Two Classic DVDs

I am not actually reviewing these two films. Rather I am just making a few comments. Very recently I decided to rent two films that have been around for a long time and have something in common. One film is Hiroshima, mon amour and the other one is All Quiet on the Western Front.

Hiroshima takes place some time after World War II. The story focuses on a French actress Elle (Emmanuelle Riva) who is in Hiroshima making a film about peace. She meets a Japanese man Lui (Eji Okada) and they start an affair. Both of them are married and both of them have heavy baggage that they carry around with them. Lui recalls the bombing of Hiroshima and
talks about how his people suffered because of this. Elle tells Lui about her first love, a German soldier, and the consequences of that entanglement. The film is about trying to bury memories and what happens when you decide to remember. It also has a lot to say about the horrors of war. Hiroshima is beautifully directed by Alain Resnais and skillfully written by Marguerite Duras (from her book).

All Quiet on the Western Front won a Best Picture Oscar and a Best Director Oscar for Lewis Milestone. It is based on the book by Erich Maria Remarque, who fought in World War I and became a pacifist afterwards. The screenplay was written by George Abbott and Marshall Anderson. Lew Ayres plays the protagonist Paul Baumer, a German soldier who is at first gung ho about going off to war. However, after a while he comes to the conclusion that war is not worth it because of all of the damage that it does. Of note - the DVD extras mentions that Ayres refused to fight in World War II. He was a vegetarian and didn't believe in killing of any kind. He eventually went overseas as a non-combatant.

What these two films have in common (besides the fact that they are both in black and white) is that they are anti-war. And they are both timeless. As someone who is against all of the wars and violence in the world these two films really hit the spot. The damage done in Hiroshima is nothing compared to what can happen with all of the high tech weapons out there today. The war fought in All Quiet is not World War I - it is every war. So if you want to see some great anti-war films check these two out. You won't be sorry that you did (and don't forget to see Clint Eastwood's masterful Letters from Iwo Jima which is another great anti-war film).

2006/7 Oscar Winners

Best Picture - The Departed
Best Director - Martin Scorsese, The Departed
Best Actor - Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
Best Actress - Helen Mirren
Best Editing - The Departed
Best Original Song - I Need to Wake Up, Inconvenient Truth
Best Original Screenplay - Little Miss Sunshine
Best Original Score- Babel
Best Documentary - An Inconvenient Truth
Best Documentary Short - The Blood of Yingzhou District
Best Supporting Actress - Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls
Best Foreign Language Film - The Lives of Others
Best Visuals Effects - Pirates of the Caribbean
Best Cinematography - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Costume Design - Marie Antoinette
Best Adapted Screenplay - The Departed
Best Animated Feature - Happy Feet
Best Supporting Actor - Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Best Sound Mixing - Dreamgirls
Best Sound Editing - Letters from Iwo Jima
Best Live Action Short - West Bank Story
Best Animated Short - The Danish Poet
Best Makeup - Pan's Labyrinth
Best Art Direction - Pan's Labyrinth

Independent Spirit Award Winners

BEST FEATURE"Little Miss Sunshine"Producers: Marc Turtletaub, David T. Friendly, Peter Saraf, Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa

BEST DIRECTORJonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris, "Little Miss Sunshine"

BEST FIRST FEATURE"Sweet Land"Director: Ali SelimProducers: Alan Cumming, James Bigham, Ali Selim

JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD (feature made for under $500,000)"Quinceanera" Writer/Directors: Richard Glatzer & Wash WestmorelandProducer: Anne Clements

BEST SCREENPLAYJason Reitman, "Thank You For Smoking"

BEST FIRST SCREENPLAYMichael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"

BEST FEMALE LEADShareeka Epps, "Half Nelson"

BEST MALE LEADRyan Gosling, "Half Nelson"

BEST SUPPORTING FEMALEFrances McDormand, "Friends with Money"

BEST SUPPORTING MALEAlan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHYGuillermo Navarro, "Pan's Labyrinth"

BEST DOCUMENTARY (Award given to the director) "The Road to Guantanamo"Directors: Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross

BEST FOREIGN FILM (Award given to the director) "The Lives of OthersDirector: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (Germany)

SPECIAL DISTINCTION AWARDDavid Lynch, Laura Dern

FILMMAKER GRANT NOMINEESIFC/
Acura Someone to Watch Award (narrative prize)Julia Loktev, director of "Day Night Day Night"

Axium Truer Than Fiction Award (documentary prize)Adele Horn for The "Tailenders"

Axium Producers Award (producing prize)Howard Gertler and Tim Perell, producers of "Shortbus" and "Pizza"

Amazing Grace

Michael Apted's new film is pretty damn good! I wasn't sure whether I would like it or not but I most certainly did.

The film is the story of the marvelous and rebellious William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) who helped stop the slave trade in Britain as well as pioneering other important reforms. Wilberforce was an idealist and wants change but he has a great deal of opposition in Parliament as many members thought that money was more important than human life (that is still true even in this day and age - and yes, slavery still exists). However, slowly but surely Wilberforce turns things around.

Apted gets good performances out of the whole cast and Steven Knight's script is well written. It is wonderful to see so many great actors in one film. Gruffudd gives a very believable performance as the passionate Wilberforce. Joining him are Ciaran Hinds and Toby Jones as men who want to keep the slave trade business intact. The terrific actors who are in his camp are Michael Gambon as Lord Charles Fox, Stephen Campbell Moore as James Stephen, Rufus Sewell as Thomas Clarkson and Benedict Cumberbatch as Prime Minister William Pitt. Also doing very fine work is Romola Garai as Wiberforce's wife Barbara (who shares all of his views), Albert Finney as John Newton (the former slave owner who repented and wrote Amazing Grace) and making his film debut as the former slave Oloudagh Equiano is the marvelous Senegalese singer Yossou N'Dor.

Amazing Grace explores a period in history that I knew little about but I want to do some research on. Besides being anti slavery Wilberforce was passionate about free education, prison reform and animal protection (he started the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) among other things. While watching the film I thought to myself that we need more people like Wilberforce out there today. I found this film very inspiring and it made me want to do more to try and make the world a better place. And while not a perfect film it is very good and I highly recommend it to all of those who want to see how just one person can really make a difference.

DVD Review - American Gun

American Gun is not a bad film but it could have been so much more than it is. The film, directed by Aric Avelino and written by him and Steven Bagatourian, at times seems like it is underwritten and a bit thin.

The film intertwines three stories, all of which have guns in common. One story is about Janet (Marcia Gay Harden), the mother of a boy who killed, along with another boy, a number of people at his high school. He was also shot dead. She tries her best to get on with her life as does her younger son, but that is easier said then done. The same story features a cop (Tony Goldwyn) who is accused of not doing enough at the time of the shooting.

The second story features a man named Carter (Forest Whitaker - who is one of the producers) who moves his wife and young son to Chicago so that he can take a position as the principal of a tough school where the students regularly carry guns. He is so involved with the school that he barely has time for his own son.

The last tale, and the least developed, is the story of Carl Wilk (Donald Sutherland), who owns a gun shop, and his granddaughter Mary Ann (Linda Cardellini) who is staying with him (while she goes to college) and is opposed to guns. Something happens to make Mary Ann take shooting lessons.

The wonderful Sutherland is totally wasted in his role. But Goldwyn, Whitaker and the remarkable Gay Harden all turn in wonderful performances. American Gun wants to be more than it turns out to be. And that is too bad because I applaud its anti-gun stance (I, personally, don't see why anyone should own a gun). But if you want to see a much better film that explores some similar (but not identical) themes then rent last year's Oscar winning film Crash.

DVD Review - Take the Lead

Take the Lead is not a bad film. But it is not what I would call a good one either. It is very likeable but it just doesn't go far enough.

It takes your typical story of troubled teens who need a savior and mixes in some very good dance numbers. The film is based on the true story of Pierre Dulaine, who is a professional dance instructor and a fabulous dancer. Antonio Banderas plays Dulaine and he does a very good job of making his character real. At first the students are not interested in this type of dancing but they eventually warm up to the idea. Most of them have problems at home so this is good for their self esteem.

All of the actors who play the students are good as is Alfre Woodard as the school's principal. But there are times when the film falls flat. I blame director Liz Friedlander and screenwriter Dianne Houston for this. If Take the Lead had better writing and direction it would have been a good film. Because of Friedlander's and Houston's lack of flair the film comes up short.

But I am still glad that I rented it because I enjoyed all of the dance numbers. And I liked watching Banderas. I think it is about time he was given a role with a little more meat on its bones (ah, remember how good he was in Pedro Almodovar's films?).

The real Dulaine is profiled in the bonus section of the DVD. If you want to find out more about Dulaine and his dance programs, which are now integrated in many schools in New York City and expanding around the country, then I suggest that you rent the wonderful documentary Mad Hot Ballroom.

My Best of 2006

I finally put together my best of 2006 list. It wasn't easy because there were so many good films. And I am sure that some very good films, performance, etc. were left out. But I am trying to simplify things as much as possible and that is bound to happen. Anyway, here are my picks for the cream of the crop for 2006.

Best Picture

The Lives of Others
Pan's Labyrinth
Babel
Letters from Iwo Jima
House of Sand
The Aura
The Secret Life of Words
L'Enfant
Volver
The Queen
Notes on a Scandal
Children of Men
Half Nelson
Water
The Death of Mr. Lazerescu
Princessas
Sweet Land
Time to Leave
The Proposition
Heading South
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles
Venus
Fateless
Days of Glory
Bon Bon - El Perro
V for Vendetta

Best Actor

Ulrich Muhe - The Lives of Others
Ricardo Darin - The Aura
Peter O'Toole - Venus
Tim Robbins - The Secret Life of Words
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland
Ryan Gosling - Half Nelson
Jeremie Renier - L'Enfant
Kazuriari Ninomiya - Letters from Iwo Jima
Melvil Poupaud - Time to Leave
Derek Luke - Catch a Fire
Gael Garcia Bernal and William Hurt - The King
Ion Fiscuteanu - The Death of Mr. Lazerescu
Toby Jones - Infamous
Edward Norton - The Painted Veil

Best Actress

Helen Mirren - The Queen
Judi Dench - Notes on a Scandal
Fernanda Montenegro and Fernanda Torres - House of Sand
Ivana Baquero - Pan's Labyrinth
Maggie Cheung - Clean
Sarah Polley - The Secret Life of Words
Penelope Cruz - Volver
Charlotte Rampling and Karen Young - Heading South
Kate Winslet - Little Children
Naomi Watts - The Painted Veil
Laura Dern - Inland Empire
Annette Bening - Running with Scissors
Candela Pena and Michaela Nevarez - Princessas
Elizabeth Reaser - Sweet Land

Best Supporting Actor

Sergi Lopez - Pan's Labyrinth
Jackie Earle Haley - Little Children
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine
Bill Nighy - Notes on a Scandal
Michael Sheen - The Queen
Brad Pitt - Babel
Djimon Honsou - Blood Diamond
Daniel Craig - Infamous
Michael Caine - Children of Men
Stanley Tucci - The Devil Wears Prada

Best Supporting Actress

Rinko Kikuchi and Adriana Barraza - Babel
Cate Blanchett - Notes on a Scandal
Carmen Maura, Lola Duenas and Blanca Portillo - Volver
Maribel Verdu and Ariadna Gil - Pan's Labyrinth
Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt - The Devil Wears Prada (Meryl's role was really supporting)
Shareeka Epps - Half Nelson
Sandra Bullock - Infamous
Luminita Gherghiu - The Death of Mr. Lazerescu
Catherine O' Hara - For Your Consideration

Best Director

Guillermo del Toro - Pan's Labyrinth
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - Babel
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck - The Lives of Others
Clint Eastwood - Letters from Iwo Jima
Alfonso Cuaron - Children of Men
Stephen Frears - The Queen
Richard Eyre - Notes on a Scandal
Pedro Almodovar - Volver
Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne - L'Enfant
Fabian Bielinsky - The Aura
Andrucha Waddington - House of Sand
Todd Field - Little Children

Best Original Screenplay

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck - The Lives of Others
Guillermo Arriaga - Babel
Guillermo del Toro - Pan's Labyrinth
Iris Yamishita - Letters from Iwo Jima (story with Paul Haggis)
Peter Morgan - The Queen
Pedro Almodovar - Volver

Best Adapted Screenplay

Patrick Marber - Notes on a Scandal
Ron Nyswaner - The Painted Veil
Alfonso Cuaron, Timothy J. Sexton, David Arata, Mark Fergus & Hawk Otsby- Children of Men
Todd Field and Tom Perrotta - Little Children
William Monahan - The Departed

And now for this year's Woody Award. This time around the winner is Helen Mirren. Dame Helen had three outstanding roles in 2006. Two of them were as queens - Elizabeth I on the HBO mini series and Elizabeth II in the feature film. She also played Detective Superintendent Jane Tennison in her last Prime Suspect. So she is truly a queen in the world of acting and very much deserves this award.

A Few More Awards

The Cinematographers Guild chose Children of Men's Emanuel Lubezki as the best cinematographer of the year. I agree with this choice one hundred percent.

There was a tie for the Editor's Guild award for best feature. The two films that received the award are Babel and The Departed. I much prefer Babel. In the musical/comedy category the winner was Dreamgirls. And in the documentary category the winner was An Inconvenient Truth.

Congratulations to all of the winners!

Berlin Film Festival winners

Here are the winners from the Berlin Film Festival (they sure give out lots of prizes). I haven't heard of most of the films but I hope that many of the good ones get US distributors so we can get a chance to see them here.

GOLDEN BEAR
"Tuya's Marriage" (China)

SILVER BEARSJury Grand Prix
"The Other" (Argentina, France, Germany)

ACTRESS
Nina Hoss ("Yella," Germany)

ACTOR
Julio Chavez ("The Other," Argentina, France, Germany)

DIRECTOR
Joseph Cedar ("Beaufort," Israel)

ARTISTIC CONTRIBUTION
Cast ("The Good Shepherd," U.S.)

FILM MUSIC
David Mackenzie ("Hallam Foe," U.K.)

ALFRED BAUER PRIZE
"I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK" (South Korea)

FIRST FEATURE FILM
"Vanaja," (India, U.S.)

TEDDY
"Spider Lilies," (Taiwan, China)
"La Leon," (Argentina, France)
Special Mention"A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol Factory" (U.S., documentary)
"Notes on a Scandal" (U.S., U.K.) Audience Prize

SHORTS
"Contact" (Netherlands, Golden Bear)
"Pick-Up" (France, Silver Bear)
"Mei" (U.S., Silver Bear)
PRIX UIP BERLIN
"Rotten Apple" (U.K.)

DAAD SHORT FILM AWARD
"My Mother Learns Cinema" (Turkey)

GENERATION KPLUS CRYSTAL BEARS
"Dorm" (Thailand, Crystal Bear)
"Mukhsin" (Malaysia, Special Mention)
"Menged" (Ethiopia, Germany, short, Crystal Bear)
"Gaining Ground" (Germany, short, Special Mention)

GENERATION 14plus CRYSTAL BEARS
"Sweet Mud" (Israel, Crystal Bear)
"The Fall" (U.S., India, Special Mention)

KINDERFILMFEST INTL. JURY PRIZES
"Mukhsin" (Malaysia, Grand Prix)
"Dorm" (Thailand, Special Mention)
"Gaining Ground" (Germany, short, Special Prize)
"Having a Brother" (Denmark, short, Special Mention)

ECUMENICAL JURY PRIZE"Tuya's Marriage" (China, Competition)"Getting Home" (Hong Kong, China, Panorama)"Hounds" (Germany, Forum)

FIPRESCI (INT'L. CRITICS ASSN.) PRIZES
"I Served the King of England" (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Competition)
"Takva -- A Man's Fear of God" (Turkey, Germany, Panorama)
"Hounds" (Germany, Forum)

MANFRED SALZGEBER PRIZE
"The Tracey Fragments," (Canada)
"Happy New Life" (Hungary, Special Mention)

PANORAMA AUDIENCE AWARD"Blindsight" (U.K.)

GUILD OF GERMAN ART HOUSE CINEMAS PRIZE
"Hallam Foe" (U.K.)

CICAE (Intl. Confederation of Arthouse Cinema) PRIZES
"The Bubble" (Israel, Panorama)
"Echoes of Home" (Switzerland, Germany, Forum)

LABEL EUROPA CINEMAS PRIZES
"Summer Rain" (Spain, U.K.)

PRIZE DIALOGUE EN PERSPECTIVE
"Pool of Princesses," Bettina Bluemner

CALIGARI FILM PRIZE
"It Happened Just Before" (Austria)"Wolfsbergen" (Netherlands, Belgium)

NETPAC PRIZE
"Tuli" (Philippines)
"Faces on a Fig Tree" (Japan)
PEACE FILM AWARD
"Goodbye Bafana" (Germany, France, Belgium, U.K., Italy)

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL FILM PRIZE
"When Darkness Falls" (Sweden, Germany)

BERLINER MORGENPOST READERS' PRIZE
"Irina Palm" (U.K.)

TAGESSPIEGEL READERS' PRIZE
"Echoes of Home" (Switzerland, Germany)

SIEGESSÄULE READERS' PRIZE
"The Bubble" (Israel)

FEMINA FILM PRIZE
Bettina Boehler (Editing, "Yella")

Breach

I am wondering why Breach was not released at the end of 2006 instead of at the beginning of 2007. Director Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) has made a solid thriller based on a true story. I don't think that the film would have garnered tons of nominations but I do think that Chris Cooper could very likely have scored a nomination for his searing performance of Robert Hanssen (and knocked out the overrated Will Smith). It is too late for that and I think that Cooper's performance will probably be forgotten by the end of the year.

Hanssen was working for the FBI but he was also selling top secrets to the Soviets. When Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe) is assigned to the case he is told that Hanssen has to be watched because he is heavily into porn. Now this fact turns out to be true. But, O'Neill later finds out that Hanssen has done much worse things than watching snuff films. On top of all of this Hanssen is a devout Catholic and attends mass everyday. Talk about a man who is filled with contradictions.

Although we know the outcome of the story I don't want to say much about how he finally got caught. That is part of the entertainment factor of the film. Breach is nicely paced and never feels sluggish. It is a good film and I am surprised that it was released at this time of the year.

Phillippe is surprisingly good as O'Neill. And Laura Linney is wonderful (as always) as the tough agent Kate Burroughs who O'Neill has to report to. But the film belongs to Cooper. I couldn't keep my eyes off of his face. Every twitch of his mouth and every blink of his eyes show that he is a man who is hiding something deep down inside. Cooper is definitely one of the best American actors working today (I liked him since I saw him in the John Sayles films Matewan and Lone Star).

Although February may not be the best time to release a quality film it worked out to my advantage. Having seen all of the Oscar nominated films I was looking for something good because most of the new films out there are pretty bad. So if you like films that make you think and keep you on your toes then Breach is for you.

DVD Review - 13 Tzameti

This dark and daring film is directed by a young filmmaker named Gala Babluani. Babluani's family came from Georgia to France in order to escape the constant threat of war.

The film's protagonist is Sebastian (played by Babluani's younger brother George). Sebastian works as a painter and helps his family the best that he could. One day Sebastian is on a job when his client dies. He discovers a letter addressed to the deceased than contains specific instructions. Sebastian, who leads an ordinary life, decides to follow the instructions to wherever they may lead him - which is not a good place. That is all I will say about the film. I am not even going to tell you anything more about the title.

Young George is terrific as Sebastian. He transforms himself from a regular working man to a man who has lost his soul. Aurelien Recoing (he was in Time Out) is also wonderful as Jacky.
There are several moments in the film that have you sitting on pins and needles waiting to see what happens. In the end, I more or less knew what was going to happen. But it didn't matter because I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. And I must add that the film is shot in glorious black and white.

Although I don't want to say much regarding what this film is about I will say that it is gruesome. It is hard to believe that things like this actually go on in this day and age. But they do - there is an interview with a participant of this practice (for lack of a better word) on the DVD. 13 Tzameti is not for everyone. But for those of you who want to see a film that is off the beaten track then this one is for you.

DVD Review - The Cave of the Yellow Dog

This beautiful film is directed by Byambasuren Davaa, who was also one of the directors of the wonderful The Story of the Weeping Camel.

The film follows The Batchuluun family, who happen to be nomads (they are a real family). One day the eldest daughter Nansal finds a lovely dog. The dog becomes her best friend but her parents (especially her father) do not want her to keep the dog. This dog is not yellow. However, at some point in the film we find out the significance of the yellow dog.

The film is visually stunning as it shows us a part of the world, Mongolia, that most of us have never been to. Yellow Dog shows us a way of life that is on its way out. There are not many nomads left. And although most people would never consider this type of life, who is to say our modern lifestyle is better? These people respect the earth more than most people do. And they are also very spiritual. They believe that we must take care of the earth because we will be revisiting (reincarnating) her many times and she has to be preserved.

The DVD includes an interesting interview with the director. Despite getting very good reviews this film barely played in the theaters when it was released a few months ago. I highly recommend The Cave of the Yellow Dog to anyone who wants to see something that is simple and extraordinary at the same time.

WGA Awards

Best Original Screenplay - Little Miss Sunshine

Best Adatped Screenplay - The Departed.


Yawn - Yawn -Yawn!

I am so bored by the Oscar season. I can't wait until it is over.

BAFTA Awards

Not many surprises here except for maybe Paul Greengrass as Best Director. I hope that something unusual happens at the Oscars.

Best Film: The Queen
Best British Film: The Last King of Scotland
Best Director: Paul Greengrass
Best Actor: Forest Whitaker
Best Actress: Helen Mirren
Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Hudson
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Last King of Scotland
Original Screenplay: Little Miss Sunshine
Animated: Happy Feet
Editing: United 93
Visual Effects: Pirates 2
Original Score: Babel
Best Sound: Casino Royale
Best Foreign Film: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Makeup: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Costume: Pan's Labyrinth
Best Cinematography: Children of Men

DVD Review - Word Play

Patrick Creadon's very interesting documentary focuses on the people who create the complicated New York Times crossword puzzles and those who become addicted to them.

Will Shortz is the editor of the paper's crossword page and we find out quite a bit about him.
He always wanted to create puzzles and didn't care if he made any money. He was more interested in following his passion (good for him). Fortunately for him he doesn't have to worry about the money.

Several celebrity crossword puzzle solvers - including Bill Clinton, Jon Stewart and Ken Burns - are interviewed. The last part of the film presents the American Crossword Puzzle Championship and we follow several of the competitors as they gear up for the contest.

Although I don't do crossword puzzles I enjoyed the film because I am into words. The competition didn't have the same type of suspense as the spelling bee in Spellbound had. But it is still a very entertaining film that shows us how wonderful the English language is.

Breaking and Entering

This Anthony Minghella written and directed film paints a realistic picture of several people's lives in modern day London. And it is not afraid to show how class affects the day to day existence of these characters.

Will (Jude Law) is a successful architect. He lives with his longtime partner Liv (Robin Wright Penn) who suffers from depression. Liv's daughter Bea (Poppy Rogers) is also somewhat disturbed. Will's home life is quite complicated.

Will and his business partner Sandy (Martin Freeman) have just set up a new office in the King's Cross section of the city (not a very nice neighborhood). Unfortunately, word has gotten around the neighborhood about the new business and there are several robberies. Will manages to track down one of the robbers, a boy named Miro (Rafi Gavron) who is Bosnian. This leads will to the boy's mother Amira (Juliette Binoche) who works as a seamstress. After a while Will and Amira get involved.

I found Breaking and Entering to be a really intense relationship film. It is a film of the heart. Most of the characters are in some type of pain. And the film explores how people live depending upon their social class. This film is totally believable.

The acting is truly outstanding. Many times I have felt that Law was miscast in a role. But here he is terrific in his most mature role to date. Wright Penn is excellent as Liv bringing a great deal of sadness to the role. And Binoche is amazing. Her accent is perfect. She is simply one of the best actresses working today. Gavron is very good, as is Rogers. Vera Farmiga has a wickedly funny turn as a prostitute named Oana that Will befriends. And Ray Winstone and Juliet Stevenson are wonderful in their small roles. The other character that I loved is the city of London, which is one of my favorite places in the world. It brought back memories of when I had to take the tube from King's Cross station back to my hotel.

I just can't understand why so many critics dismissed this film. Perhaps it was a bit too emotional for some of them. For me this is a great film and I highly recommend it. If you like films about complex relationships then Breaking and Entering is a film for you.

Unconscious

Unconscious is a wonderful Spanish comedy/mystery directed with flair by Joaquin Oristrell. The witty screenplay was written by Oristrell, Dominic Harari and Teresa Pelegri.

The story takes place in Barcelona in 1913. Alma (Leonor Watling) is a very modern woman. She is also very pregnant. She is shocked when her psychiatrist husband Leon (Alex Brendemuhl) disappears. He had recently gotten back from Germany where he went to seminars given by Sigmund Freud. She enlists the help of her brother-in-law Salvador (Luis Tosar) to help her find Leon. You can see right from the beginning that Alma and Salvador have a strong connection. This does not sit well with Alma's sister Olivia (Nuria Prims). But Olivia has a secret of her own. And so does Alma's and Olivia's father Dr. Mira (Juanjo Puigcorbe). And you just know that there is something strange about Alma's housekeeper Sra. Mingarro (Mercedes Sampietro). I don't want to say much more about the plot because I don't want to spoil the fun.

Unconscious is a wonderfully funny farce about psychiatry. And it has the mystery twist as well. The film is well written and directed. All of the actors are wonderful. It is always a joy to watch Tosar and Watling. And the film is beautiful to look at.

I had an enjoyable time watching this film and I do highly recommend it. It is getting a limited release so for those of you who can't see it in the theater do rent it on DVD.

DVD Review - Flicka

I wanted to see the new version of My Friend Flicka (the original version was made in 1943) because I love horses (and all creatures great and small). I can't say that this new version of the family film based on Mary O'Hara's book is as good as the original. But it is still a very nice film.

The theme is one we've seen many times before. Feisty Katy (Allison Lohman) butts heads with her rancher father (Tim McGraw). Her mother (Maria Bello) always seems to be in the middle. Katy goes to an expensive boarding school and is not doing well. She would rather be with the horses on the ranch. One day Katy finds a beautiful wild mustang and wants to tame her. She names her Flicka (which means pretty girl). But her father sees to it that Katy and Flicka are separated. You more or less know the rest but it doesn't matter. You can still enjoy watching the film for its beautiful visuals and heartwarming theme.

27 year old Lohman is pretty convincing as the 16 year old Katy. The wonderful Bello is underused in her role and I wouldn't call McGraw an actor. Most importantly, the film has a positive message about saving wild mustangs.

I didn't like the rodeo scenes. I find rodeos cruel and unnecessary. I'm sure that the American Humane Society did its best to make sure that nothing bad happened to the animals during those scenes. However, after I saw the film I read a piece on line that said that two horses died during the making of this film. It was not due to any negligence or any act of cruelty. They were both accidental deaths. But if I knew about his before I saw the film I might not have rented it (I don't want to point fingers because it was an accident - but it makes me wonder what happens on the sets of other films that use animals).

However, since I have seen the film I can say that is a good family film in a style that we don't see too often these days. I just hope that film crews are more careful in the future when making films using real, live animals.

The Berlin Film Festival

The Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale) runs from February 8 through February 18. It always showcases a good mix of world cinema and American films. And this year is no exception. There will be six Israeli films shown throughout the festival. American films being shown include The Good Shepherd and Letters from Iwo Jima. There will be a number of interesting sounding documentaries featured including Los Invisibles which consists of five short films examining some of the world's overlooked problems and the people that are affected by them. The short films were directed by Fernando Leon, Isabel Coixet, Wim Wenders, Mariano Barroso and Javier Corcuera. The entire film was produced by my favorite actor on the planet - Javier Bardem.

The festival opens up with My Vie en Rose which is a film about Edith Piaf.

The jury is made up of:

Paul Schrader (jury head)
Hiam Abbass
Mario Adorf
Gael Garcia Bernal
Willem Dafoe
Nansun Shi
Molly Malene Stensgaard

I will post some updates on the festival once it is underway.

DVD Review - Running with Scissors

I avoided seeing Running with Scissors on the big screen because I read the book and I thought that it was just too unbelievable. But I thought that I should check it out in DVD. And I actually liked the film. No, I still don't buy the entire story. But director Ryan Murphy does a good job of bringing Augusten Burroughs' memoir to the screen (Burroughs also wrote the screenplay).

The story starts out with young Augusten (Joseph Cross) being caught in the middle of his parent's volatile marriage. His mother Deidre (Annette Bening) feels that his father Norman (Alec Baldwin) is stifling her creativity. She is obviously bipolar and Norman's drinking doesn't help things. Deidre enlists the help of a strange psychiatrist named Dr. Finch (Brian Cox) in an effort to save her marriage. This doesn't help and the couple split.

Deidre's next decision is a bad one - she makes Augusten live with Dr. Finch and his family. The other members of the Finch family are his wife Agnes (Jill Clayburgh), and his two daughters, Hope (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Natalie (Evan Rachel Wood). Each one of them is quirky in their own way. Also coming into Augusten's life Neil Bookman (Joseph Fiennes), who was also adopted by the Finch family. Neil is gay and Augusten has come to the realization that he, too, is gay. So he embarks on an affair with the older Bookman.

One can only imagine the impact of a mother giving her child away. I am sure that it is more devastating than either the book or the film can show or tell. All of the acting is good. I really liked Clayburgh's performance and it is nice to see her back on the big screen after an absence.
But the film belongs to Bening. She was terrific! This is not an easy role to tackle. And was also impressed with the fact that both Bening and Clayburgh were not afraid to look older. My hats off to them.

I don't know why the critics didn't like this film but I don't understand many things about the critics. I say be your own critic. All in all, I enjoyed this film (and didn't worry if not everything was fact). I found it darkly funny and also touching. And while it is not a film for everyone I think that many of you want to see something different and are open will like it.

The DGA Award

Martin Scorsese has finally won The Directors Guild of America award. He won it for directing his latest film The Departed. It looks very likely that he will finally win the Oscar in three weeks.

I would like Scorsese to win. He has made many great films. Is The Departed his best film? No. Is he the best director this year? Again, no. But after all this time and so many nominations under his belt I think that he should win. And then we will no longer wonder if he will win (or be nominated) every time he makes a film.

Best of luck Marty!!

DVD Review - Miami Vice

Michael Mann's (he wrote and directed the film) big screen version of the popular television show would probably qualify as "minor Mann" (it doesn't compare to The Insider, Collateral, Heat, etc.). The theme of the film is certainly not original (drugs, etc.). But it is a well made, adult crime drama that is a lot of fun to watch.

Taking on the roles of the two detectives are Jamie Foxx as Rico Tubbs and Colin Farrell as Sonny Crockett. They fit their roles nicely but they don't have to work too hard as the roles are not that challenging in terms of acting. The plot is basically about Tubbs and Crockett going undercover in order to break up and bring to justice a drug smuggling ring.

A number of international actors have smaller roles in this film. Naomie Harris (who is British) plays Det. Trudy Joplin (she just happens to be Tubbs' romantic partner). Irish actor Ciaran
Hinds plays FBI Agent Fujima. I am a bit confused about his character - his last name is Japanese but he certainly isn't. The wonderful Spanish actor Luis Tosar is the head man - Arcangel de Jesus Montoya. He does what he can with his role but it is very underwritten. I would have liked to see more of him on the screen. The best acting is done by John Ortiz who plays Jose Yero and Gong Li who plays Isabella. Both Yero and Isabella are involved with the drug business. And Isabella becomes romantically involved with Crockett (even though she is supposedly a couple with Montoya).

Dion Beebe's cinematography is outstanding. And all the locations feel very real. Miami Vice is not great cinema. But if you want a break from more serious films and just want to be entertained it will certainly do the trick.

DVD Review - Solo Mia

Director Javier Balaguer has created a powerful picture of wife abuse which is something that seems to be rampant in Spain.

Angela (Paz Vega) is working as a receptionist when the charming Joaquin (Sergi Lopez) comes to her office for a meeting. Shortly after they meet (we don't know exactly how long) Angela and Joaquin are married. At first they seem very happy. But it doesn't take long for signs to appear. Joaquin is just too domineering. After the first slap Angela forgives him. But things really spiral out of control after she finds out that she is pregnant. Joaquin insists that she leave her job. He is also constantly putting her down just because he feels superior. Of note - Joaquin doesn't drink much so this is not done in a druken stupor. And he has a good job and is educated.

One fortunate thing that happens to Angela (besides the birth of her daughter) is that she meets Andrea (Elvira Minguez). They meet at a party given by Joaquin's firm. Andrea's husband Alejandro (Alberto Jimenez) is a co-worker of Joaquin's. Andrea gives Angela some much needed courage.

The film uses flashbacks and is very successful in doing so. You sometimes hear just voices and sounds and see nothing on the screen (except the English subtitles). I give Balaguer high marks for doing this. It works really well. The performances by Lopez and Vega are outstanding. They portray real flesh and blood characters.

I recommend this fine film to all who like good cinema. And I am also recommending another wonderful Spanish film that deals with the same subject - Take My Eyes. Both films make you realize just how much talent there is out there in this big world of ours.

The Good German

I was hesitant to see The Good German because the critics didn't give it such good reviews. But after speaking to a few people who saw the film and liked it I decided to take a chance and see it on the big screen. And boy am I glad that I did. This film may not be a masterpiece and it is not director Steven Soderbergh's best work but it is definitely worthwhile.

Capt. Jacob Geismer (George Clooney) returns to Berlin in 1945 (he left before the war). He is covering the Pottsdam Peace Conference for the New Republic. The driver who is assigned to him is a young American soldier named Patrick Tully (Tobey Maguire). Tully may like to talk about his mother's great apple pie but he is anything but wholesome. It seems that Geismer and Tully have something in common - a woman named Lena Brandt (Cate Blanchett). Before he left Berlin Geismer had an affair with her. And now Tully has take over.

The Americans are very anxious to get a hold of Lena's husband Emil. It seems that he has some very important information that they need and they want to get to him before the Russians do.

I am not going to say another word about the plot because that would be giving too much away.
I thought that screenwriter Paul Attanasio fleshed out a most interesting story from Joseph Kanon's book (which I now want to read). And Soderbergh did an amazing job of bringing to life post-war Berlin in glorious black and white (he is responsible for the terrific cinematography).
Thomas Newman's score is outstanding and helps create the mood of the film.

This is an old fashioned type of film noir and Clooney is perfect in his role. He reminds me of many of those handsome actors of the 40s. Blanchett is just marvelous as the femme fatale Lena - a woman with a huge secret. The rest of the cast is fine. Robin Weigert as Lena's
friend Hannalore was particularly good. My only problem with the film was Maguire. He is playing against type and it just didn't work. His acting seemed forced. I would much rather have seen Ryan Gosling in this role. He would have been perfect. Luckily Maguire doesn't have much screen time.

The Good German borrows a lot from the films of yesterday. It tries to recreate the look and feel of films like Casablanca. And while not in that class of film The Good German does succeed as an intriguing film done in a style that we don't often see these days. Hats off to Soderbergh for taking a risk and giving us something different.