Winter's Bone (2010)

Authentically tense with some raw strength in both the characters and the gripping narrative.

Ree has to track down her dad who is out of prison on bond. If he doesn't show up for his court date, she loses the family land and house. The back hills of Arkansas aren't the most welcoming place to be poking around, in fact it's quite terrifying. Blood is thicker than water.

Jennifer Lawrence is fantastic, but who is this director? Debra Granik? She's awesome!

Official Site | IMDB

Rosewood (1997)

This drama is based on actual events that were only recently recorded and acknowledged. The grim account of a massacre outside of Gainesville, Florida in 1923 that was essentially ignored by the state government and police.

A relatively affluent black town neighbours a white town and while racial tensions persist, they coexist peacefully until a woman makes a grave accusation that she was beaten and raped by a non-descript black man. A posse is formed and lynching ensues - men, women and children are beaten and the atrocities persist for days. Black women and children hide for their lives in the nearby swamps as they are tracked by hounds.

The film embellishes the story by including a black superhero (Ving Rhames), but the essence of the story is enraging and you can not watch this film without considering what kind of country simply allows this kind of injustice.

IMDB

Mona Lisa (1986)

A tale of an innocent (but tough) man struggling with the duty of liberating the lost women of London streets. George is the antithesis of Simone and they each draw the other up, a beautiful story of concern for the other.

I like the relationship between George and his buddy who helps him get onto his feet at the start of the film when George has just gotten out of prison. They both like mystery stories and their interplay demonstrates the sweetness of children which brings out George's innocence towards some of the abuse he witnesses in Simone's world.

We don't really understand the degree of the atrocities with which we are associated just as George doesn't know how wicked his former boss is. An awakening to this knowledge should spur us into an action of redemption too.

IMDB

TRON: Legacy (2010)

Oh Tron. So unbelievable, but oh, so luminescent. Disney cashes in on 3D, Jeff Bridges popularity, and a cult classic by releasing this souped up version of a movie based on an arcade game.

Kevin Flynn's son enters the videogame a couple decades after his father disappeared only to find that the dominant microchip force is bad and is looking for a way out of the videogame world and into the real world where they can take over! Yikes!

Not a great film. Probably fun to watch on the big screen with glasses.

Official Site | IMDB

Cinema Paradiso (1988)

Sweet, sweet nostalgia in romantic Italy with a fairytale ending - what could be better?

Toto's father is killed in the war and is sort of adopted by the local projectionist at the village theatre. The two form a close bond and we watch Toto mature and ultimately leave the village only to return decades later.

IMDB

Goodbye Solo (2008)

Empathy confronts free will in this sorrowful tale of hopelessness. A taxi driver, Solo, is contracted to drive a man one-way to a cliff on an upcoming date. Solo recognizes that this is essentially assisting this man's suicide, so he works towards befriending the aging and cranky man.

The dynamic between the upbeat Solo and the vacant William is superb - a contest of influence of wills, especially considering Solo's personal problems and the enormous possibilities for failure in his own life.

Official Site | IMDB

It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004)

This biopic of legendary DJ Frankie Wilde is wacky and colourful - like it's subject. Thematic elements about this self-indulgent star only serve to contrast his transformation after he goes deaf and is resurrected by the honest love of a caring woman. It's kind of a disturbing start to what becomes a glorious finish.

Official Site | IMDB

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

Maelström (2000)

Part Norweigian myth, part generational commentary, and part romance, Québec filmmaker Denis Villeneuve recounts the downward spiral of a woman's life and what it takes to bring her back to life. The luminous resurrection of a woman who has lost all hope is inspiring. As a film, it is life affirming.

IMDB

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.

Official Site | IMDB

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Not ever being a fan of the Planet of the Apes franchise or having ever seen the TV series or the following movies, I didn't know what to expect in relation to the actual storytelling in this pre-quel, but my expectations were low. I watched this movie mainly for the stunning computer graphic renderings of the apes.

The story - pretty lame, including some super cheesy performances. The visual effects - really amazing.

Official Site | IMDB

The Tree of Life (2011)

One of my favourite film makers delivers this masterpiece of cinema - a poetic account of one boy's struggle with meaning juxtaposed with images of the cosmos and eternity. Absolutely stunning camera work, realism blended with childlike wonder and real emotional pain and joy.

The pace is slow, but the characters are engaging and the 139 minutes pass as though a dream. Categorically perfect contemplation.

Official Site | IMDB

Prestuplenie i nakazanie (1970)

This Russian adaptation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment paces itself like the book, taking ample time inside protagonist Rodya Raskolnikov's head. It is done in black and white and the lack of colour adds the only other real joyless feature to the film beyond the glorious performances by the actors - who are unknown to the west.

Raskolnikov is pained by the conflict of his philosophical conclusion, that great men can accomplish whatever they like and should live without guilt and with impunity by virtue of the fact that they are great! He can not justify his philosophy because in his mind he himself is greater than his ignorant peers, but he and his mother and sister live in abject poverty. He decides to live out his philosophy by murdering a pawn broker, someone he views as a leech of society. The story plays out from here demonstrating his struggle to mute his conscience.

IMDB

Låt den rätte komma in (2008)

Let the Right One In is an intimate and gory tale of revenge and love. It is far less glamourous than other vampire movies made - kind of gritty like the Night Watch and Day Watch films from Russia - perhaps because it comes from Sweden, not the United States.

A boy, low on the social status at school, befriends a new neighbour girl who doesn't leave her apartment much. Her father involves himself in collecting fresh blood in some of the most graphic and disturbing scenes of any film I've seen - his daughter feeds on the blood as she is an ancient and lonely vampire.

The relationship between the two young ones is both disturbing and comforting. Not an easy film by any means and there does run the risk of glorifying some of the violence, but I believe the frankness of the scenes pushes us from enjoying them. I'm not a vampire flick fan, but the film is very well made.

Official Site | IMDB

Le Temps du Loup (2003)

This is perhaps my favourite of director Michael Haneke's films. The persistent darkness surrounding the good family lifts for such brief moments that the light is dazzling when we see it.

A family on holidays finds itself trapped in a lawless part of France where no one is allowed in or out, food and water are scarce and shelter is negotiated. We see the fallen associate with the image bearers.

IMDB

Delicatessen (1991)

An odd and quirky flick with a very dark story line from Amelie maker Jean-Pierre Jeunet. The stuff that comes out of France is often so different than what comes out of North America that it takes a major shift in being able to appreciate it fully, but it is definitely worth the effort.

In a food scarce future in France, a man finds work as a handyman in exchange for room and board. The catch, unbeknownst to him, is that he will be the supper for some future handyman. The story includes some underground people and wild children - dark, but also life breathing and luminous.

IMDB

You Can Count on Me (2000)

Orphaned brother and sister try to heal despite their wounds. Some of the best dramatic actors around (Laura Linney especially)!

IMDB

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

Again, Disney surprises me with a compelling, though made for children, retelling of a Narnia book.

The two youngest Pevensie kids, a bit older than before, and their "better than everyone else" cousin Eustace are magically transported to Narnia. They become part of an expedition with King Caspian and Reepicheep seeking seven lost lords. Their adventures build their character by testing them with temptations which they must resist.

The most impressive line in the film came towards the end when Aslan is speaking with Lucy. She asks him if she will ever see him again and he replies that the reason she was brought to Narnia was so that she might know him and know him in her world where he is known by another name.

Official Site | IMDB

Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (2008)

I've Loved You So Long is a gorgeous film from France. It tackles some difficult issues, but very graciously and from a character's perspective.

A younger sister, Léa, invites her older sister, Juliette, to live with her and her family when she is released from prison after a long sentence. Juliette is not easy to love and behaves selfishly, but Léa persists.

Special credit goes to Kristin Scott Thomas who holds her own in this French speaking role and who evokes complex sympathy.

Official Site | IMDB

The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

Where there was satisfaction in the finality of the story, I think the resolution felt forced, a weak negotiation. The effects were terrific and the enigma at the beginning was fun, but the micro-stories during the battle were rather formulaic as was the final sacrifice.

A fun trilogy; I'm better for having watched it.

IMDB