The Reel Dr. Bob

May 23, 2013

DEAR FRIENDS:

 

YOU CAN ACCESS THIS NEWSLETTER AND OLDER REVIEWS AT- www.thereeldrbob.com

 

QUICK LOOK AT MY FAVORITES OF THE WEEK-

 

1) STARLET- Netflix

2) THE OTHER DREAM TEAM– Netflix

3) PIETA– Comcast On-Demand

4) STORIES WE TELL– At the Theater

 

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MOVIES I SAW THIS WEEK AT THE THEATER-

 

1) STORIES WE TELL– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Using a mix of interviews and sly home movies, Sarah Polley creates an intriguing profile of her family, especially her mother, Diane, who died when Polley was 11 years old. In a family of storytellers, does the truth depend on who does the telling?”4/29/13- Excellent reviews. TRDB.

5/10/13- A very good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.

5/21/13- An interesting documentary about family relationships and specifically what Sarah Polley learned about her family by letting people tell the story. Done in a creative manner- could have been a bit shorter. TRDB.

 

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MOVIES I SAW THIS WEEK AT HOME-

 

1) STARLET- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Jane, a 21-year-old slacker, finds $10,000 stashed in a thermos she buys at a garage sale. Unsure what to do with the money, she begins spending time with Sadie, the elderly widow who held the garage sale, and an unlikely friendship develops.”Fairly good reviews so far. TRDB.

11/9/12- Excellent review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.

5/15/13- With the exception of  the scenes involving the star’s despicable roommates I enjoyed this movie. TRDB. Netflix.

2) THE OTHER DREAM TEAM– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “As the U.S. basketball “Dream Team” took the 1992 Olympics by storm, the scrappy team from the newly independent Lithuania sought only to defeat Russia. Their tale involves personal freedom, the end of communism and, unexpectedly, the Grateful Dead.”

Very good reviews. TRDB.

9/28/12- Today’s NY Times basically called this documentary informative but “drained of drama.” TRDB.

5/18/13- I liked the movie very much as it used basketball essentially as  secondary to their quest for freedom. TRDB. Netflix.

3) UPSTREAM COLOR– 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “A woman is abducted and hypnotized with material harvested from a flower. When she falls for a man, the two realize they have been subjected to the same process. Together they search for a place of safety and struggle to reassemble their wrecked lives.”

4/5/13- Today’s NY Times liked the movie but also found it strange. TRDB.

5/19/13- One of the biggest wastes of time as far as I’m concerned– I turned it off. TRDB. Netflix.

4) PIETA– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Kang-do, an enforcer for a loan shark in a destitute area of Seoul, is unrelentingly brutal in his collection of debts. But when a mysterious woman appears and claims that she is his mother, Kang-do finds himself developing a hunger for human warmth.”

5/4/13- Early reviews look pretty good. TRDB.

5/17/13- An excellent review in today’s NY Times although most people will shun the film because of its violence. TRDB.

5/20/13- Yes, it was at times violent and yes, it was strange as well but this Korean movie  also held my interest and I couldn’t turn it off. Certainly not for everyone. TRDB. Comcast On-Demand.

 

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COMING TO NETFLIX NEXT TUESDAY, MAY 28-

 

1) LORE– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “After her Nazi parents are imprisoned, Lore leads her younger siblings across a war-torn Germany in 1945. Amid the chaos, she encounters a mysterious refugee named Thomas, who shatters her fragile reality with hatred and desire.”2/8/13- Very good reviews in general with just a few critics saying that the film was a bit slow. The NY Times liked it as well. TRDB.

3/16/13- Yet another extremely powerful  movie related to the Holocaust. Well done and should be a must see! TRDB.

2) THE LOVING STORY– 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “This riveting documentary profiles Mildred and Richard Loving, who were arrested hours after their 1958 wedding for breaking Virginia’s laws against interracial marriage. In 1967, their case was heard before the Supreme Court and changed the nation.”

1/31/12- I saw this at a special showing with the director Nancy Biurski at the Jacob Burns Film Center. A great documentary with an impressive trove of archival footage. The movie was thought provoking and has analogies to life today both here and abroad. TRDB.

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OPENED LAST WEEK (MAY 17) IN ADDITION TO THOSE I WROTE ABOUT ON MAY 16-

 

1) CAPE SPIN: AN AMERICAN POWER STRUGGLE– 2013. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Cape Spin! An American Power Struggle tells the surreal, fascinating, tragicomic story of the battle over America’s most controversial clean energy project. Cape Wind would be the U.S.’s first offshore windfarm…But strange alliances formed for and against: Kennedys, Kochs, and everyday folks do battle with the developer and green groups over the future of American power.”5/17/13- A poor review in today’s NY Times, mixed reviews in general and audiences have liked it. TRDB.

2) ELEMENTAL– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Three activists pursuing different causes are profiled in this environmental documentary, which moves from India to Australia to Canada. Among them is Rajendra Singh, who’s committed to saving the Ganges River from industrial pollution.”

5/17/13- A very good review in today’s NY Times. The review stresses that the movie is more about the lives of the activists than about the cause itself.  TRDB.

3) ERASED– 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Ex-CIA agent and current security expert Ben Logan has moved to Belgium with his estranged 15-year-old daughter. But when they’re both targeted for assassination, they must go on the run and learn to trust each other.”

5/17/13- A weak review in today’s NY Times and from others as well. TRDB.

4) RE-EMERGING: THE JEWS OF NIGERIA– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “This documentary follows Sam, a young Igbo man from Nigeria, as he seeks the truth about his people, who legend suggests may be of Jewish descent. The film delves into Igbo culture and reveals clues from around the globe that support Sam’s quest.”

5/17/13- Mixed early reviews of the few that were available. TRDB.

5) VALENTINO’S GHOST– 2013. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Valentino’s Ghost shows the way in which the U.S. foreign policy agenda in the Middle East, drives the U.S. mainstream media’s portrayals of Arabs and Muslims.”

5/17/13- A good review in today’s NY Times and from the few other professional reviews that I could find. The Times’ review said that the film gave a different picture of the Middle East than we are used to.  TRDB.

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OPENING THIS WEEK (MAY 24)-

 

1) PLIMPTON! STARRING GEORGE PLIMPTON AS HIMSELF– 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “This captivating documentary about George Plimpton celebrates the rich and eclectic life of the man who worked and played as a writer, lion tamer, pro football quarterback, actor, musician, literary journal editor, trapeze artist and more.”5/13/13- No reviews as yet. TRDB.

2) BEFORE MIDNIGHT– 2013. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Before Midnight is an upcoming American romance drama film and the sequel to Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004). Like its predecessors, the film was directed by Richard Linklater. As with the previous film, Linklater shares screenplay credit with both actors from the movies, Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy”

5/13/13- Uniformly excellent reviews. TRDB.

3) FILL THE VOID– 2013. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Eighteen-year-old Shira (Hada Yaron) is the youngest daughter of the family and is about to be married off to a very promising young man of the same age. On Purim, her twenty-eight-year-old sister, Esther (Renana Raz), dies during childbirth, leaving her husband to care for the child and postponing Shira’s promised match. When the girls’ mother finds out that Yochay may leave the country with her only grandchild, she proposes a match between Shira and the widower, which leaves Shira to choose between her heart’s wish and her family’s wish to keep the child with them.

5/14/13- I saw this excellent movie as part of  a Jewish Film Festival this year. I definitely recommend it. TRDB.

4) WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS– 2013. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Acclaimed documentarian Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) takes the reins for this no-holds-barred look at one of the most unusual phenomena of early 21st century media. In 2006, an Iceland-based outfit called The Sunshine Press launched the website WikiLeaks.org. As run by Australian Internet activist Julian Assange, the site’s mandate involved regularly publishing top-secret documents and covert information, often regarding governments and their respective military operations.”

5/14/13- Just a few reviews so far and they are very positive. TRDB.

5) A GREEN STORY– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “A Greek man who came to the U.S. decades ago to start a company that sells environmentally friendly products learns he has cancer and little time to live. During his final days, he reflects on his early struggles as an immigrant businessman.”

5/14/13- No reviews as yet. TRDB.

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FLORIDA- At the Stonzek Theater Lake Worth Playhouse-

 

1) STRANGER THINGS– 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “This incisive indie tale centers on Luke, an autistic 25-year-old who lives with his grandparents — until his grandmother dies. Though the world expects little from him, he resolves to meet the challenge of finding a job and looking after himself.”4/5/13- A very good review in today’s NY Times and from other critics as well. TRDB.

2) THE ANGELS’ SHARE–  2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “After avoiding jail, Robbie vows to turn his life around for his newborn son. He has a talent for discerning fine whiskeys, and he and his community service cohorts hatch a plan to lift a few expensive bottles to buy themselves a better future.”3/30/13- Very good reviews so far. TRDB.

4/12/13- A good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.

4/22/13- A thoroughly enjoyable movie from Scotland. Luckily that there were sub-titles. TRDB.

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COMCAST ON-DEMAND-

NEW-

 

1) PIETA- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Kang-do, an enforcer for a loan shark in a destitute area of Seoul, is unrelentingly brutal in his collection of debts. But when a mysterious woman appears and claims that she is his mother, Kang-do finds himself developing a hunger for human warmth.”5/4/13- Early reviews look pretty good. TRDB.

5/17/13- An excellent review in today’s NY Times although most people will shun the film because of its violence. TRDB.

2) 33 POSTCARDS–  2013. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “For ten years, Chinese orphan Mei Mei (Zhu Lin) dreams of meeting her Australian sponsor – Dean Randall (Guy Pearce) – and his ‘perfect family’. When her orphanage travels to Australia to attend the Australian Choir Festival, Mei Mei takes the opportunity to look him up. What she finds, however, is far from the idyllic life he depicted in his postcards. Initially mismatched and disconnected, the two begin a journey in search of belonging, family, redemption, love and acceptance.”5/4/13- Weak early reviews but this does sound interesting. TRDB.

 

REPEATS-

 

 

Cablevision Link– http://www.optimum.net/VOD/movies?cat=Movies+On+Demand%2FIndependent+Films%2FIFC+In+Theaters

 

DirecTV- www.directv.com/DTVAPP/listing/ppvMovies.jsp

Time Warner Link- www.twondemand.com

 

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BOB’S PICKS IN THE SUBURBS- (Westchester and Fairfield Counties)

 

NEW IN THE BURBS-

 

1) LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED– Bethel, Clearview 100. 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED is directed by Golden Globe (R) and Oscar (R) winning filmmaker Susanne Bier, written by Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen and starring Pierce Brosnan and Trine Dyrholm. Philip (Brosnan), an Englishman living in Denmark, is a lonely, middle-aged widower and estranged single father. Ida (Dyrholm) is a Danish hairdresser, recuperating from a long bout of illness, who’s just been left by her husband for a younger woman, Thilde. The fates of these two bruised souls are about to intertwine.”4/21/13- Fairly good early reviews. TRDB.

5/3/13- A poor review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.

2) FRANCES HA– Jacob Burns, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Determined to make it as a modern dancer in New York, young Frances Ha pursues her unlikely goal with more enthusiasm than natural talent. The rest of the time, she and her sardonic best friend, Sophie, put off growing up for as long as they can.”

9/5/12- Mentioned briefly in the NY Times as being shown at the Telluride Film Festival this September. TRDB.

5/4/13- Very good early reviews. TRDB.

5/17/13- Fairly good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.

3) SOMETHING IN THE AIR– Jacob Burns. 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Growing up in the wake of France’s civil crisis of May 1968, Gilles and his teen friends are determined to sustain the partisan passions of that era. But now it’s 1971, and Gilles is also beginning to think more about his other aspirations in life.”

5/3/13- Fairly good reviews in general and a very good one in today’s NY Times. TRDB.

REPEATS-

 

1) THE ICEMAN– Bethel, Danbury, Clearview 100, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “This thriller based on a true story follows Richard Kuklinski, who killed more than 100 people for the mob — and his own pleasure — between 1964 and 1986. Despite his prolific violence, Kuklinski was a devoted husband and father of two daughters.”Early reviews look good for this docudrama including a NY Times review on 5/3/13. TRDB.

5/1/13- A riveting performance by Michael Shannon as the contract killer Richard Kuklinski places this movie at a suspenseful level and keeps it there. TRDB.

2) MUD- Bethel, Saw Mill Hawthorne, Danbury, Clearview 100, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Two Mississippi teens, Ellis and Neckbone, meet a mysterious drifter named Mud hiding on a deserted river island and get caught up in his tangled web of tall tales about bounty hunters, crimes of passion, lost love and a perfect woman named Juniper.”

4/19/13- Very good reviews so far. TRDB.

4/26/13- A good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.

4/27/13- As far as I’m concerned this movie could have been titled “Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn Meet Rambo. What a waste! TRDB.

3) KON-TIKI– Bethel, Clearview 100, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “With five loyal friends in tow, explorer Thor Heyerdal sails a fragile balsa wood raft along an ancient path some 4,300 miles across the Pacific. Along the way, they’re attacked by tidal waves, sharks and all the dangers the ocean can muster.”

4/19/13- Fairly good early reviews. TRDB.

4) THE GREAT GATSBY– Bethel, Saw Mill Hawthorne, Danbury. 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Leonardo DiCaprio stars as literary icon Jay Gatsby in this adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. Fascinated by the mysterious, affluent Gatsby, his neighbor Nick Carraway bears witness to the man’s obsessive love and spiral into tragedy.”

 

For Independent Films in Your Neighborhood go to- www.emergingpictures.com

For Independent Films in Palm Beach County go to www.lakeworthplayhouse.org  

For Films everywhere go to- www.fandango.com

ENJOY!!

THE REEL DR. BOB