ARTIFICIAL PARADISES- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “This moving drama charts the gentle intimacy that develops between Luisa, a twentysomething beauty who journeys to a Mexican seaside resort to kick her heroin habit, and Salomón, an aging, weed-smoking alcoholic who resides nearby.”
3/31/12- Weak review in today’s NY Times and mixed reviews elsewhere. TRDB.
Add comment April 7th, 2012
LOVE IN THE BUFF- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Former lovers Jimmy and Cherie discover that getting over each other isn’t as easy as they thought in this sequel to the romantic comedy Love in a Puff. Six months after their whirlwind romance, Jimmy and Cherie are ready to move on. For Jimmy, that means moving to Beijing for a new career opportunity. As Jimmy begins dating pretty flight attendant Shang You-you, Cherie arrives in Beijing to open a new business and catches the eye of Malaysian Chinese I.T. specialist Sam. But after communicating in a series of texts, Jimmy and Cherie reconnect. Despite feeling that the spark is still there, however, their differences are still as pronounced as ever. As their current significant others begin to sense that something isn’t right, Jimmy and Cherie can’t help but feeling like maybe they were too quick to call it quits, and that perhaps there’s still hope for a future together.”
3/31/12- Very good review in today’s NY Times and from other reviewers as well. TRDB.
Add comment April 7th, 2012
GIULIA DOESN’T DATE AT NIGHT- 2009. Synopsis by Netflix. “Italian director Giuseppe Piccioni weaves a tender story about the unlikely romance that develops between Guido (Valerio Mastandrea), a young writer, and Giulia (Valeria Golino), a woman who’s teaching his daughter how to swim in this affecting drama. Guido soon starts taking swimming lessons himself, but when he finally asks Giulia for a date, he learns that she can’t go out at night because she’s out on a day pass from prison.”
4/6/12- Interesting story, characters and acting make this movie worthwhile. TRDB. Netflix Streaming.
Add comment April 7th, 2012
POST MORTEM- 2010. Synopsis by Netflix. “The bloody 1973 military coup in Chile is the center of this gripping drama about Mario (Alfredo Castro), a lonely morgue worker caught up in the chaos tearing apart his country. When the woman he loves, Nancy (Antonia Zegers), goes missing, Mario’s political awakening begins. Mario’s search for Nancy is interrupted when soldiers kidnap him and his boss (Jaime Vadell) and force them to conduct an autopsy on a secret and highly important corpse.” Very good professional reviews but just so-so audience responses. TRDB.
Add comment April 4th, 2012
THE ASSAULT- 2010. Synopsis by Netflix. “Based on the 1994 attack on an Air France plane, this dramatization tells the story of the stunning response to this globally televised act of terrorism. Incorporating real footage, the film explores personalities from all sides of the conflict.”
OK early reviews. TRDB.
4/6/12- Weak review in today’s NY Times and by many other critics as well. TRDB.
8/6/12- I found this movie interesting primarily because it was based on a true story. There was some original footage as well. It was worth seeing for the historical information especially leading up to the storming of the aircraft. TRDB. Netflix.
Add comment April 2nd, 2012
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.
Add comment March 16th, 2012
ATTENBERG- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Part of the new wave of Greek cinema, Attenberg is an offbeat coming-of-age film. 23-year-old Marina is living in a small, factory town by the sea where her once-visionary architect father, has returned to die. Finding the human species foreign, she keeps her distance, choosing to observe mankind through Sir David Attenborough’s mammal documentaries and the songs of Suicide. While preparing for her father’s impending death, Marina discovers her own sexuality through lessons from her only friend, Bella, and a visiting engineer. Equal parts abstract theater and melodrama, Attenberg sincerely and humorously navigates the defining moments in life.”
3/9/12- Very good review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
5/25/13- I enjoyed this somewhat strange foreign drama. The acting was excellent. TRDB.
Add comment March 9th, 2012
DISSOLUTION- 2012. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Loosely inspired by Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment, Menkes’s most recent film combines an almost surreal fairy-tale energy with brutal black-and-white realism to explore the condition of violence that permeates contemporary Israeli society. Shot in Yafo (the predominantly Arab area of Tel Aviv), the movie follows the moral collapse and first glimmer of redemption, of a young, morose Israeli Jew, played brilliantly by Didi Fire.”
3/9/12- Excellent review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Add comment March 9th, 2012
THE SALT OF LIFE- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “Rather than living the good life he’d imagined, newly retired Gianni spends his days running errands for those around him. Bemoaning his fate, he decides to take a mistress — a task that proves easier said than done in this wistful comedy.” Very good reviews including the NY Times. TRDB.
3/11/12- A delightful comedy with a cute story. TRDB. At the Theater.
Add comment March 7th, 2012
A WEEK ALONE- 2007. Synopsis by Netflix. “An affluent Buenos Aires couple goes on vacation, leaving their children at home with only the family maid to keep an eye on them. But the peaceful dynamic the parents expect is upended when the maid’s teenage brother shows up unexpectedly.”
3/6/12- So this is what happens when you have an idle, unsupervised group of kids? Miserable movie. TRDB. Netflix Streaming.
Add comment March 7th, 2012