Posts filed under 'Seen at the Theater'
HIGHER GROUND- 2011. Premise by Netflix. “Vera Farmiga stars in and directs this sensitive and searching chronicle describing a woman’s lifetime journey of faith — one that initially leads her to join a fundamentalist sect and then leave it again years later. Adapted from the spiritual memoir This Dark World by Carolyn Briggs, the film looks deeply into human doubt and certainty, and the challenge of trying to match our lives with our spiritual beliefs.” Mentioned on 1/22/11 in NY Times re Sundance.
8/23/11- I’ve seen just a few reviews and they are weak. TRDB.
9/2/11- Just saw this film and liked it very much. Farmiga is great and also did a wonderful job directing this movie. I’d recommend it to you. TRDB.
Tags: drama
January 23rd, 2011
POTICHE- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “Director François Ozon spins a deft social comedy of the French bourgeoisie starring some of that country’s most celebrated actors, including Gérard Depardieu, Catherine Deneuve and Fabrice Luchini. After Suzanne Pujol’s (Deneuve) husband has a heart attack, she must take charge of the umbrella factory he manages. The resulting clashes between the genteel Suzanne and the Marxist union boss (Depardieu) generate plenty of riotous class conflict.” Winner at 2011 Palm Springs Film Festival this movie has received very good professional reviews and average audience reviews. TRDB.
4/11- A delightful French farce and I recommend it. DeNeuve is magnifique. TRDB. At the Theater.
Tags: Comedy, Foreign
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
COLORS IN THE DARK-2010. By Sophie Heldman and starring Bruno Ganz and Senta Berger. About an aging couple and their dealing with older age and with each other.
1/11– I thought that the movie was just “good.” TRDB. At the Palm Spring Int. Film Festival.
January 12th, 2011
SON OF BABYLON- Premise by Netflix. “After the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq, a young Kurdish boy and his grandmother set off on a quest to find some trace of the boy’s missing father, a soldier in the defeated national army. Director Mohamed Al Daradji’s poignant narrative personalizes the search for meaning and hope in the wake of Iraq’s suffering during Hussein’s reign as well as during the deadly upheaval that followed.”
1/11- Great acting makes this movie a must see. TRDB.
January 8th, 2011
PRECIOUS LIFE- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “Mohammad Abu Mustafa, a 4-month-old Palestinian boy living in the barricaded Gaza Strip, was born without an immune system and faces certain death if he does not receive a bone marrow transplant at an Israeli hospital — an unlikely prospect. Learning of the story, a well-known journalist tries to generate public sympathy for the boy’s plight, knowing full well the grim outcome if he’s unable to find the funds to make the miracle happen.”
1/11- Great documentary and clearly the director was able to gain the confidence of the Palestinian couple who were the subjects. Loved the movie. TRDB. At the theater.
Tags: docmentary
January 8th, 2011
CIRKUS COLUMBIA- Premise Netflix. “With communism dismantled, refugee Divko Buntic (Miki Manojlovic) returns to his Herzegovina home bearing a new paramour and old grudges. His first act of comeuppance is disturbing the peace of Lucija (Mira Furlan), the wife who refused to flee with him 20 years before. Domestic strife echoes the coming civil war as Divko has Lucija tossed from her home, Lucija retaliates, and intrigue develops between their son and Divko’s new wife.”
At the 2011 Palm Springs Int. Film Festival. I enjoyed the film. TRDB.
2/17/12- Fair review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Tags: drama, Foreign
January 8th, 2011
FIFTY- NOTHING- At the 2011 Palm Springs Int. Film Festival.
Tags: Comedy, Drama/Romance
January 8th, 2011
VISION- 2009. Premise by Netflix. “Directed by longtime star of independent German cinemaMargarethe von Trotta, this reverent biopic chronicles the fascinating story of 12th-century Christian mystic and scientist Hildegard von Bingen (Barbara Sukowa). Despite living in an era when women are proscribed from preaching and interpreting scripture, Hildegard believes that the visions she experiences are a gift from God that she must reveal — even at the risk of condemnation.” Very good reviews.
1/11- I liked this movie although I thought it could have been 15 to 20 minutes shorter. TRDB. At the theater.
Tags: docudrama
January 5th, 2011
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