The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

The two main reasons to see The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans are Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage.

Herzog is an amazing director and his work is on par in this film. I really liked the look of the film and there are some very interesting scenes that include some lovely creatures. The script, written by William Finkelstein, is good but not great. Herzog is such a good director that he gets the most out of it. The story held my interest but I was much more impressed when something happened. I certainly will not say what.

In this film Cage has his best role in a long time. His Lt. Terence McDonagh is a drug addicted, nutty character. He really blows off steam and seems over the top but I found him a lot of fun to watch. The rest of the cast is fine but it doesn't matter because this is Cage's film.

So if you want to be entertained by a good black comedy check out The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.

DVD Mini Review - Lilya 4-Ever

Lukas Moodysson's Lilya 4-Ever is one of the most heartbreaking films you will ever see. It takes place in the former Soviet Union. Sixteen year old Lilya (Oksana Akinshina) thinks she is going to the US with her mother (Lyubov Anapova) and her mother's boyfriend. But she is in for a rude awakening. Her mother decides to leave her behind because Lilya will just be an inconvenience. Lilya is left to her Aunt Anna (Liliya Shinkaryova) who forces the girl to move to a smaller, rattier apartment. And this is just at the beginning of the film.

Lilya is good friends with Volodya (Artyom Bogucharsky) who is younger than she is and has a crush on her. Lilya spends many a day with little to eat. She doesn't know what to do so she starts visiting bars where older men hang out. In steps Andrei (Pavel Pomonaryov) who treats her well and promises her a better life in Sweden. But in Sweden she meets Witek (Tomasz Neuman) and things go in a different direction.

I usually cry in films that are emotionally harrowing but this one was just too shocking and I just sat there and stared in disbelief. Moodysson does a great job of bringing this sad tale to life. All of the acting is very good with the young Alinshina and Bogucharsky being outstanding. It is hard to believe but these things happen everyday. If you love world cinemas as I do then check this one out.

The Messenger

The Messenger is one powerful film. It is a small film that has gotten great reviews and it needs to be seen. It is not going to get the release that 2012 or Twilight got but it is slowly opening around the country so try to catch it if you can.

The film is directed by Oren Moverman (he co-wrote the wonderful I'm Not There). He is a first time director but you would never know it. The script was co-written with Alessandro Camon. The protagonist is Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery (Ben Foster). Montgomery is a Iraq war vet. He has suffered some injuries and he is considered a hero. He has three months left before his enlistment is complete. He is assigned to a duty that no one wants - telling families that their loved ones have been killed. Montgomery will be working with Captain Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) who is very experience in doing this. Stone is quite a character and sometimes seems too much for the reserved Montgomery.

What follows is harrowing. They go to several different families and you can only imagine their. However, one woman - Olivia Pitterson (Samantha Morton) seems almost cool about the news. Montgomery takes a keen interest in her and wants to get to know her better.

I really don't want to say more about what happens. The film takes its time telling the story and that is a good thing - at least for me it is. You get to know Montgomery and Stone pretty well. The film doesn't go into politics but it is an anti-war film of the highest order. Moverman was in the Israeli army and certainly knows the score. He is a filmmaker to watch and Camon is also someone to watch. Foster, Harrelson and Morton all give outstanding performances. And Steve Buscemi, as the father of one of the fallen soldiers, is simply wonderful in a two scene cameo.

So, if The Messenger is playing in your neck of the woods do yourself a favor and take yourself to see it. You won't be sorry that you did. It is definitely one of the best films of the year!

DVD Mini Review - The Unknown Woman

A few words about Giuseppe Tornatore's The Unknown Woman. It is a thriller with a number of twists and turns. And it really draws you in from the beginning.

Irena (Xenia Rappoport) is a woman from the Ukraine who has become involved in the sex trade. During flashbacks we see what she went through and I can say the violence is very graphic in those scenes. But the are real and must be part of the film. She eventually escapes and tries to start over. She wants to work as a maid and she enlists the help of a porter (Alessandro Haber) to help her. However, she is hellbent of working for a couple who already have a maid. Irena will not let anything stand in her way of what she wants. She is particularly interested in the couple's young daughter Tea (Clara Dossena). Things move along but eventually a man from her past (Michele Placido) comes back to haunt her.

The Unknown Woman is such a good film and I was riveted throughout. Tornatore really knows how to make a film. All of the actors are terrific and Rappoport is just amazing in the lead role. You can't take your eyes off of her face. I would like to see her in other films. The young Dossena is wonderful as well. In addition to a great story and a good looking film you have the outstanding musical score by Ennio Morricone.

So do yourselves a favor and rent this film as soon as you can. You won't be sorry that you did.

Precious and Pirate Radio

A few words about two movies I saw today.

Precious has been getting attention since it played at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. It is Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. And it is one powerful film. Directed by Lee Daniels and scripted by Geoffrey Fletcher Precious really packs a punch.

Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) is sixteen and still in junior high school. She has been raped by her father and is now expecting her second child. Her mother Mary (Mo'Nique) is verbally and physically abusive. Precious is also quite overweight and although she is smart she has trouble reading. She has a miserable life. But there are people out there who want to help her. One is her teacher Ms. Rain (Paula Patton) who sees potential in Precious. Another is her case worker Mrs. Weiss (Mariah Carey).

The film partly takes place in Precious's head through fantasies. That is how she tries to deal with reality. This is not an easy film to watch. It is pulls no punches and goes for the gut. Daniels pulls you right into the film. Newcomer Sidibe is terrific as Precious. And Mo'Nique is amazing as her witch of a mother. Carey is really good as Mrs. Weiss - I was pleasantly surprised at how good she is. And not enough has been said about Patton as the sympathetic Ms. Rain. Also good in a small role is Lenny Kravitz as Nurse John.

Look for Precious come Oscar time. I think that the film will get a number of nominations and perhaps a win for Mo'Nique. Don't let the rough subject matter keep you away from this outstanding film.

Pirate Radio was a perfect film to see after Precious. I felt a great heaviness on my head after seeing the first film. Pirate Radio is a lot of fun and I needed a few laughs.

Based on a true story taking place in the late 1960s the story is about the time the UK banned rock music over the airwaves. With all that great music coming out of there back then you wonder why. So a group of rebel disc jockeys started up a radio station on a boat. And boy did they rock! In the film the head dj is The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman). He is the king until his rival Gavin (Rhys Ifans) comes back. Bill Nighy plays Quentin, the man who appears to be in charge. He has given refuge to his godson Carl (Tom Sturridge). Kenneth Branagh plays the government official who is hellbent on shutting down the station.

I really enjoyed the film and I love the music. Sometimes the script seems a little corny and the plot goes a bit overboard. I don't think that the film is all that accurate. But it doesn't matter because you can have a very good time if you let yourself just get into the film. Nighy, Hoffman, Ifans and Branagh are all wonderful in their roles. Emma Thompson makes a cameo appearance as Carl's mother Charlotte. And Man Men's January Jones has a small role in the film.

So if you love The Kinks, The Who, The Rolling Stones and other music from that time period do yourself a favor, kick back and enjoy Pirate Radio.

DVD Mini Review - The Country Teacher

Bohdan Slama's The Country Teacher is a terrific little film. It is a simple story but one that can resonate with many people.

Petr (Pavel Liska) leaves a good teaching job in Prague to go and live in a rural area. He takes a position teaching natural science. He strikes up a strong friendship with Marie (Zuzana Bydzovska) but ultimately Zuzana wants more than a friendship. That is not possible because Petr is gay. In fact, he left Prague because he wanted to get away from his boyfriend George (Marek Daniel). Throw into the mix Marie's troubled son Lada (Ladislau Sedivy) and you have one interesting story.

The Country Teacher is a gentle film and it is quite realistic. It is a very sensitive film. It is about loneliness, friendship and redemption. And those are themes that I find very important (and personal). All of the acting was very naturalistic. Liska gives a find low key performance and Bydzovska is very strong. The scenery is lovely. And how often do we see a real calf being born to a mother cow?

The DVD features a wonderful short (10 minutes) film entitled Peter and Ben. It is a British film about the friendship between two dropouts. Peter is a human and Ben is a lamb. Both of them prefer to be with each other instead of their own species. I really liked this little film a lot.

I recommend this DVD to those of you who like good world cinema.

An Education and The Men Who Stare at Goats

I am even shorter on time this weekend so I will have to make it brief. But I saw two films and I want to say a few words about both of them.

An Education, directed by Lone Scherfig, is a very enjoyable film indeed. Jenny (the luminous Carey Mulligan) is a sixteen year old living a very ordinary life in suburban London. She goes to school, plays the cello and hopes to attend Oxford. Her father Jack (Alfred Molina) and mother Marjorie (Cara Seymour) really want her to attend Oxford. That is their dream for her. But along comes David (Peter Sarsgaard) who changes her life.

David is about twice her age and really knows how to treat a woman (or in this case a girl). At first her parents are put off by him because he is older, a Jew and might take her away from her studies. But they soon submit to his charms. Jenny gets to meet David's friends Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Helen (Rosamund Pike). And she gets to go to Paris. But I knew that something was not right and if you want to see what happens then you must see the film.

Scherfig does a great job of recreating early 60s London. Nick Hornby wrote the intelligent screenplay based on Lynn Barber's memoir. All of the acting is top notch. Mulligan is a star in the making. In addition to the above mentioned actors Olivia Williams is very good as Jenny's teacher Miss Stubbs and Emma Thompson is outstanding as the headmistress of the school. A lot has been made of Mulligan's performance and she deserves the attention. But I think that Molina gives the best performance in the film. I hope that he is remembered come Oscar time (he should have been nominated for his performance in Frida - he played Diego Rivera).

An Education is a very good film. I can't say that it is an Oscar movie but it certainly is one of the better films of the year. There is some controversy about the film because some say it is anti-Semitic. I don't agree. There are a few references to David's being Jewish. But it is based on a memoir so the film is trying to stay true the actual story.

The Men Who Stared at Goats is a fun and trippy little film. I quite enjoyed it and found myself laughing throughout the film. It is directed by Grant Heslov and the script is written by Peter Straughan from a book by Jon Ronson. And this film is also based on a true story.

At some point and time the US Army had a section that dealt with paranormal activity. I always suspected this. The film tells a more fictionalized version of the story. Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) was one of the men involved in this. He retells his story to a very interested journalist named Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) as they traipse through Iraq. His (and others) guru was Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) who was the leader of this motley crew of soldiers. But a bad guy has to come along, in the name of Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey) and spoil things.

I don't want to go into too much detail about what happens because I want people to see for themselves. On the other hand, this film might be a bit too quirky for some people. But for those of you who like head trips and want to know about government secrets then you will like it.

This is Heslov's directorial debut. He co-wrote the screenplay of Goodnight, and Good Luck with Clooney. He did a good job for a first try. I liked all of the acting but I especially liked Clooney and the marvelous Bridges. Anyway, if you want to have a good time with a serious section see The Men Who Stared at Goats.

DVD Mini Review - Mouchette

Robert Bresson's Mouchette (based on Georges Bernano's novel) is a beautiful but very bleak film. And it is a true classic.

Poor Mouchette (Nadine Nortier) is just fourteen years old and has such a hard life. Her mother is dying. Her father is a drunkard and treats her poorly. She goes to school and has to come home to do all the household chores including taking care of her infant brother. It is not much of a life.

I don't want to say much more about the plot. Mouchette is a short film but a lot is packed into its 81 minutes. Nortier is so good in the film that it is hard to believe that she was not a professional actress. I don't think she ever made another film. The rest of the cast is great too.

Yes, the film is depressing. And there is some animal cruelty that I was upset about. But this is real art cinema and if you like these type of films (as I do) then you must see this film.

Of note: the DVD extras included a trailer for the film directed by Jean Luc Godard. It made the film seem lighter but it was quite interesting to watch.

The Maid, The Little Traitor and Antichrist (MOD)

Yesterday was a big movie day for me. I saw three films - two in the theater and one on Movies on Demand. I will say a few words about each.

The Maid is Sebastian Silva's excellent character study of Raquel (Catalina Saavedra)a maid who has worked for a family for about 20 years. She is in her early 40s and getting tired. The woman of the house, Pilar (Claudia Celedon), wants to get her another maid to help her out. But she is resistant. During the film three new maids are hired to help her - Merecedes (Mercedes Villanueva), Sonia (Anita Reeves) and Lucy (Mariana Loyola). Different things happen with each new maid.

I was totally riveted throughout the film. To tell you the truth, I was appalled by Raquel's behavior. But my feelings changed as time went on. If this was an American film things would have been different - much less realistic. Saavedra gives an amazing performance as a very troubled woman. She has a most expressive face. I would like to see more of her work. And Silva is a talent to watch. I can't wait to see what he does next. If you can see this in a theater then do so. If not then renting it is a must.

The Little Traitor is a lovely little film directed by Lynn Roth from a short story written by Amos Oz. The story takes place in 1947 in Palestine. This was before Israel became a state. Proffy (Ido Port) lives with his family who came from Poland and very Zionistic. He and his friends hate the occupying British. But things change for Proffy when he meets and befriends Sgt. Dunlop (Alfred Molina). He sees that not all British are bad people.

The film is a coming of age tale but it is more than that. It says a lot about the notions we have about judging other people just because they are Jewish, British, Arab, etc. And we learn a something about history. Molina is very good - as he always is. And the young Port is wonderful and adorable as well. We even get a nice cameo from the legendary Theodore Bikel. This one is worth checking out either in the theater (if you can catch it there) or DVD when it comes out.

What can I say about Lars von Trier's Antichrist. It is beautifully shot by Anthony Dodd Mantle. The acting is great - Willem Dafoe is great and Charlotte Gainsbourg is outstanding (as great as Dafoe is Gainsbourg is even better with the showier role.
But this a very disturbing film and not for every (or even most) tastes.

The Prologue is really something else. Husband and wife are making passionate love. They are so wrapped up in each other that they don't hear their young son leave his crib and fall out of the window. For me that section was the best part of the film. Afterward the woman (neither one have a name) is beyond grief. Her husband is a therapist and tries to help her in a very clinical way. They wind up going to their cabin in the woods and try to heal. However, this is not such a good idea. I won't say more about the plot. I will say that there is a lot of graphic sex - which did not bother me at all. There is a lot of blame being tossed around. And Gainsbourg's woman seems to have major personality problems (to say the least). There is also some very graphic violence and some heavy symbolism. I did not hate this film but I can't say really liked it. It was interesting. As someone who loves cinema I am glad that I saw it. But I cannot recommend it to most people because I don't think that they would go for it. This one is only for a select audience. I have liked some of von Trier's work and he has an amazing way with actresses (Emily Watson, Bjork, Nicole Kidman, Gainsbourg). But there are also things about him that repulse me (killing a donkey while filming Manderlay, The Idiots was so bad that I walked out of the screening - something that I almost never do). What more can I say? He is one strange dude.