The Reel Dr. Bob

OCT. 15, 2009

DEAR FRIENDS-

PLEASE CHECK OUT MY NEW WEBSITE AT- thereeldrbob.com

NO NEW MOVIES for me this week but there WERE a few that I-

VIEWED AT HOME-

1) THE THIEF- 1997. Russia. Written and directed by Pavel Ciukhraj. About a young widow with a young son who meets and falls for a handsome man while on a train. It turns out he is not exactly what she expected. Very good. Netflix. 10/09

2) MY BEST ENEMY – (Mi Mejor Enemigo). 2005. Argentina. Directed by Alex Bowen. A story about a group of lost Chilean soldiers who encounter a group of encamped Argentine soldiers just before war was expected to break out between them. The two groups develop an interesting relationship. Very good. Netflix. 10/09

3) THIS GIRL’S LIFE- 2003. Directed by Ash Baron-Cohen and starring Juliette Marquis who plays a porn star and James Woods who plays her father, suffering from Parkinson’s disease. The movie is primarily about her life. She eventually forms her own company (Sex Investigation Agency), servicing women who want to know if their spouse or lover is faithful or can be seduced by a beauty. Interesting and I liked it. There was some soft core porno but it was not the main event. Netflix Streaming. 10/09

4) ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL- 2008. Directed by Sasha Gervasi. A documentary about the heavy metal group Anvil, wildly popular but went downhill fast. I didn’t like the music, the group, or the movie and turned it off. Netflix. 10/09

5) HE WHO MUST DIE (CELUI QUI DOIT MOURIR)- 1957. Directed by Jules Dassin and co-written by Dassin and Ben Barzman. About a Greek village in the 1920’s that is occupied by the Turks. The village conducts a passion play each year and characters are chosen by the village elders to play crucial parts. The plot of the film is actually a reenactment of the real story, with the villagers playing out their biblical roles in a real life situation. Very good. DVD from a private source. 10/09

6) ADORATION- 2009. By Atom Egoyan and starring Devon Bostick. About an adolescent boy who attempts to make sense of his parent’s early death and in the process, while working on a French class project he creates a fictional story that gets picked up on the Internet. Good drama. Netflix. 10/09

7) AMERICAN VIOLET- Premise by Netflix. ”Inspired by true events, this penetrating drama centers on Dee Roberts (Nicole Beharie), a 24-year-old mother of four who’s forced to take on a corrupt district attorney (Michael O’Keefe) when she’s unjustly prosecuted in a large-scale drug case. Directed by Tim Disney, the inspiring tale also stars Alfre Woodard as Dee’s mother, Alma, Tim Blake Nelson as ACLU attorney David Cohen and Will Patton as retired narcotics officer Sam Conroy.” Good reviews.

COMING TO NETFLIX NEXT TUESDAY, OCT. 20-

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OPENING THIS WEEK-

1) FOOD BEWARE: THE FRENCH ORGANIC REVOLUTON- Premise by Zap2it. “The mayor of a French mountain village declares that the school system will serve only organic food to children.” This documentary about food, a topic that has become more newsworthy lately, has received mixed reviews but a few very good ones.

2) THE LITTLE TRAITOR- Premise by Zap2it. “During the British occupation of Palestine, an Israeli youth’s friendship with a British soldier lands him in trouble with town officials.” Good reviews.

3) NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU- Premise by Zap2it. “Several love stories happen throughout New York City.” Very good early reviews.

FLORIDA- At the Emerging Cinemas of Lake Worth

1) YOO-HOO, MRS. GOLDBERG- A documentary about the early TV show. Very good reviews.

2) FLAME & CITRON- About two Danish men in the anti Nazi resistance. I saw this on Comcast ON-DEMAND. It’s worth the time and I enjoyed it.

COMCAST ON-DEMAND-

NEW ADDITIONS-

1) PARIS- About a love affair with the city of Paris. Mixed reviews but I haven’t seen it yet.

2) TYSON- A very good documentary about the former heavyweight champ. ALSO ON NETFLIX!

3) BURNING PLAIN- Terrible reviews and I do NOT recommend this one.

STILL AROUND-

1) FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN- OK reviews.

2) GOODBYE SOLO- About a taxi driver in North Carolina who picks up a depressed man intent on killing himself. Very good. ALSO ON NETFLIX.

3) LYMELIFE- About a dysfunctional family. Good movie. ON NETFLIX.

4) STILL WALKING- About a family who gets together on the anniversary of a lost child. Very good reviews.

5) JULIA- Tilda Swinton does a great job of playing an alcoholic in this convoluted tale. ON NETFLIX ALSO.

6) IN THE LOOP- A fast paced comedy about the British planning for the Iraqi invasion. Mixed reviews.

LINK TO CABLEVISION-

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

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BOB’S PICKS IN THE SUBURBS-

1) CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY- Bethel, Clearview 100, Danbury, Saw Mill Hawthorne, Jacob Burns, Garden Cinema Norwalk.Worth seeing even though it is NOT a documentary as some would suggest.

2) NEW YORK, I LOVE YOU- Bethel, Clearview 100, Saw Mill Hawthorne. See “opening movies” above.

3) COCO BEFORE CHANEL- Bethel, Clearview 100, Garden cinema Norwalk. Fairly good reviews and I’d like to see it.

4) AMREEKA- Clearview 100. Very interesting drama about a Palestinian woman who comes with her adolescent son to live in a small town in Illinois.

5) THE INFORMANT!- Danbury. Just fair.

6) A SERIOUS MAN- Jacob Burns. New film by the Coen brothers with good reviews.

7) THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE- Garden Cinema Norwalk. About the all important September issue of Vogue magazine. The movie was just OK.

USE THE FOLLOWING LINK TO SEE WHICH INDEPENDENT FILMS ARE PLAYING IN MANY OF YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS-

http://www.emergingpictures.com/exhibition.htm and then scroll down.

THAT’S IT FOR NOW-

THE REEL DR BOB

The Reel Dr. Bob