Category Archives: FilmReview

2007, Acceptable for children, Animated, FilmReview, Short Films, Unusual

A Collection of 2007 Academy Award Nominated Short Films (2007)

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From NetFlix:

This anthology features the nominees for the 80th Academy Awards Short Film category, including the live-action winner, “Peter and the Wolf,” and the animated winner, “The Mozart of Pickpockets.” Other entries in the collection are “At Night,” “The Substitute,” “Tanghi Argentini,” “The Tonto Woman,” “Even Pigeons Go to Heaven” and “Madame Tutli-Putli.”

Shorts in foreign languages are subtitled. Production values are good and not amateurish as are some collections of shorts. But it was not possible to skip around to various shorts on the DVD.

Contents:

  • “At Night” consists of the relationships among three young women cancer (?) patients in a hospital. [Sad] [Danish]
  • “Il Suplente” [The Substitute Teacher] Bizarre behavior of a substitute teacher and his students. [Funny] [Italian]
  • “The Mozart of Pickpockets” Two thieves teach a little boy to pickpocket. [Funny] [French]
  • “Madame Tutli-Putli” Sequence of bizarre, nightmarish sights during a train ride. [Animated 3-D characters] [Unusual] [No voices]
  • “Even Pigeons Go To Heaven” Priest sells old man a one-way space vehicle to heaven. [Animated 3-D characters] [French]
  • “Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf” Imaginative version of the classic. [Animated 3-D characters] [No voices]
Animated, Comedy, Dark, DO NOT MISS, Dysfunctional Lives, FilmReview, Nudity, Short Films, Violent

The 2005 Academy Award Short Films Collection (2005)

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From NetFlix:

This compilation of Oscar nominees delivers the best animated and live-action short films of 2005 in one collection. Selections include the winning films: “The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation” (animated) and “Six Shooter” (live action). In the former, a son explores his turbulent relationship with his late father, and in the latter, an old man’s grief is interrupted by a young stranger.

Quite a variety exists in this wonderful collection of film shorts from different countries (always with subtitles):

  • “Our Time is Up” (American) Comedy involving a psychiatrist who experiences a change of life.
  • “The Runaway” (German) Drama in which an architect connects with a young school boy.
  • “The Last Farm” (Scandinavian) An old farmer deals with the end of his life.
  • “Cashback” (British) Comic adventures of a college student working in a grocery store. Includes many naked women.
  • “Six Shooter” (Irish) Grieving widower (Brendan Gleeson) rides a train seated with a talkative (unbalanced ?) young man.
  • “Badgered” is an animated short about, well, a badger.
  • “The Moon and the Son” Cartoonist son talks to his hospitalized father and presents a cartoon version of their sad family life. (John Tarturro and Elie Wallach are the voices.)
  • “The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello” is a marvelous surreal animated (think “Triplets of Belleville”). If nothing else, the visual aspect is stunningly imaginative.

If you watch nothing else, the last animated is worth the price of admission. If you like shorts, DO NOT MISS!

2005, Conspiracy, Made For TV, Mediocre, Political Suspense, Suspense, Violent

Archangel (2005)

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From NetFlix:

After a visit from a Stalinist-era bodyguard who claims to have stolen a personal notebook belonging to Joseph Stalin, radical historian Fluke Kelso digs deeper to prove its existence in this made-for-TV thriller.

Daniel Craig plays the historian Fluke Kelso (rhymes with “so-so”) in this mildly acceptable political thriller. Expect scuffles in alleys, political assassinations, cabins in the woods, and lots of shooting. There is no sex whatsoever.

If there is an underlying and often repeated theme it is this: about 30 million Russions pine for the return of such a wonderful leader as Joseph Stalin. Never mind that he murdered somewhere between 20 million and 30 million people directly or indirectly (e.g. purposeful famines). There is a discussion of just how many deaths are attributable to Stalin in the Wikipedia article. One of Stalin’s biggest fans is Putin.

You can do better than to watch this “nothing special” TV film.

2012, Could be boring, Could Be Sad, Drugs, Explicit sex, Gay theme, Love Story, Nudity, Quiet

Keep the LIghts On (2012)

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From NetFlix:

The physical romance between a gay filmmaker and an attorney soon evolves into a more complex relationship, laced with conflicting desires. Over several turbulent years, both men struggle to build a true acceptance of the other’s strengths and flaws.

That the two protagonists happen to be two gay males is almost beside the point. Suppose they were a straight couple. Suppose they “hook-up” casually. Suppose they develop a friendship. Suppose A falls in love with B (and suppose B also loves A, but in this film that is questionable). Suppose B has a serious drug problem. Suppose the friends of B stage an intervention and B agrees to accept treatment. Suppose for awhile A and B are happy together. Suppose B falls off the wagon and disappears for awhile. If you were A, what would you do?

Forgive my hard heart, but if I were A I would run as fast as I could from the relationship. Now you have to watch the film to see what happens.

Perhaps this warning is unnecessary, but there is a lot of explicit male with male sexual activity. It might just as well have been male with female activity. And the sex is somewhat besides the point. Tough decisions is what this film is really about.

Some parts are boring or overly long. Some parts ring incredibly true to life. There is a lot of quiet conversation. Think of the plot as an ordinary story that is enacted over and over in much of the world and we are invisible spectators. Sometimes I yawned but for much of the time I was drawn to real people going through some really rough times.

2004, Barely Acceptable Trash, Car Chase, Grim, Imperfect, Serial Killer, Suspense, Violent

Highwaymen (2004)

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From NetFlix:

Wheelchair-bound serial killer Fargo (Colm Feore), whose tricked-out green Cadillac serves as his deadly weapon, rages loose on the highway, and the only man who can stop his rampage is Rennie (James Caviezel), the husband of a woman he’s murdered. When Rennie teams up with a survivor of one of Fargo’s rampages (Rhona Mitra), the pair vows to stop him before he flattens anyone else. Frankie Faison co-stars in this deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

In this car chase film the only novelty is that one of the chasers is an automotive serial killer who runs over people for the fun of it. If this sounds like a film to skip, you are absolutely correct.

You might recognize Rhona Mitra as one of the temporary employees in “Boston Legal”.

Try another film.

2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, Acceptable for children, Acceptable Science, Asperger's Syndrome, British, Could Be Sad, DO NOT MISS, Dog Story, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, Feel Good For All, Love Story, Made For TV, School Teacher, Small British village, Small Town

Doc Martin (2004)

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From NetFlix:

Crippled by a sudden and inconvenient fear of blood, flashy surgeon Dr. Martin Ellingham abandons his bustling London practice and sets up shop as a country doctor in this medically minded British sitcom.

Are you looking for a warm, friendly, non-violent, comic, personal British sitcom? Look no further. Beginning in 2004 and extending over 5 years of wonderful episodes, you can relax and enjoy “Doc Martin”.

Doc Martin (played by Martin Clunes) is a very unusual character. For starters he is a family doctor who is sickened by the sight of blood (he looks away when he draws a blood sample). Most importantly he is completely hopeless in any social situation. My guess is that he is supposed to suffer from Asperger’s syndrome. Nowadays we would say that he “doesn’t have a clue”.

He has set up practice in a charming, small, British village on the sea. He is a brilliant diagnostician and much of each episode has him helping people in his impossibly brusque manner. In fact, part of the comedy in the series is his reaction (or non-reaction) to everyone, including his patients.

Do not misunderstand: the stories are not pablum. Some of the situations are harrowing. For example, we see his icy mother just once when she visits and explains that she never loved him because he “got in the way”. Along the way we see villagers afflicted with OCD, vertigo, psychosis, etc. Nonetheless the “cringe” factor is very low compared to today’s British TV plots.

All 5 seasons are available on DVD. NetFlix offers DVD or streaming for all the episodes.

In the area of family sitcoms I would rate this series a DO NOT MISS!

1980, Based on a Book, Based on true facts, Crude Talk, Dark, Detective, Gay theme, Grim, Mostly About Sex, Murder Investigation, Nudity, Plot Twist, Psychological Drama, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Transvestite theme, Violent, Vulgar

Cruising (1980)

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From NetFlix:

After a serial killer brutally murders several gay men in New York’s S&M and leather districts, cop Steve Burns (Al Pacino) goes undercover on the streets, where he must learn the complex rules of the underground gay subculture if he’s to catch the psycho. Karen Allen co-stars as Burns’s girlfriend in this gritty 1980 thriller, which sparked protests from gay rights groups at the time of its release but has since developed a minor cult status.

“Lurid” is the first adjective that comes to mind. The Stonewall riots occurred in 1959. By 1980 the gay movement was strong enough to protest this film which depicts an aberrant side of gay culture. Indeed the strong gay protests are described in the Wikipedia article about the film.

Expect “grungy” scenes in this cult classic with a wonderfully ambiguous ending.

2012, Clever Plot, Complicated, Crime, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Finance, Lawyers, Marital Infidelity, Plot Twist, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Wonderful acting

Arbitrage (2012)

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From NetFlix:

As billionaire Robert Miller struggles to divest his empire before his fraud is brought to light, fate takes a nasty turn. Now desperate and running out of options, Miller turns to an unlikely source for help.

Richard Gere plays Robert Miller who has to be the coolest crook on the planet.

Call this well-written, well-acted film a suspense drama because throughout you will sitting on the edge of your seat wondering two things: Will our crooked hero get caught in his fraud and manslaughter and what lives will he ruin as he spins his web of deceit?

Pay attention as one development leads to another. Keep in mind what Miller espouses as his twisted philosophy: “The world is cold”.

Any hint of the ending would be a spoiler. But Susan Sarandon, who plays Miller’s wife, really comes through.

DON’T MISS THIS FINANCIAL THRILLER!

2006, Arab Culture, Crude Talk, Dancing, Explicit sex, Flirting, Gay theme, Hebrew and Arabic, Jewish Culture, Love Story, Military, Nudity, Political statement, Race Relations, Suicide, Suspense, Violent, War, Wonderful acting

The Bubble (2006)

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From NetFlix:

When a young Israeli named Noam (Ohad Knoller) falls for a handsome Palestinian (Yousef “Joe” Sweid) he meets while working at a checkpoint in Tel Aviv, he recruits his roommates Yelli (Alon Friedman) and Lulu (Daniela Virtzer) to help find a way for the two to stay together. Director Eytan Fox’s poignant film offers a glimpse at life inside the tumultuous borders of Israel, where everyday people are constantly surrounded by conflict.

Two themes run concurrently throughout this film: The difficulty of being gay in the Arab world (Israel is very accepting) and the constant wearying and dangerous conflict between Jews And Arabs.

Previously I reviewed Yossi and Jagger which was written and directed by Etan Fox. Ohad Knoller who was the lead actor in that film is also the lead Jewish character in “The Bubble”. He again plays a Gay Jew who this time falls in love with a Gay Arab named Ashraf. Arab culture is strongly homophobic so that Ashraf’s life becomes not only difficult but dangerous. Much film footage is devoted to the perilous border crossing where several sad scenes are enacted.

Realize that the cast of characters are young adults and as such spend their time talking about romances and popular music. But the entire film rings true as it portrays the lives of young single (and mostly Gay) Jews most of whom are tired of and against the unending war.

WARNING: In the film Gays exchange much same-sex kissing. Additionally there is one explicit scene in which the two male leads engage in anal intercourse.

For Ashraf the situation seems hopeless (for further reasons as the film develops) and this hopelessness leads to a surprising but possible fitting conclusion. Comments welcome.

Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles.

2011, Acceptable for children, British, Comedy, Crude Talk, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good For All, Fishing, Love Story, Optimistic, Politicians

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011)

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From NBetFlix:

A sheik with a love for the sport hopes to introduce fly-fishing to the Middle East and turns to uptight fisheries expert Fred Jones for help. Buoyed by the sheik’s enthusiasm (and his comely English aide), Fred sets out to achieve the impossible.

Ewan McGregor does it again. Somewhat of a rarity these days, this film is a feel-good that the entire family can watch. Good plot, good acting, good romance, good humor: what’s not to like?

Kristin Scott Thomas is perfect as a hard-nosed, ambitious, ruthless, and vulgar governmental communications maven.

Emily Blunt portrays Harriet well as a young woman caught between two loves.

Ewan McGregor carries off the role of a fishing geek (possibly with Asperger’s, but that is not completely clear) who agrees to try the impossible and bring salmon fishing to a desert.

Even though there is no sex and violence, DO NOT MISS!