Happy Feet Two (2011)

We took our kids to see this over spring break as it was a cheap deal and didn't appear to be too scary for our young. They enjoyed it - though my daughter did get scared at one point.

They film seemed typical in its humour and quite glittery in its animation and I enjoyed it except for the the niggling I had for the first 90% of the film when the plankton were discussing existentialism. I disagreed with much of what appeared to be the one's conclusion, but was surprised and pleased with the conclusion.

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Metropolis (1927)

This classic film about class struggle pulled out all the stops to generate a bleak, futuristic world where the masses were simply cogs in the wheel of progress (or at least labourers in an unfriendly factory). There are plenty of dials and steam in this analog future and not many smiles. Director Fritz Lang incorporates plenty of grouped choreographed movement and solo modern dances to demonstrate visually the moral of the film:

"The head and hand need a mediator, and that mediator is the heart!"

At the heart of the film is class struggle and considering that the film was made during the interwar period in Germany, I think it captures much of the sentiment of the Weimar Republic.

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The Future (2011)

I was eager to see what Miranda July would give us after Me and You and Everyone We Know. Sadly, this film disappointed me. It tackles some good ideas, but the characters are just too weird and self-interested that I really didn't care what happened to them. And the talking cat was the worst part of the film -and the strange for the sake of being strange dance July does. Why??!

I guess it incited some emotion from me...

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Black Swan (2010)

Darren Aronofsky gives us another psychological thriller, more in the genre of Requiem for a Dream and Pi than The Wrestler. This time rather than the drug underworld, the academic underworld, and the wrestling underworld, he brings us to the flashy ballet underworld.

Natalie Portman plays a dedicated dancer who longs to be featured as the solo dancer in the upcoming performance of Swan Lake. The choreographer is doubtful of her possibility for passion, but she strives to prove her ability - to the point of turning herself quite literally into character.

I think the thrill of this movie overshadows the apparent profundity. I'll have to give it another watch sometime and give it the study it deserves.

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This Is It (2009)

Aside from a handful of fun tunes with great, but not really innovative, dancing, I basically got a better look at how pampered MJ was. It shocked me how little pushback Jackson got from his producers and fellow musicians - they all worshiped him.

The film gets a little slow and it isn't the same as a concert video at all, more like a DVD extra.

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Flashdance (1983)

Amber brought this classic home from the library and I joined in watching as I had never seen it and as far as films go, Flashdance is a slice of cinematic history and a standard as far as women are concerned. I thought I would gain an education.

Alex is an 18 year old welder in Pittburgh. She is apparently orphaned and highlights as an exotic dancer. Her dream is to be a ballerina, but she doesn't have the formal training or the money (or the guts to try out). The boss of the mine she works at notices the exotic youngster and they two form a relationship.

The entire story is pretty lame and predictable, but it delivers on the passion and butt close-ups. We had some good laughs at the expense of eighties culture, but we weren't inspired to follow our dreams. At least I wasn't.

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The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)

As crazy as this tale is, and the fact that it is true, doesn't quite lift if from being a relatively meaningless story.

A down-and-out reporter stumbles upon a bizarre tale as he tries to write about the Iraq War. The American government sponsored a military project in the 1980's whose objective was to teach soldiers how to channel psychic power as a weapon. The reporter follows one of the most adept of these trainees a couple decades later as he practices the weird techniques in Iraq.

The acting is great. The writing is decent. The cinematography is adequate. The story just lacks importance and it leaves you the same way a bizarre story in the newspaper leaves you.

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Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School (2005)

Life is infused in the quiet, shy, broken, and outsider at Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School.

A tragic event guides widow Frank to the evening classes where he is drawn immediately into dancing and courting the women there. The story goes back and forth between the present, the accident scene that leads Frank to the school, and childhood memories of the school. Everyone involved is blessed by its involvement with Hotchkiss's very formal classes.

The acting in this film is superb and the sentiment is palpable. The characters may be a tad bit eccentric, but it makes the film that much more magical.

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Idlewild (2006)

It's too bad this movie hurts. I think it could have had a lot of potential. Great tunes and dancing though.

The two guys from Outkast star in Idlewild and wrote/performed the soundtrack. Two friends whose love of music hold them together despite very different lifestyles end up working the same club in a southern town. Because prohibition is law at this time, gangsters rule the town and the two friends become embroiled in a gang war that neither of them want to be in.

I don't think there is even one token white person in the whole film; it's a movie about black people by black people. This fascinates me because by doing this they eliminated any kind of racial tension that would definitely have been present during prohibition in the deep south. 

Over all there is very weak character development and strong clichés (miraculously being shot in the chest where he just put a Bible that was given to him after being kind to a stranger, crossfire deaths, etc.).

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Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

"Who wants to be a millunaire?" Danny Boyle who brought us Trainspotting and 28 Days Later offers us a film of tragedy and triumph. 

Jamal is orphaned and grows up in the slums. He loses his childhood friend and decides to find her by going on the most popular show in India "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" He miraculously is able to answer the questions and we get to see the flashbacks that allowed him to know the trivia.

The film is charged up. The music is exhilarating. The setting is heartbreaking. The love story is innocent and pure.

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8½ (1963)

This is Federico Fellini's masterpiece about a director's personal struggle in making a personal film. Indeed, the film is a joy to watch with all of its animated characters and the escapades between exaggerated real life, memories, and fantasy.

Guido Anselmi is hounded by his producers when he become increasingly reluctant to cast characters and to shoot the film as it's written. At the same time, he is courted by prospective actresses as he tries to salvage his marriage and be true to the many, many women who have impacted his life.

The camera movements are particularly notable as are the superb performances. Shot in striking black and white, most of the women wear bright white outfits and the men are in black. Background conversations echo some of the prevalent themes in Italy in the 1960's too. The film is a slice of time.

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Muriel's Wedding (1994)

Australia seems to produce some of the freshest comedies (Young Einstein and Strictly Ballroom come to mind). This one isn't an exception, in fact it adds a powerful dimension of a shattered woman's psyche.

Toni Collette plays Muriel, a deluded failure in life who fantasizes of having a regal wedding. Her father incessantly reminds her that she is a loser and her friends are more like tasmanian devils. She medicates herself with pop group Abba's music. Muriel screws up over and over again and we join her for the ride.

What makes this movie so strong is the tremendous acting and writing. Nothing is hidden and everything is kept unbearably real, right down to emphasizing flaws from every angle. Viewers are chilled by the characters inhumanity towards one another.

Truth: Until we feel validated, we will seek it. Fathers play a huge role in validating their daughters and sons.

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Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

As golden as the title suggests and a killer ensemble cast to boot! 

Characterizing aspects of the failed American dream, a family of misfits headed by a highly motivated father go on a road trip across several states to give their daughter a chance to compete in the finals of the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. the adventures swell with the highly volatile relationships crammed in a VW bus. 

The beauty this film is charged with is the sincerity each character has towards their pursuits, be they a successful book deal, winning the pageant, becoming a fighter pilot, winning the love of a student, sex or holding the family together. Honestly makes the film.

Poignant writing and whimsical soundtrack keep the film moving at a steady pace along with seamless editing. Acting in the film won numerous awards as well.

Truth: No matter how screwed up a family is, love can make it bearable. Passing through trials can draw family together and be the substance of life itself.

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Hable Con Ella (2002)

A luscious interplay of the perverse and beauty, Talk to Her challenges the viewer to revisit balance and to reevaluate where that balance should be and what our roles are in bring balance to the world. For those that are tormented or comatose (in the film it is a literal coma, but it represents more the silent or sleeping in society) what should we as individuals do to revive them; what shouldn't we do?

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.

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