FILM REVIEWS #496
May 8th, 2014
4/18/14- A good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
5/1/14- I really liked this movie which was written by John Turturo and had to be written with Woody Allen in mind. TRDB.
2) LOCKE– 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “Over the space of 90 minutes, Ivan Locke’s life spins out of control via a series of phone calls made while he drives down the highway to London. On the brink of a career-making moment, Ivan faces a personal decision that could cost him everything.”
4/25/14- Very good reviews all around. TRDB.
5/5/14- A very good thriller with an unconventional ending. TRDB.
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MOVIES I SAW THIS WEEK AT HOME-
1) APPLAUSE– 2009. Premise by Netflix. “After a long stint in rehab, legendary actress Thea Barfoed (Paprika Steen) seeks to reconnect with her two young sons in this drama from Denmark. Now, the headstrong Thea must prove to her ex-husband, Christian (Michael Falch) — and to herself — that she’s truly reformed. Meanwhile, her nightly performances as overbearing wife Martha in the play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” lead her to face some painful truths.” Poor review in NY Times on 1/21/11.
5/4/14- Despite a poor review from the NY Times this movie received wonderful praise, especially for the lead actress. I liked the movie very much for its acting and its story. TRDB.
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COMING TO NETFLIX NEXT TUESDAY, MAY 13-
1) BLACK NATIVITY– 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Langston Hughes’s play is the basis for this uplifting drama about an angry teen whose single mother sends him to spend Christmas with his grandparents. Frustrated by their strictness, the youth runs away and learns about faith during his journey.”
11/27/13- Mixed reviews at best. TRDB.
2) AFTER TILLER– 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “AFTER TILLER paints a complex, compassionate portrait of these physicians who have become the new number-one targets of the anti-abortion movement.”
9/20/13- A good review in today’s NY Times and from most critics as well. TRDB.
3) GENERATION IRON- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “This documentary goes beyond the muscle to tell the real stories of seven men competing for top bodybuilding honors as Mr. Olympia. Each participant shares his personal journey, motivations, challenges and triumphs on the road to victory.”
9/20/13- Mixed reviews in general and from the NY Times as well. TRDB.
4) STRANGER BY THE LAKE- 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this gay murder thriller, young Franck notices the middle-aged Henri sitting on a beach by himself and starts a conversation. Their dialogue continues over several days, in between Franck’s repeated trysts with a seductive killer named Michel.”
1/24/14- Very good reviews in general and in today’s NY Times as well. TRDB.
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OPENED THIS WEEK-
1) FOR A WOMAN– 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Though 35-year-old Anne knows little about her parents’ past, the old photos and letters she examines after her mother’s death hint at a buried secret. As Anne digs deeper, she uncovers a hidden affair and other surprises in her family history.”
5/2/14- A good review in today’s NY Times and fairly good reviews in general. TRDB.
2) BELLE– 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “This period drama based on fact traces the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle, a biracial girl born in 1761 to a British admiral father and an African mother. Raised by her great-uncle, Dido finds her place in society despite her mixed ethnicity.”
5/2/14- Fairly good reviews and the NY Times liked it. TRDB.
3) BENEATH THE HARVEST SKY– 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “Teenage best friends Dominic and Casper are desperate to leave their small northern Maine hometown for a better life in Boston. But the paths they take to finance their travels are drastically different.”
5/2/14 Weak reviews but a few critics liked it including the NY Times. TRDB.
4) APOCALYPSE: A BILL CALLAHAN TOUR FILM– 2014. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “This strikingly shot concert documentary follows enigmatic Drag City singer-songwriter Bill Callahan on a two-week tour from California to New York.”
5/2/14- Fair early reviews. TRDB.
5) DECODING ANNIE PARKER– 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this fact-based drama about the origins of disease, breast-cancer patient Annie Parker works with tireless researcher Mary-Claire King as she tries to identify cancer’s genetic components — despite a lack of funding and skeptical colleagues.”
5/2/14- Mixed reviews for this film. The NY Times liked it. TRDB.
6) DOCUMENTED- 2014. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “In 2011, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas outed himself as an undocumented immigrant in an essay published in the New York Times Magazine. DOCUMENTED chronicles his journey to America from the Philippines as a child; his journey through America as an immigration reform activist; and his journey inward as he re-connects with his mother, whom he hasn’t seen in person in over 20 years.”
5/2/14- Very good reviews in general. Today’s NY Times did not care for it, however. TRDB.
7) JOBRIATH A.D.- 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “After enjoying a brief burst of fame in the mid-1970s gay rocker Jobraith was quickly abandoned by his audience. He died of AIDS in 1983. This affectionate bio-documentary surveys the details of Jobraith’s life and renewed interest in his music.”
5/2/14- Weak professional reviews but audiences have liked it very much. The NY Times did not. TRDB.
8) MORE THAN THE RAINBOW– 2014. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “In our time, an equally compelling presence roams the streets of New York armed with only a camera: Matt Weber. There is no telling how many stories Weber has attempted to capture since he first started taking pictures out of the window of the cab he used to drive. But his quarter century-plus devotion to candidly depicting the lives of his fellow New Yorkers, many of them from the fringes of society, has yielded a remarkable document of a New York that most of us will never experience.”
5/2/14- I’ve seen 4 reviews– all good. The NY Times liked it as well. TRDB.
9) UNCLAIMED– 2014. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Could an American MIA be struggling to find his way home? After enduring a traumatic childhood and serving two tours in Vietnam, Tom Faunce embarks upon an emotional quest to uncover the true identity of a man claiming to be an American soldier living in a remote village in Vietnam, decades after the war’s end.”
5/2/14- Mixed reviews– the NY Times liked it and audiences have liked it too. TRDB.
10) SPEAK THE MUSIC: ROBERT MANN– 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “Robert Mann has been a vital force in the world of music for more than seventy years. As founder and first violinist of the Julliard String Quartet, and as a soloist, composer, teacher, and conductor, Mann has brought a refreshing sense of adventure and discovery to chamber music.”
5/2/14- I’ve seen only 3 reviews but they were all good. TRDB.
11) NOW: IN THE WINGS ON A WORLD STAGE– 2014. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Kevin Spacey, Sam Mendes and the Bridge Project Company go on the road in NOW: in the Wings on a World Stage. In over 200 performances, and across 3 continents, Kevin and the troupe reveal some of the most intimate moments behind the scenes of their staging of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, “Richard III.”
5/2/14- Mixed reviews, slightly more up than down. TRDB.
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FLORIDA- At the Stonzek Theater Lake Worth Playhouse-
1) THE ATTORNEY– 2014. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “SONG Woo-seok has no clients, connections, or even a college degree, but his eye for business and appetite for money turn him into one of the most successful lawyers in town. But right at the peak of his success, a local teenager is falsely accused of a crime, then beaten and tortured while waiting in jail. Shocked by these conditions, SONG changes the course of his life, and takes on the case no one else will. This story is based on true events.”
2/7/14- A good review in today’s NY Times and from most other critics too. TRDB.
2) THE FRENCH MINISTER- 2014. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Alexandre Taillard de Vorms is tall and impressive, a man with style, attractive to women. He also happens to be the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the land of enlightenment: France. With his silver mane and tanned, athletic body, he stalks the world stage, from the floor of the United Nations in New York to the powder keg of Oubanga.”
3/21/14- Mediocre reviews in general but the NY Times liked it. TRDB.
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COMCAST ON-DEMAND-
NEW-
1) DECODING ANNIE PARKER– 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this fact-based drama about the origins of disease, breast-cancer patient Annie Parker works with tireless researcher Mary-Claire King as she tries to identify cancer’s genetic components — despite a lack of funding and skeptical colleagues.”
5/2/14- Mixed reviews for this film. The NY Times liked it. TRDB.
2) BRIGHT DAYS AHEAD– 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “In her search for new pursuits after retirement, married Caroline unexpectedly finds romance with a flirty hunk who’s decades younger. But her newly reinvigorated self seems surprisingly unconcerned by the consequences of her actions.”
5/2/14- Mixed reviews, mostly positive. TRDB.
REPEATS-
1) 12 YEARS A SLAVE- I didn’t like this film as much as the critics
5) DALLAS BUYERS CLUB- I liked it but not as much as the critics
6) DANCING IN JAFFA- I liked this one very much
Time Warner Link- www.twondemand.com
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BOB’S PICKS IN THE SUBURBS-
NEW IN THE BURBS-
1) BELLE– Jacob Burns. 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “This period drama based on fact traces the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle, a biracial girl born in 1761 to a British admiral father and an African mother. Raised by her great-uncle, Dido finds her place in society despite her mixed ethnicity.”
5/2/14- Fairly good reviews and the NY Times liked it. TRDB.
REPEATS-
1) FADING GIGOLO– Jacob Burns, Bethel, Danbury, Clearview 100, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Middle-aged Fioravante and Murray are an unlikely gigolo and pimp in this farce about two cash-strapped friends who turn to the sex trade to make ends meet. Their new enterprise is fruitful, but things get complicated when romance enters the picture.”
4/12/14- Mixed reviews but more positive than negative. I’ll see it just to see Woody Allen in a movie that’s not his. TRDB.
4/18/14- A good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
5/1/14- I really liked this movie which was written by John Turturo and had to be written with Woody Allen in mind. TRDB.
2) GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL- Bethel, Saw Mill Hawthorne, Clearview 100, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “Between the world wars, Gustave H, the concierge at a prestigious European hotel, takes a bellboy named Zero as a trusted protégé. Meanwhile, the upscale guests are involved in an art theft and a dispute over a vast family fortune.”
3/7/14- Good reviews all around and I really enjoyed it. TRDB.
3) THE GERMAN DOCTOR– Clearview 100. 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “When a young family opens a lakeside lodge in Patagonia, they have no idea that their first guest will be a Nazi war criminal. Unbeknownst to them, the charming doctor so entranced with 12-year-old Eva is none other than Josef Mengele.”
4/25/14– The NY Times liked this movie as did audiences and most other critics. TRDB.
4) THE RAILWAY MAN– Bethel, Saw Mill Hawthorne, Clearview 100, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “Decades after his brutal captivity under the Japanese during World War II, Eric Lomax still has nightmares about the ordeal. But when he unexpectedly meets and falls for Patti, a bizarre coincidence brings his past back into focus.”
4/11/14- Mixed reviews for this war related movie, more good than bad. TRDB.
4/18/14- A good movie that dealt well with revenge and reconciliation. I could have done well without the amount of torture portrayed. TRDB.
5) THE LUNCHBOX– Clearview 100. 2013. Synopsis by Netflix. “When Mumbai’s eerily reliable lunchbox delivery service erroneously sends a meal prepared by a young housewife to a lonely widower on the brink of retirement, the mistake ignites an exchange of notes and mutual fantasy between them.”
4/12/14- A sensitive movie about several lonely people. I enjoyed it very much. TRDB.
6) LOCKE– Jacob Burns, Bethel. 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “Over the space of 90 minutes, Ivan Locke’s life spins out of control via a series of phone calls made while he drives down the highway to London. On the brink of a career-making moment, Ivan faces a personal decision that could cost him everything.”
4/25/14- Very good reviews all around. TRDB.
5/5/14- A very good thriller with an unconventional ending. TRDB.
7) ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE– Clearview 100, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2014. Synopsis by Netflix. “Depressed over the state of the human world, underground musician Adam — a vampire — hooks up again with Eve, his mysterious lover of many centuries. But the antics of Eve’s spirited little sister threaten to destroy their eternal love.”
4/11/14– Good reviews for this movie and I’ll probably see it despite recently saying that I’ll never see a vampire movie again. TRDB.
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
Entry Filed under: Old Newsletters
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