Accidents Happen (2009)

It tries to be funny, but it really isn't. Some tragedy mixed with 80s sitcom level humour. No one who watched this with me thought this was remotely enjoyable.

Un prophète (2009)

One of the greatest films I have ever seen.

The opening scene is a young offender being transferred to an adult prison - no family, we don't really know where he comes from at all. Shortly, he is seconded into the service of the organized crime ring where he climbs the ranks.

A Prophet is powerful and raw with simple though energizing dialogue.

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The Age of Stupid (2009)

This documentary is told from a future perspective of the last man living on earth, so it's a bit hyperbolic. It extrapolates our environmental damage to the planet to the point where all the polar ice caps have melted and all humanity (except one Brit) is lost to drought, storm, etc.

The man scans documentary footage of what is our present day of people trying to fight the trend towards obliteration. Some good stuff in terms of alternative energy, but discouraging in how very little traction their efforts make.

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Los abrazos rotos (2009)

In Pedro Almodóvar's Broken Embraces we get a view of regret years after a tragic incident. In this case we follow a director who had an affair and where his lover is killed.

As he has in the past, the Spanish writer/director depicts characters with diminished physical or mental abilities. I think this puts enough distance between the viewer and the characters so that we can more objectively appreciate the internal struggles. But this one felt just a bit too distant as the characters were just that much more selfish.

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Lovers in a Dangerous Time (2009)

I really enjoyed this Canadian indie romantic comedy drama - a lot of qualifiers, but the more something resembles real-life, the more it's going to reflect all of these. The film stars the same pair who wrote and directed the feature and according to DVD extras, it took three years to complete the project - which is set over a summer and fall in the small mountain town of Creston, BC.

A young woman returns to her hometown for a class reunion, but more to see her old best friend from high school. The two buddies spend time resolving personal struggles and awkward mutual attractions.

The realism in the movie (the actors aren't super gorgeous, the situations appear natural, the tension is not overdone and complex) brings a certain humility to the characters, reflecting the Canadian trait of being self-effacing. I hope the filmmakers get another shot at making another great film.

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In the Loop (2009)

In the Loop is a crass parody of international relations between Britain and the United States. There are plenty of noteworthy quips, but most of them are not-repeatable. It's fast moving, cynical and quite smart. You won't come away from the film inspired, but you may have laughed depending on your attitude towards vulgarity (the best lines reference hobbits though, so you might be OK).

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The Secret of Kells (2009)

This is such a lovely, fresh film that I can't help but give it my full endorsement. The animation is themed after the illuminating art in the Book of Kells - Celtic production of the four Gospels circa 800 AD. The story focuses on an Irish monastery where this special book is being guarded and produced under constant threat of invading clans. A young boy left in the care of the monks is so drawn to the book and also to the forbidden woodlands that his loyalty to the abbot is questioned.

I can't wait to see it again.

Official Site | IMDB

Taking Woodstock (2009)

Ang Lee is remarkable in how diverse his projects are and this one pushes into remarkable territory. While he maintains the sensitivity that most of his films have, he captures americana during an era of transformation in a collision between rural and urban, the hippy and silent generations, and the peace that was necessary between all of the shifting tectonic plates of the 1960s.

Taking Woodstock takes the legendary summer concert to a personal level by focusing on the planners and more specifically, the family/town who hosts the hordes.

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Get Low (2009)

What a pleasing film experience is Get Low! Robert Duvall and Bill Murray give tremendous performances, fleshing out a glorious and tragic story.

Felix Bush, a fearsome hermit, seeks the assistance of a funeral parlour in order to throw a funeral party for himself while he is still alive. The reason for the odd request is sought out and the film concludes with an emotional hush.

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Finding Farley (2009)

This is a National Film Board produced documentary about a family retracing famed novelist Farley Mowat's journey's through much of Canada. A couple and their toddler leave Canmore Alberta in a canoe and head east switching up their modes of transportation several times to end up at Farley Mowat's home in Nova Scotia. Along the way they visit several remote settings for Mowat's books.

Finding Farley is a lovely and intimate look at Canada.

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Luftslottet som sprängdes (2009)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest is the final installation of the Millenium series and it culminates with the recovering and mysterious Lisbeth standing trial for murders. The trilogy moves from a mystery disconnected to our heroine in book/movie I to a focus on the identity of our heroine in book/move III.

As I mentioned in the last review of Played with Fire, the implausibility of the whole story detracts from what could be a far more engaging story. That conceded, it is an exciting albeit disturbing conclusion to a fascinating character sketch.

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Flickan som lekte med elden (2009)

The intense follow up to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Lisbeth is now the tracked as she is accused of murders related to a sex trafficking ring. She keeps her ally from the first movie at an arms length as they both search for the real culprits.

The Girl Who Played with Fire continues the theme of independence, strength, and justice only to demonstrate again that none of these is completely possible, despite their ability to drive a superhero story like this one.

The movie is pretty cool because it's set in Sweden instead of New York or L.A. or London. It's also blatantly far-fetched which both adds to the intensity and kicks it down a couple notches in my mind because it's more difficult to buy in.

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9 (2009)

This is a terrific animated tale of heroism and self-sacrifice. It is a further contemplation of how our pursuit of technology and so-called progress can blind us from most virtues.

A collection of special rag dolls seek to redeem the world from a tyrant robot in a post-apocalyptic landscape. The dolls are mostly naïve, childlike giving the film a great tone.

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A Solitary Man (2009)

Another typical, melodramatic, upperclass picture of extreme Americanism gone wrong (as though it can go right). Michael Douglas' life is skidding out of control despite having once had a family, wealth and moderate local fame and power because he chooses to live life as an entitled brat.

We all hope for his redemption.

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The Cove (2009)

The film was much less disturbing than I expected. It focuses on a dolphin slaughter in a remote part of Japan. Dolphin meat is highly toxic and yet it is peddled as other types of fish and so the act, while not illegal, is still practiced despite much public pressure.

As a documentary, it is more personal than most. The producer is in on the stunt of trying to get film and audio footage in this circumferenced cove and the stories and reasons of the other professionals was a nice touch.

Gotta feel for those porpoises.

Official Site | IMDB

Youth in Revolt (2009)

Michael Cera plays a dual role - perhaps for the first time in his film career. The first character is an awkward, far too self-aware teen who falls in love with a temptress while on holidays. The second character is a caricature of what he believes his girlfriend wants him to be: French, risqué, and very bold.

It turns out to be a hilarious film with just a couple moments of real tenderness and a couple too many explicit sexual references.

Official Site | IMDB

Peter and Vandy (2009)

Another 21st century presentation on relationships - how they begin, hold together, fall apart and sometimes come back together. The film looks at one couple's demise by contrasting the good times and the bad - in a less comedic and dreamy way than 500 Days of Summer. It shows strength, but tends at times to melodramatize (one scene in particular with the peanut butter and jam just didn't seem emotionally real).

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The Marc Pease Experience (2009)

You know, I've warmed up to this movie since I saw it last spring. The story is pretty ridiculous: a mid-twenties man tries to build on his high school dream of having an a cappella group record an album despite his abysmal failure in his high school musical (The Wiz as Tin Man - a role I had in high school!!). But the point that students are told how amazing they are and how much potential they have and that they can achieve their dreams when they are in high school, yet they are told something very different when they hit the real world is cleverly explored in this quirky flick.

You just probably won't enjoy it much...

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Vanishing of the Bees (2009)

This documentary was distributed with an intent to educate and raise concern for a relatively recent plight of one of our foundational agricultural components. Bees began vanishing a few years ago without any recognizable reason causing concern for beekeepers and crop owners as bees pollenate their crops.

The film focuses on a few possible causes, the main one being new strains of pesticides being used that may affect the bees.

Viewers are asked to share the film and get involved in trying to support healthy growth of food in their areas.

Official Site | IMDB

The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)

A powerful film from Argentina about vengeance and justice, corruption and persistence. I enjoyed that no one was guiltless and the lack of closure at the end.

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