ALMAYER’S FOLLY- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “This affecting adaptation of a Joseph Conrad novel follows the efforts of a Western trader in 1950s Malaysia to ensure a lush life for his daughter. Instead, he finds that his plans may lead to her ruin by the young man hired to work for him.”
8/10/12- Excellent professional reviews in general as well as in today’s NY Times. Audiences have not like the movie. TRDB.
Add comment August 10th, 2012
MAX AND THE JUNKMEN- 1971. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Claude Sautet’s elegant and sophisticated crime drama stars the great Michel Piccoli as Max, a Paris detective hellbent on justice at any cost after watching one too many wily criminals slip through his fingers. Following a chance encounter with Abel (Bernard Fresson), an Army buddy now working as a scrap collector (most of whose “scrap” just happens to be stolen), Max decides to lure Abel and his gang into committing a bank robbery … so that he can then catch them red-handed. So Max poses as a wealthy banker and begins a series of illicit rendezvous with the high-class prostitute Lily (Romy Schneider), who happens to be Abel’s girlfriend, carefully dropping hints about a bank that’s just waiting to be knocked over. But there’s one thing the cold-hearted Max doesn’t factor into his diabolical scheme: the possibility of falling in love.
8/10/12- Good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Add comment August 10th, 2012
GOATS- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “When 15-year-old Ellis departs from his home in Tucson for an elite East Coast prep school, he must leave behind his New Age mother and his goat herder mentor, Goat Man, to forge a new life with his estranged father and new stepmother.”
8/10/12- Awful reviews in general and in today’s NY Times as well. TRDB.
Add comment August 10th, 2012
LITTLE WHITE LIES- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Little White Lies follows a group of longtime friends who reunite for their annual beach vacation despite a traumatic accident involving one of their own. During their seaside getaway, they all make discoveries about each other and are finally forced to own up to the little white lies they’ve been telling one another — and themselves.”
8/24/12- Weak review in today’s NY Times and mixed reviews in general. TRDB.
Add comment August 7th, 2012
GIRLFRIEND BOYFRIEND- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “When three rebellious students leave their hometown to pursue their lifelong dreams in the big city, their relationships start to face the pressures of real life as the 1980s Taiwanese sociopolitical reformation movement unfolds in the background.”
8/3/12- Great review in today’s NY Times but just OK reviews by other critics. Audiences have loved it. TRDB.
Add comment August 3rd, 2012
MOSQUITA Y MARI- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Neighbors but by no means friends, high schoolers Yolanda and Mari discover a bond and an attraction when they‘re made study partners. One a star student, the other more focused on work — both are rocked to the core by their growing connection.”
8/3/12- Great review in today’s NY Times and by others as well. TRDB.
6/18/13- This movie received very good reviews but I found it just OK. I might have liked it more if I understood the attraction between the two young girls. TRDB.
Add comment August 3rd, 2012
SPARKLE- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “When three Detroit sisters rise to fame as a Motown girl group in the 1960s, their sudden success creates conflict that rips their lives apart. While she deals with her family’s issues, the youngest sister, Sparkle, starts to chase her own dreams.”
8/17/12- A fairly good review in today’s NY Times with other critics mixed. Audiences have enjoyed it. TRDB.
Add comment August 1st, 2012
COSMOPOLIS- 2012. Synopsis by Netflix. “Wall Street whiz Eric Packer is caught in Manhattan’s gridlock as he helplessly watches his empire fall with the rise of the Chinese yuan. Activity erupts in the streets, and paranoia sets in as Packer links the clues to his imminent assassination.”
8/17/12- Very good review in today’s NY Times but mixed reviews in general from both critics and viewers. TRDB.
Add comment August 1st, 2012
CHICKEN WITH PLUMS- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “In 1950s Tehran, a musician’s life comes undone: an old flame doesn’t recognize him, his violin is broken and he becomes bedridden with worry. As he spirals into despair without the ability to play music, he teeters on the edge of oblivion.”
8/17/12- A good review in today’s NY Times and very good professional reviews in general. Fairly good audience reaction as well. TRDB.
5/3/13- This movie is a bit strange but stick with it and I think you won’t be sorry. TRDB. Netflix.
Add comment August 1st, 2012
BELOVED- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “In the freewheeling Paris of the ’60s, young Madeleine (Ludivine Sagnier)-who has gone from selling shoes to sleeping with men for money-falls for a handsome Czech doctor, Jaromil (Rasha Bukvic), who she soon marries and joins in Prague. A baby daughter is born, but Jaromil’s infidelities and the arrival of Russian tanks in Prague lead Madeleine back to France-though the love between them still burns. Thirty years later in London, we follow Madeleine’s daughter, Vera (Chiara Mastroianni), who has fallen in love with a musician (American actor Paul Schneider) who is incapable of devoting himself to her, while her ex (Honoré regular Louis Garrel) still pines for her. Meanwhile in Paris, a re-married Madeleine (Catherine Deneuve) has rekindled her love affair with Jaromil (director Milos Forman, in a rare acting role). Frequent Honoré collaborator Alex Beaupain (LOVE SONGS, DANS PARIS) composed the emotional, César-nominated score for this light-hearted but ultimately moving exploration of the changing nature of relationships.”
OK professional reviews but weak audience reaction. TRDB.
8/17/12- Good review in today’s NY Times but only mixed reviews by other critics and by audiences as well. TRDB.
Add comment August 1st, 2012