Friday, February 10, 2012

Sita Sings the Blues

I don't know how this even ended up on my queue. Creative and beautifully animated. Bollywood and Jazz music~ never woulda guessed.

p.s. The director's interview has some interesting info regarding Copyright laws and independent film making you might be interested in.

JR-9/10

Micmacs

Impossible not to love this movie. It's like candy for your eyeballs. I recommend watching it twice ~ the subtitles make it a little difficult to pick up on all the nuances.

JR 10/10

Get Low

One of those simple movies with solid dynamics between Murray, Duvall and Black~ Sissy Spacek ads a touch of class herself.

8/10

The Dhamma Brothers

Meditation + Maximum Security Prisons. Makes you wonder what would happen if they tried this in public schools.

JR- 7/10

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Unmade Beds

Drama about kids living in a squat in London - a boy looks for his missing father while a girl looks for love.

ct - 8/10

Standard Operating Procedure

Several soldiers recount the Abu Ghraib prision scandal in Iraq in an incredibly put-together film. I cried multiple times. If it hits you do the commentary w/ Errol talking too.

ct - 10/10

Trash Humpers

I went to the premiere of this film and in the Q&A someone in a hat asked Harmony Korine 'what does your film mean?' and he replied 'what does your stupid hat mean?' After two years of reflection I think they were both right.

CT 8/10

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

Documentary about the people behind the Earth Liberation Front - the 'environmental terrorists' - and how they were caught.

CT - 9/10

Racing Dreams

Documentary about 3 young kids who race go-karts in hopes of one day racing for NASCAR. No need to like racing to really enjoy this film.

CT 9/10

Wrestling Wuth Shadows

Documentary about what happens when a professional athlete forgets he's first a professional entertainer.

CT 10/10

Up The Yangtze

Documentary about a young Chinese girl from a poor family that is forced to go work on a cruise ship on the Yangtze River - which is in the process of being dammed.

CT 9/10

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Mary and Max

The script is poetic and the claymation is inspiring. Not for children.

JR-10/10

Thursday, July 14, 2011

US of Netflix

http://slacktory.com/2011/07/united-states-netflix-local-favorites/

Where do the cool people live? See Map.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The Five Obstructions

Lars Von Trier finds his obscure favorite director and forces him to make five more films with specific 'rules.' Their conversations are hilarious but the practice gets tiring.

CT 8/10

Inside Job

A documentary about how & why our economy crashed in 2008 and why it's on track for more trouble. I'm not sure the 'lecturing' was necessary - most of the subjects are so arrogant they would have probably incriminated themselves with a different approach.

CT 9/10

Sullivan's Travels

A successful Hollywood director tries to live as a grifter to learn about how the nation's poor live in preparation for directing O'Brother Where Art Thou.

CT 10/10

Dig

A good music-doc about the two very different paths of the two bands 'The Dandy Warhols' & 'The Brian Jonestown Massacre.' From the same director as 'We Live in Public.'

CT 9/10

The Social Network

Such great filmmaking. Everything is on point, but the score shines especially. I couldn't help but watch it twice in two days. The Asian girlfriend literally gave me nightmares.

CT 10/10

The Wild and Wonderful Whites of W. Virginia

I think they used the word 'Wonderful' to cover up some of the fact they are circus freaking this Appalachian family. For the 3 minutes they go into the history of the coal industry having terrible effects on the region's population it gets interesting, then it's back to a shitty, failed MTV project.

CT 5/10
JR 5/10

Everyone Else

A drama about a young German couple who's relationship is tested while they vacation together.

CT 7/10

The Hurt Locker

A refreshing war drama about a bomb-specialist in Iraq. Although it won an Oscar for best picture it's weak ending keeps it from earning a '10'...

CT 9/10

The Tillman Story

The story of an NFL player who gave up his career to join the Army Rangers, and served a year in Iraq before being killed in Afghanistan. Interesting, scary, and very sad.

CT 9/10

Thursday, June 30, 2011

The Trip

Humorous. I wish I got all the inside jokes. Would have been better as the 6 episode series.


JR-7/10

Four Lions

I understand my limitations in writing movie reviews and this one hit that limitation. I have no words for this film. Please fill in this review once you have watched it. It is funny and I loved it.


JR-10/10

Waste Land

Fantastic. I think this movie turned out more poetic than the artist could have imagined. Not due to his artwork but for the wisdom of the catadores.


JR-9/10


Even the Rain

Any movie dedicated to Howard Zinn has big shoes to fill. I would imagine he would be proud of this one. Brilliant. Really.


JR-10/10


CT 7/10

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Blue Valentine

A drama about a couple going through marriage problems that ends up being so much more than a drama about a couple going through marriage problems. Double F's: Fantastic & Fresh.

CT 10/10

127 Hours

A man is trapped by a falling boulder for 127 hours during a solo hike through a National Park.

CT 5/10

Man on Wire

A beautifully made doc about the man that illegally walked a tightrope between the two WTC towers.

CT 10/10
JR-8/10

American Experience: Jonestown

A PBS doc about the largest cult suicide ever. Incredible.

CT 10/10

Rising Son: Christian Hosoi

A crazy documentary about one of the most famous skateboarders of all time whose career was cut short by a mean meth addiction.

CT 8/10

Surfwise

A hippie couple in the 70's takes their 1o kids on a never-ending surfing road-trip in a Winnebago instead of putting them in school. A crazy premise but the storytelling is off - no real conflict surfaces until the 1 hour mark & the ending feels sadly manufactured.

CT 7/10

More Than a Game

Although much better than I thought, it is still just a documentary about a game.

Labron on the Cavs:
CT 8/10

Labron on Heat:
CT 6/10

Dogtooth

The weirdest, funniest, scariest film I've seen in recent memory. It's really beautiful in a very dirty way. Bruuuuuuuuuuce!!

CT 10/10

Sons of Cuba

10-year-olds train at a boxing academy in Cuba. Adults living their dreams through childrens athletics is even more interesting when combined with communism.

CT 8.5/10

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

You have two options:
1) See the Chauvet Caves in 3D narrated by Herzog
2)Wait for the "theme park" Chauvet caves to open and be serenaded by crying 5 year olds.


Not his best...but worth the 11$ and 3D headache.

JR-8/10
CT 6/10 for alligators

Marwencol

Probably the most amazing toy playing I have ever seen.


JR- 8/10
CT - 7/10

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Ariel

My favorite movie of recent memory. The wonderful actors are hilarious and touching at the same time, and the story is wild. I want to watch it over and over.

CT 10/10
JR 10/10

Revanche

A dark Austrian mystery that's well thought out. It never gets so crazy you stop believing it, but always stays weird enough to keep you hooked.

CT 9/10

The Kids Are All Right

Lesbian moms going through mid-life crises with 2 kids becoming adults. I'm now officially a Ruffalo fan, he's hilarious throughout. This would have been a 10 if not for a horribly botched ending.

CT - 8.5/10

Touching The Void

One of those documentaries with a story too crazy to be true. I guess the re-enactments aren't necessarily 'true,' but they never feel corny. A wonderful mix of doc/narrative. Boney M's 'Brown Girl in the Ring' will never be the same after this movie!!

CT 9/10

Dial M For Murder

So fun. So well written. The whole movie basically takes place in one apartment and still never gets boring. One of the best final shots in a movie EVER... !

CT: 9/10

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Capturing The Friedmans

Documentary about a family that is accused of child molestation in the 80's. All of their awkward nerdiness and dysfunction is captured on home video cameras.

CT 8/10

Client 9 - The Rise and Fall of Elliot Spitzer

'I will put a stake through your heart!' A GREAT movie that ends up just GOOD after it's dragged out for nearly 2 hours.

CT 8/10

Jesus Camp

Jesus Fucking Christ this is the scariest horror film I've ever seen.

CT 8.5/1o

Enron - The Smartest Guys In The Room

Evil assholes get caught trying to take advantage of grandmas across the USA

CT 9/10

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

The Great Ecstasy of Sculptor Steiner

A documentary about Ski-flying and reflections on life.

jr-8.5/10

The Great Happiness Space

A strangely unraveling documentary about male 'hosts' in Japan. The subjects are frank and sincere to the camera (although not to each other). I was left feeling empty and alone, at which point I re-watched 'Up' to lift my spirits (just kidding Teddy).

jr-7.5/10
CT - 7

Paul Conrad: Drawing Fire

Cartoons so good they landed him on Nixon's opponents list. A look at the life and times of Paul Conrad.


jr-7/10

Between the Folds

Origami may make you a genius.


jr-8/10