Now in theaters, on DVD, or coming out of your computer

4/4/09

The Class
The Class follows a French high school teacher and one of his high school classes over the course of a school year. It's not a documentary, it's a narrative film based on a memoir by the same man who plays the teacher, a fictionalized version of himself. Oh, and the students in the class play are not played by professional actors, either. This may sound a bit confusing but the result is an engrossing story of a dedicated yet imperfect teacher trying to educate a group of teenagers with various backgrounds, capabilities, and levels of interest.

Two Lovers
This movie is about real people and real emotions and as such is kind of a melodrama. And TVOR doesn't mean that in a bad way. Those of us who are real people take our problems and the decisions we must face in life very seriously, even if they don't involve car chases, extraterrestrial bad guys, or international conspiracies. At least TVOR's don't--so far. Maybe yours do. Joaquin Phoenix is just about perfect as a man who has ended up living with his parents and working in their dry cleaning shop. He's depressed and bi-polar. Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw are the two women he's drawn to (or shoved toward, as the case may be). The acting, especially by Phoenix and Isabella Rossellini as his mother, is wonderful (if Rossellini does not win supporting actress awards for this, there will be some serious injustice going on) and the script and direction by James Gray are excellent. There's an overly convenient incident toward the end that TVOR has a quibble with, but she'll let it go.

Duplicity
This corporate espionage caper is also a romance with a bit of screwball comedy thrown in. In other words, it's a little hard to categorize. Tony Gilroy is an established screenwriter whose first directing effort, Michael Clayton, was none too shabby. This is his second effort, and he's two for two. Clive Owen is ex-MI6 and Julia Roberts is ex-CIA (yeah, I know--they're probably prettier than real-life spies, but this is the movies, after all) and they both end up working for large consumer products corporations whose CEOs hate each other's guts. There's wonderful witty dialog, flashbacks, and some plot elements to figure out (do bring your brain to the theater for this one) but it's not so complex as to be a problem. Clive and Julia are very good, and lovely to look at. The supporting cast is good too, although perhaps not as lovely as the leads. Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson play the duelling CEOs--and that is to be taken almost literally. Do not be late for this film, as the opening credits are not to be missed.

Sunshine Cleaning
This film is moderately entertaining, but the acting is better than the plot or the script or much else about it. It's sort of a comedy, sort of an empowerment through cleaning up crime scenes story, sort of a heartwarming recovering-from-what-your-parents-did-to-you story, sort of...well, it's sort of a jumble. But as TVOR said, the acting is good! Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, Alan Arkin, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Clifton Collins, Jr., Steve Zahn, even Jason Spevack as the requisite cute kid--all are way better than their material.

Everlasting Moments
Swedish director Jan Troell was kind of a big deal in the U.S. during the early 1970's, when The Emigrants and The New Land were released. They won awards, were nominated for Oscars, and were even pretty popular in theaters, considering that they featured the dreaded subtitles. Now, you can't even get them on DVD.

So it's nice to see that Mr. Troell is still at it, almost 40 years later. His new film, Everlasting Moments, is the story of a woman and her camera in Sweden in the early 1900's. She's a wife (of a guy who is not the ideal husband) and mother (of numerous children) who finds something special when she starts using a camera she won in a raffle. Any way TVOR would describe this film would make it sound corny so she won't say too much. The film works as a portrait of a place and time as well as a story of family relationships and the relationship between life and art. It's probably about some other things, too. And yes, it's beautifully shot. It's about a photographer, after all.

12
This is a reworking of Twelve Angry Men. It's not like your average Hollywood remake, though. 12 is a Russian take on this story, where the accused is a Chechen teenager on trial for murdering a Russian officer, who is also his adoptive father. Director and co-writer Nikita Mikhalkov (he acts in the film as well) comes up with twelve jurors who are a cross-section of Russia today, and puts them in an old high school gym while they deliberate. Although the word "deliberate" makes the process sound a bit more dignified than it is in the film. A warning--this is a long film (over two and and half hours). It is, however, engrossing and entertaining and worth the time spent.

Katyn
This film is based on historical facts--facts that were lied about for decades. It's the story of thousands of Polish military officers who were murdered by the Soviet army in 1940. As the icing on the cake, the Soviets later blamed the massacre on the Nazis, pushing the date forward so it would appear to have happened while the Germans occupied Poland. Andrzej Wajda's film Katyn tells this story (in narrative, not documentary form) by following a group of these officers and their families as the horror of what has happened to them is compounded by the official lies and rewriting of history carried out by the post-war Polish government. The movie isn't as wonderful as TVOR would have liked it to have been, given the story it is based on, but parts of it are very effective. She can forgive the rest.

Silent Light
This film takes place in a remote Mennonite farm community in Mexico (apparently this place really exists). One of the farmers is convinced that he has ended up with the wrong woman, a situation complicated by the fact that he has seven children by the wife in question. There's not a whole lot of plot here, but there is a whole lot going on as we settle in and get a feel for life in the community and the crisis that this man and his family are dealing with. Silent Light is gorgeous to look at and listen to, and mostly acted by amateurs from the Mennonite community. The limited dialog is in an obscure Mennonite dialect that sounds sort of Germanic. Except for an occasional stop sign, you'd never know you were in Mexico.

The following movies have been out for a while, but may still be hanging around in theaters:

Gomorrah
This Italian film about organized crime in Naples (the real name of the group is the Camorra--the film's title is a play on words) is a good one. It's not a romanticized view, and is about as non-Godfather-like as it could be. This is not a criticism of The Godfather--TVOR loves The Godfather. (At least parts 1 and 2.) It's just that this is a different animal. There are no Shakespearean arcs to the story, no tragedy or nobility. Instead, this film, based on a nonfiction book, is about organized crime that takes over an entire neighborhood and permeates all business activity. The criminals are a pretty unimpressive lot, not given to introspection. The filmmaker, however, takes the story and makes it about more than just a group of crooks in a city in Italy. Life is very cheap in the world of this film, but surprisingly, the amount of violence the audience sees on screen is relatively low. Gomorrah is one to see.

The International
TVOR had hope for this film. The director is Tom Tykwer, who made Run, Lola, Run, The Princess and the Warrior, and Heaven, all of which TVOR really liked. The cast is made up of actors who can act, people like Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. The film isn't terrible, but it's not great either. It's a cerebral thriller that isn't particularly thrilling, and not as cerebral as it would like to be. It's pretty nicely put together, though, and there's an entertaining shoot-out at the Guggenheim Museum (actually, it's a replica, but it's still a cool shoot-out). Just keep your expectations moderate, to minimize disappointment.

Gran Torino
Dirty Harry gets old. That's basically what Gran Torino, Clint Eastwood's latest movie, is about. Clint was good as Dirty Harry and he's good as Old Dirty Harry, too. In fact, the whole movie is not bad. Unfortunately, though, much of the supporting cast just doesn't have the acting chops to pull it off. TVOR understands that there probably aren't large groups of Hmong actors around from which to cast some key roles. But it would seem that perhaps a bit more could have been done to make these important characters more convincing.

Video Notes:

2008 theatrical releases are continuing to be available on video. If you haven't caught them yet, TVOR particularly recommends Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Frozen River, and Let the Right One In, all of which she's talked about in earlier posts. The following are also worth checking out:

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist--a tale of Nick and Norah, two high school students who have only just met, and who spend one night traveling the streets of New York City in search of a band, Norah's misplaced drunken friend, and some other things, too. They do it with a soundtrack of some very cool music in this sweet but not icky sweet little tale. A movie about teenagers that grownups will like too.

Tell No One--this is a tasty French thriller about a man who, eight years after his wife's murder, starts getting strange messages and indications that his wife may still be alive. There are all sorts of interesting characters and mysteries within mysteries, but the complexity doesn't get in the way of the fun. Our hero spends a fair amount of time trying to evade the police, and the whole thing has sort of a Hitchcock feel--in a very French way, of couse.

The House Bunny--this film is definitely in the "guilty pleasure" category. Ana Faris plays a Playboy bunny who gets thrown out of the Mansion and has to find her own way in the cold cruel world. Naturally she finds her way to a college campus where she gets a job as a housemother in a sorority house about to be shut down because the remaining few unattractive, loser girls can't get any new pledges. She finds this spot after being rejected by the house full of beautiful, popular girls. What will happen? There aren't many (if any) surprises in this story, although the quality of the script and the acting are pretty surprising, as well as the sweetness of the story. This movie is not great art, but it sure was a lot of fun.


And, coming to a computer near you:

Sita Sings the Blues

TVOR loved writer/director/animator Nina Paley's Sita Sings the Blues when she saw it at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2008. So did everyone else she knows. Theaters were packed, and some people not given to seeing movies twice in a short period of time actually planted themselves in more than one screening. It was the kind of movie TVOR wanted to recommend to her friends, except she couldn't because it never got released. Why, you may ask? Well, copyright problems. The film is an animated story sort of following the Ramayana and sort of about the break-up of a contemporary marriage, with songs by Annette Hanshaw, a blues singer from the 1920's who basically no one has ever heard of. The problem was the songs by the obscure singer, which were copyright protected. Nina Paley didn't have the money to pay for the use of the songs, and no distributors wanted to pick up the tab either. So that was that, except for film festival screenings, where the film met with much acclaim, and the random PBS showing, as somehow copyright issues do not apply to public TV. If you don't understand this, neither does TVOR. Anyway, this very strange but wonderful little movie has been denied to most of the world.

There has been progress, though. Ms. Paley scraped up some money (partly raised online), paid for the rights, and the film is available for download at http://sitasingstheblues.com/. For free. Yes, it's amazing but true. You can watch in on your computer screen or burn a DVD for no money whatsoever. TVOR hasn't actually tried this yet, but she hears from competent friends that it works, and she's sure you can figure it out. Given the film's torturous path to digital distribution, though, it would be nice to throw a few bucks Nina Paley's way if you like the movie (which you will). You can also get T-shirts, mugs, and other trinkets with the Sita graphics. Every little bit helps, and we want Nina Paley to keep making original and wonderful films like Sita Sings the Blues.

More catching up

2/7/09

There's a good documentary coming into our homes this Tuesday, February 10th, as part of the PBS series Independent Lens:

Tulia, Texas, directed by Cassandra Herrman and Kelly Whalen, is worth turning on the TV for. In the late 1990's and early 2000's, the War on Drugs came to Tulia, a small town in the Texas panhandle. An undercover police officer, paid for by DEA funds, came to town and when he was through, 46 people were arrested on drug charges, 39 of them African American. As the cases went through the courts, defendants pleaded guilty or, if they did go to trial, were convicted and given very long prison sentences, some up to 90 years. Then some of the citizens of Tulia started to wonder about things. The filmmakers talk to all the parties, from the undercover cop to the sheriff to the townspeople to the defendants to the attorneys to the press. A fascinating film, about race and justice and drugs and federal policy and probably some other things too.

If you're willing to step away from the television, here are a couple of good things to see in a theater:

Waltz With Bashir
This Israeli film is an animated documentary about the experiences of director Ari Folman and others as young Israeli soldiers during that country's early 1980's war with Lebanon. In other words, it's a strange animal. An animated documentary? A film about a war most Americans are only dimly if at all aware of? And not so much about the war but of young soldiers' memories of it? How does that all work? Beautifully, actually. Folman's (real) interviews with his fellow former soldiers are animated, as are the memories, dreams, and hallucinations of those soldiers. The film is beautiful and difficult to watch.

Cherry Blossoms
German director Doris Doerrie's film Cherry Blossoms: Hanami (which now seems to be called just Cherry Blossoms) was one of TVOR's favorites at SIFF 2008. It's finally getting a bit of a regular run, starting in the big cities on the edges of the country, and then heading into the hinterlands. Wherever you live, don't dilly-dally, because it's unlikely to play for long. It's the story of aging parents from a small town visiting their busy urban-dwelling adult children, who have little time for them. The film is about families, death, grief, Japan, and butoh dancing. And it's not depressing. It's kind of hard to explain but it's definitely worth seeing.

On video:

Tokyo Story--Cherry Blossoms is an homage (or at least makes reference) to Yasujiro Ozu's 1953 film Tokyo Story. This is no secret, but TVOR somehow missed this tidbit of information, and only made the connection a couple of weeks ago when she saw the older film as part of an Ozu kick she is currently on. Older couple from the country, children living in the city who are too busy for them...hmmm...something is familiar here...oh, yeah! Tokyo Story is a wonderful film, and it's interesting to see it paired with the Cherry Blossoms. Ozu has a very particular style-- his camera is still and low to the ground, there are no quick cuts, people walk in and out of scenes, and things unfold as they might in real life.

Other Ozu titles TVOR has really enjoyed are Equinox Flower and Late Autumn, both made late in his career. The subject matter is very human--that of families and friends and relationships, and the move from tradition to modernity. He continues to use a low and still camera, and adds color in these later films. Every shot is a thing of beauty. Although the films are about the stuff of normal life, they are not dull. People are complicated and interesting, and Ozu shows us that. If you're not familiar with him (and most of us aren't) you could do a lot worse than spend some time with his work. TVOR will be doing some more of that herself in the very near future.

Now for some more recent video releases:

Shotgun Stories--this film got some good press at film festivals last year and had a small run in theaters. You had to be in the right place and act quickly, though, or you missed it. First-time filmmaker Jeff Nichols made this story about two groups of half brothers who have very different experiences and relationships with their recently deceased, alcoholic father. After abandoning his first family, he got sober, found God, and started a new one. The film is a beautifully shot, well-acted (especially by Michael Shannon in the central role) story of revenge (the shotgun does get some use, although not as much as TVOR feared) and heroism and nobility. Sort of. It's hard to describe, but worth watching.

Married Life--this film came and went pretty quickly last year, but it's actually a pretty decent dark comedy. The time is 1949, the place, we assume, is New York and environs. Chris Cooper plays a guy who falls for a young lovely and decides that rather than cause his wife pain by leaving her, he'll do the compassionate thing and kill her. Patricia Clarkson is the wife, Pierce Brosnan is the best friend, and Rachel McAdams is the young lovely. None of these people behave exactly the way he (or we) might expect them to.

Burn After Reading--Joel and Ethan Coen lite. It's sort of a comedy, but although it has its moments, it's not consistently funny. Much of this lack of humor is due to the complete idiocy and unlikeability of the vast majority of the characters. It's not funny if a stupid loser creep slips on a banana peel, it's simply appropriate. And these people slip on some major banana peels. Some of the acting is pretty good, especially that of Frances McDormand and Brad Pitt's hair.

My Brother is an Only Child--this Italian film tells the story of a working-class family in the 1960's. The two sons of the family are drawn in opposite directions politically, yet toward the same woman. It's entertaining, and full of interesting characters.

Pineapple Express--this product of the Judd Apatow machine is sort of a stoner buddy comedy and sort of an action movie. They should have skipped the second part. (FYI, stoners aren't the most reliable people to have around when action is needed.) Seth Rogen is the stoner, the wonderful James Franco is the sweetest drug dealer ever, and Danny McBride is perfect as a courteous, upwardly mobile middle man. Most of the plot and the rest of the characters are forgettable, but if you're feeling shallow, you can have some fun with this one.

Catching up

2/4/09

TVOR has been away from her blog for a long, long time. First, she spent several weeks in Peru, which was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. Then she had rotator cuff surgery which was considerably less fun and hampered her typing for some time. Then she went to the Palm Springs International Film Festival and she was back in fun mode.

Now she has returned to her post, watching movies, typing with two hands, and ready to opine. And there's so much on which she can opine. Here are some thoughts on what's out there right now.

Slumdog Millionaire
TVOR saw this before it became a big deal. And she liked it. Good story, good energy, nice visuals, good music. It was a nice little movie. It's not so little any more but it's still good.

Milk
This film about the brief political career of Harvey Milk is one of the better year-end releases. Even though everybody knows what happened at the end of that career, the movie still grabs you, with its compelling story and wonderful performances, especially those of Sean Penn and Josh Brolin. Plus it's painfully reminiscent of the 70's and all those unfortunate fashion and hair choices.

The Wrestler
This is definitely one to see. It's a human scale movie, with a story about humans--including the wrestling kind. Mickey Rourke is back, although you may not recognize him. Marisa Tomei is also very good as the stripper in his life. A warning--TVOR had to look away during some of the wrestling scenes. It may be fake competition, but it's brutal. Bruce Springsteen sings a nice song over the closing credits, too--for which he was not nominated for an Oscar. He was robbed.

Frost/Nixon
There aren't too many surprises in this film, but it's an entertaining story and very well-acted. Frank Langella creates a fascinating and complicated Nixon.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
TVOR was really underwhelmed by this one. It's technically very interesting, with great visuals. The problem for TVOR is that it was two hours and 47 minutes of Brad Pitt playing a not-very-interesting character. Sure, he starts old and gets young, but that doesn't make him any less dull as a person. Maybe a great actor could have done something with this, but Brad Pitt certainly couldn't. TVOR tried to care about whether or not he'd get together with Daisy (played by Cate Blanchett) but unfortunately she did not succeed. Daisy was kind of a bitch for most of the movie and who cares if a bore and a bitch find true love? TVOR did like a lot of the supporting characters, especially those played by Tilda Swinton and Jared Harris. Unfortunately they disappeared way too soon. Did TVOR mention that this movie is two hours and 47 minutes long?

The Reader
This wasn't another one that didn't work very well for TVOR. Kate Winslet is good, as usual, but that wasn't enough for TVOR to buy the premise. It's based on a book that TVOR hasn't read. Maybe the book is more credible.

Defiance
This is a very Hollywood-ish take on a true story of a group of Eastern European Jews who fought back and survived during World War II. It's an amazing tale, and the movie has a wonderful cast including Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, and Jamie Bell. It wasn't terrible, but it would have been so much better without the whole Hollywood movie feel.

Wendy and Lucy
No Hollywood feel here. A lovely little movie about a young woman living on the fringe of society, in danger of losing what little she has. The film has an excellent performance by Michelle Williams.

Rachel Getting Married
Sure, this one's been out there for a while, but if you haven't seen it yet, do. Anne Hathaway is amazing as the one-woman wrecking crew who descends on her sister Rachel's wedding. Too bad about that guest from hell--the wedding looks like it would have been really cool otherwise. It's in a great location, with interesting-looking guests, and wonderful music. Actually, it's only too bad for Rachel. It's very lucky for the viewers.

Frozen River
If by some miracle this film has reappeared at a theater near you, check it out. Melissa Leo is excellent as a single mother willing to step outside the law to make the payments on a new mobile home for herself and her two kids. And it's not just her performance. The whole movie is good.

Let the Right One In
This is another one that just might still be floating around in a theater. OK, it's a Swedish vampire movie. Don't dismiss it, though. Even if you think you don't like vampire movies, particularly Swedish ones, there's a good chance you'd like this one. It's lovely, and about all sorts of things other than Swedish vampires. Don't question. Just go.


Video notes:

There are many good reasons to stay home and watch videos right now, if it's just a little too much to think about leaving the house.

The Visitor--Richard Jenkins is wonderful in this film about a widower forced back into the world by some unexpected and unwanted guests, but he's not the only reason to see it. Tom McCarthy, the director of The Station Agent, has done it again.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona--This is the best Woody Allen movie in years. With a great (and beautiful) cast, and a great (and beautiful) location, this funny/sad story is a good antidote to winter. You will probably want to make some travel plans.

Tropic Thunder--This is not a particularly good movie, but it's fun and silly does have its moments (particularly in the opening "trailers") and, of course, it also has Robert Downey Jr.

In Bruges--Ralph Fiennes is Mr. Mopey in The Reader, but he's wonderful in this Martin McDonagh film, as are Brendan Gleesan and Colin Farrell, and pretty much everything else, including the city of Bruges. This film is much more interesting than most of the Oscar nominees. And get ready to make more travel plans.

Man on Wire--While most Americans past kid-hood were paying attention to the final act of the implosion of the Nixon presidency, a crazy French man was planning to walk between the two towers of the World Trade Center. This documentary tells the story of that caper, but is about more than just that. One of the best documentaries of the year.

Trouble the Water--This is another must-see documentary. A couple of filmmakers, in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, encountered a woman in the Superdome who had home video of the storm. The film that was developed with her footage is stunning.

Encounters at the End of the World--Werner Herzog. Documentary. Antarctica. See it.

Bigger, Stronger, Faster--You may not think you're interested in a documentary about steroid use, but you actually are. Fascinating and highly entertaining. Another one you really need to see.

Young @ Heart--This is another documentary that you may not think you're interested in, but once again, you are. It's the story of a senior citizen chorus that sings music that might be considered "nontraditional" for their demographic. As in songs by the Clash and the Ramones. TVOR also regards it as a how-to on aging.

Ghost Town--TVOR will be amazed if you saw this in theaters, as she believes only about twelve people did. Maybe a romantic comedy starring Ricky Gervais and Tea Leone was a hard sale. And the trailer was lousy. Amazingly, the film works pretty well. Apparently dead people can be very irritating if they keep hanging around.

So go out or stay home--it's your choice. But do go to the movies.

Super-heroes and arch-villains

7/20/08

Iron Man
Directed by Jon Favreau

Yes, TVOR knows that the Bat movie opened this weekend. She's planning to see it, but is going to wait until the hubbub dies down a little. There are options, however. Viewers can visit theaters for almost private showings of Iron Man, which has been out since early May. And that's not a bad way to spend a couple of hours. The movie has several good things going for it--a story that makes sense (in the super-hero movie way of making sense), a well-written script, and good actors who are encouraged to act--playing characters, interacting with each other, that kind of thing. The special effects are fine, too, but that's sort of expected these days. It's nice that in Iron Man, they don't get carried away with them. Those good actors include Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, and Terrence Howard. This is a super-hero movie that works even for people who usually don't like super-hero movies. Like TVOR. Yes, it's safe to go. And there are no lines.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog
Directed and co-written by Joss Whedon

This is not actually a movie. It's an internet thing. Although it's not actually a blog. And it isn't a sing-along, either, though there is a lot of singing. You'll probably just enjoy it more if you're not singing yourself. Joss Whedon, the creator of TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and others that inspire a devoted following, created Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog as a piece of internet entertainment. It's a tale in three acts, in musical form, coming in at a total of a little over 40 minutes. It tells the story of an aspiring arch-villain named Dr. Horrible, and his efforts to get into an elite club of baddies called the Evil League of Evil. Dr. Horrible also has to deal with a really irritating nemesis, Captain Hammer, and a bad case of unrequited love. It's free through July 20th, and available on iTunes after that. It's worth checking out, even if you have to pay a little.


Video notes:

If you're not in the mood for heroes and villains, there are a few recent video releases to take a look at.

The Bank Job--this entertaining caper is based on a true story about a heist gone wrong. Roger Donaldson directed, and it stars Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows. It's best not to know too much going in. Just enjoy.

My Brother is an Only Child--the story of two brothers growing up in a small town in Italy in 1960's and 70's, it also takes the viewer through some of the social changes in Italy during the time.

The Counterfeiters--this Austrian movie won the Oscar for best foreign language film last spring. It's based on a true incident that occurred during World War II, when the Germans tried to destabilize the economies of the U.S. and England by using prisoners to create perfect counterfeit currency. TVOR wrote about it in her entry of 4/2/08.

Back to the movies

7/8/08

The 2008 edition of the Seattle International Film Festival ended in mid-June, and although TVOR had a wonderful time and saw many, many films (with very few losers among them), she felt it was time for a hiatus from the movies. But it's time to hit the theaters again. Summer movies don't tend to be her thing, but fortunately there are interesting things out there for people who don't necessarily want to see the latest summer action film.

WALL-E
This is hardly an independent film, as it comes from Disney. However, WALL-E is from Pixar, which was acquired by Disney a couple of years ago. Pixar seems to have been left alone to make art (and Pixar movies are art) the way the people there want to. WALL-E is a great example of what they do, which is to make G-rated animated movies that even the most cynical adult can enjoy. The animation is beautiful, the characters are interesting, and the stories are wonderfully told.

WALL-E tells the story of a world abandoned by all humans and tended only by a little robot who is basically a trash compacter on wheels. WALL-E methodically compacts and stacks the enormous mounds of garbage left behind, and this little guy has job security--the piles of junk are endless. During the opening sequences we see WALL-E at work and get to know him as he goes about his day. It becomes apparent as we watch that there is a consciousness at work that is more than robotic. (He collects artifacts that interest him, and has a fondness for a VHS copy of Hello Dolly!, which he plays constantly.) His world is changed (for the better) when a probe is sent to evaluate earth's habitability, and the rest of the film follows him on his adventures with the visitor (named Eve) and his encounters with humans and other robots.

None of what TVOR has written gives you an idea of how lovely this film is. Let her just say that it in addition to beautiful animation and a well-told story, this movie has more humanity in it, and more food for thought, than 95% of what passes for adult entertainment today. Go see it, and see it on as big a screen as possible.

Up the Yangtze
This documentary, made by Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang, looks at the effects of China's huge Three Gorges Dam project on some of the people in the area. Two million people will be displaced by the dam by the time it's completed, and entire cities are being demolished. Much of the film takes place on a cruise up the Yangtze River for tourists (mostly Americans and Europeans) to see what is about to be flooded--farms, cities, and history--before these things disappear forever. The film focuses on the stories of two of the young people employed on the boat. We also spend time with the peasant farm family one of these employees left--the family she had to leave in order to earn money to support them as the waters rose.

Up the Yangtze also tells the larger story of change in China--the pursuit of modernity and the sacrifices made by individuals (not that they have any choice) for the good of the many.

This is definitely a movie to check out, for the individual stories and the larger story as well. Plus, you'll never get to see this scenery in person. It's already too late.

Video notes:

Andrew Stanton, the writer-director of WALL-E, also made the Pixar film Finding Nemo in 2003. It's another good one.

And for another view of how huge industrial projects are changing the landscape in China, take a look at Jennifer Baichwal's 2006 documentary Manufactured Landscapes. The film follows Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky around as he takes gorgeous, troubling photographs of the ecological havoc that is being wrought as China leaps into the modern world. It's light on words, but the pictures are eloquent.

SIFF draws to a close

6/13/08

There are three days to go at SIFF, and TVOR is happy and bleary-eyed after spending many hours staring at movie screens. Here are a few films she has seen and liked, all of which are showing in the next three days. Readers in the Seattle area can still check some of these out, and maybe even have a chance to talk to the directors.

American Son--a young marine returns home for a four day leave.
Cherry Blossoms - Hanami--love, loss, family, and Butoh dancing.
Trouble the Water--an amazing Katrina documentary, one of the best films in the festival.
Frozen River--an American independent film with two very strong central performances.
Leroy--a very entertaining German coming-of-age film about an African-German boy whose girlfriend comes from a family of neo-Nazis. Amazingly, it's sweet and funny, too.
Days and Clouds--upper middle-class Italian man loses his job, driving his wife just about nuts.
Head-On--an excellent earlier film by The Edge of Heaven director Fatih Akin.

For readers not in Seattle--go check out The Edge of Heaven. TVOR has already gone on at great lengths about the this film, so she won't do so again. Or take a look at Bigger, Stronger, Faster, the entertaining documentary about steroids, or Mongol, the Russian-made Genghis Khan biopic (he's apparently a great guy), or When Did You Last See Your Father?, a father-son drama with Colin Firth and Jim Broadbent. They're all well worth a trip to a theater. If you can't find these newer releases, you may still be able to find The Visitor, Young At Heart, or Smart People, films TVOR has already recommended.

Video Notes:

And now, for the video-dependent among you: get your hands on The Golden Door, Lady Chatterley (both blogged about on 7/31/07), The Bubble (2/29/08), or Moliere (8/1/07), film festival picks from the past now available on video.

SIFF, steroids, and blood

6/5/08

TVOR has spent a lot of time at the movies lately, but not much time blogging about them. She does have her priorities. It's past the midway point of the 25-day Seattle International Film Festival, and she's been pretty pleased overall with what she's seen. Here are a few movies that stand out from the rest:

Song Sung Blue--a Neil Diamond impersonator meets, falls in love with, and does an act with a Patsy Cline impersonator. This is a documentary, and proof that truth is stranger than fiction.

Bad Habits--a nicely done Mexican film about a family with an assortment of "food issues".

Captain Ahab--a Moby Dick prequel--and it's a French film. Strange but interesting.

TBS (Nothing to Lose)--a Dutch prison escape film, very nicely done, and rather nerve-wracking.

Captain Abu Raed--this Jordanian film (the first made in the country in 50 years) is a nice little slice of life, taking place in contemporary Amman.

Days and Clouds--a very good Italian film about a middle-aged couple living the good life until an unanticipated job loss brings things to a grinding halt. By the director of Bread and Tulips.

Cherry Blossoms - Hanami--German director Doris Doerrie's new film about love, loss, family, and Butoh dancing.

And for those who have been living in the real world and not at a film festival, the documentary film Bigger, Stronger, Faster has hit the big screen in a few cities, with more to follow. You may not think you're interested in a film about steroid use in the U.S., but TVOR thinks you could very well be wrong about that. It's informative and entertaining, and worth the price of admission.

Video notes:

If you're determined to stay home and watch DVDs, There Will Be Blood is now out on video. It's beautiful to look at, wonderfully acted and directed, and yes, there is blood. Take a look at TVOR's entry on 1/20/08 for more information.