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2002
March 29, 2003 Video UK / USA / France / Germany English 101 minutes Growing Up Has Nothing To Do With Age -- ABOUT A BOY. An idle playboy, who exploits single mothers, learns about commitment when he is forced to befriend an unhappy 12-year-old boy. See the U2 Pop Culture Database 7.9 Critical Consensus 0 comments
2002
March 26, 2003 Camera 7 USA English 101 minutes On The Road To The Perfect Life, Sam & Alex Took A Little Detour -- LAUREL CANYON. Kate Beckinsale. Frances McDormand. Christian Bale. Ultimately empty story about a repressed, yet happy seeming couple, and how they change while staying with his mother in her bohemian hillside home in Los Angeles. McDormand has a kind of charisma where you can see her actually pulling off this charming character. She affects everyone she meets. The carefree life she's chosen as a record producer can't help but make a couple of doctors envious. She is magnetic. And Beckinsale is a goddess so at least we have something to look at. There is a sexy honest all-talking scene that takes place in a car that is very memorable. Fun while it lasted, but doesn't leave you with much to think about afterwards. 6.0 Critical Consensus 0 comments
(City Of God)
2002 March 26, 2003 Camera 7 Brazil / France / USA Portuguese 130 minutes Fantastic, though overly violent, fact-based story about a section of slums outside the beautiful beach towns of Brazil. Kids learn to kill at a shockingly early age. It was fast-paced and colorful and the narrator was a kid trying to stay on the straight and narrow. Very, very well done. 8.5 Critical Consensus 0 comments
2002
March 21, 2003 Towne Theater USA English 127 minutes For Anyone Who's Ever Fallen In Love With A Book -- STONE READER. Upon second viewing, the problems were a bit bigger, but it was nice to watch with a new crowd who was completely captivated. It spawned another vigorous post-film discussion about books, which can't be a bad thing. Previously written: This was one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Not because of its skill, but because it takes an unfilmable subject (the love of reading), and somehow expresses that love to us through the narration and actions of its bumbling director. Mark Moskowitz bought a book in 1972 because the NYTimes Book Review raved about it. He couldn't get through it but he picked it up 20 years later and found it to be a masterpiece. So he did what we all do--he went online to buy all of the author's other works. There were none. The original book is no longer in print. What makes someone so brilliant stop writing? He began to start a list of "one and done" authors including Harper Lee and Margaret Mitchell. He sets off to find out what happened to this author. He interviews writing teachers, agents, book jacket designers, the guy who wrote the original review. I'm purposely not telling you what the book was because that really isn't the point. When you see Mark talking with friends and others about books that have touched him, you smile in recognition. He goes to his grammar school library with a buddy and they take books off the shelf one at a time and smile in recollection. This film was fabulous and I can't recommend it highly enough. If you've ever thought you were the only person who had a book change their life, you must see this. Mark ends up sort of rapping with other people about the books they enjoyed rather than interviewing them. Absolutely fabulous. ~Best Documentary of 2002--Independent Spirit Award Nomination 0 comments
2003
March 19, 2003 Trio English Documentary about the period of American cinema between the release of Bonnie and Clyde and the release of Raging Bull in 1980. Based on the fantastic book of the same name. 0 comments
2002
March 18, 2003 Century Mountain View USA English 125 minutes Jack Nicholson. Hope Davis. Dermot Mulroney. Kathy Bates. In what may be Nicholson's quietest performance, he plays a newly retired actuary. He finds himself alone and in an RV driving around the country all the while writing letters to a child he sponsored in Africa. It is basically the story of a man whose life did not measure up to the dreams he had for it. His career, wife, and daughter all grew at their own pace, not his. Bates is terrific as the tactless mother of the man his daughter is about to marry. The same director as ELECTION, he is a master at capturing the slow pace of the midwest, often using local actors. It was funny in the darkest of ways. 8.8 Critical Consensus 0 comments
2002
March 18, 2003 Century Mountain View USA English 114 minutes Always -- The Hours. Cast: Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore, Meryl Streep, Miranda Richardson, John C. Reilly, Toni Collette, Ed Harris, Allison Janney, Claire Danes, and Jeff Daniels. Those guys could read the phone book and it would be at least above-average. Absolutely depressing from start to finish. Kidman plays Virginia Woolf, Moore plays a 1950s housewife reading Mrs. Dalloway, and Streep is a woman in the present-day who seems to be living Mrs. Dalloway's life. Each woman is in mental agony about their "lives of no consequence". The cast is chock-full of strong women and it was nice to see that none of them relied upon men for their happiness. But then again, there wasn't that much happiness to see. The music is perfect and the cuts between decades turned out to be easy to follow. It was very well acted. Kidman was frail, Moore was boiling beneath the surface, and Streep was at the end of her rope. Not a happy day at the movies, but well done. ~~Oscar Nominations: Costumes, Director Stephen Daldry, Editing, Score, Picture, Harris, Moore, Kidman, Adapted Screenplay David Hare. 7.9 Critical Consensus 0 comments
2003
March 17, 2003 ABC USA English 150 minutes Yes, this breaks my rule of inclusion onto this list. It was broadcast on ABC's Wonderful World of Disney and was broken up by commercials, which I fast forwarded through. However, the chances of a new theatrical version of one of the three best musicals of all time (WEST SIDE STORY, GUYS & DOLLS) being released is next to nil. The songs were great, Matthew Broderick was great, the Shipoopi was great, and even the dancing was great. I was in this twice and did backstage work on a third occassion. It was a lot of fun to sing along. More magical than I thought it would be. 0 comments
2003
March 16, 2003 P.O.V. English 83 minutes Documentary about Bayard Rustin who studied Pacifism under Ghandi, was the first to be arrested for not giving up his seat on a bus, organized the first March on Washington, helped Lyndon Johnson with his Civil Rights legislation, and is largely unknown. For a white guy from the suburbs, I know more than most about the Civil Rights Movement but I had no idea that this person existed. The reason for his obscurity is that he was openly gay. A stupid mistake in the back of a car with two men in Pasadena followed him around for the rest of his days. He was charming, brilliant, and good-looking. It's a shame that he isn't remembered in the same way that other pioneers of the struggle are. An engaging subject makes an engaging documentary. 0 comments
2002
March 16, 2003 Camera 7 UK / Germany English / Hindi / Punjabi 112 minutes Who Wants To Cook Aloo Gobi When You Can Bend A Ball Like Beckham -- BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM. The crowd-pleasing film of the year. When you hear a critic say "This Year's My Big Fat Greek Wedding" they couldn't be more right on. In no way does that mean it's great. It has nothing to offend anyone, has a good message, and everything works out exactly as you think it will at the end. I must say it was more entertaining to me than MBFGWedding. An Indian girl living in London wants to play soccer. Her hero is David Beckham, England's greatest soccer player. The title refers to his skill at kicking a free kick over the line of defenders and having it curve just enough to go under the cross-bar of the goal. Her traditional parents forbid her to wear shorts, never mind play sports in front of men. But she is good and she secretly joins the team. The typical funny stuff happens when she is seen hugging what appears to be a white boy at a bus stop, when people find out about her passion, when she falls for the hunky coach. We've seen all of it before, but the lead actress makes it all okay. Plus it has a message of girl power that the Spice Girls could only hint at. This is a winner and I saw it in an entirely fully theater. The kids loved it, the parents loved it. It was fun. 0 comments
2002
March 16, 2003 Camera Club USA English 127 minutes For Anyone Who's Ever Fallen In Love With A Book -- STONE READER. This was one of the best documentaries I've ever seen. Not because of its skill, but because it takes an unfilmable subject (the love of reading), and somehow expresses that love to us through the narration and actions of its bumbling director. Mark Moskowitz bought a book in 1972 because the NYTimes Book Review raved about it. He couldn't get through it but he picked it up 20 years later and found it to be a masterpiece. So he did what we all do--he went online to buy all of the author's other works. There were none. The original book is no longer in print. What makes someone so brilliant stop writing? He began to start a list of "one and done" authors including Harper Lee and Margaret Mitchell. He sets off to find out what happened to this author. He interviews writing teachers, agents, book jacket designers, the guy who wrote the original review. I'm purposely not telling you what the book was because that really isn't the point. When you see Mark talking with friends and others about books that have touched him, you smile in recognition. He goes to his grammar school library with a buddy and they take books off the shelf one at a time and smile in recollection. This film was fabulous and I can't recommend it highly enough. If you've ever thought you were the only person who had a book change their life, you must see this. Mark ends up sort of rapping with other people about the books they enjoyed rather than interviewing them. Absolutely fabulous. ~Best Documentary of 2002--Independent Spirit Award Nomination 0 comments
2003
March 15, 2003 PBS USA English 53 minutes Emmett Till was a 14-year-old from Chicago in Mississippi for the summer visiting family. Witnesses say that he whistled at the grocery store owner's wife while buying a soda pop. He was dragged from his home that night and never seen alive again. A compelling argument can be made that Till caused so much outrage among both black and white that it actually jump-started the Civil Rights movement. This can be traced back to one of those decisions that seems ridiculous at the time, but has proven to have perhaps changed history. Till's mother decided to leave Emmitt's coffin open while the ten thousand mourners filed past in Chicago. The sight of his beaten and shot and water-damaged body was more than most could take. People began forming groups, the photos were published in independent papers. There was a trial and the two men who witnesses say dragged him out of bed and who owned the truck that their servant was seen washing blood from were found innocent after less than 90 minutes. Members of the jury were heard to tell each other jokes. They also claim to have come to their decision after about five minutes but didn't think it would look good so they waited nearly 90. The two men were released, the white townspeople rejoiced, the overweight sheriff told blacks "that's what you niggers get for telling the NAACP". The two men later sold their story to a magazine where they admitted everything they had been accused of. Chilling. 0 comments
2002
March 14, 2003 DVD USA English 104 minutes If You Want To Feel The Rush You Have To Take The Risk -- BLUE CRUSH. Three hotties (one blonde, one half-asian, one Puerto Rican) surf and clean rooms on Oahu. Great surfing footage may not make up for lines such as "you flew here, we grew here" as the locals beat up a tourist. None of the women are victims and it tries to express an island way of life, but getting past the dialogue is hard. Great underwater photography of people getting worked by big waves. 6.0 Critical Consensus 0 comments
2001
March 11, 2003 Sundance USA English 97 minutes On The Long Island Expressway, There Are Lanes Going East, Lanes Going West, And Lanes Going Straight To Hell -- L.I.E. ~Best Actor of 2001 for Brian Cox--Boston Society of Film Critics, Independent Spirit Award Nomination ~Best New Filmmaker of 2001 for Michael Cuesta--Boston Society of Film Critics ~Best Debut Performance of 2001 for Paul Franklin Dano--Independent Spirit Award Winner ~Best Director of 2001 for Michael Cuesta--Independent Spirit Award Nomination ~Best Film of 2001--Independent Spirit Award Nomination, Sundance Grand Jury Nomination ~Best First Screenplay of 2001--Independent Spirit Award Nomination ~Best Supporting Actor of 2001 for Billy Kay--Independent Spirit Award Nomination 7.9 Critical Consensus 0 comments
2002
March 2, 2003 San Jose Cinequest Canada English 91 minutes Notes:...an entirely adlibbed comedy about a woman about to give birth and the circle of friends and family she's gathered...a very pregnant actress shows us how brave she is during the credits as she does some sort of nude fertility dance looking big enough to pop at any time...story is run of the mill, anal sister, ditzy friend, which man is the father?...Colin Mockre was good...not the greatest, but not terrible... 0 comments
2002
March 2, 2003 San Jose Cinequest USA English 95 minutes Little Kids. Big Words. American Dreams -- SPELLBOUND. ~~Academy Award Nomination for Best Documentary of 2002 ~~Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Best Documentary of 2002 Notes:...incredibly intense documentary on the National Spelling Bee...we follow seven different kids in the 8th grade...unbelievable how invested we end up in wanting the kids to win...each letter uttered from their mouths is like pulling teeth...there is an annoying bell that rings for an incorrect letter...tough...some kids are sort of pressured, but most seem to really like doing it...one guy has people in India praying for his son't success...apparently 5000 villagers will be fed if he wins... One funny scene is when a local store manager is interviewed saying that he supports the girl who is going to the Nationals. We pan back and see a sign at a local Hooters saying "Congradulations on the Spelling Bee!" It was sort of one of those documentaries where you laugh at people, rather than with people. Sort of the Michael Moore school of documentary filmmaking. I can't possible convey how much like sports it was to watch these kids asking for clarifications on words that you and I have never heard of. Really terrific. 0 comments
2002
March 2, 2003 San Jose Cinequest USA English 93 minutes Notes:...Bronson Pinchot...lounge act changes to mindreading after drummer listens to psychic cassette...meandered from place to place...at first a buddy on the road comedy...then a meaning of love drama, then devil v. angel...duet between missing love and Pinchot was terrible...he was too frenetic most of the time...it couldn't get the pace down or what it wanted to do...we could tell that the guy was being channeled simply by the fact that his Puerto Rican accent went away and he began speaking in perfect English diction...really bad... 0 comments
(Sleeping Beauties)
2001 March 2, 2003 San Jose Cinequest Spain English Notes:...naked women sleeping...old man couldn't sleep...writer's block guy goes to old house where women are drugged so they sleep and then old men get into bed with them and dream...trying to say something about old men feeling young...each girl is hotter than the next...sort of an Eyes Wide Shut vibe...guy does a lot of talking to himself thinking that the girl might actually be awake...scary madam-type woman runs the house...some girls have more "experience" and are more popular with the clients...a lot of backstory is explored while the lead talks to sleeping women...there is an older friend, another professor, who longs for the feeling he gets when sleeping next to these young girls...the hottest, most experienced girl tracks down the lead and offers to sleep with him for money...the older guy says something like "if they opened their mouths, they could disappoint us"...the men seemed to get older the more often they slept at the house...there were often male fantasy portions, like when the intelligent, well-spoken, Asian-English girl offers the man her virginity...while sleeping with the girls, the guy dreams of his wife and his life when he was younger... Strangely compelling and not as sleazy as it sounds above. The notion that the pure energy of a young girl could manifest itself in a man's dreams simply while lying next to her is sort of cool to think about. There was truthfully no reason for these young girls to all appear to be from a modeling agency. I will remember this one. 0 comments
2003
March 2, 2003 San Jose Cinequest Brazil Portuguese Notes:...extremely dry documentary about a women's collective in Brazil that helps battered women, adolescents, and kids...not much to the film, just talking heads and several group sessions...pretty boring, actually...some of the children are incredibly cute... 0 comments
2003
March 2, 2003 San Jose Cinequest USA English Notes:...short about a single mother with two kids...her boyfriend comes over for dinner...they are both sexy...he is being shipped out to some kind of armed force deployment...he leaves his ATM card and she isn't happy and wants him in the flesh...they are sexed up and they must take refuge in the bathroom while the kids nap...toys are in the way and they keep getting interrupted...not much more than the romantic life of a single mom...attractive leads... 0 comments
2003
March 2, 2003 San Jose Cinequest USA English Notes:...documentary about the California Youth Authority and kids that are encouraged to make their own films...rapists and thiefs taok in monotone about raping people and preying on children...their coldness was a bit hard to take...one guy, Rusal, matter-of-factly talks about seeing a television light under a door in the house where he was "semi-raping" a mother...he goes in and ends up raping the daughter as well...another kid raped his group home staff leader...they produced and wrote and directed two films...as you'd expect, the acting and writings isn't very good...noting surprising happens...art can help kids is your thesis... 0 comments
(Hold My Heart)
2002 February 28, 2003 San Jose Cinequest Norway Norwegian 92 minutes If Someone Stole Your Daughter, Would You Steal Her Back? -- Hold My Heart. Notes:...well-dressed executive type is told by his ex-wife that his seven-year-old daughter is too sick to attend his mother's funeral...he buys a card to tell her about it and tries to deliver it to her school...she gets scared and begins screaming and he ends up covering her mouth and carrying her to his car...he begins driving before he thinks about what he is doing...his plan is to have a holiday with her...his ex-wife accuses him of incest and battery...the cops begin chase...he is befriended by a truck driver with three daughters of his own who understands the bond between father and daughter...we are supposed to wonder if the guy's intentions are good or if he is the monster we'ver heard about...after about 1/2 hour of seeing them together, its obvious that he is a doting father and nothing more...so the stress level is not great...we don't think any harm will come to her...there is a scene where the daughter is showering and we see her naked backside from a distance...it was a bit out of place...it didn't exactly sexualize the girl, but it makes us uncomfortable--will the guy finally crack and become his pedophilic self?...she asks him to wash her hair and she gets in the shower with him...He gets out crying, but is it because he doesn't want to be misunderstood?...the ex-wife is a bit of a bitch and there is a dining room table speech by the surviving grandma that is too informational to be truthful...there is really never a doubt how this is going to play out... Having said all that, it ended up being one of my favorites of the festival. It may have been a bit male-centric, as the wife had few redeeming qualities and the man was compassionate and misunderstood. It was beautifully shot and funny and the girl was an absolute doll. 0 comments
2002
February 28, 2003 San Jose Cinequest USA English 101 minutes Anarchy Is Coming--The Anarchist Cookbook Notes:...used every modern camera trick in the book (video, stop motion, talking to camera, etc.) to tell story of a group of young anarchists who live outside of Dallas...they squat in an old house, believe in sharing everything and everybody...it's a comedy but with some serious elements...Devon Gummersal of Brian Krakow fame is the lead and he tells us in voiceover how great it is being an anarchist...there is equality and freedom, but eventually jealousy will rear its head...the leader is an ex-hippie who is "way beyond married" to his much younger girlfriend, his best friend is a dreadlocked-white-guy who can barely add...there is a sexy man-hater and a DJ who encourages customers in his record shop to shoplift because "music belongs to the people"...the first half of the film is sort of "look how much fun having no rules can be"...everything changes with the arrival of J. Black who wants to kick up their actions a notch...He wants actions, not ideology...the performances were all good and it was funny...one scene of a bloody foot was one bloody scene too many... 0 comments
(Every Day God Kisses Us On The Mouth)
2002 February 28, 2003 San Jose Cinequest Romania Romanian 93 minutes Notes:...framing so bad that first ten minutes had no subtitles...then framed so that for the rest of the film, the top third of the screen was gone...black and white and sad...two people burned alive...a guy stabbed in an outhouse...a cop cut up and buried...I think the story was about an ex-con who returns to his village to find his wife pregnant...at first she won't say by whom...He is semi-okay with it because he is infertile and he really wants a child...when his horny brother and his family visit, the question is answered...the ex-con has no trouble boffing a gypsy in a train bathroom after winning her in a card game, or sleeping with the daughter of his butcher friend, or the mute girl the village doesn't want...his only loving companion is a goose he carries around from village to village...not the most uplifting film of all time..." 0 comments |
