SEXY BABY- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “This provocative documentary examines what it’s like to be female in today’s sex-obsessed culture, from a pre-teen battling with her parents over social media to a young woman undergoing plastic surgery and an ex-porn star teaching exotic dancing.”
10/19/12- Mixed critical reviews but audiences have liked this one very much. TRDB.
Add comment October 23rd, 2012
LA VIE AU RANCH- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “A group of young women are determined to enjoy their freedom while it lasts in this loosely plotted comedy drama from director Sophie Letourneur. Lola (Eulalie Juster), Pam (Sarah-Jane Sauvegrain), and Manon (Mahault Mollaret) are three college students who share a flat they call “the Ranch” with several of their friends. Most of what happens at the Ranch takes place on the couch, and while academics are a part of the picture, so is drinking, hanging out, partying, and endless conversations about the past, present, and future, covering everything from philosophy to bladder infections. Lola, Pam, Manon and their friends are young enough to enjoy the glories of youthful irresponsibility and get away with it, but the farther they go into their college careers, the more they realize that the demands of the real world are creeping up on them. La Vie au Ranch (aka Chicks) was an official selection at the 2010 Rotterdam International Film Festival.”
10/19/12- A good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Add comment October 23rd, 2012
UNMASKED JUDEOPHOBIA- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Exploring anti-Semitism in Europe, North America and Israel, filmmaker Gloria Greenfield makes the case that anti-Jewish ideology is on the rise. Interviews feature U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman and attorney Alan Dershowitz, among others.”
10/19/12- A fair review in today’s NY Times. Audiences have liked this film very much. TRDB.
Add comment October 23rd, 2012
QUESTION ONE- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “On May 6th, 2009 Maine became the first state in this country to legislatively grant same-sex couples the right to marry. Seven months later, on November 3rd 2009 Maine reversed, becoming the thirty-first state in this country to say “no” to gay and lesbian marriage. Filmed from within both campaigns, “Question One” chronicles the fierce and emotional battle that took place in Maine during that time, a battle whose political symbolism is a bellwether for the greater ideological battlefield in American politics.”
10/19/12- A good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Add comment October 23rd, 2012
THE FIRST TIME- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “This romantic comedy charts the course of young love when a chance encounter between high schoolers Dave and Aubrey sends them over the moon for each other. Over the course of a weekend, the two discover the intensity of genuine emotional intimacy.”
10/19/12- A very good review in today’s NY Times but just fair reviews elsewhere. TRDB.
Add comment October 23rd, 2012
WE ARE LEGION: THE STORY OF THE HACKTAVISTS- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists is a documentary that takes us inside the world of Anonymous, the radical “hacktivist” collective that has redefined civil disobedience for the digital age. The film explores the historical roots of early hacktivist groups like Cult of the Dead Cow and Electronic Disturbance Theater and then follows Anonymous from 4chan to a full-blown movement with a global reach, one of the most transformative of our time.”
10/19/12- Very good review in today’s NY Times and elsewhere as well. TRDB.
Add comment October 23rd, 2012
BAD 25- 2012- “Spike Lee toasts the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s monumental “Bad” album with exclusive footage and an assortment of celebrity interviews, from those who worked closely with the King of Pop to those whose careers proudly bear his influence.”
10/19/12-Good early reviews in general and in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Add comment October 23rd, 2012
IN MY MOTHER’S ARMS- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “A desperate phone call requesting donations for a makeshift Iraqi orphanage first brought filmmaking brothers Atia and Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji to a two-bedroom house in the notoriously dangerous Baghdad neighborhood of in Al-Sadr. Husham, an unlikely hero working tirelessly without state support to shelter and protect more than thirty children, had been given two weeks to vacate the premises and had neither money nor resources at his disposal. The children in his care are in dire straits: Saif can’t remember anything about his dead mother but her name; Mohammed struggles to balance school life with his search for self-identity; and Salah, who is too traumatized to speak, fears he may never be able to go to school. In My Mother’s Arms is a powerful reminder that the battlefield is only one of many places one can find the victims of war.”
Great reviews! TRDB.
Add comment October 8th, 2012
MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Based on the acclaimed novel by Salman Rushdie, this epic drama tells the story of two infants switched at birth in 1947, the year of India’s independence from Great Britain. One boy is wealthy, the other poor, and their lives become intertwined.”
4/26/13- A “just OK” review in today’s NY Times. Others have liked it less. TRDB.
Add comment October 6th, 2012
THE OTHER SON- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “”The Other Son” is the moving and provocative tale of two young men — one Israeli, the other Palestinian — who discover they were accidentally switched at birth, and the complex repercussions facing them and their respective families. Joseph (Jules Sitruk), an 18-year-old musician preparing to join the Israeli army for his mandatory military service, lives at home in a comfortable suburb of Tel Aviv with his parents, France-born physician Orith (Emmanuelle Devos) and Israel-born army commander Alon Silbers (Pascal Elbé). A blood test for Joseph’s military service reveals that he is not their biological son. During the Gulf War Joseph was evacuated from a clinic along with another baby, and the pair were given back to the wrong families. While Palestinian Joseph went to Tel Aviv with the Silbers, their actual Jewish son, Yacine (Medhi Dehbi), was brought to the West Bank by an Arab couple, Said (Khalifa Natour) and Leila (Areen Omari). The revelation turns the lives of the two families upside-down, forcing them to reassess their respective identities, values, and beliefs.”
10/26/12– A good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
10/28/12- I liked this movie very much. Great acting and a different slant on a premise that has been done before. The film was very well done especially and dealing with the sensitivities regarding this region of the world. Highly recommended. TRDB. At the Theater.
Add comment October 6th, 2012