DEATH BY CHINA- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “This frank documentary chronicles the growing power and global ambitions of China, and concludes that its strength threatens America’s own future. The film views the loss of American jobs to China as one more facet of a one-sided economic rivalry.”
8/24/12- Poor review in today’s NY Times and elsewhere as well. Audiences haven’t liked it either. TRDB.
Add comment August 24th, 2012
SEARCHING FOR SONNY- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “When a curious postcard calls him home, Elliot Knight combines his 10-year high school reunion with a search for his missing friend Sonny. But as he and his classmates dig deeper, they uncover eerie similarities to a play they’ve already performed.”
Audience reviews are great but I can’t find any professional ones. TRDB.
Add comment August 19th, 2012
DA PINCHE CODE- 2012. Synopsis by IMDB. “There’s a code in the murals, and who ever finds it will rule the barrio, and to be a Hispanic-independent producer is a tragic comedy. A mafioso down on his luck, a director with a passion, and a young man trying to find his true identity all collide in this hilarious comedy”
No reviews as yet. TRDB.
Add comment August 19th, 2012
THE AWAKENING- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “In post-World War I England, a boarding school haunted by a boy’s ghost calls on Florence Cathcart, who disproves hoaxes for a living. But Cathcart senses something truly strange about the school, leading her to question her belief in the rational.”
8/17/12- Weak reviews all around and in today’s NY Times as well. TRDB.
Add comment August 17th, 2012
BROTHER, CAN YOU SPARE A DOLLAR?- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Drawing a comparison between the Great Depression and today’s economic woes, this documentary explores how our lessening commitment to personal responsibility and community has affected our economic survival strategies.”
8/17/12- Weak review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Add comment August 17th, 2012
THE AMBASSADOR- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “Filmmaker Mads Brügger poses as a diplomat in central Africa and secretly films his wheeling and dealing in a corrupt society. With forged diplomatic papers, he claims to be opening a match factory, but tries to gain access to the area’s diamonds.”
Mixed review from both audiences and professionals. TRDB.
Add comment August 15th, 2012
ALMAYER’S FOLLY- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “This affecting adaptation of a Joseph Conrad novel follows the efforts of a Western trader in 1950s Malaysia to ensure a lush life for his daughter. Instead, he finds that his plans may lead to her ruin by the young man hired to work for him.”
8/10/12- Excellent professional reviews in general as well as in today’s NY Times. Audiences have not like the movie. TRDB.
Add comment August 10th, 2012
THE LION OF JUDAH- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Recounting painful memories from his past, Holocaust survivor Leo Zisman leads a group of young people through Poland — and the remains of Auschwitz. Along the way, they learn that anti-Semitism still lingers in the region.”
8/10/12- A so-so review in today’s NY Times and from others as well. TRDB.
Add comment August 10th, 2012
MAX AND THE JUNKMEN- 1971. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Claude Sautet’s elegant and sophisticated crime drama stars the great Michel Piccoli as Max, a Paris detective hellbent on justice at any cost after watching one too many wily criminals slip through his fingers. Following a chance encounter with Abel (Bernard Fresson), an Army buddy now working as a scrap collector (most of whose “scrap” just happens to be stolen), Max decides to lure Abel and his gang into committing a bank robbery … so that he can then catch them red-handed. So Max poses as a wealthy banker and begins a series of illicit rendezvous with the high-class prostitute Lily (Romy Schneider), who happens to be Abel’s girlfriend, carefully dropping hints about a bank that’s just waiting to be knocked over. But there’s one thing the cold-hearted Max doesn’t factor into his diabolical scheme: the possibility of falling in love.
8/10/12- Good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Add comment August 10th, 2012
GOATS- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “When 15-year-old Ellis departs from his home in Tucson for an elite East Coast prep school, he must leave behind his New Age mother and his goat herder mentor, Goat Man, to forge a new life with his estranged father and new stepmother.”
8/10/12- Awful reviews in general and in today’s NY Times as well. TRDB.
Add comment August 10th, 2012