A powerful drama that takes place during a 1976 earthquake in China where over a quarter of a million people died. During the rescue, a mother must choose only one of her twin children to live (her son) and leave her daughter to die. The daughter manages to survive without the mother’s knowledge. The story revolves around the separate lives of each and their eventual reunion. Very moving.
Recommended
Margin Call:
This is a very interesting drama that seeks to replicate what happened within one fictional investment house during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis. A number of psychological pathologies are exhibited by the various characters involved in solving the problem. Kevin Spacey is excellent as the one member of the firm deeply disturbed by his firm’s fraudulent direction.
Recommended
Equilibrium:
This 2002 film, starring Christian Bale, looks at a possible future where all feelings and emotions are suppressed within a drugged population- all to prevent war and violence. You only have to look at recent headlines to realize that the world’s control freaks see this as a viable policy.
Recommended
Sam Kinison- Breaking the Rules:
This 1987 HBO performance finds Sam in top form as his fierce and biting wit takes aim at a variety of issues. I often look at recent events and wish Sam and Bill Hicks were still around to interpret the craziness.
Recommended
Cashback:
This unique British film tells the story of a young artist who suffers a tumultuous breakup with his girlfriend. Now suffering from insomnia, he takes a night shift job at a grocery store. He finds he is able to stop time and uses this newfound ability to disrobe and sketch beautiful, young women who happen to shop in the store. Yes, its sounds kind of kinky, but the film is thoughtfully produced and helps define and explain the keen appreciation for beauty residing in the heart of the artist.
Recommended
Trollhunter:
Shot in documentary style, this Norwegian film follows three young filmmakers who attempt to interview a bear hunter. But they soon learn that he actually hunts trolls for the Norwegian government. Needless to say, a very different and amusing monster flick.
Recommended
Cowboys and Aliens:
An entertaining sci-fi flick that uses western style, setting, and characters in a good old fashioned shootout- but this time between humans and invading aliens.
Recommended
The Host:
This is a well made Korean creature film that is never short on suspense and action. The story revolves around a young girl who is captured by the monster but her family receives no help from the authorities. They then set out on their own to find her. The story includes several standout moments that illustrate and ridicule the ineffectiveness of government led disaster response.
Recommended
Z:
This is an excellent, French drama recalling the true events surrounding the 1963 assassination of a Greek doctor and humanist who led a campaign against the country’s military dictatorship. A good portion of the story centers around the dauntless investigating magistrate who refuses to be pressured by the controlling authorities.
Recommended
Blackthorn:
Not many westerns are made these days- and even fewer are worthy of watching. I couldn’t resist watching this one, seeing that it starred Sam Shepard, whose gaunt features, piercing eyes and raspy voice are custom made for western characters. Here he plays Butch Cassidy, who despite historical accounts of his death, has survived to live in Bolivia. He leaves to visit a son in California he has never seen. But his trip is disrupted by a Spanish robber (very well played by Eduardo Noriega) who claims to be his friend.
Recommended
Rise of the Planet of the Apes:
What a pleasant surprise this was. I had heard reviews that claimed it was a human hating film that celebrated the extinction of humans. To the contrary, I interpreted it as a film about revelation, awakening, and freeing oneself from the existing control grid. One of the most inspiring moments I’ve seen on film shows Caesar, the chimpanzee, loudly saying, “NO!” to his abusive handlers. I also see the gas that accelerates the intelligence evolution of the apes as a metaphor for the ongoing and increasing awakening of sovereign individuals through the new media.
Recommended
The Debt:
The incomparable Helen Mirren plays a Mossad agent, who supposedly kills a pursued Nazi war criminal in 1965. Thirty years later she finds him still alive and must now finish the task while confronting her own fraudulent past.
Recommended
Point Blank:
This French thriller never sees a slow moment. An excellent suspense thriller. A man’s good deed results in a confrontation with the criminal underground that threatens his life and his family’s. A very gritty and intense drama.
Recommended
Monster’s Ball:
Billy Bob Thornton plays a Louisiana state prison guard who falls in love with a woman who also happens to be the widow of a prisoner he knew and helped execute. The experience results in a personal awakening for his character who aims to redirect his time and life.
Recommended
Leaves of Grass:
Tim Blake Nelson directs and also acts in this very Coen Brothers-like, quirky comedy starring Edward Norton as a pair of identical twins. One twin is a free spirited marijuana grower, the other a sober college professor. A well written comedy that will turn suddenly dark at times.
Recommended
Seven Days in Utopia:
I’ll watch just about any film that has Robert Duval. Playing a character custom made for his talents, Duval’s screen presence and authenticity elevates what could have been just another lame “family” drama into a film worth watching.
Recommended
Thunder Soul:
A very enjoyable documentary about a stage band director at a Houston high school in the 1970’s. Not only does he inspire and elevate his students to be professional quality jazz musicians, he incorporates funk into the band’s arrangements, distinguishing it from other stage bands of the era. This documentary revolves around preparation for a reunion concert a few years ago where this director’s past students gather to honor him. An entertaining and moving tribute.
Recommended
50/50:
A nice little film, both touching and funny, about a young man diagnosed with cancer and 50/50 chance of recovery. Joseph Gordon-Leavitt ably plays the doomed man and Seth Rogen is quite funny as his goofy best friend.
Recommended
There Be Dragons:
A present day Spanish journalist works to uncover the mysterious past of his estranged father who participated in the Spanish civil war. He uncovers a past of love and betrayal that also reveals new truths about his own life.
Recommended
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