Posts filed under 'Coming or Opening in the Next Week'
WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “Trader Jake (Shia LaBeouf) tries to mend the broken relationship between his fiancée, Winnie (Carey Mulligan), and her father, Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), while avenging the fate of his mentor, Lou (Frank Langella), by getting close to Wall Street’s new megalomaniac, Bretton James (Josh Brolin). Centered on the 2008 financial crisis, director Oliver Stone’s follow-up is a modern-day ode to unfettered capitalism and, of course, greed.” Fair reviews at best.
1/11- I watched for 18min.- way too long. Garbage! TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: drama
January 18th, 2011
I AM- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “Hollywood comedy director Tom Shadyac (Ace Ventura: Pet Detective) gets contemplative in this documentary, which finds him conversing with prominent philosophers and spiritual leaders about what ails our world and how we can improve it. Traveling the globe to conduct his in-depth interviews, Shadyac finds insights and inspiration from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, historian Howard Zinn, philosopher Noam Chomsky and other luminaries.” Winner at 2011 Palm Springs Film Festival. OK review in NY Times on 3/18/11.
Tags: documentary
January 17th, 2011
SOUND OF NOISE- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “This intriguing comedy follows six renegade musicians trying to fill their Swedish hometown with sound, even if they have to wreak a little havoc to hit the right notes. But hot on their trail is tone-deaf, music-hating policeman Amadeus Warnebring (Bengt Nilsson). While the six percussionists appropriate public areas and items to make their music, Warnebring wrangles with his demanding family and a boss intent on arresting every local musician.”
3/9/12- Good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Tags: Comedy, drama
January 17th, 2011
THE WHISTLEBLOWER- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “Sent to Bosnia to train cops in the aftermath of that country’s brutal civil war, American policewoman Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz) uncovers evidence that U.N. peacekeepers are complicit in a flourishing sex-trafficking trade. But when she brings her allegations to light, she discovers that her foes are more powerful than the law. Based on a true story, this thriller from director Larysa Kondracki co-stars Monica Bellucci and David Strathairn.” Winner at 2011 Palm Springs Film Festival.
7/21/11. I saw the coming attractions recently and I plan to see it. TRDB.
9/1/11- I just could not get into the characters and felt that the film was overly dramatic at times. I was also surprised at how naive the lead character was. The NY Times called the screenplay choppy and fumbling and trying to deal with too many characters. This is an important topic and should have been a documentary. TRDB. At the theater.
Tags: drama
January 17th, 2011
EVEN THE RAIN- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “In this provocative film-within-a-film, director Sebastián (Gael García Bernal) heads to Cochabamba, Bolivia, to shoot a film about Christopher Columbus’s trespasses in the New World, only to find the locals protesting present-day exploitation of the poor. Sebastián is sympathetic to the cause, but realities collide when lead actor Daniel (Carlos Aduviri), cast as a rebel against the Spanish, becomes a key figure in the current demonstrations.” Winner at 2011 Palm Springs Film Festival.
3/11- An excellent depiction of the moral conflicts involved in this type of situation. Well acted and I loved the movie. TRDB. Theater.
Tags: drama, Foreign
January 17th, 2011
THE HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER- Synopsis by Netflix. “This beautifully shot film combines comedy and tragedy in the tale of a workaholic human resources manager (Mark Ivanir) who neglects his family to further his career. But when an employee at his bakery is killed, he begins an odd journey toward self-realization. Offering to escort the woman’s body from Israel back to her Eastern European homeland, the manager is puzzled by eccentric characters along the way but begins to understand the importance of family.”
1/11- A bit far fetched but still an interesting road trip that I enjoyed. At the Palm Springs Int. Film Festival. TRDB.
Tags: drama, Foreign
January 9th, 2011
OF GODS AND MEN- 2010. Synopsis by Netflix. “Awarded Grand Prix honors at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, this compelling historical drama relates the ordeal of seven French Trappist monks in the mountains of Algeria who are taken captive by Islamic fundamentalists. Before the monks’ abduction, they have ample reason to believe they may be in danger, but their assumption that there can and must be common ground between Islam and Christianity leads them to remain at the monastery.” Great reviews. Opens in NY on 2/25/11.
3/11- Very well done and well acted but a bit too long and definitely not for a general audience. TRDB. At the theater.
Tags: docudrama
January 4th, 2011
ALL GOOD THINGS- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “When David Marks (Ryan Gosling), the heir to a New York real estate fortune, gets entangled in the mystery of Katie McCarthy’s (Kirsten Dunst) disappearance, he risks everything in this drama set in the 1980s and inspired by the true story of real estate scion Robert Durst. While unexpected evidence turns up and increases political heat, people with ties to the case begin to die. Andrew Jarecki (“Felicity”) directs.” Generally poor reviews.
Tags: drama
December 7th, 2010
RANCHERO- 2010. Premise by Zap2it. “A former ranch hand confronts the realities of drug addiction and runs afoul of a local gangster after he moves to Los Angeles.”
Netflix had this to say–“Harboring dreams of becoming a professional photographer, Mexican American cattle rancher Jesse Torres (Roger Gutierrez) packs up and moves to Los Angeles, where he reconnects with childhood pal Tom (Brian Eric Johnson), now a drug-addled loser. As Jesse loses steam in his shutterbug career, he finds fresh purpose in helping a neighbor (Christina Woods) escape the clutches of a vicious thug (Danny Trejo).” No reviews yet. TRDB.
Tags: drama
December 4th, 2010
SOMEWHERE- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “Set amid the hallowed grounds of Hollywood’s legendary Chateau Marmont, this atmospheric dramedy centers on a hard-living actor (Stephen Dorff) whose life is thrown for a loop when his 11-year-old daughter (Elle Fanning) pays him a surprise visit. Written and directed by Academy Award-nominee Sofia Coppola (Lost In Translation, Marie Antoinette), this character-driven film also features Benicio Del Toro and Chris Pontius of MTV’s “Jackass.” Some very good reviews along with some really bad ones too. Very good review in NY Times on 12/22/10.
5/30/11- The film had some extended camera shots of essentially very little happening but it was a good portrayal of the loneliness that being famous can not cure. I’d recommend it. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: drama
December 4th, 2010
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