The girls grow up on opposing sides in World War II, one in poverty in Germany, the other in an affluent Dutch home. They are reunited on three occasions in adulthood, but bitterness keeps them separated. We get an intimate view of both sides of the war. An S.S. officer who only joins because he can be decommissioned earlier and a jew sent off to Auschwitz form the romantic sides of the sisters. These traits alone prove to be divisive despite expressed support of the sisters reuniting and seeking understanding.
Twin Sisters is told very well, blending memory with three pairs of terrific actresses to represent the sisters during different epochs.
Truth: If we lay down our own pride and seek to understand who our enemies are, we may find that they are our brothers and sisters.
IMDB
Beginning in the 1950's we see how a young and charismatic lawyer begins a political career. The smooth talking Fidel wins followers against the corrupt, American-backed government of Batista; a country ripe for revolution if ever there was one. In the second third of the film, he is joined by a group of ragtag political discontents and the real revolution begins in the mountains and sweeps across the island.
What was most striking for me was watching the beginning of the final chapter of the film as Castro takes the reins of power and really doesn't know what to do. No one has thought of what to do after power is seized and this is really the true weakness of Castro's legacy. Because of a lack of direction, he feels threatened and imprisons anyone who dares question his authority or intentions. Ché Guevara and Raul Castro play prominent roles and we see where they disagreed on policy.
After a shaky introduction, the English speaking Latino actors give you an admirable sense of how life in Cuba was like before, during, and after the revolution. Because the film was made for TV, it surely did not have a suitable budget for such a large scale film, but by focusing on the story rather than offering sweeping battle scenes it doesn't have a cheap feel in the least.
The viewer comes face to face with what Cuba could have been and also a respect for the revolution as it was rather than what it became.
Truth: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. When political ideals are sought with all ones might, many virtues are sacrificed.
IMDB
They didn't think there was enough tension in the story however and so the film veers wildly off course from the novel in The Two Towers. Frodo and co. are taken to Osgiliath. Travelers to Helm's Deep are ambushed by wargs. Aragorn barely survives the attack and is thought dead for a portion of the film. Elves show up to help save the Rohirrim. As much as these deviations bother me, they were inspired additions to the story (with the exception of the warg attack and Aragorn "dying").
What really takes this movie to the next level are the new characters. The Gollum/Smeagol split is captivating and viewers are instantly sympathetic to the pathetic creature. Treebeard's humour and originality adds a quirky personality to the cast. King Theoden of Rohan is fantastic as a conflicted, grieving, confused, and noble leader. Each one steals the scenes they are in.
Whereas in the first film we had one main narrative following the fellowship on their journey south, we now have seven major narratives: Frodo and friends, Treebeard and the hobbits, Aragorn and Legolas and Gimli, royalty from Rohan, Faramir and Gondorian soldiers, Arwen and Elrond, Saruman at Orthanc. The filmmakers do a terrific job of referencing the different stories and bridging the scenes without losing pace.
Now for the crowning piece of cinema that won 13 Oscars.
(FOTR and TTT took 6 combined)
Official Site | IMDB
The story is incredibly unique and we should expect nothing less from writer/director Pedro Almodóvar. We see two very different men who are smitten by women who wind up in comas. Their love is at the same time very sincere, but also echoes past loves and several degrees of codependence. The ladies are performers, one a ballerina, the other a matadora or bullfighter. The two are essentially not heard nor understood by the mooning men, but their survival and perhaps the survival of the love these doomed lovers have for them can only be salvaged by the men talking to their sleeping beauties.
Perhaps the most striking thing about this film is how Almodóvar interweaves performance art into the story. It opens and closes with dramatic dance and sandwiches a 10-minute silent film. The bullfighting is also magnificient and graceful.
The film is tragic and hopeful and left me perplexed, again. That is how I prefer films to end.
Official Site | IMDB
Because of the simplicity of the love shown in the film, there really isn't much to say about it. Both lovers are desiring companionship and they are willing to take the heat for it. It's good.
Watching Greek culture through the eyes of a Greek comedienne is enlightening. Truly we are all the same. I can identify with my proud Acadian heritage and our sometimes excessive assertion of lofty culture (fully justifiable too). What is the most fun is how we don't even notice how others laugh at us.
One of the best monologues in film history, spoken by SCTV alumnus Andrea Martin:
You family now, so I tell you a story. All my life ... I have this lump on the back of my neck. When I reach the menopause, the lump get bigger. I go to the doctor, and he performs a ... bo-bo-bobopsy. And inside the lump, he finds teeth, and a spinal column. The lump ... it was my twin.This film really nails the genre of romantic comedy which was honed to near disgusting perfection through the previous two decades. Normal people in love with something besides their own neuroticism to create conflict.
Though the film makes a thriller out of the subject, and a violent and macabre one at that, it creates an atmosphere for discussion on confession: What does it take for someone to fully confess? Why should duress be excused or condemned? At what point should confession be forced? What are the benefits of confession? Can confession ever be a bad thing and what do those bad things look like?
In Phone Booth, Colin Farrell, a slimy publicist, is called in a phone booth and has a high powered rifle pointed at him ready to shoot if he leaves the booth or tells anyone what is going on. The police are on the scene after certain events take place and the negotiating begins.
I found all of the acting to be quite compelling, especially Forest Whitaker. Keifer Sutherland, the voice on the phone is far too austere and calm however, as though they are trying to make him a God figure with lightning bolts in his hands ready to strike those who do not confess; to this I have a strong reaction against how they portray God. I understand God to be a gentle urging and not so violent and threatening in His desire for us to own up to our misdeeds.
The film makes an attempt to be high tech and trendy and does an adequate job. It also tries puts the story in a global context, which works too. It ultimately succeeds by delivering a personal story and by not being too preachy.
IMDB
The first thing it did is it didn't clean up the boys too much by giving them clever one-liners, though some of the mooshy stuff was gag aweful, but most teenage poetry is that way, so maybe it belonged. The boys did what boys do: ride bikes, make up fantasy worlds, talk about girls, and rebel in their individual way.
The acting by the kids was great. Jenna Malone has yet to disappoint me and Kieran Culkin is awesome. Jodi Foster was a disappointment though. I'm not sure if it was bland acting or writing. I need to learn to tell the difference.
An interesting distinction of Alter Boys is that it incorporates a comic book animation to help tell the story. I found this very effective in lending some lateral strength to the boy's characters and motives.
I am quite tired of the Catholic cliché of being the granite wall to break through to freedom. Perhaps it is used because there are indeed so many people who went to Catholic school (I did). But I find it very uninteresting. Could they maybe have used something like... hmmm, there isn't anything else besides sports that counts as a standard societal passage into manhood. Therein lies the real problem.
IMDB
P.T. Anderson's last film (though another is set for release this year starring Daniel Day-Lewis) after Magnolia, is about a man who has been reduced to nearly nothing by his seven sisters and finds salvation. The film is a lush display of panic, colour, violence, and tenderness. I found myself rapt even though it was the fourth time I had watched it.
Adam Sandler's character is childlike in every way. He is trying his best to eek out an existence despite having bouts of unexplained crying and violence against walls, windows and bathrooms. And then arrives his angel and salvation. The way this man fears and pursues his salvation so well portrayed that it reveals some key features of salvation - it pursues us, it is beautiful and honestly doesn't care about your past.
The film is full of miracles and mishaps, courage and fear, strength and weakness. It is beautifully written and superbly shot. The fairy tale scene in Hawaii is exhilirating that I could watch it over and over again.
IMDB
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