The Muppets (2011)

With hilarious self-awareness, the Muppets work to retain their legacy by trying to save their old theatre which is under threat from a caricatured villain real estate developer.

All the great characters make appearances and some new ones join in on the romp. A couple humans lead the crew and we get to watch their awkward romance flourish.

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Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011)

Chess legend Bobby Fischer's rise to the game's crest is tragically undergirded by his own unaddressed mental illness. This documentary juxtaposes Fischer's fame with his perceived antagonism by his handlers, the chess establishment, and ultimately by his own country.

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Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)

The narration is readings from late 19th century newspaper articles from Wisconsin's frontier. The stories are acted out on black and white film. That's it.

The title gives away the common thread of the various articles.

It's a fascinating film in that it shocks any kind of romance out of the settler/homesteading era. The madness, lack of social recourse, and ignorance in these remote locations is saddening, if not a quite upsetting.

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The Iron Lady (2011)

This film didn't try to accomplish too much by critiquing British Prime Minister Thatcher's policies, laying out her legacy and analyzing the woman herself. Instead it succeeds by focusing on the latter almost exclusively and through the frailty and vulnerability of an old Margaret Thatcher who is battling dementia and recalling her life as one of the most powerful women of the 20th Century and certainly one of the most steadfast British PMs.

Watching the film, you would forget you are watching Meryl Streep as she so boldly portrays such a cultural icon. The Iron Lady doesn't tiptoe around some of Thatcher's controversial decisions either, they just let her tell it as it is. As one who was not a great fan of many of Thatcher's policies, I did gain a appreciation for the love of country and for her sacrifice in public service.

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Nollywood Babylon (2008)

The makers of this documentary display a two pronged story pairing the burgeoning low budget high profit film industry in Nigeria with the prosperity gospel being preached in Nigerian mega churches. It is a fascinating look at what are often one dimensional issues.

We learn of how the video industry started and it's relationship to animist witchcraft and then we follow it is being used to promote Charismatic Christian values such as how to get rich and famous by making movies.

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El Superstar: The Unlikely Rise of Juan Frances (2008)

A friend of mine recommended this teenage boy level mockumentary about a white American becoming a music superstar in the Latin scene. It has a couple laugh out loud bits, but on the whole become quite tiresome as the actors are on par with a Mexican telenovela and the circumstances are way over the top.

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Throw Down Your Heart (2008)

Bela Fleck is an American banjo virtuoso. He travels to Uganda, Tanzania, Gambia, Senegal, and Mali in search of the roots of the banjo. What he finds is a remarkably similar style to what bluegrass is in North America. Fleck records songs with local celebrity musicians and with entire villages producing a beautiful fusion of sound.

The music is certainly the best part of the film. The other part is how it reveals an affluent American's reaction to Africa and Fleck is caught a little bit in the headlights as he is struck by poverty, simplicity and contentment.

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The King's Speech (2010)

Splendid telling of a personal struggle of a public man. The acting in the film is so good, I have trouble reconciling that Colin Firth wasn't the actual King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

A commoner is solicited to help a prince with his speech impediment. The resulting relationship crosses the lines of tradition, status and doctor/patient.

Very inspiring - as the speeches of old often were.

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Congorama (2006)

I was really pleased with this funny collaboration between Belgium and Canada. A Belgian man discovers that he was adopted from Québec and as he faces joblessness and irrelevance, he seeks out his origin in the farmlands of eastern Canada. Belgian Congo works its way into the story too.

While taking a break from pitching an invention, Michel has a providential encounter with people in a town where he was apparently given up to some nuns and then given away at Expo '67 in Montreal. He is given the key to success, but not without compromise.

One scene in the film impressed me in particular because I had lower expectations for a Canadian film.

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The Informers (2008)

The writer of American Psycho presents another morose view of humanity and American culture on the west coast. It's the mid 1980s when drugs had grown up, music was synthesized, and AIDS was detected.

Some rich, spoiled kids stir it up in their broken families while demonstrating horrific disaffection towards any painful experience. There's lots of sex, lots of treachery, and lots of brokenness giving way for any rejoicing at the least emotional reality.

The film is well-made, its the sentiment that is hard to watch. I did have a hard time sorting out the dozen young men who make up the younger generation cast.

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Tirez sur le pianiste (1960)

Shoot the Piano Player is a black and white French classic about the resurrection of a piano player facing his demons. And it really plays out like a pre-cursor to post-modern thrillers with all of their twists.

The protagonist has to reveal his former identity as a famous piano player as he seeks to save his corrupt family from gangsters and as he tries to embrace new love.

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Så som i himmelen (2004)

This Swedish film, As it is in Heaven, is one of the most beautiful stories of restoration and sacrifice I have ever been told.

A famous classical musician returns to his boyhood home when his health diminishes. Though he seeks solitude and an opportunity to enjoy the natural world, he is seduced into leading the local tiny church choir. As the choir develops, the town is changed.

The final seconds of the film are perhaps the most poignant and subtle moments of any film. I loved it! I shouldn't have lost the Academy Award to The Sea Inside.

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Noam Chomsky: Rebel Without a Pause (2003)

This is a low-budget doc on the famed outspoken activist Noam Chomsky. It is a collection of clips from about five different talks/discussions Chomsky delivered in and around 2003 in Canada with some interview footage from a dozen people who have interacted with him.

The purpose of the film is to show what he has to say about a variety of current event topics as well as to show what his impact has been as a living legend (the seventh most cited source in research papers).

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Nine (2009)

While I didn't enjoy Rob Marshall's Chicago, this one had more charm for me - probably since it's based on a true master's film, Fellini's 8 1/2. Each of the women's fascination with a man whose film work transcends his own humanity bring a great character depth. The embattled director, played by the ever adept Day-Lewis, is caught at every turn by his lust, past success, and devotion to his wife and confident.

The music was really secondary to the sheer athletic and glamourous nature of the dances.

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Any Given Sunday (1999)

Oliver Stone tackles the inside world of sports making it a little more glamourous than it is in real life, but capturing the essence of modern leagues where the only thing that matters money for owners.

Veteran coach, star quarterback and young owner clash when their interests can't all be met at the same time. Yep, that and lots of football.

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Stories of Lost Souls (2005)

This DVD compilation of short stories feebly attempts to tie them together with the universal theme of being. The problem is that any story that has a character of any kind has this theme. What I'm trying to say is that the stories don't work together at all.

From a gruesome crime of passion to a swindler, to a mimed comedy, to a barely cognizant drama, to a brilliant commentary on fame, to a moral tale, to a short sighted romance - some are gems and others are clear throwaways. What is remarkable is that every flick carries remarkable star power.

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Kick-Ass (2010)

No super powers in this comic book to film, but the villains are real and the fighting can give a guy a concussion.

A high school kid decides to beat the humdrum feeling of being a nobody and puts on a superhero suit and decides to go out and fight crime. It isn't long before he's in over his head and his ass gets kicked. Fortunately, he's not the only one with the idea and he gets some back up.

The power in this film is how it captures adolescence, how it boldly places violence on a slab without any gloss, how it gives voice to a generation that doesn't want to tiptoe around the issues.

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Flashbacks of a Fool (2008)

Quite a poignant film that gives selfishness and self-gratification a story. The story catches up with Joe Scot at the beginning of his fall from grace as a successful lead actor. Then the story returns to the beginnings of this actor's life and draws the parallels for the viewer.

Daniel Craig's role is minimal as most of the film takes place in Britain when his character is a teen, but Craig delivers tremendous regret on the sleeve of someone who is still only skin deep.

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Julie & Julia (2009)

A smart film from Nora Ephron, we get a look at how our actions have been inspired by the past and how what we do now can affect the future. We also get a look at some delectable dishes.

The movie is a mirror story of Julia Child's life learning how to cook and trying to publish her first and definitive French cookbook and Julie's life in modern day NYC as she blogs her way through the cookbook. They battle through food and enjoy tremendous spousal support and then fame.

By far, Julia Child's story is much more engaging and inspiring and not just because Meryl Streep plays her, but because of her authenticity and fortitude of character.

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Iron Man (2008)

Back to comic books - this time with a loose cannon, self-involved, and cavalier hero, and of course he's a billionaire too.

Tony Stark co-owns a wildly successful weapons manufacturing corporation, in fact he's the inventive force behind it. When he is captured and wounded in Afghanistan, he dresses his wound with a powerful energy thingy that helps him escape his captors. Once he's back home and has gained clarity, he decides to turn his trinket into powering an armoured suit and he fights misuse of his company's weapons and then his own company.

As far as action hero flicks go, this one is full of sophisticated and adult humour making it far more successful among young adults as opposed to the teen gang. Robert Downey Jr. makes the film with usual cunning and jerky movements.

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