Category Archives: FilmReview

2008, Not Feel Good

Stop-Loss (2008)

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From NetFlix:

After a tour in Iraq, decorated hero Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan
Phillippe) returns home to his small Texas town and tries to
readjust to civilian life. But when he’s called up again as
part of the military’s controversial stop-loss program, he
decides to go AWOL. Directed by Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t
Cry), this poignant drama co-stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and
Channing Tatum as Brandon’s war buddies and Timothy Olyphant
as his superior officer.

If we didn’t have freedom of speech in the USA this anti-war anti-stop-loss movie which criticizes the war in IraqNam (no mistake) as well as the Army could not have been make. Considering how young the cast is, the ensemble work is well done. Amazingly there is NO preaching, just a perfectly imaginable sequence of events that highlights the unfair Army practice. And don’t expect a predictable ending.

Preaching to the choir ?

2008, Feel Good For All

John Adams (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Paul Giamatti stars in this sweeping Emmy-nominated
miniseries that chronicles the astonishing life of founding
father John Adams: revolutionary leader, America’s first
ambassador to England, the first vice president and the
second president. The iconic cast of characters includes
Abigail Adams (Laura Linney), George Washington (David
Morse), Thomas Jefferson (Stephen Dillane), Benjamin
Franklin (Tom Wilkinson) and many more.

This book is based on David McCullough’s 2001 book. I was so inspired by this set of 3 discs that I have started to read the 651 page book. I will let you know in a few years if I have ever finished the book. I have classified this book as OK for children. But there are smallpox inoculations and breast cancer surgery (no explicit cutting, just the frightening preparation) that
caused wife Kathy to temporarily leave the room.

History really comes alive!

2007, Not Feel Good

The Counterfeiters (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Facing an ethical quandary, Jewish master forger Salomon
Sorowitsch (Karl Markovics) must choose between abetting
the Nazis and saving his skin in this taut Oscar-nominated
drama based on a true story. Assembled at a death camp,
a cadre of printers, artists and chiselers — led by the
opportunistic Sorowitsch — is tasked with counterfeiting
currencies to weaken Allied economies. But will Sorowitsch’s
conscience begin to gnaw at him as the war draws to a close?

Again not for the squeamish. The concentration camp scenes are difficult to watch. Great ensemble acting. Satisfying end. Not feel-good and again not for children.

2002, Not Feel Good, Revenge

Dirty Pretty Things (2002)

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From NetFlix:

Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an illegal immigrant working as
a night porter at a posh London hotel, stumbles across
evidence of a bizarre murder. He and Senay (Audrey Tautou),
a Turkish chambermaid — and fellow undocumented worker —
venture into the city’s seedy underworld to find out what
happened. Stephen Frears directs this gritty urban thriller.

This film is not for the squeamish. But if you are into revenge, the ending is very satisfying. Such a great villain! Not feel-good and not for children.

2004, Not Feel Good, Spanish

Live-in Maid (2004)

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From NetFlix:

Winner of a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival,
this film tells the story of Beba, a spoiled member of the
Argentinean upper middle class, and Dora, the maid who’s
worked for her more than 30 years. When Beba’s wealth begins
to fade, the relationship between the two women undergoes
subtle and not -so-subtle changes, amplifying the cataclysmic
transformation occurring in Argentinean society. Norma
Aleandro and Norma Argentina star

This film in Spanish (subtitles) is not a feel-good. The ensemble acting between the two women is well-done, understated, but effective. The ending is a real kick. If anyone else sees this movie, I would like to do a sanity check about the ending. And did you by any chance choose sides ?

2007, Feel Good Not For Children

P.S. I Love You (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank), a young widow living in New
York, has just lost her beloved husband Gerry (Gerard Butler)
to a brain tumor. Inconsolable, Holly finds that Gerry left
for her a series of letters to help cope with the grief. As
months pass, Holly discovers new messages from Gerry encouraging
her to go on living. And while Holly’s friends fear the letters
will mire her in the past, they, in fact, give her strength
for the future.

Even my date (she of the picky picky movie tastes) loved this movie as she sat silently weeping toward the end. Do not be put off by the argument that starts the film. It actually relates to the rest of the film. The ensemble of Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Kathy Bates, and Harry Connick Jr. works well. The plot is very tightly constructed (and calls for some suspension of disbelief). At certain points the film comes perilously close to a B movie (but who doesn’t enjoy a little sentimentality ?) The scenes of Ireland were so beautiful that I really must visit Ireland before I die. The sex scenes were so genuinely loving (and discrete) that I would probably recommend it for teenagers.

2008, Not Feel Good, Violent

In Bruges (2008)

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From NetFlix:

After accidentally killing an innocent boy in London, Irish
hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are sent
by their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), to lay low in Bruges.
But, uncomfortable in this foreign city, the two professional
killers soon get into trouble. Complicating matters further,
when the guilt-ridden Ray falls for a girl working on a film
shoot, he finds himself confronting the girl’s jealous
ex-boyfriend.

For me this film was a breath of fresh air. Or as they would say in the film, “this was a breath of F_ _ _ _ _ G fresh air!”. The F-word is used every other second. Ignoring that, the script and the stream of crazy events were an entertaining sequence of surprises. Colin Farrell plays a perfect naive, uncultured, blarney-filled hit man with a conscience (similar to his role in Cassandra’s Dream). The end of the movie is VERY VIOLENT. Not for children.

Makes you want to visit medieval Bruges,

2007, Several languages, Unusual

The Band’s Visit (2007)

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From NetFlix:

When an Egyptian police brass band travels to Israel to
play at the opening of an Arab arts center, they wind up
abandoned and lost in a remote desert town in this charming
cross -cultural comedy. Defying expectations, the tiny Israeli
community embraces the musicians, and both the Egyptians and
the locals learn a few things about one another — and
themselves — in this witty winner of the Cannes Film Festival
Un Certain Regard prize.

This movie is in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. There are subtitles. Wife Kathy loved this film (and that is really saying something!). It is a slow (should I say almost deadly) film with an indie flavor. But the slowness fits perfectly with the stark, and for me frightening, loneliness of the Israeli desert town. I could not imagine being in such a flat, hot, almost uninhabited place. Beneath the deadpan lifelessness of the members of the band (except for the new young recruit), lies some sorrow to be revealed. Kathy did not even fall asleep once. This film might not be for everyone. Some sex, possibly not for children.

2007, Sci-Fi

I Am Legend (2007)

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From NetFlix:

A terrible virus has spread across the planet and turned the human
race into bloodthirsty monsters. Mankind’s only hope for survival
is scientist Robert Neville (Will Smith), the one person left
unaffected by the epidemic. When he’s not fighting for his life
against the hordes of the infected, Neville searches for a cure
to reverse the virus’s effects — all the while battling his own
doubt and despair as he spends every day alone.

In 1954 Richared Matheson wrote the book “I Am Legend”. It has been made into a film three times: “The Last Man on Earth”, “The Omega Man”, and “I Am Legend”. It explored the notion of vampirism as a disease.

OK, OK. Yes, it sounds like a high-school film. And yes, I was ready to chuck it after 10 minutes. You have to like apocalyptic science fiction to enjoy this. It starts out slowly. But wait … the tension really builds (what is that lurking just around the corner ?). Will Smith gives a terrific performance as a very very very lonely man (his dog Samantha means everything to him). Maybe it’s an anti-SciFi predjudice, but I have to give this film a B.

2007, DO NOT MISS, Not Feel Good

The Visitor (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Widowed professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) discovers an immigrant
couple, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman) and Zainab (Danai Gurira), squatting in
his Manhattan flat and becomes wrapped up in their lives when Tarek is
thrown into a detention center. A wonderful Hiam Abbass co-stars as
Tarek’s mother, who forges an unlikely connection with Walter.
Director Thomas McCarthy’s follow-up to his indie hit The Station
Agent premiered at Sundance in 2008.

Kathy and I saw this at the Embassy in Waltham. It’s an eye-opener into the world of immigration detention centers (nothing harsh, just the utter bureaucratic hopelessness). The acting, especially Richard Jenkins (the father in “Six Feet Under”), is superb. In other words, don’t miss it.

Immediately after the film, Kathy and I were driving in the car when we were stopped by an extremely polite police officer who informed us that our car was no longer registered. Upon inspecting my valid registration, plates, sticker, and license, he decided that the RMV had made a mistake and he would therefore not have our car towed. However, I did have to have a court appearance. I spent the morning at the RMV having them correct their mistake. At least we were not thrown into a detention center and made non-existent.

But the movie was really good.