and individuals are held hostage by their ever present pasts. And for the 18 year-old Anna (an orphan who grew up in a convent), history will reveal itself in the form of an Aunt Wanda, a woman she was told to meet prior to taking her vows. Anna quickly discovers that her birth name was Ida and that she is Jewish. Wanda is a bitter, hard drinking, state judge whose disenchanted life is filled with lost faith (both in religion and Communism), grief, and the embrace of the kinds of materialist vices unknown to her pious niece. Plotted along a linear path that takes the form of an unfolding road trip, Ida and Wanda's investigation into the death of their family members forces each woman to recognize internal contradictions about themselves (Wanda's past may also include her complicity in wide spread death and imprisonment) as well as to shine a light on Poland's conflicted history, where religious identity, communism, and the Holocaust intersect. Subtle in its storytelling, tender and humane in showing of richly complex characters, classical in its framing of images, Ida is a flawless film that will leave you mesmerized and wondering as to Ida's future.
The whole dystopian thing may have reached the point of oversaturation in our popular culture: zombies, givers, hunger gamers, diverging, purging, maze running—we've had so much of it, the genre's bound to regress into some sort of metaphorical mass-market post-apocalyptic wasteland of itself. And yet this summer's underappreciated gem The Rover is so delicate in its vision, so realistic in its squalor, you may forget you're watching something taking place ten years after a catastrophic global economic collapse. Set in the Australian outback, the film depicts a world of desolation and lawlessness, of dog-eat-dog survivalism; there's no fantasy or sci-fi to this wasteland—this is what real dystopia is going to look like.
Amidst this societal decay is Eric (Guy Pearce), a drifter whose life is as hollow and ruinous as the world around him. While passing through the middle of nowhere, Eric encounters thieves who are fleeing from a botched robbery, and they steal his car. Taking the last possession of a man with nothing left to lose proves to be a bad move on their part, as Eric begins a dogged pursuit to retrieve his vehicle with the steely vigilance of a Terminator. Just when he thinks he's lost the trail, Eric comes upon a wounded man named Rey (Robert Pattinson) who turns out to be the brother of one of the thieves—badly injured in the robbery, they left him for dead. Eric takes Rey hostage and demands he be led to where his brother's gang will be hiding out. Rey is the one man who can help Eric get back the last thing in his life that he cared about, but will he be more trouble than he's worth?
Written and directed by David Michôd, who also made the excellent, Academy Award-nominated crime drama Animal Kingdom, The Rover is suspenseful and well-acted (Pearce is always reliable and Pattinson goes a long way to make you forget all the sparkly vampire paint he used to wear). The gritty world is richly detailed in its bleakness, and the final shot, though some may find it divisive, is a pitch perfect elegy to companionship and a dirge to life before the world collapsed under the weight of selfishness and greed.
Thunderstruck is Freaky Friday for basketball. This is a Disney like movie. A high school student loves basketball but sucks at it. He has the classic sister who video tapes him and the classic high school bully who posts the videos on the cafeteria monitor. A side note, this really shows how times have changed and not changed. Growing up we did not have a TV in the cafeteria, heck computers were not even invented, but we did have cafeteria humiliation. This is the same and is timeless. Make fun of the nerd, Jocks rule. Once that is set, we see Brian at a Thunderstruck basketball game and he gets picked to throw a half court basket which could win him $20,000. He, of course does not make the shot, and instead hits the mascot, thus making it more humorous. But by being selected to throw the ball Kevin Durant signs a basketball for Brian. When exchanging the basketball Brian wishes he had Kevin's talent and Kevin wished Brian did have his talent, a sparkle appears and we witness magic occurring. Brian now has Kevin's talent. Brian tries out for the high school team and becomes the star. Kevin loses his talent and becomes the joke of basketball talk shows. We see the classic, Brian rises in high school fame, gets the hot girl, dumps his childhood friend. The girl tells him she liked him pre basketball stardom and that he has changed. Brian sees the light, gives back the talent and becomes the good guy on the high school basketball team. I goggled Kevin Durant and he is a bona fide basketball star playing small forward for the Oklahoma Thunder basketball team. Considering he was 9 foot something ( a slight bit of exaggeration) I had an inkling he was a real basketball player, not sure why he is a "small" forward. How big do you have to be to be a big forward? The message of the movie is hard work gets you where you want to go. This is my message: magic will get you there sooner Enjoy the movie and keep looking for the magic. Come on down to KPL and check it out.
There's just not enough time to compose a lengthy review of some of the great and not-so great feature films, television series and documentaries that I've caught over the past month, so instead, I'm handing out a grade and an abridged appraisal. Bastards—A grim, pointless waste of time from French Director Claire Denis (C-)Hateship Loveship—Continued proof that former SNL star comedian Kristin Wiig should keep looking for dramatic roles (B)Orphan Black—Yes, lead actress Tatiana Maslany was robbed of an Emmy nomination for her multiple roles in this great BBC-produced show about clones (A)Requiem for the Big East—For college basketball fans who grew up in the 1980's and recall watching these legendary teams, this ESPN documentary will rouse a healthy dose of nostalgia (B+)The Bridge—in keeping with the very trendy, neo-noir subject of serial killing and the relationship between detectives charged with solving the mysteries (see: True Detective), this cross-border drama explores the messy dialectics of national politics, the consequences of drug/human trafficking and the tension between rich and poor (B+)Captain Phillips—nothing here was particularly new, assuming you followed the story when it originally unfolded, but it still remains a dramatically compelling, well-paced action film that will jump-start your adrenalin (A-)Top Hat & Tales: Harold Ross and the Making of the New Yorker—a satisfactory if not condensed portrait of an eccentric visionary and his creative collaborators who developed a unique and lasting publication (B)
Palo Alto—a drained, vacuous sketch of the psychic ennui of rich, white teens whose lives gravitate around sex, drugs, video games and pathetic, exploitative adults (D)
Stephen King's Sleepwalkers starts out by having Charles Brady played by Brian Krause get up in front of his class in school and read his paper about Sleepwalkers; a mother and her son and how they have to run from town to town never settling down, how the men would always come to hunt them and thus they give you the whole back story in a nut shell. Just prior to that they had a scene where Charles' mother is telling him she is so hungry and that he has to find a virgin and bring her home so she can feed. So we know from the get go that they are these are vampire like creatures. Side note: Brian Krause was Leo on Charmed and played an angel. In this role he is the antithesis of an angel. The movie is entertaining and has cameos with Stephen King and Clive Barker which almost makes it worth watching right there. One meant to be over the top humorous scene is when Charles severs the hand of his teacher and says "People should really learn to keep their hands to themselves. Here's yours" and he tosses the severed hand back to him. I like the way Charles and his mother change into a sleepwalker appearance. It reminded me of the television show Buffy or Angel. Their faces morph into this vampire dog like look. This isn't the scariest movie, no big suspense build up but it is enjoyable, I especially liked the cameos and the bit overdone humor. This movie is memorable. I was talking with my friend Carlos and he saw it in Spanish. It came out in 1992, he was in the 7th grade at the time and he remembered this movie especially the murdered dead cats and that the Sleepwalkers were scared of cats. For a 7th grader this is a frightening movie.
Brick Mansions is Paul Walkers next to last movie before his death, Fast & Furious 7 being his last. This is one of those movies that you just have to sit back and let it entertain you. I kept thinking, oh my goodness with that many guns and that many thugs surely someone will hit something. But no, Damien (Paul Walker) and Lino (David Belle) keep running down alleys and jumping in cars, bullets flying and for the most part only dumpsters and car doors get shot. Take a section of the city and erect a wall around it, fill it with thugs, toss in a bomb that needs deactivating and you have got your movie. Damien is a cop who infiltrates Brick Mansions with the help of Lino, his mission is to deactivate the bomb. David Belle, who plays Lino, is a cofounder of Parkour, which is a discipline using acrobatic moves like leaping from walls and over gaps, ground rolls and precision jumping. So you have to figure there will be a lot of that in this movie. Come on down to KPL and check it out.
An unreliable narrator is a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theater, whose trustworthiness has been seriously questioned. Film audiences should be wary of gleaning truths from the narrator's account of the movie's unfolding and plot details. Here are some films that have employed the unreliable narrator approach to storytelling to great effect.
Last Year at MarienbadMurielCitizen KaneMementoFight ClubBig FishRashomonThe Usual SuspectsPossessedForest GumpAtonementFallenAmerican PsychoLolitaThe Great Gatsby
Sometimes a film just does not hit you in that sweet spot the first time around. You leave the theater disappointed or mulling over what could have been. Maybe it was you all along, your mood, your unwillingness to open up and let the film work its magic. I've hated films that I later came to love and respect after my initial dismissal. There are those films that grow on you and seem to get better with multiple viewings. The first time I saw Frances Ha, I moaned about its obvious influences and reference points (Godard, Truffault). The protagonist's personality was a bit grating and I just couldn't give in to the film's cloying repackaging of the classics of the 60's and 70's it so self-consciously aped. It simply felt derivative, the kind of film where its style devours its substance. I recently gave it a second chance and have subsequently modified my early misgivings. I think the elements of the film I enjoyed the most were the editing and the choice to convert the digital footage into black and white. It's quite the looker. Now there are a lot of movies not worth a first viewing let alone a second but sometimes there comes a long a film that deserves a reconsideration.
Before falling into obscurity, the slice of life documentary Cousin Jules was well-received by critics in the early 1970's. Restored and released again, this wonderful film takes viewers into a world that to contemporary eyes appears primitive and exotic in view of our high-speed, high- tech, consumer society. Back in the 1960's, those who lived off of the land in provincial France led slow, ordinary lives connected to the earth and to long-established practices. They made their own tools, harvested their own food and wine, ground their own coffee without electricity, accessed water from a well, and in general, lived off the land with a kind of raw independence and austerity that is almost unheard of in today's postmodern society, one defined by ease, speed and consumerism. The film features Jules, a blacksmith who is short on conversation but whose mundane tasks are mesmerizing as they are without pretense or excess. The viewer is taken inside the routine rituals of everyday life, slowly, tenderly and without artifice or without a structured plot and yet the film feels fresh, a kind of poetic meditation on the nobility of craftsmanship and the humdrum ways of life that have been largely automated.
In Jason Bateman's directorial debut, Bad Words, a prickly forty-something with a long-festering grudge named Guy inserts himself into a national spelling bee for children by taking advantage of a loophole in the rules that simply stipulate that entrants must not have graduated from the eighth grade. Having dropped out of middle-school (and accompanied by a scrappy journalist ready to spread negative publicity at the drop of a hat), Guy meets with begrudging official compliance that quickly erupts into a national controversy surrounding his participation. It doesn't help that Guy gleefully exerts dominance over his otherwise bright and intelligent kid competitors whom he eviscerates through intimidation, manipulation, fear, and his own grown-up word power. Guy's motives for competing against children in a nationally televised spelling bee are kept a mystery until near the end of the film, but suffice it to say, he's an angry man looking for revenge. Along his path of destruction, Guy develops an unlikely friendship with an overly earnest 10-year-old named Chaitanya, who proves to be quick study in the ways of profanity, reckless behavior, and ultimately, stubbornness.
Bad Words is a pleasantly vulgar, pitch-black comedy that avoids the usual tidy-bow happy-ending clichés found in most Hollywood comedies. Guy is unabashedly unpleasant and his slightly paternal relationship with Chaitanya never gets cloying. It's worth checking out if you like your humor dark and inappropriate. The talented cast includes Kathryn Hahn, Philip Baker Hall, and Allison Janney.
I don't tend to gravitate toward watching romantic comedies because they're often disposed to possess the worst elements and doses of sentimentality, cliché, bathos, and stereotype. That's not to say that in the proper hands, these qualities cannot be reasonably constrained so as to reduce the number of times I consider hitting the eject button. Having said that, I decided to watch a small film from Ireland called Run & Jump (a title that is a metaphor for loosening up and living life more freely I suppose). It hits most of its notes most of the time and we can probably attribute this to the fact that Hollywood didn't have its hands all over the writing, casting or plot. There's only one recognizable actor here and that's former SNL star Will Forte. There's plenty of Irish quirkiness (see: stereotype) but it's finely regulated so as not to delve into caricature. The film centers on a stressed out family coping with the changes to their home life after the father suffers a stroke, leaving him with cognitive and physical disabilities. Forte plays a doctor living with the family and studying the father's recuperation. A triangular relationship begins to form as Forte and the wife begin to bond, messing up an already chaotic domestic situation. It's not all dour melodrama as there are plenty of moments of humor sprinkled about this well-crafted film.
Locke is about a man (Ivan Locke) who gets into a BMW and then proceeds to have one conversation after another on his car phone while driving toward London. The end. That's pretty much it and that's just enough for this engaging but austere film about one man's attempt to control his life from a car phone as it spins out of control.
The Civilian Conservation Corps is an inspiring and informative PBS documentary about the Depression-era initiative that helped to both put American men back to work and heal the nation's environment after years of neglect and misuse. Roosevelt's ingenious program sought to positively impact the lives of the participants by providing a structured way of life for young men that included access to a paycheck ($30/month), three meals a day, healthcare, vocational training, and most significantly, a renewed sense of self-worth and pride. Hundreds of CCC camps sprung up around the nation in 1933 as Roosevelt took over the presidency and developed several transformative programs that would address the country's economic woes and massive unemployment rate (approximately 30%). The legacy of the CCC's aggressive plan to revitalize the country's collective misery can still be felt today as thousands of American's enjoy the great outdoors because of the ingenuity, hard work and sense of national unity from those involved.
The Last Mimzy is about a sister and her brother who discover a box of toys which turns out to be from the future sent back in time. The children of course keep this from their parents. The little girl gets a stuffed rabbit from the box and his name is Mimzy. The girl can communicate with the bunny. The Children develop special powers and try to help Mimzy fulfill his mission. This was recommended to me and as I started watching it, I came to realize I had seen it before. But I liked it just as much if not more the second time and so will you. Come on down to KPL and check it out.
Writer, editor, partier, commercial pitchman, and friend of the rich, famous and artistic, George Plimpton was never really taken that seriously as an accomplished, literary heavyweight like many of his writer friends (James Salter, Peter Matthiessen, Ernest Hemingway, Gay Talese). Yet nevertheless, he co-founded and served as editor of one of the most important and prestigious literary magazines of the post-war era, The Paris Review. When not publishing some of the most important writers of his time, Plimpton's reputation grew mostly from his pioneering development of what he referred to as "participatory journalism", the act of collecting unique experiences and then detailing them in book form. His most famous gimmick was when he tried out for the Detroit Lions football team as a quarterback, culminating in the bestseller Paper Lion. Much of his interest in being the subject of these journalistic "stints" led critics to suggest that his work can be seen as a precursor to what was dubbed the New Journalism (see: Tom Wolfe, Joan Didion and Hunter S. Thompson) of the 1960's. For more on Plimpton's life, relationships and accomplishments, check out the new documentary Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself.
The name Peter Bogdanovich may not be a household name but he's made a career out of making movies, writing about movies and occasionally acting in movies and television (The Sopranos). While his film output is slim compared to other filmmakers of his generation, he made two classic movies in the 1970's that alone, would establish his cinematic credentials. These two films are Paper Moon (1973) (DVD coming soon!) and The Last Picture Show (1971). Both films put the spotlight on young actors that would go on to become big stars (Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Cybill Sheperd, Ellen Burstyn, and Jeff Bridges). Both films were filmed in black and white and both looked back to a past milieu that seemed a life time away from the early, counter-cultural 70's when they were made. The Last Picture Show is a moody, bittersweet portrait of teen life in a gloomy, withered West Texas town, one that's literally been abandoned by the rise of corporatism and the growth of urban and suburban development. It's a visually rich film that avoids sentimentality while arousing a deep lament for the death of small towns and the innocent, one-dimensional values associated with them. The word 'longing' comes to mind when watching this film--the longing for community, for a left behind past, and to be understood. No less somber in its depiction of desperate living in times of economic decline, Paper Moon does have its moments of levity and humor. Overall however, the film's two protagonists, a grifting duo conning their way across the Midwest, understand that survival in the midst of hard times is at best precarious and at its worst, fraught with danger. The movie's heart and soul is animated in large part from the wonderful performances of the father/daughter team of Ryan and Tatum O'Neal. These are two American classics that continue to inspire and influence today's best filmmakers.
Last year, the Danish film The Hunt was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category. It's the story of the social and individual price of a child's lie. Good natured Lucas works at the local elementary school, beloved by the school children and adored by his hunting buddies, Lucas finds himself at the center of a police probe after his best friend's daughter claims that Lucas abused her. As the town rallies behind the girl's claim, Lucas finds himself socially disconnected from the small town and the target of violence. The film tackles the subject of mob mentality and how quickly a faleshood can function to demonize an innocent person. Driven by a strong performance by the lead actor, The Hunt is an excellent film worth checking out.
Goosebumps is a series of stories by R.L. Stine designed to give you Goose Bumps, to make you get a tiny bit frightened. These stories are geared towards children, I'd say between ages 6 and 12 but it depends on the child. In Goosebumps One Day at HorrorLand a family is on vacation and comes across an amusement park called HorrorLand. They stop and go in. The two children go to the house of mirrors and the girl feels like the walls are caving in and she is going to be crushed when the floor falls out and she is expelled. The boy pops out shortly after and thinks it was a blast. Later we find that the monsters are real and the humans are on a monster reality show. The costumes are very non real looking so as an adult you are nonplussed but for a little kid it can be scary.This DVD has two movies, the second is titled Welcome to Camp Nightmare. I found this one more to my liking. A bus takes a group of children out into the woods for a campout. Things start happening, like a snake bites one of the campers. To me this was horrifying. They used what looks like a real snake and I have a phobia for snakes. I quickly fast forwarded. Later in the movie they complement Billy on how he trapped the snake. You can't prove that by me but I'm not checking on it either. The camper who was bitten dies and weirdly the camp consolers tell Billy that camper was never here. Other strange things happen, two campers drown in the lake and a werewolf is prowling the woods. All culminating in the ending which I will not reveal here. Except for the snake this was a pretty good short 45 min movie.
Carried Away is a story about a family and their relationships with each other. It starts with Ed Franklin coming home from Hollywood to Fort Worth Texas. I don't think we know why. We see that he is a bit of a loser. When he is waiting for his mother to pick him up from the airport we hear him on the phone telling someone about his new play where he is playing all the parts. Just listening to him describe the play you know it will be a boring disaster. We find out the person he is talking to is his ex girlfriend and they have been broken up for months. Then we meet the family, the mother who is not happy with her husband, the younger brother who is awaiting trial for selling pot and seems to be nice and caring, the other brother, who is built like an ox and reverts to physical actions when trying to make his point. Then there is the Father who is a dominating patriarch, a that's it end of discussion you will do it my way kind of guy.We find that the grandmother is in a nursing home and she is not happy there. Ed had taken care of and lived with his grandmother from when he was age 8 to age 17. Ed decides to take his grandmother out of the nursing home and take her to live with him in Hollywood. He loads her up in the car and off they go. The father finds out and is furious, the two sons get in the car with him and they take off on a road trip to set things right. What follows is humorous and touching. This isn't a block buster type of movie but I enjoyed it. Give it a try.
I knew very little about Blue Ruin when I went to see it at Kalamazoo's Alamo Drafthouse theater—just that it was a revenge thriller that had been widely beloved by critics. It was one of the "Drafthouse Recommends" featured titles, which—for movie buffs like me—is a stamp of approval worth heeding. And wouldn't you know it: this edge-of-your-seat thriller has turned out to be the best thing I've seen so far this year. I appreciated not knowing even the basic premise of the film going into it—a rarity in this age of oversharing, spoiler-y trailers—so I will tell you very little about it in hopes that you will be pleasantly surprised as well.
Here's what I'll share: As I've said, it's a revenge thriller, so you know somebody wants to get back at somebody else, but it will take that premise in surprising directions; it's bloody, so you'll need to be able to stomach some gore; and perhaps most importantly, you'll get to see Eve Plumb, best known for playing Jan on The Brady Bunch in her youth, wielding a machine gun (who doesn't want to see that?). So check it out: Blue Ruin, available soon on DVD here at KPL, and keep an eye out for more "Drafthouse Recommends" titles. The Alamo brings a lot of great films to Kalamazoo that no other theater does. As a die-hard movie fan, I rarely go anywhere else.
Under the Skin is a new film that will figuratively get under your skin with its nightmarishly surreal images and discomfiting plot. Simply put, it's a slow-burning, almost dialogue free collection of bizarre images that possess a creepiness that leaves its evocative residue all over your mind well after the credits have rolled by. The film is careful to make sure that the weirdness is couched in ideas, specifically notions about perception and how we look at one another often from unfamiliar perspectives. Ultimately, the film feels as though it should have been fleshed out into something on an expanded scale with a more substantive engagement with its ideas. A perfect film, no. A must-see film, absolutely.
Throughout the history of cinema, many filmmakers have attempted to examine the nature of identity and the notion of the 'self' but few have made a film as visually rich and haunting as director Ingmar Bergman's masterful Persona—a tour de force of a movie that when released in 1966 expanded the poetry of film and solidified Bergman as one of the great artists of the medium. For some critics, the film has been viewed as a hypnotic culmination of many of his themes and obsessions. For others, Persona was a confusing, unintelligible and pretentious mess. Time has been very friendly to this influential precursor to films like Mulholland Drive, 3 Women, Black Swan, Fight Club and other psychodramas that portray identity and self as an unfixed, transferable construct that modulates between states of being rather than as a permanent characteristic of the human psyche. This classic is now on Blu-ray as well as DVD.
Fans of Errol Morris documentaries will not be surprised by his approach to understanding his most recent subject, the life and philosophies of Donald Rumsfeld. There are the standard cutaways to spirited music (Danny Elfman's score) blended into a particular image or graphic that relates in some way to the film's subject. There is the occasional moment where the viewer hears Morris pose a question or request additional information from off camera. Basically, this is a very typical Errol Morris film. Like his previous film The Fog of War, where he allowed former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara to candidly speak about his role in the escalation and continuation of the Vietnam War, Morris lets Rumsfeld freely talk to the audience, only interjecting here and there in order to pose a question or contradict his subject's commentary, much of which exhibits Rumsfeld's talent for turning a phrase (always with a gleam in his eye and a smirk). Morris is clearly fascinated by Rumsfeld's hubris, confidence, sense of moral clarity, and ability to be dualistically self-aware and ludicrously delusional-- at times he embodies both within a single exchange of ideas. Those who blame Rumsfeld for the invasion and occupation of Iraq will likely be frustrated that Morris refuses to take a more confrontational stance toward some of Rumsfeld's claims. This has always been Morris' artistic approach however, to engage his subject by allowing them to feel comfortable enough to be frank and thus more honest, a successful method that allows the viewer critical insights into the mind of Rumsfeld that otherwise would be lost within a polemical or satiric slant. Ultimately, Rumsfeld doesn't blink, doesn't self-evaluate, and therefore, one mostly sees in his glib snark, a man who sticks to his schtick.
As with most of the wonderful films that have been made under the ESPN film series 30 for 30, Youngstown Boys is a moving examination of the relationship between power, money, urban neglect and the role that larger socioeconomic forces play in molding the lives of individual athletes as they develop both on and off the proverbial field. These are not films about sports as such but rather powerful documentaries that explore the lives of the famous and infamous through a sociological lens, positioning their subjects within a broad framework for understanding the causes and effects of noteworthy events. This is the story of the rise and fall and rise again journey of a successful college football coach and his star player. It's also a story all too common in today's world, where young, inner-city athletes are confronted with difficult challenges and choices in regards to their future. Running back Maurice Claret and coach Jim Tressel were the toast of Columbus, Ohio for one magical year of success before controversy erupted on Ohio State's campus, leaving both men in very different situations, both trying to succeed in a world of greed, influence and big money. Claret's story unfolded under the intense glare of the national media whereas the documentary provides greater clarity and a more nuanced context as to the events that would test the strong bond between these two Youngstown Boys.
Last year, the psychological thriller Prisoners was a break out hit for Canadian director Denis Villeneuve. With his follow-up film Enemy, once again starring Jake Gyllenhaal, the director embraces Hitchcockian style and atmosphere over formal plotting. Enemy is a kind of tone poem of dread and anxiety that I suspect will leave many a viewer grumpy and unsatisfied (more description would only spoil it). I for one enjoyed Villeneuve's playful antics and commitment to the project over any kind responsibility to provide viewers with a conventional follow up. Fans will either love the Kafkaesque horror of the film or despise it for its provocative resistance to philistinism. You decide.
The Good Wife is one of the best network television shows and after five seasons, still going strong with its mixture of secrecy, passion, scheming and legal maneuvering.
It possesses all of the elements for a successful serial: power politics, courtroom confrontations drawn from the headlines, mysterious characters, well-paced intrigue, and nuanced storytelling. Throw in a fantastic cast (that's refreshingly racially diverse) that brings to life the smart writing and you have a hit show worth binging on.
This surprisingly moving and affectionate biography of a celebrated skateboard team from the 1980's will appeal to both current skateboarders as well as those Generation X kids who grew up following these legendary shredders of the street, pools, and ramps. Cobbled together by 70's skateboarding legend Stacy Peralta, The Bones Brigade was comprised of the era's most talented and original riders, including: Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Tony Hawk, Mike McGill, Rodney Mullen and Tommy Guerrero. This is an entertaining film that recounts both the personal stories of each individual skater and provides fans of the colorful sport with an insider's account of skateboarding's golden era.
Spike Lee's seminal film Do the Right Thing was released 25 years ago today to both critical acclaim and grumblings that the movie might insight violence.
The film centers on one extremely hot day in a Brooklyn neighborhood, where racial tensions have reached a breaking point. It did what few movies had done then or even now—honestly addressed racism in our country.
In the resulting 25 years, the movie has become an American classic, one whose story is still as pertinent today as it was when it was released.
In less talented hands, Her could have become a mess of empty romantic sentimentality or an opportunity for heavy handed statements about the future hazards of alienating technologies. But viewers are in luck, the inventive mind of Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich, Where the Wild Things Are, Adaptation) has made a sensitive and powerful film about the limits and possibilities of human intimacy as mediated through artificial intelligence. Her is a magnificent film that hits the right notes over and over again without giving into satire or weighty pessimism. The film's casting is superb, the music perfectly fits the emotional tones and the visual imagery of a near-future only delicately disorients our sense of time and setting, leaving the viewer to consider the subject matter as a deeply contemporary one. Fans of films like Lost in Translation, Harold and Maude, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Beginners, and The Future will likely be drawn into Jonze's quirky world where timeless desire in the future has less to do with operating systems and more to do with the continuous puzzle of the mind/heart machine.
70 years ago today, one of World War II's most significant battles was D-Day, the day in which thousands of Allied soldiers crossed the English Channel to invade German occupied France. There's certainly no shortage of informational resources on this topic but if you're a WWII buff or simply want to know more about this imporant day in the fight against Nazi Germany, check out The War by Americana documentarian Ken Burns. This is my favorite work of Burns and his most emotionally dramatic. Soldiers who were there, storming the beaches of Normandy, recount with unfiltered descriptions, the horrors, heroism, and blunders that they experienced on that fateful day and in doing so, provide an unromanticized version of their sacrifice. It's Burn's most stirring documentary and one that is required viewing for those interested in World War II. For those who want their history fictionalized, KPL owns many feature films set during wartime, including Saving Private Ryan, Life Is Beautiful, Schindler's List, The Big Red One, Force 10 from Navarone, The Thin Red Line, The English Patient, The Winds of War, In Darkness, Ivan's Childhood, The Cranes are Flying, and Flags of Our Fathers.
Nebraska, the movie, is filmed in black and white, which makes it different from the start. It is a slower, steady-paced story about an adult son's resigned understanding toward his aging father who believes he has won a million dollars in a magazine sweepstakes.
Bruce Dern plays Woody Grant, the deteriorating father, and Will Forte plays, David, the son. June Squibb plays Kate, the brutally honest wife. The story begins with the father walking along the highway in Billings, Montana. A police officer stops the father and contacts the family to pick up the old man. The son retrieves his father who tells everyone that he is walking to the sweepstakes headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska to claim his fortune. He means what he says and the son realizes there is no stopping him. A road trip ensues. On the way they stop in Hawthorne, Nebraska, Woody's hometown, occupied by many relatives and friends and former business acquaintances. They stay with Woody's brother and sister-in-law and criminal sons. Woody announces to everyone that he's going to be a millionaire. After that, every day is filled with drama, shananigans and tell-all stories from the past.
The believability of the characters and the story is bar-none. You become immersed in the events. It is quirky, goofy, frustrating and tender, all things human. Nebraska was nominated for six Academy Awards. The combination of actors and directors is superb.
In 2009, documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney (Catching Fire, Taxi to the Darkside) set out to chronicle the comeback of 7-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong. But history was about to be re-written in 2013, forcing Gibney to shelve the project as Armstrong's legal woes grew and the public's trust in his well-insulated fraud began to erode. The doping allegations and assertions that Armstrong and his cycling teams were systematically cheating had dogged Armstrong throughout his career, even as his storied fight against cancer and celebrity stardom grew, finally forced the world's most accomplished cyclist to publically admit to cheating during his run as Tour champion, doing so last year on the Oprah Winfrey Show. Gibney scrapped his original plan for the film and re-worked The Armstrong Lie into a fascinating examination of Armstrong's storybook ascent to prominence and his Shakespearean fall from grace. Cycling fans will love the insider information about the sport's well documented history of cheaters and scandal but the film will also appeal to viewers interested in the psychological deconstruction of a man who seemingly had it all but who at the same time, pathologically lied to everyone while building a fortress of corruption around his "narrative". Armstrong apologists, if any exist, will have a difficult time in justifying the means of trickery that Armstrong enacted in order to rationalize the ends. This isn't just a great piece of schadenfreude but also an engaging study on the power of celebrity, money and the addiction to win at all cost.
This year's Cannes Film Festival winners included Winter Sleep (Best Film), Bennett Miller (Best Director), Julianne Moore (Best Actress) and Timothy Spall (Best Actor). Here's a look back at some of the films that have previously been awarded the prestigious Palme d'or. Black Orpheus—1959 The Leopard—1963 Paris, Texas—1984 Blowup—1967 The Conversation—1974 Pulp Fiction—1994 Taste of Cherry—1997 Missing—1982 The White Ribbon—2009 Taxi Driver—1976
Burn is an exhilarating documentary that takes viewers inside the day to day lives of Detroit firefighters, as they confront the enormously dangerous task of stamping out the city's ceaseless torrent of burning buildings, many of which are the result of arson. The film also explores the tensions within city government and how firefighting services are impacted by Detroit's dwindling resources, financial woes and political infighting. It's a great film that is packed with humor, drama and genuine heroism.
Return to Me is a Heart warming tale and I chose those words on purpose. Bob (David Duchovny) is a construction worker and has a wife who works with primates. She has a special bond with one gorilla and they give each other special signs. She dies. She has to die because the whole movie is about Bob falling in love with the woman who receives his wife's heart. Prior to her dying we are introduced to Grace ( Minnie Driver). She needs a heart and works in an Irish diner. Carol O'Connor is one of the owners and speaks with an Irish accent. I found it hard to believe that Archie Bunker had an Irish accent. We meet her sister played by Bonnie Hunt who wrote and directed this movie. So now you feel good about Grace, she has a nice family, she is deserving of a heart and she gets one. Time passes, Bob misses his wife but it has been enough time that we, the audience, do not feel he would be cheating on her, betraying her love if he met someone. Bob has come to terms with it. Bob gets set up on a blind date and guess which restaurant they choose. While at the restaurant Bob is inexplicitly drawn to Grace. He asks her out. She is not sure she wants to go out with anyone as her chest has a huge scar from the heart transplant. We are treated to their courtship, the eventual revealing of the heart transplant and whose heart it was. We see a scene where Grace is at the zoo and the gorilla is giving her the special sign. While I personally think a heart is just a muscle and does not encompass any of the personalities of its owner, it makes for a cute romantic movie. You feel for Bob. You want Grace to go out and have romance. You cheer when they do finally get together. And you have the added pleasure of hearing Archie Bunker talk with an Irish accent. What more could you want. Sit back, get your popcorn and enjoy.
From the folks at The Criterion Collection, explore road trip-themed movies over the summer months--many of which can be found in the KPL Catalog.
These Birds Walk is an unsanitized, visceral portrait of poverty, despair and the day-to-day struggles of an ambulance driver who ferries both dead bodies to and fro as well as transporting young runaways back to their families. Set in a Karachi (Pakistan) orphanage for unwanted and runaway children, the filmmakers have chosen to chronicle their subjects (Omar being the focus) without contextualizing or providing any sort of exposition. Their approach to their subject forces the viewer to become a voyeuristic fly on the wall of the orphanage, observing the young boys as they play, fight, laugh and confess the hopelessness of their lives. Viewers are also taken on a bumpy, chaotic ride through the busy streets of Karachi with an ambulance driver who works for the orphanage and who compassionately talks with the young boys. He sympathizes with their struggles because he too was once in the same situation. It's easy to understand from simply reading the depth of despair on the faces of these children, how one living in these kinds of inhumane circumstances could be seduced by criminality or religious extremism. Their options are limited and they are under no illusions about their life's trajectory. As grim a depiction of contemporary poverty as the film is, there are moments, albeit brief, where we glimpse the kindness of a stranger and the power it can wield.
Jim Jarmusch's films are not for everyone. They are, however, incredibly influential and important in the history of American cinema. Slowly paced with quirky characters, his droll, often minimalist films explore the ironic and humanistic with equal attention. His films feel very American (the America on the margins that is) while at the same time, they are populated with Italian cabdrivers (Night on Earth), teenage Japanese tourists obsessed with early rock and roll (Mystery Train), and Hungarian immigrants (Stranger Than Paradise). His most accessible and mainstream movie to date is Broken Flowers, due in large part because of Bill Murray's great performance as a romantically failed, wealthy introvert who wears retro sweat suits while sitting in the dark (during the day), watching television. It's only when he receives a mysterious letter from one of his ex-girlfriends, suggesting that he has a son he never knew about, does he set out on a personal journey toward…well, maybe nothing and maybe everything. The moments within a journey are what fascinate Jarmusch about the human condition rather than a tightly sewn conclusion to a story. His cult classics Down by Law and Stranger Than Paradise cemented his reputation as an indie sweetheart with a wry sensibility and skill for reimagining genre and form by the early 1990's. The release of his newest film (Only Lovers Left Alive) will once again shine the light on one of America's most idiosyncratic, independent filmmakers.
Shola Lynch, a documentary filmmaker who has garnered much critical acclaim for her incisive and salient films, is one director whose films are invaluable, particularly for people like me who didn't live through the turbulent times they speak of. Lynch is interested in participatory democracy and how people, especially people who have been historically denied a voice (and a vote), forge new ways and means of being heard. As the director of Chisholm '72 and Free Angela and All Political Prisoners, Lynch shares with audiences the stories of the titular African American women, both activists and leaders in political and social justice movements in the late 1960s to 70s.
Shirley Chisholm was our nation's first Black congresswoman, and her gutsy run for president several years later was another first in U.S. History; she was working under the belief that people would vote with their conscience, rather than cynically voting for "the man most likely…" Lynch portrays the complicated political forces involved that make for a gripping story.
Dr. Angela Davis sought social justice, not by running for elected office (that would transpire years later) but initially by teaching and working directly with local activists. The events that transpire thereafter are so incredible and outrageous that I cannot retell them with any justice here - Lynch has already done that.
DisneyNature has done it again. This time it is a year in the life of a Bear family. We follow Sky, the mother, and her two cubs Scout and Amber through the first year of their life. We start with their birth and we follow them cross the Alaska wilderness from the snowy mountains to the rivers full of salmon. It is spectacular scenery, breath taking views and a prodigious insight into the life of Bears. I saw DisneyNature-Bears in the theatre and paid movie going prices, you can place a hold now and see it for free from your library. We also have many more movies you may be interested in, come on in and take a look or go to our KPL website and browse from home.
Writer Patricia Highsmith's novels have been adapted for the big screen on more than one occasion. Clearly, directors from varied backgrounds have felt something motivating in her twisting tales of deception and murder. Her ominous story (The Talented Mr. Ripley) of a young American sent to Italy to return an expatriate, school chum to his father in San Francisco was the inspiration for French director Rene Clement's (Forbidden Games) Purple Noon. This stylish, Hitchcockian adaptation was the coming out party for 1960's French heartthrob Alain Delon as Tom Ripley, the cold and calculating con man who wants more than just a courier fee for the return of the glib, rich boy. German director Wim Wenders (Wings of Desire) took Highsmith's Ripley's Game and transformed it into The American Friend (1977), a beautifully shot thriller that burns slowly as a psychological portrait of desperation into one of unleashed madness, if not comically so. The late British director Anthony Minghella (The English Patient) made a patchy version of The Talented Mr. Ripley starring Jude Law, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Matt Damon in 1999.
Actor/director Ben Stiller makes a decent go at breathing new life into a classic story by James Thurber that was originally adapted in 1947 with Danny Kaye playing the lead. Thurber disliked the MGM film and I suspect that as an artist who cared deeply about his work, he'd find few remains of his classic tale of a socially awkward introvert prone to vivid daydreaming in Stiller's ambitious yet uneven attempt. It's a movie with a heart even if it's one that is cloying and flavored with a simplistic "just do it" spirit. Stiller's Mitty fantasizes as a means to escape his life of corporate downsizing and failure to find love. As a heroic everyman willing to brave danger to save a damsel in distress, Mitty finds agency, meaning and purpose (the hyper-masculine sort of course) but then again, that's only a narrative exercise that takes place between his ears. It's when he's propelled by urgency, self-interest and romantic inspiration that our ill-at-ease hero pushes aside his fear and anxiety, leading to the a-ha moments one locates in adventure but also the kind found in every self-help book (live life to the fullest dude!). Stiller's harmless, family-friendly and entertaining take on a classic is worth a viewing for its reimagined Mitty and superb cinematography but you may want to simply head to the library and pick up Thurber's story for the substance.
Paolo Sorrentino's mesmerizing film The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) is a triumphant depiction of a conflicted man standing at an emotional crossroads. Both wry in its biting humor and satire, it is a powerfully visual film (crane shots, close-ups, slow motion, zooms—the entire repertoire is employed) with boundless charity toward plumbing the emotional depths of universal themes (death, lost love, artistry, loneliness, spiritual desire) from within a carefully sketched milieu (Rome's glamorously debauched and powerful). Confronted with both the ubiquity of beautiful things found in everyday moments (the radiant smile of a young child, ancient sculpture, an early morning sunrise) and the grotesque and decadent trappings of Rome's high society, well-tailored flaneur Jep Gambardella, hops from party to party, engaging in vacuous conversation that leaves him bored and wearily wondering whether being the "king" of the vapid souls of conga lines and performance artist flunkies is worth his growing ennui. When he learns of the death of a woman he had a youthful affair with many summers ago, Jep begins to soul search in between attending parties for 104 year old Saints (a dead ringer for Mother Teresa), a trip to the botox shaman and a visit to a magician who makes giraffes disappear. Much of that contemplation on the frivolousness of his life takes place during quiet strolls back to his lonely bachelor pad and this is where some of the most touching scenes of the movie take place. Sumptuous in its portrait of Rome's scenic beauty and borderline whimsical in a way that echoes the fantastical leanings of Fellini, The Great Beauty is just that, a magnificent spectacle of visual eye candy that poetically affirms our human yearning for something other than self-absorption. Lastly, this film has a wonderful soundtrack that includes Arvo Part, The Kronos Quartet, and Damien Jurado. Far and away my favorite film from last year, The Great Beauty is also available to stream from Hoopla.
If you're not yet a fan of the TV-MA hijinks of FX's animated spy comedy Archer, then now is the time to get recruited: KPL has just acquired all four seasons of the series that are currently available on DVD. The show follows the misadventures of the titular character, Sterling Archer, who works as a spy for an agency called ISIS. He's handsome, charismatic, dangerous, and skilled at his job—but he's also egotistical, crude, laden with vices, and prone to causing as much trouble as he prevents. He's like a more cartoonish version of James Bond—literally. His cohorts in espionage are quite the characters themselves: his boozy mother is also his overbearing boss; the number two field agent is also his femme fatale ex-girlfriend; the research scientist may be a clone straight out of criminal Nazi war experiments; and the eccentric human resource director has a penchant for dolphin puppets, drift car racing, and bare-knuckle brawling.
Born from the brain of Adam Reed (who also helmed a short-lived and little-seen gem for Adult Swim called Frisky Dingo—seek it out!), Archer has one of the most talented voice casts ever assembled, including the ubiquitous H. Jon Benjamin, the hilarious Aisha Tyler, Arrested Development's priceless Jessica Walter & Judy Greer, SNL's Chris Parnell, and the unparalleled Amber Nash. The show is packed with running gags and catchphrases galore, so slip on a Tactleneck, wash up those man-hands, and enter the Danger Zone: If quoting Archer doesn't make you a hit at your next eeeeeeeelegant dinnah paaaahty, then at the very least you'll understand all of the references that just confounded you.
This is the true story of one woman's pursuit for answers to questions long dismissed by an institution of power and secrecy. For Philomena, her story begins as a young, unmarried teen saddled with the birth of a son in a socially conservative Ireland during the 1950's. Teen pregnancy was considered a moral sin that required a person's atonement according to church practices. Taken in by a local abbey, she was coerced to sign away her parental rights, forced into performing labor and tragically witnessed the selling of her child to an American couple. Decades later, having stumbled across a former journalist and political spin doctor who was looking to revive his career by penning a "human interest" story for a magazine, Philomena sets out on a journey toward emotional closure and to learning about her son's life in the United States. As I watched the film, I couldn't help but wonder if reading the memoir wouldn't have been a much better way to learn about Philomena's story. The actors are top notch but they can't save a film where so much depends upon the final 15 minutes, leaving much of the film about the odd couple relationship between Philomena and the journalist, which sadly, was far from interesting even with their tit for tat discourse regarding the power of faith in the face of injustice.
I Geek Action Movies and as you can guess love Jason Statham movies. I watched HomeFront this weekend and it delivered. It had fights, brawls, knives, pistols, mini guns, shot guns, explosions, and a cute little kitty cat. All the stuff I like to see in a movie. In HomeFront Jason Statham is a form DEA agent who after his wife dies moves to a small town to raise his daughter. Unfortunately Gator Bodine (James Franco) is running a major meth lab and he and Jason "have words". Get this and many other movies at KPL.
Most of us prefer sound with our visual imagery when it comes to movie watching. However, if you're looking to challenge yourself to experience visual poetry and storytelling in new ways without the element of music or dialogue, here's a quick introductory sampler of well-regarded works. The Artist Vampyr Battleship Potemkin People on Sunday The General The Dictator Le Quattro Volte (sound, but no dialogue)The Passion of Joan of Arc City Lights Metropolis Sunrise
Francois Truffaut's sinuous portrait of provincial childhood is one of his lesser known works but those who appreciate his acclaimed 1960's movies (The Antoine Doinel series, Shoot the Piano Player) will no doubt discover that Small Change is a true gem within his oeuvre. Known for depicting the complicated by joyous nature of French childhood with a tender humanism tied to an un-romanticized realism, Truffaut approaches his young subjects and the local adults like a documentarian, concentrating his focus on capturing both the special and everyday moments that mark a life. A first kiss, the anxiety of answering a question in front of the class, sneaking into a movie theater with a friend, even falling from an open window--Truffaut effectively mixes the lighthearted with the darker shades of growing up.
It's no secret that the craft beer movement is burgeoning in Michigan—with Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo taking first and second place respectively in the annual Beer City USA poll last year, it's clear that Michiganders love their craft brews. If you're interested in finding out more about craft brewing in Michigan, check out The Michigan Beer Film. It focuses mainly on Southwest Michigan, following Greenbush Brewing Company as it rapidly expands and crediting Bell's for founding the craft beer scene in Michigan. It takes a brief tour of the U.P. and a stop at Short's Brewing Company, along with a look at a brewing upstart in Detroit. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of brewing around the state, but it is nice to see what's going on in our area of Michigan, and it's particularly good to see an industry that's growing in Michigan. So grab an Oberon and watch The Michigan Beer Film!
I first saw Annie Hall in 1977 when it first came out in theaters. I was on a date with my now wife, who was living in Basel Switzerland at the time. The movie audio was in German and I had to read the English subtitles. I thought maybe that attributed to my not understanding or not generally getting this movie. Annie Hall won the 1977 Academy Award for Best Picture and was a turning point for Woody Allen. So when KPL got this movie in on DVD I thought I would view it again. The movie is about Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) and his relationship with Annie Hall (hence the title of the movie) (Diane Keaton). It delves into Alvy and Annie's thoughts, feelings, dealings with life or in Alvy's case his fascination with death. Alvy is Jewish and lives in New York city and is a comedian twice divorced. Annie is undeveloped. Through her relationship with Alvy she grows, goes to community college, reads, sees a therapist and sings on stage. In typical Woody Allen style throughout the movie we see flash backs to other relationships, we see present day Alvy in past day parent's house under the roller coaster. The part I like is when in the middle of a scene he starts a narration with us the viewer through the camera or he does a scene in a scene. For example while in line to see a movie the guy behind him complains about a director, Alvy does not want to hear this and thinks the man does not know what he is talking about. Then Alvy talks to the camera telling us that the man does not know what he is talking about, the man steps into the camera and tells us he teaches film at Columbia. Alvy then pulls the actual Director out from behind a screen and has him argue with the man. Then Alvy comes back to talking to us through the camera and says don't you wish life was like this. Annie Hall is deemed a classic, I think I got more out of it this time around, mostly because there now is an internet and I read up on all the reasons this is supposed to be a good movie. If I had only just watched it again I think I would still leave shaking my heard. Only this time I would not be out some major dollars (actually they were Swiss Francs, this was way before the Euro). Getting the DVD for free from KPL is a good deal. BTW after the movie we got a drink at the plaza and they had orange plastic giraffes in them as stirring sticks. I still have the plastic giraffe and I still have the date (now wife) and I still do not understand Annie Hall.
Edward Shackleton's failed expedition to the South Pole in 1914 produced the greatest rescue/survival mission ever recorded. Chasing Shackleton is a PBS documentary that follows six modern day adventurers as they attempt to replicate the astounding feats of bravery, ingenuity and physical endurance that Shackleton and his crew members used in their attempt to sail the most dangerous ocean waters on the globe and traverse an unmapped mountain to save their fellow crewman. Led by an audacious leader in Tim Jarvis and clad in the wool clothes of the early 20th century, these six intrepid explorers set out in a tiny sail boat from an island near the South Pole to test their grit and know-how while tackling the enormous obstacles which a hundred years before, lay in the path of Shackleton's redemption. Pushed to the point of death, will these men survive these harrowing environmental conditions in order to match their predecessor's glory?
When it was released in 1960 to universal acclaim, visionary maverick Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless broke all the rules of conventional moviemaking. As posited by The Criterion Collection site, "there is a before Breathless, and an after Breathless" along the timeline of film history. The film's radical break with tradition promptly posed new questions about what a movie could look like, sound like, mean, and most importantly, what a film could be. Even today, the film that kicked off the French New Wave retains a freshness and vitality that are striking and discomforting to those new to its anarchic, free-jazz sensibilities and inventive modes of representation. Godard's reinvented salute to the American gangster genre mixes together into a highly original work of art with countless allusions to previous movies, references to literary texts, celebratory homages to American directors, and stylistic devices such as his famed jump cuts and an enthusiastic embrace of natural lighting and sound that in 1960, deviated from mainstream studio practices. It's a film that is winking at the audience from the eye of its director and yet even as we push aside it's question posing and deeply philosophical implications, it also functions as a terribly entertaining movie. Not only is the film considered one of the most influential, it subsequently launched the career of French leading man Jean-Paul Belmondo, who went on to work with Godard on A Woman Is a Woman and Pierrot le Fou. The Criterion Collection has just recently re-released Breathless on Blu-Ray and DVD with a wonderful array of supplents to go along with the feature.
The Danish political drama Borgen has been favorably compared to the American hit show House of Cards. While it resists the kind of farcical plotlines and hyper-cynicism of the Netflix-produced show, there features more than enough intrigue and Machiavelian maneuvering for political power to keep the storylines interesting and germane. Some critics have also alluded to The West Wing's influence but Borgen resists the kind of naïve portrait of contemporary politics as a romantic idyll or a noble vocation. Borgen's female protagonist is both a savvy political player engaged in political jousting and a committed wife and mother which suggests that there will be plenty of personal and political sacrifice to go around when the mud begins to fly. This is bingeworthy television, Scandinavian style.
The Easter Bunny is Australian and Santa Clause is Russian. Rise of the Guardians is an animated movie where the boggy man is trying to take over the dreams of children and make them forget the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause, the tooth fairy etc. Jack Frost is coaxed to join the Guardians and help fight off Pitch (the Boogeyman). I found this to be a delightful film. I liked that the Easter Bunny, played by Hugh Jackman, was Australian. This was not a scary movie but it is rated PG. Give it a try. This and many others movies are available at KPL.
In case you needed one last, post-Oscars list to use for upcoming checkout's. According to a survey of the editors and contributors of Film Comment magazine, these are the Top 20 films of 2013. Some have been released on DVD and others have yet to hit the shelves.
Liked That, Try This is an ongoing series of posts that attempts to help movie audiences find a title that is similar to films they've enjoyed in the past or that has some historical, stylistic or thematic connection. Today's installment focuses on television series. Liked The West Wing, try Borgen Liked Shameless, try United States of Tara Liked Twin Peaks, try Top of the Lake Liked The Wire, try Homicide: Life on the Street Liked How I Met Your Mother, try Community Liked Freaks and Geeks, try Undeclared Liked Parenthood, try Six Feet Under Liked Downton Abbey, try Call the Midwife
While there's wisdom in that adage advising us to avoid judging books by their covers, when it comes to movies, I don't feel the least bit superficial when I admit that I'm swayed by an attractive cover- even if only a mildly interesting synopsis is on the back. When I recently saw the cover for Reaching for the Moon- sunshine, blue skies and a radiant, happy couple on a beach- I hurriedly borrowed it, learning only after that it is a drama depicting the real life love affair between renowned poet Elizabeth Bishop and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soareswas.
While the film takes artistic liberties with actual events, its depiction of the romantic relationship between these two complex women is done in a way that feels as honest and real as a fictionalized account can, and, thankfully, is light on sentimentality; while Reaching for the Moon tells the story of women who are lovers, it is not a romance and its focus isn't only on their love. The lives of these talented, accomplished women, the places and times they navigate, their lifestyles, their complicated relationship and the poetry it all inspired are tastefully explored and make for a remarkable film, one far more interesting and and better told than many. I expect to be recommending it for quite some time.
What happens when one of the staff persons charged with helping young people overcome trauma, neglect and abuse at an at-risk juvenile home is quietly suffering from her own painful past? This is the question at the center of this wonderful, little film propelled by strong acting performances and a deft touch at balancing grim subject matter with moments of levity and humor. Grace, played by a fantastic Brie Larson, and her devoted boyfriend Mason work together to help kids manage their feelings and cope with the cards they've been dealt. But her strength of character and compassionate heart alone are of little use when it comes to facing her own feelings of fear, anxiety and anger. Short Term 12 proves again that a film's success is in no way related to the number of celebrity actors, use of CGI or amount of super hero characters. Sometimes, going small produces large rewards.
Often cited as one of the most influential, low-budget films that contributed to the emergence of the American Independent Film Movement of the 1980's, Paris, Texas is an inspired evocation of the personal journey of a tortured soul (Harry Dean Stanton) progressing toward forgiveness and redemption. Set in Texas and Los Angeles, German director Wim Wenders paints a moving and poignant picture of an emotionally troubled man seeking to make sense out of his fractured, tumultuous past and in the process, repair some of the damage he's inflicted upon those he loves. Pitch perfect as a kind of neo-Western, road-film, from the casting down to the spare beauty of Sam Shepard's writing, Wenders unpacks the story of Travis and Jane to reveal the power of guilt, regret and selflessness.
Written and directed by actress Lake Bell, In a World… is a charming and well-structured comedy with the obscure, yet cutthroat world of Hollywood movie voice-over as a backdrop. Bell portrays a blithely underachieving vocal coach living in the substantially self-important shadow of her "king of the epic trailer voice-over" father played by the great Fred Melamed. In a World… is funny, smart, social satire that doesn't veer into pretentiousness and marks the debut of Bell as a writer/director to watch in the future.
Another amazing Teen Filmmaker Festival has come and gone, with a huge range of films in many categories- comedy, horror, drama, documentaries, and more. 400 film-loving fans showed up on February 23rd to watch the Fest in person, but if you missed the Festival itself, don't worry- you can see all of the entries and all of the winning films at the KPL YouTube channel! Public Media Network will also re-broadcast the Festival in it's entirety so you can see the films in the comfort of your own living room. Thanks again to all of the directors who submitted films this year!
Here's the complete list of winning films:
Eros and Psyche, Haley Labian - Best Film and Best AnimationAlmond Eyes, Samuel Peters and Jake Lamons - Best Experimental FilmThe Worst Christmas, Nathan Ginter - People's Choice and Judge's Choice awardsFireworks, Alexi Mitchell - Best Short FilmGull Lake Winter 2013, Jake Lamons - Best Technical Merit and Best Music VideoFar Beyond the Reservoir, Jonathan D'Ambrosio - Best Cinematic Merit
About twenty years ago, I stumbled on a documentary called Paradise Lost: the Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. It told the story of the investigation into the murder of three eight year old boys in West Memphis, Arkansas and the subsequent conviction of three teenagers, casting doubt on whether the teenagers were guilty of murder or just guilty of wearing black, listening to heavy metal music, and enjoying horror films.
Over the years, the documentary filmmakers who made the original Paradise Lost have produced two other films: Paradise Lost: Revelations and Paradise Lost: Purgatory. These documentaries and other information about the case convinced some high profile people like: Eddie Vedder, Henry Rollins, Johnny Depp, and Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson to lobby for the release of these teenagers. After a bizarre plea deal, they were released on August 19, 2011 after serving over eighteen years for crimes they possibly didn't commit.
Now, Damien Echols, who was on death row for those eighteen years, tells his story in Life After Death. Watch the documentaries and read his book and decide who you believe.
"Jem Cohen's Museum Hours is a small movie that contains multitudes"—Luc Sante Jem Cohen's film Museum Hours is a brilliant and mesmerizing answer to a question that he himself poses in the essay that accompanies the DVD—"How then to make movies that don't dictate exactly where to look and what to feel? How to encourage viewers to make their own connections, to think strange thoughts, to be unsure of what happens next or even what genre of movie it is? How to combine the immediacy and openness of documentary with invented characters and stories?" While not formulaic in the commercial, Hollywood sense, Cohen's film does have a plot but one would be hard pressed to characterize the film as plot-driven nor does it particularly care about predictable scenes where characters recite lines from a script. It's a much looser and improvised affair that speaks to Cohen's interest in depicting the poetic and ephemeral place where life and art intersect, those elements of everyday life that register on the periphery of perception but that still make up the subjective landscape of human experience and history. What the film is (its form and conceptual concerns) and what the film is about (perception, loneliness, the universality of art over time and its allusive, individual character, etc.) is not one in the same but rather they complement each other. The film at its core is the story of two strangers who meet at the Kunsthistoriches Art Museum in Vienna. Johann is a middle aged guard who spends his hours staring at people looking at art. Anne is a woman visiting her ailing cousin who is dying in a nearby hospital. He befriends her after they meet amongst the paintings of Bruegel, Rembrandt and other European masters. He serves as a kind of Viennese tour guide and translator for her as she awaits news about her comatose cousin. They wander through bars, take hillside strolls, amble through urban markets, and board an underground boat ride, both connecting the other to their life in miniatures, doing so as strangers once did prior to social networking. The dialogue is magically awkward and feels as though the actors were directed to improvise their conversational responses. Anne, played by cult singer Mary Margaret O'hara is especially magnetic. This is one of my favorite films from last year.
Sandra Bullock may have taken on deadly space debris in Best Picture contender Gravity, but it'll likely be Cate Blanchett that destroys her chances at winning a second Oscar come Sunday, March 2nd. That's right, the 86th Academy Awards ceremony is less than two weeks away, which mean now's the time to catch up on all those critically-acclaimed movies you've been meaning to watch. Thankfully, the Kalamazoo Public Library is here to help with this list of all the Oscar-nominated films that you can check out from us right now:
Several more Oscar contenders will be available on DVD or Blu-ray very soon:
These Oscar contenders will be available in March, and you can place a hold on them right now:
Keep an eye out for the rest of the nominees, which are sure to follow. In the meantime, come on down to KPL and start prepping for Oscar night!
Tom Hanks is not talking to a basketball named Wilson this time and I haven't seen any cute UPS type commercials like there were after the Cast Away. Captain Phillips was a more serious movie and it was made after real events. A real Captain Phillips was really steering an ocean going container ship carrying much needed food and water to Africa. It was attacked by Somali pirates and boarded. The movie starts out introducing you to lives on both sides. We see Captain Phillips saying goodbye to his wife as he boards a plane to go to Oman to captain the boat. We see the Somali people and how they are forced to be pirates. The movie does not waste a lot of time showing you background, it jumps right to the actual attack. The Container ship repels the first attempt but when the one boat comes back they successfully board the container ship, largely due to a malfunctioning fire hose that was supposed to keep the little boat away. What I found interesting is that there were only 4 Somali pirates and they were not that bright. But they had automatic weapons. If the container ship had even a couple of guns they might have staved off the attack. When the little boat gets close and hooks it's ladder to the ship I kept thinking why don't they go and repel boarders. The people who lived in castles did it all the time. Somebody puts up a ladder, you push them and the ladder off. Once boarded Captain Phillips misleads the pirates, tricks them, tells them the ship is broken etc. The Pirates were not the brightest. I think the Somali Pirates should use this movie as a training film for what not to do when hijacking a ship. When the Somali pirates took Captain Phillips in the lifeboat it got very real for me. I remembered watching this lifeboat and hearing about the Navy Seals and their 3 shots fired simultaneously and how much praise they got for their accuracy. In the movie when they rescue Captain Phillips it wasn't like in a Sylvester Stallone movie where they pounce around all macho. Tom Hanks did an excellent job of being in shock. He couldn't speak, he was on the verge of crying. He made you feel his distress. I give him high praise for conveying that emotion effectively. Come on down and check this DVD out from KPL.
The movie and the man "Riddick" is one of the deadlist frogs you would ever meet. Riddick played by Vin Diesel is a man not a frog, just to be clear. I just like that it sounds like Ribbit Ribbit like a frog. Riddick being the past Lord of the Necromongers would probably not like having his name made fun of. In the movie Riddick has made a deal with Commander Vaako; the location of Furya and a ship to take him there, in exchange for Vaako becoming the next Lord Marshall. Well, they take him to a desolate planet instead and try to kill him. Riddick kills most of his assassinators. But Krone manages to shoot up a rock ledge causing a landslide to burry Riddick. This was all a lead up to keep the story in line and get to what most of this movie is about. Riddick needs to get off the planet. The Planet is full of deadly creatures, one looks like a scorpion but is much larger, more like 50 pounds. The other is a creature that looks a cross between a dog and a leopard. Mostly Riddick is a harden heart kind of guy who can easily kill but he also lives by a code. In this movie they humanize him and make you like him a little more than the bad guys he fights by having him get one of these leopard dog puppies. The dog when grown fights by Riddick's side and alerts Riddick to danger. Riddick finds an abandon outpost (how convenient, without this there would be no movie, he would just die) He sets a bunch of traps and then hits the emergency beacon which scans him and sends out an alert that Riddick a wanted man with a large bounty is here on this planet. Two different teams come and try to claim the bounty. Riddick leaves a note in the blood of one of them to leave him one ship. The rest of the movie is various attempts to catch or kill Riddick and Riddick killing them. I found the one shot of them looking for Riddick and he is sitting on top of their space ship listening to them scurry about in terror of him, while he is peeking through their sun roof and cutting off pieces of a carrot and eating them to be comical. I think it was supposed to show how superior he is but it gave me a chuckle instead of awe. This is the third movie in a series of Riddick movies. From the sounds of the extras on the DVD there will be more Riddick movies. Give it a try or see them in order, Pitch Black 2000, The Chronicles of Riddick 2004 and Riddick 2014.
Set in Yokohama Japan prior to the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, this animated story of passionate students fighting for the preservation of a beloved school building slated for demolition parallels the romantic story of two young teens and the mysterious history that binds them together. The film will appeal to all ages but teens and tweens may be its biggest audience. Maudlin and sweet, From Up On Poppy Hill can be viewed with either the original Japanese or the English language version.
I was afraid that the movie You're Next was going to be just another slasher movie. Go for the gore, forget about the plot. But I was pleased with You're Next. It did have the blood splashings and it did have a guy get shot in the head with a crossbow but it also had a guy get shot in back with a crossbow and a guy get his head caved in by a meat cleaver and a guy get his head chewed up by a blender. So yeah it had the gore. It also tried for the freaky suspense and the bad guys wore animal masks. Always creepy when can not see your attackers face and even creepier if he is wearing a mask. I gotta say it did enhance my movie experience to see a guy in a lambs head mask take a sledge hammer and use it like a golf club or maybe a crochet mallet to the head of one of their prey. It also had a bit of a mystery to it. Why are they being attacked. Mostly the suspense was what will happen next. Oh, and I did learn a few things, like if you take a board and drive nails through it, it makes a good deterrent for anyone sneaking in through your window, but it also makes them good and mad. If you are looking for a horror type movie but with humans in animal masks, try You're Next available with many other titles at KPL.
This is heart wrenching film from Swedish director Jan Troell focuses on one woman's tumultuous life as a psychologically and physically abused wife and mother who momentarily escapes her domestic torment by picking up a camera—an instrument of creativity and documentation that she uses as a means for both personal expression and as a gateway to escape her unforgiving life. Shot with exquisite cinematography, Everlasting Moments takes the viewer on an anguished ride through the minefield of Maria Larsson's troubled life—one defined by her amazing strength and fortitude in the face of heartbreak and disappointment. As bleak as her prospects are, Maria (brilliantly portrayed by Maria Heiskanen) discovers that there are moments, sublime in their ephemerality, when she and her alcoholic husband face the obstacles of war, poverty and hunger together and tenderly. Troell has masterly rendered a humane portrait of a family struggling to survive in pre-WWI Sweden, with the centerpiece constituted by Maria's endless capacity for grace, forgiveness and persistence.
Reader's Advisory is a term that librarians use to describe the act of linking similar titles together so that readers are exposed to authors and titles that possess comparable thematic or stylistic qualities. This is the first installment of a film version of that kind of process of suggestion. It's not scientifically based and so absorb these lists with a grain of salt. • Liked Goodfellas, try Miller's Crossing • Liked Charulata, try Everlasting Moments • Liked The Truman Show, try Real Life • Liked Drive, try Taxi Driver • Liked Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, try Petulia • Liked Last Year at Marienbad, try Memento • Liked The Ice Storm, try Ordinary People • Liked Groundhog Day, try Being There • Liked Take Shelter, try Repulsion • Liked Il Postino, try Amelie • Liked E.T, try Super 8 • Liked Doubt, try The Silence • Liked Mad Men (series), try The Hour (series) • Liked Paper Moon, try The Last Picture Show • Liked Harold and Maude, try Delicacy • Liked Tinker Tailor, Soldier Spy, try The Spy Who Came in from the Cold • Liked Goon, try Slapshot • Liked Harry and Tonto, try Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore • Liked The Newsroom (series), try Sports Night (series) • Liked Platoon, try The Thin Red Line • Liked Leaving Las Vegas, try Taste of Cherry • Liked Dead Man Walking, try Into the Abyss: a tale of death, a tale of life • Liked There Will Be Blood, try Citizen Kane • The Bridge Over River Kwai, try Force 10 from Navarone • Liked Blue Valentine, try A Woman Under the Influence
If you're anything like me, this weather has you daydreaming about sunny days and summer vacation--making it the perfect time to watch summer-themed movies while wrapped up in a warm blanket on the couch. One of my favorite summer movies, The Sandlot, a coming-of-age story about a group of neighborhood kids who spend the summer of '62 playing baseball, always makes me think of a time when summer vacation felt like FOREVER. We don't have The Sandlot in our collection (it is available to resident borrowers through MeLCat) but we do have another summertime movie that gives me that same sense of nostalgia: Stand by Me. Though a bit darker than The Sandlot, this Stephen King classic definitely evokes a summery mood and would be a perfect fix for those winter doldrums.
Here are a few other summery suggestions:
Moonrise Kingdom
Wet Hot American Summer
Dirty Dancing
Last month marked the 80th anniversary of the repeal of Prohibition, so if you're going to be stuck inside during these cold and snowy days, you may as well cozy up with a hot toddy and watch Ken Burns' documentary series describing the passage, enforcement, and repeal of Prohibition in the United States. When I watched the series last month I wasn't sure how much I'd learn, since this era was covered in my American history classes and has been heavily mined by pop culture, but I found all five-and-a-half hours engaging. I especially enjoyed the first episode, which outlines the factors leading to the passage of the 18th Amendment, including immigration and the introduction of the federal income tax.
The library has several copies of the DVD, but it's also available to check out anytime with Hoopla, the library's source for instant streaming videos, music, and audiobooks.
If you're interested in fictional depictions of Prohibition, check out the Coen Brothers' Miller's Crossing, the television series Boardwalk Empire, or Woody Allen's comedic take Bullets Over Broadway.
Le Havre is a wonderful film that I missed seeing when it first showed at WMU's Little Theater several years ago. Named for a provincial city on the northern, French coast, the film is one of Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki's most warmhearted and charming. Known for his less is more approach to film making, his works tend to give birth to zany, working class characters whose expressions of both joy and futility come off as droll and darkly peculiar (fans of Wes Anderson and Jim Jarmusch will appreciate the brand of humor). Le Havre is a simple story: an elderly shoe shiner stumbles into a plot to hide a young, African boy from the authorities who seek his deportation. Ex "bohemian" Marcel Marx has a difficult enough time as it is in dealing with his critically ill wife. His newest project, one that he had not expected, is to safeguard with the help of his fellow townspeople, a young refuge named Idrissa, who is seeking to travel to London. With the authorities hot on his trail, Marcel keeps ahead of the fuzz with just enough assistance from Le Havre's band of bartenders, rock musicians, and an unlikely detective. It's a beautiful fantasy as much as it is a political fable about community and humanity.
As a new parent, my interest in stories of kidnapping and child abduction has suspiciously dwindled, and yet the stellar reviews for Denis Villeneuve's recent film Prisoners compelled me to watch it. In it, Hugh Jackman plays Keller Dover, a survivalist father whose daughter goes missing along with her best friend. A suspicious camper is seen in the nearby area, and when the police attempt to question the driver, he behaves erratically and tries to flee. The suspect, Alex Jones (Paul Dano), is arrested, questioned, and his camper and home are combed over by a forensic crew. No evidence is discovered, and the police deem Jones to be mentally incapable of taking the children without a leaving a trace, so he is released. This incenses Dover, who believes the children are still out there, waiting to be rescued. When it's clear that the lead detective, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, has moved on to other leads, Dover decides to take the matter into his own hands. He kidnaps Jones, holes him up in an abandoned building, and proceeds to torture the suspect in hopes that it will lead to the whereabouts of the girls.
Despite the bleak premise, Prisoners ends up sticking with you for all the right reasons. The film dares you to question how far you would go to rescue your own endangered child. At once you want Dover to push through the barriers created by a plodding police investigation, yet his vigilantism clearly veers out of control. We've seen Jones behave villainously, but by the time Dover has beaten him to an unrecognizable pulp, it's hard not to feel reluctant sympathy. On top of this, Villeneuve does a great job getting the viewer to wonder whether or not Jones is guilty; in one great sequence, Dover believes he hears Jones say something incriminating under his breath that no one else around them catches, and smartly, the audio is too muffled to allow the audience to hear it either.
Prisoners succeeds in no small part because of its actors: Hugh Jackman gives a performance that in less-crowded years might have been considered for a Best Actor Academy Award nomination; Paul Dano is reliably creepy; Melissa Leo continues her streak of stellar turns; and Jake Gyllenhall brings the right level of world-weariness to the lead detective who seems to be hindered by an overwhelming bleakness that has beaten him down over the years.
When I first saw a preview for Prisoners I was put off by what seemed to be a very by-the-numbers revenge mystery. Thankfully, the film turned out to be so much more, and as I settle into this pre-Oscars period of assembling my favorite films of the past year, it's looking more and more like this movie I cannot shake is going to make my top ten.
I've been trying to distract myself from the extreme winter weather of late by checking out some of our documentaries on surfing (White Wash, Riding Giants). Maybe it's the beautiful landscape of the Hawaiian coast or the vibrant blue of the ocean wafting above the earth's surface that appeals to me as we grind through a cold, grey winter. Surfwise is an excellent documentary film that will appeal to anyone interested in exploring the question: What is a meaningful life and what does it look like in practice? Surfwise is the portrait of a man (Dorian Doc Paskowitz) with a vision of the world that found it's life-long manifestation in the rejection of social conventions and modern values. It's also a film about family dynamics and the conflict between one man's inflexible idealism and the resentment and problems it later produced for his nine children.
The Criterion Collection has a wonderful page on their website that catalogs the 10 favorite Criterion releases from a wide assortment of actors, musicians, directors, writers and other arty types. I always find these selections a good place to start my search for the unseen and unknown. If I were asked to list my ten favorite films from their collection, I'd start with the following: 1. Harold and Maude 2. Hiroshima Mon Amour 3. Au Hasard Balthazar 4. The 400 Blows 5. The Royal Tenenbaums 6. Badlands 7. The Passion of Joan of Arc 8. Late Spring 9. Pierrot Le Fou 10. In the Mood for Love
Any sort of discussion of historically significant directors must include the work of the great Satyajit Ray. Ray's visually brilliant and emotionally moving Charulata (1964) tackles the subject of desire; specifically that of a lonely and bored housewife imprisoned by limited social expectations and later on by romantic feelings for her husband's cousin. Her newspaper-running husband's responses to her veiled longing and artistic aspirations come off as glib or paternalistic. It's only when his wayward, free spirited, poetry-composing cousin arrives to live at their home that Charulata begins to self-actualize and to allow her creative passion for writing to become more pronounced and acknowledged. Ray's talent was in mixing the styles and tone of European and American films with the local, cultural nuances of Indian society. Always sensitive to develop multifaceted characters that are easy to sympathize with, Ray's films feel like visual diaries of emotionally repressed or socially oppressed persons struggling to reconcile the old with the new, the traditional with the modern. The quality of acting is also top notch.
Friendship as a documentary subject is a rare thing and with this affecting and poignant account of the long-term bond between Pulitzer Prize-winning author/actor Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark, viewers may feel as though they are listening in on a personal conversation between two old mates. Fused by both affinity and family, these two friends, entangled within the complicated web of history, not to mention their very different views on life and living, join together to work on an University project regarding their correspondence and ephemera that may result in a book deal. Full of tenderness, humor and sadness, these two old compatriots open up and bare their lifetime of memories, laments and affection for one another before the camera's eye, offering up fascinating insights about both the limits of male closeness and its lasting durability.
Whether or not you count yourself among the many that study and delight in the works of Shakespeare, you might find that Joss Whedon's recent interpretation of Much Ado about Nothing is well worth a watch. While the cast speaks in Shakespearean tongue, Whedon and his cast convincingly tell this story as a modern one still worth our attention. The film is beautifully shot in black and white. The contemporary setting (Whedon's family home) and the choice of real-life clothing rather than period costuming support a phenomenal cast who deliver the lines in the cadences of contemporary speech, making the story feel fresh, the plot devices less archaic. I was particularly riveted by Amy Acker's portrayal of the smart, sharp-tongued Beatrice, who is moved to moral outrage at her cousin Hero's undeserved disgrace at the wedding altar, displaying what would have been thought of in Shakespearean times as more "manliness" than any of the men who stood by instead of defending Hero's honor. Her delivery of the famous "O that I were a man" speech gave me chills as she exclaims her frustration at her powerlessness as a woman of her time and her fury that she "cannot be a man with wishing, therefore I will die a woman with grieving." Her performance is done with such conviction, she seems anything but powerless; if anything, she seems heroic (no word play intended). Ultimately, of course, Beatrice embraces the man she'd so adamantly mocked before, having challenged him to become a man worthy of her. While the story is rife with drama, deceit, and what passes for romance, there's plenty of physical humor, with Benedick rolling in the grass outside the windows and Beatrice hiding in the kitchen to overhear conversations undetected, and comedic relief in the delightfully self-important security guards: bumbling tough guys whose swagger is intentionally and plainly laughable. Thanks to one director's interpretation and a talented cast, I've never enjoyed a Shakespearean tale as much as I did this movie. Perhaps you will, too.


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Top-Rated Cancer Nonprofits in California - All 2012 Campaigns
Are you interested in donating, giving to or volunteering at a charity but not sure which ones are truly making a difference? Browse this list of Top-Rated Nonprofits focused on Cancer in California and find the most distinguished charities in your area. Learn about their programs, see their ratings and reviews, and choose from some of the very best Cancer nonprofits in California that the world has to offer! Discover all of the great charities below that have won a GreatNonprofits Top-Rated Award. And if you already know of a great nonprofit involved with Cancer in or near California, add them to this list by writing a review!
14 Top-Rated Nonprofits
Top-Rated By Issue
Top-Rated By Location
Top-Rated By Campaign
San Francisco, CA
62 ratings
Los Angeles, CA
61 ratings
Vacaville, CA
19 ratings
San Carlos, CA
12 ratings
Newport Beach, CA
319 ratings
San Francisco, CA
63 ratings
Danville, CA
113 ratings
Santa Rosa, CA
56 ratings
Sherman Oaks, CA
487 ratings
Emgeryville, CA
14 ratings
Visalia, CA
11 ratings
Los Angeles, CA
86 ratings
San Jose, CA
108 ratings