FILM REVIEWS #430
September 27th, 2012
2) BALLPLAYER: PELOTERO– 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “This compelling documentary, narrated by John Leguizamo and executive produced by Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine, is a gritty and never before seen look inside the world of Major League Baseball (MLB) training camps in the Dominican Republic. Miguel Angel and Jean Carlos are two of the top prospects and they are both about to turn 16, which means they can be signed to an MLB farm team and ultimately move up to the majors. Ballplayer: Pelotero filmmakers Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin and Jonathan Paley take you inside this never before seen world for an up close and personal look at the cost of the American dream.”
Excellent reviews in general and a good one in the NY Times on 7/14/12. TRDB.
9/21/12- I liked the movie, a very good expose, but I feel that it lacked the passion you’d expect with this type of exploitation of minors. TRDB. Netflix.
3) LULA, THE SON OF BRAZIL– 2009. Synopsis by Netflix. “Adapted from a biography by journalist Denise Paraná, this big-budget epic chronicles the formative years of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — aka Lula — who overcame formidable obstacles to become the president of Brazil in 2003. Lula and his six young siblings live in poverty and are sent to work early; an accident on the job drives the adult Lula (Rui Ricardo Diaz) into union activism, planting the seeds for a future in politics.” Fair reviews at best. TRDB.
9/23/12- A fair docudrama about the former president of Brazil up until his presidency. TRDB. Netflix.
4) ON THE ICE– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “The beauty and austerity of Barrow, Alaska, inform this gripping thriller about two Iñupiaq teenagers, Qalli (Josiah Patkotak) and Aivaaq (Frank Qutuq Irelan), whose decision to cover up the accidental death of their friend James, for which they are responsible, tears them apart. As the townsfolk try to reveal the truth, guilt weighs heavily on Qalli and Aivaaq, making them lash out against their families and question their traditional lifestyle.”
2/17/12- Weak review in today’s NY Times but the premise did sound interesting and I’ll probably see this eventually. Other critics have liked it. TRDB.
9/22/12- I found this drama interesting and I’d recommend it. TRDB. Netflix.
5) LIBERAL ARTS– 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “A speaking engagement brings 35-year-old Jesse back to his college alma mater, where he’s blindsided by nostalgia and a plucky sophomore named Zibby. Newly single and unfulfilled by his job, Jesse finds Zibby pulling him out of his disillusionment.”
Fairly good early professional reviews. TRDB.
9/14/12- Good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
9/26/12- A fun romantic film that I’d recommend. TRDB. Comcast On-Demand.
3) GRASSROOTS- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Based on a true story, this inspiring comedy tells the tale of unemployed writer Phil Campbell, who’s roped into helping his quirky friend Grant run for Seattle city council. Surprisingly, Grant’s passion for mass transit may win him the election.”
Fair professional reviews but audiences have liked this movie very much. TRDB.
4) FREE MEN– 2011. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “In German-occupied Paris, a young unemployed Algerian named Younes (played by break-out star, Tahar Rahim) earns his living as a black marketeer. Arrested by the French police but given a chance to avoid jail, Younes agrees to spy on the Paris Mosque. The police suspect the Mosque authorities, including its rector Ben Ghabrit, of aiding Muslim Resistance agents and helping North African Jews by giving them false certificates. At the Mosque, Younes meets the Algerian singer Salim Halali, and is moved by Salim’s beautiful voice and strong personality. When Younes discovers that Salim is Jewish, he stops collaborating with the police and gradually transforms from a politically ignorant immigrant into a fully-fledged freedom fighter.”
3/16/12- Mixed reviews in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
4/14/12- I saw this as part of the 2012 Jewish Film Festival at the Jacob Burns Film Center and liked it very much. TRDB.
5) LET GO– 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “A disheartened parole officer struggling to find happiness in a ho-hum marriage finds inspiration from an unlikely source: his own parolees. As his slightly loopy ex-cons play out their dramas, the parole officer works to resolve his own.”
Very good early audience reviews– no professional critics yet. TRDB.
6) PEOPLE LIKE US– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “When Sam flies home for his estranged father’s funeral, the reading of the will reveals a sister he never knew he had — and an order that Sam must bring his alcoholic sibling and her young son their inheritance.”
Very good early reviews. TRDB.
6/29/12- Only a fair review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
2) HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “This passionate documentary focuses on the grass-roots crusade in the 1980s and ’90s to speed up efforts at developing treatments for the HIV virus. The film follows AIDS activists to Washington, where they challenge the government to act.”
Excellent reviews so far. TRDB.
9/21/12- Great review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
3) ELECTORAL DYSFUNCTION– 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “After discovering that the right to vote is missing from the U.S. Constitution, political humorist Mo Rocca sets out on a road trip to see how voting works — and doesn’t work — in America. He heads to Indiana, home to some of the strictest election laws in the country, and meets one Republican and one Democrat who take him inside their efforts to get out every vote during the 2008 Presidential election. As he progresses on his journey, Mo searches for the Electoral College; critiques ballot design with Todd Oldham; investigates the heated battle over Voter ID and voter fraud; and explores the case of a former felon who was sentenced to ten years in prison — for the crime of voting.”
9/21/12- Mixed reviews in general and in today’s NY Times. Audiences have liked it very much. TRDB.
4) 186 DOLLARS TO FREEDOM– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “This gritty drama based on a true story follows American surfer Wayne Montgomery as he moves to Peru in 1980. After being framed on drug charges, Wayne survives in the infamous El Sexto prison as corrupt officials try to extort money from his family.”
9/21/12- Poor review in today’s NY Times and elsewhere as well. TRDB.
5) BLINKY AND ME– 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “Following his life from Nazi-occupied Poland to Israel to Australia, this documentary tells the story of pioneering animator Yoram Gross, who gained fame and fortune through his popular film series Blinky Bill.”
9/21/12- Poor review in today’s NY Times. Audience reviews have been mediocre also. TRDB.
6) THEY CALL IT MYANMAR: LIFTING THE CURTAIN– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Shot clandestinely over a two-year period in the second-most isolated country on the planet, Burma, this documentary lifts the curtain to expose everyday life in a country that has been held in the iron grip of a brutal military regime for 48 years.”
Very good reviews. TRDB.
7) DEAR MANDELA– 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Destroyed homes, threats at gunpoint and high-court action, this battle by three young people to stand up for their rights is a testimony to people power. When the South African government promises to ‘eradicate the slums’ and begins to evict shack dwellers far outside the city, three friends who live in Durban’s vast shantytowns refuse to be moved. Dear Mandela follows their journey from their shacks to the highest court in the land as they invoke Nelson Mandela’s example and become leaders in a growing social movement. By turns inspiring, devastating and funny, the film offers a new perspective on the role that young people can play in political change and is a fascinating portrait of South Africa coming of age.”
Poor early reviews. TRDB.
8) HELLBOUND?- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Enough with the comforting white light when we die; what if you end up, you know, in the other place? This thought-provoking film digs for answers. Theologians, clergy and pop culture figures discuss hell: its place in religion, history and reality.”
Good review in the NY Times on 9/21/12 and OK reviews in general. TRDB.
9) FRED WON’T MOVE OUT- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “With levity and sadness, two grown children and their aging parents struggle with the decision whether the older generation should stay in the house where they have lived for fifty years. Shot in the house where the director’s parents lived for close to fifty years shortly after they moved out, the film’s semi-autobiographical story is memorably acted by a small ensemble cast led by Elliott Gould. Shot in sequence in three weeks with a heady mix of improvisational work by both author Richard Ledes and his cast, the film’s personal approach to its subject captures a universal story uniquely told. “
Poor audience reviews but no professional reviews as yet. TRDB.
10) THREE STARS– 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Focusing on ten Michelin 3 Star chefs, Three Stars depicts the everyday drama of life in gourmet restaurants and includes exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes access to some of the world’s most talented chefs as they work in their gastronomic laboratories, hunt for exquisite ingredients in local markets, and gather rare edible plants along rough coastlines. It reveals the business of cooking on the highest level and highlights the various kitchen routines and culinary philosophies of chefs like Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Yannick Alléno, and Olivier Roellinger.”
So far, poor reviews all around. TRDB.
11) DOCTORED– 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Doctored is director Bobby Sheehan and producer Jeff Hays’ entry into the emerging genre of health focused feature documentaries and follows both patients and health care providers struggling within a broken health care system. The story begins with the AMA’s attack on their non-drug providing rivals, the chiropractic profession. Interviews and historical footage expose the AMA’s clandestine campaign to eliminate chiropractic services, which culminates in a 15 year legal battle known as the Wilk case. Sheehan uses this story, and the following stories of patients seeking or forced into alternative treatments, as “a small doorway into a large room.” The key point made early in the film is that as it relates to health care almost all areas have been “doctored”. Endemic of the problem is the plight of today’s MD who is forced to forgo the “art” of medicine in exchange for 12-15 minute appointments and forced prescriptions dispensing. The film also shows spectacular successes from seeming chiropractic miracles from Olympic gold medalists, Hall of Fame NBA players and a mother that was sent home to die who regains health. Sheehan and Hays shot hundreds of hours of footage from Surgeons, MD’s, DC’s, DO’s, patients from Picabo Street and John Stockton; normal, every day people fighting for their lives, shown in crisis, each having to choose to follow the normal, drug-based, standard of care or risk everything by providing or accepting belittled alternative therapies. Although the US makes up only 5% of the world’s population, we consume over 50% of all the world’s pharmaceutical drugs, while we endure worsening health. Sheehan shed’s light on this “doctored” system and opens a conversation on real solutions.”
9/21/12- Just a fair review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
12) MY UNCLE RAFAEL– 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “When a TV producer is desperate to find a replacement series, she convinces a 71 year-old Armenian, tell-it-like-it-is Uncle to star in a new reality show. Cultures collide when Uncle Rafael is thrown into the Schumacher family household where he, in his own Armenian way, has one week to save an already broken and dysfunctional American family from falling apart. The only rule-everyone must follow his rules!”
9/21/12- Poor review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
13) 17 GIRLS– 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “Based on true events, this drama tells the story of 17 teenage girls from the same school in small-town France who get pregnant at the same time, baffling the adults — and the boys — in their lives.”
Most reviews are OK. TRDB.
9/21/12- Today’s NY Times had a mixed but basically good review. TRDB.
2) BRINGING UP BOBBY– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Olive is a European exile living in Oklahoma with her 10-year-old son, trying to raise him properly even as her past begins to close in on her. Her son, however, has the same roguish charm that landed her in trouble in the first place.”
Weak reviews. TRDB.
3) 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.
4) PITCH PERFECT– 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Beca (Anna Kendrick) is that girl who’d rather listen to what’s coming out of her headphones than what’s coming out of you. Arriving at her new college, she finds herself not right for any clique but somehow is muscled into one that she never would have picked on her own: alongside mean girls, sweet girls and weird girls whose only thing in common is how good they sound when they sing together, in the new out-loud comedy Pitch Perfect. When Beca takes this acoustic singing group out of their world of traditional arrangements and perfect harmonies into all-new mash-ups, they fight to climb their way to the top of the cutthroat world of college a cappella.”
Fairly good reviews. TRDB.
5) WON’T BACK DOWN– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “In this fact-based drama, two women from different classes and races (Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal) draw on their common bond of motherhood to fight institutional inertia and an antagonistic bureacracy to improve an inner-city school.”
No reviews as yet but there was reference to this movie in Frank Bruni’s Op-Ed piece in the Sunday, 8/19/12 NY Times. TRDB.
6) THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “While Bebe floats around in the first flush of new love, her best friend DeeDee is bitter and self-destructive after a breakup. When they meet Clementine, who’s also dealing with relationship issues, the three go on a zany New York escapade together.”
No reviews as yet. TRDB.
2) BACKWARDS– 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “When she doesn’t make the Olympic cut for a second time, über-competitive 30-year-old rower Abi Brooks becomes a coach at a school working for her ex-boyfriend — and as she adjusts to her new life, she makes some important discoveries about herself.”
A few early reviews are mixed. TRDB.
9/21/12- Awful review in today’s NY Times. 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
9/21/12- I think that today’s review in the NY Times was a mixed one, the review undoubtedly more difficult to explain than the movie. TRDB.
9/19/12- A suspenseful and well acted financial thriller. I recommend it. TRDB.
2) THE MASTER– Bethel, Saw Mill Hawthorne, Danbury, Clearview 100, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “A heavy-drinking loaner named Freddie finds some semblance of a family when he stumbles onto the ship of Lancaster Dodd, the charismatic leader of a new “religion” — some say cult — he forms after World War II.”
A few early reviewers said this was a great piece of work. TRDB.
3) TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE– Bethel, Saw Mill Hawthorne, Danbury. 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Slowed by age and failing eyesight, crack baseball scout Gus Lobel takes his grown daughter along as he checks out the final prospect of his career. Along the way, the two renew their bond, and she catches the eye of a young player-turned-scout.”
Excellent reviews for this movie starring Clint Eastwood. TRDB.
4) THE INTOUCHABLES– Clearview 100. 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.
5) SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN– Jacob Burns, Garden Cinema Norwalk. 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Decades after Detroit singer-songwriter Rodriguez disappeared following the failure of his two critically praised records in the 1970s, two fans from South Africa, where Rodriguez was a huge hit, try to track down their idol, with intriguing results.”
Fairly good reviews. TRDB.
7/27/12- A confusing but good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
9/3/12- A well structured suspenseful documentary about a legend coupled with great music, great interviews, a likable subject and a thought provoking screenplay make this a GREAT DOCUMENTARY. 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
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