What a great film this is. It’s a thoughtful, contemplative, sometimes sad, sometimes funny, road picture.
All in Spouse Approved
The story is simple: in the early 1920’s a young German mail-order bride, gramophone in hand, comes to rural Minnesota to meet her Norwegian husband to be.
Zhang Yang's “SHOWER”
This modern Chinese film is a welcome change from Summer blockbusters and slam-bang cacophony.
Campbell Scott's OFF THE MAP
What a delicate and moving piece of film making this is. It moves slowly and, if you let them, the characters will get under your skin.
I have a confession to make.
I enjoyed this movie.
Shona Auerbach's DEAR FRANKIE
The story sounds like it could be a treacly tear jerker, but it’s not.
This is the best "road picture" I've seen in years. What starts out as quirky and off-center ends up as thoughtful, almost elegiac.
David Cronenberg’s A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE
This movie convinced me that David Cronenberg (Spider) is one of the best directors working today.
It’s a pleasure to see a movie where stereotypes play a less important role than real relationships.
Richard Curtis' LOVE ACTUALLY
Back in the Day, the phrase “English ensemble actor film” brought to mind names like John Gielgud, John Mills, Alec Guiness, and Trevor Howard. Love Actually shows how far we’ve come when we can watch a blank-faced actor like Martin Freeman ( Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) nonchalantly chatting away while feigning naked sex with his soon-to-be-girlfriend.
The Upside of Anger
My wife is always pestering me to rent movies SHE will like, so I used the Netflix "recommendation" feature and found "Upside of Anger." A wise choice.
Mike Leigh’s “Vera Drake”
One depressing thing about this movie is what it points out about "developed" Western societies: there are two levels of access to medical services, one for the rich, and one for the poor.
Masayuki Suo's SHALL WE DANCE
A ballroom dancing class can be filled by a lot of different types of people - young and old, fat and thin, all different colors, sizes, and shapes. Many of the men are there because their women want them to be. It seems it's the same in Japan as it is in the U.S.
The Coen Brothers THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE
This film is a triumph of style AND substance. The photography is striking, the performance are universally excellent, and the story keeps our interest until the very last scene.