FILM REVIEWS #419
July 12th, 2012
7/9/12- Generally this is not my kind of movie as the film was way over the top in violence, blood and gore but I actually was surprised at how I got sucked into the different personalities involved. A qualified recommendation.
7/7/12- This film was way too slow, even for me. There was no life to any of the characters. TRDB. Netflix Streaming.
2) JEFF, WHO LIVES AT HOME– 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “Siblings Jay and Mark Duplass direct this stoner comedy focusing on two brothers — one a moderate success, the other still living with Mom. A trip to the store for glue, however, turns into an encounter with destiny for the stay-at–home slacker.” Mostly very good reviews. TRDB.
3/16/12- OK review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
7/8/12- Poignant and funny and I recommend it. TRDB. Netflix.
2) BIG MIRACLE– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “After small-town Alaska journalist Adam Carlson writes about three whales trapped in the Arctic Circle, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. team up to rescue them in this tale inspired by true events. Meanwhile, Adam’s Greenpeace volunteer ex-girlfriend arrives.”
2/3/12- Good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
3/13/12- An OK romantic comedy, definitely better than what else is out there now. TRDB.
4) SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN– 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “A sheik with a love for the sport hopes to introduce fly-fishing to the Middle East and turns to uptight fisheries expert Fred Jones for help. Buoyed by the sheik’s enthusiasm (and his comely English aide), Fred sets out to achieve the impossible.” Very good early reviews. TRDB.
3/9/12- Fairly good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
3/17/12- Take it for what it’s worth. Somewhat light and fluffy with each character basically a caricature but all in all a fun movie with some good comedy as well. TRDB.
5) CASA DE MI PADRE– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Will Ferrell stars as a Spanish-speaking cowboy in this comedy about a Mexican clan trying to rescue their ranch from greedy creditors. When his brother can’t save the day, the simple but noble ranch hand takes on a powerful drug lord.” Very good early reviews. TRDB.
3/16/12- One of those ambiguous reviews in today’s NY Times but I think it was so-so. TRDB.
6) 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “After learning that the world will end the following day at 4:44 a.m., a New York City couple lives out their final hours with mixed emotions. They also try to say goodbye to loved ones, which results in some eleventh-hour issues.” Good audience reviews. TRDB.
3/23/12- Good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
7) BLACK BUTTERFLIES– 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “This passionate biopic profiles South African poet Ingrid Jonker, whose exuberant nature is destroyed by her repeated betrayals of her supportive lover and her complex relationship with her disapproving father, the minister of censorship.”
3/2/12- Generally good reviews. TRDB.
2) THE MAGIC OF BELLE ISLE– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “After alcoholism depletes his enthusiasm for writing, celebrated author Monte Wildhorn finds his creative passion renewed when he moves to quaint Belle Isle and gets to know his next door neighbors — a single mother and her three daughters.”
Fair early reviews. TRDB.
7/6/12- Good review in today’s NY Times. I’ll try to see it. TRDB.
3) LAST RIDE– 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “In Last Ride, a desperate father takes his ten year old son, Chook, on the run after committing a violent crime. As the two journey into the desert and an unknown future, their troubled relationship and the need to survive sees them battling the elements and each other. Chook eventually takes control and the choice he is forced to make has a devastating effect on both their lives.”
7/6/12- Good review in today’s NY Times and by the critics in general. Audiences have liked it as well. TRDB.
4) STARRY STARRY NIGHT– 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “When Mei falls in love with Jay, a new transfer student at her school, love at first sight takes hold, providing her first journey into adulthood and what soon becomes her fondest childhood memory. Amongst her parents’ divorce and bickering and her grandfather’s death, Mei finds solace in Jay even as they begin a perilous journey into the mountainous wilderness to find her grandparents’ home. As they venture into the starry, starry night, they get lost in a storm that leads them towards a greater destination.”
7/6/12- Good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
5) CHINA HEAVYWEIGHT– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Scouted from villages throughout rural southwestern China, teens with a knack for boxing move to training centers that teach more than just the sport. While resisting pro boxing’s temptations of fame, they hone their skill for national Olympic pride.”
7/6/12- Good review in today’s NY Times and from other critics as well. TRDB.
6) UNITED IN ANGER– 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “United in Anger: A History of ACT UP is an inspiring documentary about the birth and life of the AIDS activist movement from the perspective of the people in the trenches fighting the epidemic. Utilizing oral histories of members of ACT UP, as well as rare archival footage, the film depicts the efforts of ACT UP as it battles corporate greed, social indifference, and government neglect.”
7/6/12- A good review in today’s NY Times. A few other reviews have been positive as well. TRDB.
________________________________________________________________________________________
2) THE IMPOSTER– 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “In 1994 a 13-year-old boy disappeared without a trace from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three and a half years later he is found alive thousands of miles away in a village in southern Spain with a horrifying story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems. The boy bears many of the same distinguishing marks he always did, but why does he now have a strange accent? Why does he look so different? And why doesn’t the family seem to notice these glaring inconsistencies? It’s only when an investigator starts asking questions that this strange tale takes an even stranger turn.”
Excellent reviews!! TRDB.
3) TRISHNA– 2011. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Self-effacing British auteur Michael Winterbottom sets his unique spin on Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles against a contemporary Indian backdrop. Freida Pinto stars as the titular Trishna, a young woman who is seduced by the wealthy son of a property developer. As the romance develops, their relationship also becomes increasingly sordid and volatile.”
Good early professional reviews but weaker audience ones. TRDB.
4) UNION SQUARE– 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “An unexpected reunion between estranged sisters, one is on the verge of marriage; the other is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Both struggle with truths they’re hiding from each other – and from themselves. Jenny has rejected her tumultuous family and cut off communication, seeking a more ordered life far from her roots in the Bronx. And she’s almost ready to commit to her longtime fiancé when her sister Lucy – the personification of all that Jenny has been trying to flee – surprises her at a critical time. Lucy and Jenny’s combustible reunion brings both of them to unforeseen places, shattering and reconstructing the worlds they have both carefully constructed.”
Awful early reviews and I’ll probably miss this one. TRDB.
5) SEVEN MINUTES IN HEAVEN– 2008. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “A woman’s brush with death forces her to re-examine her past and present in this drama from Israel. Galia (Reymond Amsalem) was riding a city bus when a suicide bomber on board set off an explosive device. While Galia survived the bombing, she suffered severe burns and injuries and was declared clinically dead for seven minutes. While Galia’s body has been healing steadily, her mind is still struggling to make sense of what happened; she has no memory of the terrible day, and can only piece together nightmarish flashes of the chaotic events. Itzik (Benjamin Jagendorf) is a seminarian who was on hand to help the injured on the day of the explosion, and he attempts to counsel Galia, helping her put together the shards of her memory and explain his theory that the souls of people who have briefly been “dead” often have trouble reacquainting themselves after they’ve traveled outside the body. As Galia ponders these questions about her life and her spirit, she finds comfort in her new friendship with Boaz (Eldad Fribas). Sheva Dakot Be Gan Eden (aka Seven Minutes In Heaven) was the first feature film from director Omri Givon.”
No professional reviews available but audiences have liked it very much. There is an article on this film in the NY Times on Sunday, July 8, 2012. TRDB.
2) ALPS (ALPEIS)- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “With Alps, director Yorgos Lanthimos brings to the screen the story of a group of people who specialize in playing the role of deceased people to anyone (usually relatives, friends or colleagues of the deceased) willing to pay for their services. Their company, called Alps, is managed by Mont Blanc (Aris Servetalis), a strict boss who keeps his employees under a close watch. But when the company’s nurse (Aggeliki Papoulia) decides to get off her scripted routine, this eccentric group starts falling to pieces.”
Excellent professional reviews and good audience reaction as well. TRDB.
7/6/12- Good review in today’s NY Times. I’ll try to see it. TRDB.
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
7/2/12- While there was no magical excitement in this movie I found it funny, clever and a great travelogue of the Eternal City. TRDB.
2) MOONRISE KINGDOM– Bethel, Saw Mill Hawthorne, Danbury, Clearview 100, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Wes Anderson’s quirky drama follows the frantic search that ensues in a small New England town when two 12-year-olds fall in love and run away together. As the townsfolk hunt for the vanished kids, a storm causes even more profound communal upheaval.”
Very good early reviews, especially from the professionals. TRDB.
6/11/12- A sweet, charming, quirky love story. See it!!! TRDB.
3) BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL– Bethel, Saw Mill Hawthorne, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “To make the most of their meager retirement savings, a group of British seniors relocates to India to live out their golden years at the Marigold Hotel. But upon arrival, they discover that the once-lavish resort has wilted considerably.”
Rotten Tomatoes said– “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel follows a group of British retirees who decide to “outsource” their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel and bolstered with visions of a life of leisure, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self. Though the new environment is less luxurious than imagined, they are forever transformed by their shared experiences, discovering that life and love can begin again when you let go of the past.
Very good early reviews called this film a bit schmaltzy but well done. TRDB.
4) SAVAGES- Danbury. 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Laguna Beach entrepreneurs Ben (Johnson), a peaceful and charitable Buddhist, and his closest friend Chon (Kitsch), a former Navy SEAL and ex-mercenary, run a lucrative, homegrown industry-raising some of the best marijuana ever developed. They also share a one-of-a-kind love with the extraordinary beauty Ophelia (Lively). Life is idyllic in their Southern California town…until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them. When the merciless head of the BC, Elena (Hayek), and her brutal enforcer, Lado (Del Toro), underestimate the unbreakable bond among these three friends, Ben and Chon-with the reluctant, slippery assistance of a dirty DEA agent (Travolta)-wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel.”
7/6/12- Good review in today’s NY Times but only average reviews in general. Audiences have liked it. TRDB.
7/9/12- Generally this is not my kind of movie as the film was way over the top in violence, blood and gore but I actually was surprised at how I got sucked into the different personalities involved. A qualified recommendation.
5) THE INTOUCHABLES– Jacob Burns. 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this compelling story based on true events, affluent quadriplegic Phillipe hires Driss — a young Parisian petty criminal — to be his caregiver, and the two form an unexpected bond that changes both their lives.” Fairly good reviews. TRDB.
5/6/12- An article in today’s NY Times talks about the movie and the lead actor. Apparently this has become a “hot” topic in France. TRDB.
5/25/12- Weak review in today’s NY Times, but good reviews in general. TRDB.
6/28/12- Despite a few good scenes I was very disappointed by this movie. It proves that Hollywood can slide effortlessly into Paris. 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
Entry Filed under: Old Newsletters
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>
Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed