Posts filed under 'Foreign'
THE WOMAN IN THE FIFTH- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “An American writer moves to Paris to be closer to his daughter and finds himself falling immediately on hard times. Befriended by a French Arab who offers him a job, Tom finds himself employed as a security agent as he struggles to write his second novel and see his daughter. Meanwhile, his personal life takes a turn as he becomes involved with a beguiling woman.” Good early professional reviews and just OK audience reaction. TRDB.
6/15/12- Very good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
6/20/12- I liked the movie very much although I do have some questions. TRDB. Comcast On-Demand.
Tags: drama, Foreign
May 27th, 2012
PATANG- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “This colorful drama is set in the Indian city of Ahmedabad, where each year a million kites take to the sky in the annual festival of the Uttarayan. Against this backdrop, six characters’ divergent paths intersect.” Very good early reviews. TRDB.
6/15/12- Very good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Tags: drama, Foreign
May 27th, 2012
BEL AMI- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Bel Ami is the story of Georges Duroy, who travels through 1890s Paris, from cockroach ridden garrets to opulent salons, using his wits and powers of seduction to rise from poverty to wealth, from a prostitute’s embrace to passionate trysts with wealthy beauties, in a world where politics and media jostle for influence, where sex is power and celebrity an obsession.” Weak professional reviews but good audience reaction so far. TRDB.
Tags: drama, Foreign
May 23rd, 2012
THEY CALL IT MYANMAR: LIFTING THE CURTAIN- Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Shot clandestinely over a 2-year period by best-selling novelist and filmmaker, Robert H. Lieberman, this film provides a rare look at the second-most isolated country on the planet. It lifts the curtain to expose the everyday life in a country that has been held in the iron grip of a brutal military regime for 48 years. This unique feature length documentary, culled from over 120 hours of striking images, is an impressionistic journey. Interviews and interactions with more than 100 people throughout Burma, including an interview with the recently released Aung San Suu Kyi, are interwoven with spectacular footage of this little seen nation and its people.
Good audience reviews so far. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
May 20th, 2012
BONSAI- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this poignant drama, a forlorn bookstore employee haunted by his unrealized literary ambitions — as well as an intense but failed college romance — begins to write a novel based on the relationship. In the process, he reshapes his own life.”
5/11/12- Good reviews in general and in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
8/30/12- Most of the positive reviews were from critics as audience reaction was mixed. I thought it was just so-so, a bit slow and lacking the real passion I would expect with this kind of movie. TRDB. Netflix Streaming.
Tags: drama, Foreign
May 11th, 2012
SLEEPLESS NIGHT- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “Vincent is one of two French cops whose bold drug heist goes bad, leading the mobster whose cocaine they’ve snatched to kidnap his son. Given one night to return the drugs to their owner, Vincent desperately tries to save the boy’s life.”
5/11/12- Very good professional reviews and OK audience ones. TRDB.
Tags: drama, Foreign
May 11th, 2012
THIS IS NOT A FILM- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “When the Iranian government banned director Jafar Panahi from making a film for 20 years, he titled his next project This Is Not a Film. The resulting documentary covers a day in Panahi’s life as he reflects on his unhappy situation.” Excellent reviews. TRDB.
3/12/13- You have to admire the film maker who smuggled this film out of the country while he was facing charges against the state. However, I can’t say that I enjoyed this bland movie. TRDB.
Tags: documentary
May 11th, 2012
CORPO CELESTE- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “Having recently returned to her native Italy after living in Switzerland for 10 years, quiet but curious 13-year-old Marta is left to her own demise while her loving but worn-out mother toils away at an industrial bakery. Marta’s only source of socialization is the local church, where she is told to attend preparatory classes for her confirmation. But the doctrines of Roman Catholicism offer little in terms of life lessons or consolation, and she quickly sees through the hypocrisy of the priest, who cares more about status than about his constituents. Eventually, Marta forges her very own way of the cross, which turns out to have much less to do with God than with her own climb towards adulthood.”
Very good early professional reviews and just OK audience reaction. TRDB.
Tags: drama, Foreign
May 6th, 2012
ELENA- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Middle-aged Elena is a meek wife to her emotionally distant second husband, Vladimir. When he decides to leave his riches to his estranged daughter, Elena chooses to take drastic action to provide for her own adult son.”
Rotten Tomatoes had this to say– “Winner of Cannes’ Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize, Elena is a gripping, modern twist on the classic noir thriller. Sixty-ish spouses Vladimir and Elena uneasily share his palatial Moscow apartment-he’s a still-virile, wealthy businessman; she’s his dowdy former nurse who has clearly “married up.” Estranged from his own wild-child daughter, Vladimir openly despises his wife’s freeloading son and family. But when a sudden illness and an unexpected reunion threaten the dutiful housewife’s potential inheritance, she must hatch a desperate plan. Very good early reviews. TRDB.
7/16/13- Well acted, slow paced and I found it interesting. TRDB.
Tags: drama, Foreign
May 6th, 2012
THE INTOUCHABLES- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this compelling story based on true events, affluent quadriplegic Phillipe hires Driss — a young Parisian petty criminal — to be his caregiver, and the two form an unexpected bond that changes both their lives.” Fairly good reviews. TRDB.
5/6/12- An article in today’s NY Times talks about the movie and the lead actor. Apparently this has become a “hot” topic in France. TRDB.
5/25/12- Weak review in today’s NY Times, but good reviews in general. TRDB.
6/28/12- Despite a few good scenes I was very disappointed by this movie that proves Hollywood can slide effortlessly into Paris. TRDB. At the Theater.
Tags: drama, Foreign
May 6th, 2012
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