THE RAID: REDEMPTION- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “When an elite SWAT team goes after a drug lord holed up in Jakarta’s most notorious tenement building, they find themselves trapped and forced to fight their way out through brutal gangsters loyal to the kingpin they were trying to assassinate.” Very good reviews but this movie sounds violent as hell and I think I’ll skip it. TRDB.
Add comment April 3rd, 2012
BEATS RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “Filmmaker Michael Rapaport goes behind the scenes with this documentary to chronicle the tumultuous group dynamics that have driven influential, genre-bending hip-hop sensations A Tribe Called Quest to the heights of success. Filmed during a 2008 reunion tour, this movie includes candid input from band members, including Q-Tip, along with testimonies by other artists such as Kanye West to Tribe‘s enduring musical legacy.” Very good reviews. TRDB.
11/3/11- Mostly good reviews but I have NO interest in the band and even LESS interest in the music. I found it very difficult to get into the movie and turned it off fairly early. TRDB. Netflix.
Add comment July 19th, 2011
THE BIG UNEASY- 2010. Synopsis by RottenTomatoes. “Almost five years ago, a disaster struck New Orleans. The media said it was a natural disaster primarily affecting poor black people. On both counts, the media was wrong. In his feature-length documentary The Big Uneasy, humorist and New Orleans resident Harry Shearer gets the inside story of a disaster that could have been prevented from the people who were there.” Fairly good reviews for this documentary. TRDB.
Add comment May 31st, 2011
THE ART OF GETTING BY- 2011. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “THE ART OF GETTING BY stars Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who’s made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, who is befriended by Sally (Emma Roberts – Scream 4), a beautiful and complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred spirit.” Good early reviews. TRDB.
6/24/11- OK review in NY Times last Friday, June 17. TRDB.
Add comment May 13th, 2011
THE CHAPERONE- 2011. Premise by Netflix. “After serving time in the slammer for driving the getaway car in an attempted bank robbery, Ray Bradstone (professional wrestling star Paul Levesque — better known as Triple H) is a reformed family man who wants to chaperone his daughter’s class trip. But some bad guys (Kevin Corrigan and Kevin Rankin) from his past have other plans. Can Ray outwit these nitwits while keeping himself and his daughter (Ariel Winter) safe from harm?” This one has actually received a few good reviews.
Add comment February 10th, 2011
MAX MANUS- Directed by Espen Sandberg and Joachim Roenning. Premise by Netflix. “Dismayed by Norway’s swift capitulation to Nazi Germany during World War II, Max Manus (Aksel Hennie) — who would become one of Norway’s greatest war heroes — immediately joined the Resistance. This biographical drama tells his story. From his audacious escapes from German captivity (one from a military hospital) to his bold acts of sabotage (which included blowing up warships), the film chronicles all Manus’s derring-do.”
8/10- A very good docudrama about a resistance fighter most people know nothing about. TRDB.
Add comment August 15th, 2010
LEAP YEAR- 2009. Premise by Zap2it. “When yet another anniversary passes by without a marriage proposal from her boyfriend, Anna decides to take action. Aware of an Irish tradition that allows women to pop the question on February 29th, Anna plans to follow her lover to Dublin and ask him to marry her. Fate has other plans, however, and Anna winds up on the other side of the Emerald Isle with a handsome, but surly, Irishman named Declan — who may just lead Anna down the road to true love.”
Not to be confused with the Spanish movie of the same name from 2010. TRDB.
Add comment January 2nd, 2010