Stroszek - % % % % %

OK, it's by Werner Herzog, so I obviously love it.

But this is one of his fiction-ish films and it is remarkable for its close relationship with the characters in an almost loving and appreciative way. A socially awkward, ?alcoholic, musician gets released from an institution and along with a beaten down prostitute and his elderly neighbor, they move to the neighbor's nephew's town in rural Wisconsin. While Wisconsin is an improvement in many respects, these three simply do not form a family.

Bruno Stroszek, the musician, appears at first as simple-minded, but soon shows that he is quite capable of extraordinary philosophy and a passion for music fulfilled in his instrument collection and his outdoor concerts for local apartment buildings. Eva, the sex worker, has a truly skeevie set of pimps who beat her for having sex with someone at the opening of the film and then again for not making enough money to get their stuff out of hock. And then again. They walk into Bruno's house and humiliate him, tearing apart his accordion and taking Eva off. Herr Scheitz, Bruno's neighbor, suggests that they all move to Wisconsin with him. Herr Scheitz' nephew is a humorous local mechanic native to Railroad Flats. His only German is to say, "What's loose? The dog is loose." But he is an endearing sort of fellow to offer his uncle a home and his odd friends work and a new life.

These three find solace with one another. Bruno needs companionship and affection, Herr Scheitz needs companionship and conversation, and Eva seems to need safety. But as time goes by, their support of each other is not enough. Upon entering the country, Bruno's beloved bird is confiscated. He left all of his instruments behind except his horn, which he plays atop the Empire State building on their way through New York, and his according, which is barely ever used again.

I kept thinking throughout the film that it was going to quickly spiral out of control and spend the last hour wallowing in horrible misery. But it doesn't. Yes, everything falls apart, but in a quirky, almost delightful way. These characters are not filled with pathos and self-mutilative desires. They try to keep it together. (Skip to the next paragraph if you want to keep the ending a surprise) Eva needs to take care of Eva, so she leaves with some truckers to go to Vancouver. Herr Scheitz concludes that the reposession of their trailer is a conspiracy and attempts to hold up the local bank. When he finds that it's closed, he and Bruno hold up the barbershop next door and then, after tossing the shotgun into the front seat of their car, run across the street to buy groceries. Herr Scheitz is arrested and Bruno runs off with a frozen turkey and the shotgun. It's almost madcap and relieves the oppressing misery of so many films which depict a downward spiral. And thank god! I can't handle another Sherry Baby. Ugh.

I think we all know the other shoe is going to drop. Nothing really ends in happily every after. So is it really illustrative of anything other than repetition or lack of creativity to tell the same miserable story again and again?

I hope to never tell such a miserable story as Sherry Baby or anything by Lars Von Trier. I am not a sadist, nor much of a masochist. It's not instructive to repeat the same narratives again and again, with no illustration of anything new or hopeful or even causal. Where do we make mistakes? Are there good things that come from mistakes? If we all live in misery forever and ever and over and over again, well, lets just nuke the place. But we don't. There are wonderful redeeming elements in life and we do think that it will change and maybe be better. Enough with the ominous dread. Even sad endings can be more than miserable.

Which is why Stroszek is great! There's a dancing chicken at the end! Chickens are always funny and this one is magnificent.

United States of Tara - % % %

I'm impressed by the way this show handles Multiple Personality Disorder in a funny, interesting way. The personalities develop the main character and they act as foils for the other members of the family. But I'm going to reserve my final judgment/endorsement until I see more episodes. It feels a little sit-comy and could get lame after a few episodes.

The daughter is a great character and I'm excited to see where they go with her. The son is funny and sweet as well. Even John Corbett, who can be a tree stump of an actor at times, is actually really good. He had range and utilized his cuteness and charm to good effect.

It's got real potential. I was a little nervous when I saw the trailer for the show in the movie theaters along with Patrick Swaze's new cop show (so sad), but it seems like the writers are working it and can keep it interesting in the future. And obviously Toni Colette is fantastic and amazing. I was never worried about her role in this.

With All Deliberate Speed - % % % %

Combining myriad source materials, interviews, readings by celebrities, and narration, "With All Deliberate Speed" moves from segregation, through the Supreme Court cases that led to Brown vs. Board of Education and into the present day devastation of the public school system.

Made by Peter Gilbert(Hoop Dreams, At the Death House Door, Kartemquin Films), much of the film is spent on meeting and detailing the struggles of black students and their community in fighting court cases which led to Brown. It is a searing reminder of how far we have come that such violence is no longer commonplace. Mixed in with these testimonials though is contemporary footage of black students in today's dilapidated and, once again, segregated schools. Instead of using the law to segregate white students from black, today's white America uses their financial advantages to put their children in private schools and once again, limits the funding of the facilities, thereby leaving black students in unsafe buildings with few books and little respect.

I am torn in my opinion of the film. I think that it is excellently crafted. The narration by Jeffrey Wright is, as is everything he does, marvelous. And yet, the film misses the drama of the subject. It comes close, but I'm not sure that I understood the fear of these children. I am profoundly affected by their continuing emotions on the subject. To know that these experiences have stayed with them all of their lives is profound. And I sympathize greatly with today's student activists, battling a system so much larger than themselves. But the overall tone of the film is sadness that so little has been accomplished by such a great victory. I think I want to see the rage of injustice, but that might just be my personal enjoyment of indignation.

Mad Men - % % % % %

I've only watched the first three episodes, but I can see why this show has won so many awards. There is a lot going on here. The protagonist is a mystery, there are so many points of conflict that I don't know where to begin, and it's fascinating to see a time when people drove drunk, smoked around their kids, let them play inside plastic bags, and openly sexually harassed each other. What a lot has changed in 50 years!

And since this is brought to us by Matthew Weiner, writer & executive producer of the Sopranos, we can be sure to explore masculinity, the male myth and the psyche of men in fascinating and unexpected ways. I hope I don't end up getting lost and realizing I know so little about men, like I did with the Sopranos. I just couldn't get into it cause I didn't get it. But I digress.

So I'm loving this show and I recommend it!

PS How brilliant is it to interrogate men and capitalism through advertising! I love it!

An American Crime - % %

Why did I rent this movie? What review did I read that gave me the impression that it would be good to watch? Why are Ellen Page, Catherine Keener, James Franco and Bradley Whitford in this terrible film?

"An American Crime", based on a real crime committed in 1965, follows Sylvia
(Ellen Page) and her slightly disabled sister, who has a leg brace from her bout of polio. Their parents leave the two with a single mother from their poor, small-town church for a short time while working a carnival circuit in Florida. The single mother, Gertie (Catherine Keener), is a mess. She has regular bouts of mental illness, and struggles to raise her 5 girls and one boy. Her mooch boyfriend (James Franco), who fathered her most recently born child who screams and cries throughout the film, is too young for her and instead of paying child support, scams what little money she has.

Into this crap situation, the two girls befriend the sisters and it seems that the story will focus on the elder sister, Paula, and her pregnancy with a child from her affair with a married bagboy from the local liquor store. But no. The two girls' check from their father is late and so Gertie whips the girls with a belt. What? The girls take it and move on. When the bagboy attempts to rape Paula to get her to shove off, Sylvie saves her and tells the bagboy that Paula is pregnant. Paula is furious with Sylvie and to make matters worse, the creepy neighbor boy who follows Sylvie around overhears the secret and blabs it all over their high school. Paula assumes it was Sylvie and gets her in trouble at home.

From here it all spirals out of control and it's hard to understand how this family and the neighborhood kids who get involved could possibly think that any of this was ok let alone a good idea. Gertie accuses Sylvie of flirting with her crap boyfriend and the gossip at school gets back to Gertie who accuses her of being a slut and - get this - forces Sylvie to shove a coke bottle "up her". After this Sylvie is thrown down the stairs into the basement. From this point on, Sylvie regains consciousness but never moves. Instead of getting her to a hospital, the family burns her with cigarettes and matches, punches her, kicks her, hoses her down with cold water, ties her up to a post and just generally tortures her. It isn't clear if she's paralyzed or just wasted away from neglect, but Sylvie is a limp whimpering ragdoll in their mean mitts. The little son is particularly cruel and invites/cajoles the neighborhood kids to join in on the fun. Finally after discovering Paula's pregnancy, Gertie brands a phrase into Sylvie's stomach. Yeah, you read that right. She brands, "I am a prostitute and proud of it" with the assistance of the creepy neighbor stalker boy who claims to like Sylvie!

All of this is clearly exploitative but the film tries to make the characters rounded and its clear that the filmmaker wants to tell a more nuanced story about sexual repression and the cruelty of children. But this subject matter is so crazy that it'd be nearly impossible to avoid the titillation of the audience. So just make it a gothic, exploitation Lifetime miniseries and go for it. There's nothing wrong with that. But no.

So we suffer along with Gertie and Sylvie and I can't say that I stayed engaged after Sylvie was tossed down the stairs. It was too extraordinary. And the film pushes the audience out of the story by framing it with the trial of Gertie and the testimony of the neighbor kids by the DA, played by Bradley Whitford, who I would watch read the ingredients of pudding pops. Yeah, I love him. The audience's horror at the acts is voiced by the DA asking the children why they did it and why they didn't get help. But it's just sad. The kids all reply, "I don't know".

There's a side plot with a boy from school who is handsome and likes Sylvie, which leads to the bottle incident. And that along with the teen pregnancy leads me to believe that sexual repression and shame for having children is what leads Gertie to torture Sylvie, or that's what the director is aiming for. But I don't really find a subtle understanding of sadism. I never sympathized or comprehended with the driving force of Gertie and the kids and so it just seemed crazy. The material was there to make a connection between oppression and sadism, but it felt superficial.

The camera stays with Sylvie's perspective and so we don't get inside the madness. Catherine Keener is compelling in many respects, but plays it too subtly. The words show that she's coming to a boil and that she's projecting things onto Sylvie, but she's so restrained and pained as a character that it's hard to believe that the kids would go along with such a mild mannered woman. She's just not crazy enough to enjoy torturing a young girl in such a terrible manner. Yes, many people are responsible for this crime and yes, they might seem like nice and normal people. But someone who is at the center of such a heinous crime would show some signs of mental illness outside the normal realm of behavior. For example, in reality, Sylvie was often punished for being unclean. This obsession of someone being dirty is evidence of Gertie's madness. It would make her a more understandable character.

Then there's a ridiculous scene where Sylvie escapes. Paula and the creepy neighbor boy come to their senses and take her to her parents. They return for the little sister and at this point the film re-enters the house where Sylvie is dead on the floor of the kitchen. I like this choice in that it follows the audience's natural desire for someone in the film to act with some sense and our desire for a happy and victorious ending. But these kind of fake-outs are always irritating.

So in the end, Gertie gets life and eventually accepts responsibility and regret for Sylvie's death. The neighbor kids, Paula and the little son all get prison time too. And Sylvie's parents leave her sister with the DA's family and go back on the road. What?! What awful parents! I would think that they would be so ashamed of themselves for abandoning their daughters to such horrible people and handing Sylvie over to her murderer, that they would never let their remaining daughter out of their sights. I think there are other villains in this story beyond Gertie's family.

I just feel that there is more to this story than the sexual repression angle. Doesn't their poverty have something to do with this? What about group behavior makes kids succumb to peer pressure to do even the most horrible things? Why would sadistic behavior be satisfying? What the hell is wrong with Gertie?

I don't know who suggested this movie to me, but I will find them and tell them that they were wrong. This is not a good movie. It may be well acted, but it is poorly handled and not even melodramatic enough to be entertaining.

Ah ha! I've figured it out. The film was praised for its acting at Sundance last year.

Hail the Conquering Hero - % % % % %

another laugh riot from Preston Sturges.

The funniest war film ever made. And the most inspiring film about Marines I've ever seen.

Seriously, ridiculously, laugh-out-loud funny.

You want plot twists, there are plot flips and flops and flips again.

You want heart-warming, there's love, compassion, honesty, humility, courage, triumph over evil, and the love of a mother.

You want humor, it's written and directed by Preston Sturges. There's physical comedy, dramatic irony, slapstick, witticisms, ridiculous characters and lovable characters.

It's great! They sure don't make 'em like this anymore and it's a damn shame. But then again, this movie is so great, there's no need to make another.

Yeah, I know the acting is wooden and the love interest has a botoxed expression, inexplicably well before the procedure was invented. But so many of the other characters are so wonderfully ridiculous, like the mayor, the guy in charge of all of the parades and events, the mother-loving marine, and best of all (as always) the Sarge! (William Demarest, best known as Charley from My Three Sons)

Slumdog Millionaire - % % % % %

I really don't have more to say on this film that hasn't been said a bajillion times elsewhere.

I wonder if Danny Boyle goes through life looking for subject matter that fits well with his aesthetic style? Druggies, apocalyptic sci fi, India... Fast paced, colorful, gritty,... Mumbai! Totally fits.

I also like that he is a filmmaker who isn't trapped by his own culture. We're always told to "write what you know" and that translates into only telling stories about people like us in ethnicity, culture, gender, socio-economic background. But that only propagates the dominant and privileged culture. If only white men have access to the expensive and narrow supplies of filmmaking and they tell stories about white men, we'll just continue the structure of privilege. I want to tell the stories of those different from me, but of course that means I'll probably do a kind of crummy job, because I speak from my limited perspective. But it's what I find interesting and we need to know more about others. I'm still working on this theory/methodology. We'll see where it goes.

So yeah, go see Slumdog Millionaire, and not just because it won the Golden Globe, but because it's a great story about childhood in difficult circumstances, horrific circumstances, and it's about how to live nobly as an adult through difficult circumstances. We can use and abuse each other or we can embrace each other and rise up together. And it's beautiful and ends with a Bali-wood dance which made me so ridiculously happy. I hope it does well in India, where it opens this coming week.

And the soundtrack includes songs by M.I.A. How perfectly formulated for one another: MIA & Danny Boyle!

Encounters at the End of the World - % % % % %

I really do want Werner Herzog to narrate my life.

With his monotone, accented voice describing metaphors and philosophical ideas about life on Antarctica, Encounters cuts back and forth between glorious, magical imagery below the ice & in caves or fumaroles, and the more prosaic lives of the scientists and maintenance crews who live above in McMurdo, a US National Science Foundation base town, operated by defense contracters. He often cuts people's stories down by stepping in and saying, "This story goes on forever." He then summarizes and ponders some tangential thought projected off into philosophical space by the interviewee.

Yet these individuals provide an interesting medium for exploring human idiosyncrasies, one of Herzog's favorite topics.

Several people explain their theory that those who are not tied down to the earth, tend to fall down to the bottom. One fascinating interview is with a linguist on a continent with no languages. A compulsive traveler who possesses an odd carnival-esque skill of folding herself up into a piece of carry-on luggage.

Overall, Werner comes to Antarctica to pursue the question of why humans push our boundaries and how that makes us different from other species. He also mourns our marks upon the otherwise pristine face of nature.

In a marvelous tangent, we go to meet Ashrita Furman who holds the world record for crossing continents by pogo stick, summersaulting, walking with a bottle on his head... Why do we have to push the limits? Why do we want to distinguish ourselves in such a manner?

In the commentary, Werner makes a hilarious and brilliant statement about this Furman guy: "There's something not right about it. It's a disease of civilization. ...Why don't we leave Mount Everest alone with its dignity. We do not need to be up there. The strange thing is all people of nature who live there, Sherpas, never climb these mountains. They would have certain reverence and they would keep the sacredness of the mountain in tact." A disease of civilization to push the limits to unhealthy, purposeless degrees. Hmm... That certainly puts a damper on the risk-taking philosophy of the US in the 80s. Hmm...

Why do these eccentric people end up here?

Through an interview with a penguin expert, we learn that female penguins may hook up with a male, let him "copulate" and then walk off with rocks from his nest for her own. And then we see a tragic penguin who wanders off into the center of the continent to die. Even if one were to drag him back, the penguin would immediately head back for the interior. It breaks my heart. I want to grab him and shout, "No! It's 50 km with no water and no fish! There's still swimming for you and delicious fish."

Suicidal penguins? Explorers? Disoriented or crazy? Hmmm... an interesting parallel for those we meet on the continent. In the commentary, Werner posits that disorientation may be an indication of insanity in animals.

These people are kinda nuts for living in such a dangerous place. Everyone has to learn how to survive in a white out, how to build an igloo to survive on the ice. Upon visiting a vulcanologist studying one of two open volcanoes in the world, Werner is warned to not turn his back on the crater, rather if a lava bomb were projected into the sky, he should look up at it and step out of its way as it comes back to earth. And apparently 30 years ago a team tried to climb down into the crater and towards the open magma lake. What?! Where were their mothers? I know mine would never forgive me so it must have been a team of orphans. Nutso. Of course there was an explosion of magma and the lead climber was injured.

Climate change is discussed, but in a doomsday perspective. Everyone seems to believe that we are on the precipice of going the way of the dinosaurs.

As markings of our presence for future earthlings, there is a tunnel to the mathematically precise south pole where several trinkets are stored including a frozen sturgeon, a photo of a green and blue lake, images of flowers, bad poetry and a wreath of popcorn. what? We are obviously doomed.

It is beautiful when away from the human settlements: an alien, majesty pervades the scenes, accompanied by choral music. The earth is extraordinary. Nature is remarkable. As one who lived nearly all of her life in urban areas, I've recently become aware of this and thanks to the national parks I've learned that we have gone too far. Why, why why must we possess everything? We'll all have to agree to have less for our sake and for the earth.

In the commentary, Werner says explicitly why I love his films. He says that through filmming, he fell in love with the world. In the earlier parts of his career, he explored the hideous internals of the human character, and now he seems to explore the grandeur of nature and the marvelous absurdity of humanity. I hope that in my films it will come across that I make films because I love exploring the world.

Hellboy II - % % % %

Better than the first!

I liked the first one a bit. But it was lacking more developed characters. But the plot was interesting, as it related to the creation story of Hellboy and involved paranormal-obsessed Nazis.

If you haven't seen the first, don't watch the second. The characters will be even less well developed for you. Selma Blair is back as a temperamental fire-starter now living with Hellboy, a nearly indestructible being from hell, a parallel universe-type-thing, where he is the prince. He's got a giant stone hand that smashes stuff, a pointy tail, red skin and two horns the grow out of his forehead but which he sands down every day so that he can blend in more with humans. And he loves cigars and shooting at stuff.

In this installment an elf prince is fed up with humans ruling the world because we have holes in our hearts that can never be filled no matter what we possess, but we keep on trying! So he goes on a quest to capture all of the pieces of a crown that controls an indestructible golden machine army that can easily destroy all of humanity. And we're off.


This installment benefits from an increased budget and Guillermo Del Toro's experience filming Pan's Labyrinth. His style is more developed and there are loads of very unnerving trolls and demons dwelling in extraordinary sets. The final battle is set amongst gigantic wheels like in a clock. It's incredible and must have been so much fun to build.

So it's fun if you like comics and sci fi. If not, you're not missing much by skipping these.

Frost/Nixon - % % % %

Great, superb, outstanding acting. I know mimicry is different from acting, but combining both together is pretty impressive.

I'm stunned that the same actor, Michael Sheen, who lulled me into believing he was Tony Blair got me to believe he was swinging, talk show host, David Frost.

And Frank Langella is outstanding as Nixon. I thought that Anthony Hopkins did a good job, but in comparison he was obscenely over the top. Langella is subtle, reserved, aged, and he still makes the gestures and the face work.

The downfall of this film is that no one is likable. Frost comes together for the final act and Nixon breaks his steely surface, but so what? I don't care for anyone. Sheen's performance got a little repetitive, using shifty eyes and a fake smile to show the cracks in Frost's confidence. And he over does it when he shows how bored or incompetent he is while interviewing Nixon. And who is his girlfriend? She feels like a real person, but I know nothing about her.

The researchers, played by Sam Rockwell and Oliver Platt, are great! Sam Rockwell's character hates Nixon and has written four books on his crooked administration. I did feel joy when he gets the admission of guilt he desired from Nixon. And I'm so glad that there was a character who served the purpose of explaining all of the atrocities of the administration. Oliver Platt is kinda always the same guy, but I like him so much that I don't mind. Matthew MacFadyen appears as the level headed producer of this show that almost wasn't, and his reaction to their success is delightful.

All in all, I felt like Ron Howard did a good job. There were definitely many changes made in adapting the play to the screen that worked very well. It must be pretty challenging making two people talking to each other visually interesting. I particularly found the compositions including both the actual person and the monitor showing the video feed of their face to create a splitting of attention that made me question what I wanted to watch. Did I want to see the real face or did I want to see what the audience at home would have watched?

I have to say that the last 8 years were brought to mind several times, particularly when Nixon defined presidential powers and the legality of any action taken by the president. If the president can do anything and be above the law, then he or she is a temporary king or queen. And if you can use signing statements that gut laws or add new parts in, like our current president, the transformation from democratic leader to despot is nearly complete. Ack! When will we learn? Will it change on January 20th? Fingers crossed.

Aguirre: Wrath of God - % % % % %

Extraordinary and epic. Man pursues glory, power, wealth, greatness. Man versus nature. Nature wins.

Klaus Kinski, as Aguirre, is a Spanish soldier of many who have set out with Pizzaro from Peru to search down the Amazon river for El Dorado, the fictitious city of gold. He undermines the royalty who begin in command. He sets up a puppet government with an emperor, and then kills him off. He begins as a hostile sociopath, and becomes a megalomaniac convinced of his great destiny and buoyed by his feverish mind and power over men's destinies that he declares himself, "The Wrath of God".

God certainly unleashes her/his wrath upon this group of conquistadors. Through simple attrition, Aquirre is the last man standing. His force of will propelling him on, even though his pathetic, sinking raft of death is covered with wily, tiny, swarms of monkeys.

In his final monologue, and I'm not giving anything away to say that no one ever found El Dorado, Aguirre declares that he will put on history like a play. He will be god, writing the destinies of all, controlling fate. It is not just greed for gold, but rather what that gold can bring: a delicate beauty, a mighty army, a great empire. The tales of others' successes, particularly Cortez in Mexico, have fueled his desire to be a great man who can mold the new earth he has "discovered".

All of this enormous power struggle is set amongst the beautiful forests of the Amazon. We begin in the groups' final decent down from the mountains and into the forest. It's incredible how totally impractical these people were. Two women accompany the soldiers and their Incan/Quechua slaves. They are carried by four men in large covered chairs above the earth. The group has brought along several horses and a canon. I can't imagine how it is possible to get a canon, even in pieces, over the Andes mountains along precariously narrow trails.

As the end nears, the survivors become delirious with fever and starvation, and the film takes on what I can only describe as a Terrence Malick style. I haven't seen Malick's first film, but Badlands came out a year after Aguirre and I wonder if there was something in the air in the early 70s. The jungle takes on a magical quality. One of the women just walks away, in her golden gown, into the trees, vanishing without a trace.

The most eerie moment, aside from the end with the monkeys, is the abandonment of a horse. The horse had endangered the poorly constructed raft and so the "emperor" decides that it must be tossed overboard, still wearing its military style hood. The horse swims to the bank and stands in the trees and brush watching the raft slide away. The white loops rimming the horses eyes follow the crew. Aguirre looks back and I felt an unusual sensation of surreal regret.

It's a great journey and its punctuated by mysterious moments and intriguing character conflicts.

I wonder in what ways we may be like the conquistadors. How do we mold others' realities and lives to fit our expectations? How are we impractical and yet blind? How much do I desire to write the script of my life? Can I stop feeling the need to be a great person in history? Some feel the need to achieve fame, but I think many parents try to instill a desire for greatness in their children so that they will try, work hard and achieve some kind of success. But in young minds it often gets carried away. Do I have real, practical goals or are they too deeply rooted in a desire for greatness?

A very very good movie. It is after all, directed by Werner Hertzog. Ah, Werner...

The Party - % % %

This Blake Edwards film from 1968 was a gamble for me. I've heard such wonderful things about Peter Sellers and I certainly love him in Dr. Strangelove.

But the parts that were funny were also painfully awkward. And Peter Sellers is in brown face and talks with a ridiculous Indian accent. I suppose the character is Indian to emphasize his "fish out of water" confusion, but it's a terrible accent and stereotype that damns the movie.

The biggest problem I have is that the entire film is a set up. I suppose all star-focused comedies are just platforms for the comedian to do their shtick. (Like every Steve Martin comedy of the last 20 years. Watch out, Will Ferrel!!! Step-Brothers was not that great.) It's just so predictable and therefore more awkward.

I have been accused of being a harsher critic of comedies than drama, and it's true. Comedy is more difficult and when it's done poorly, it's sooooo much worse. It's insulting and cheap.

But this may simply be an example of the comedy DVD curse. You can't really enjoy a comedy alone and as we all watch more and more movies at home, we're going to enjoy comedies less. I watched "Borat" at home and thought it was just ok. I lost my mind and laughed for the entirety of "The Aristocrats" at a theater, and everyone I know who has seen it at home thought it was the dumbest thing ever.

And there is a rumor that Sacha Baron Cohen is interested in doing a remake of this film. He's already gotten all of Kazakhstan pissed off with him, I wonder what nation is next. I wouldn't recommend the entire sub-continent of India, with a population of 1,129,866,154, as of July 2007. They have nuclear weapons too, buddy.

Doctor Who - the new series - % % % % % !!!!!

I am totally gaga over the new Doctor Who, courtesy of the BBC. It's still got nifty sidekicks, quirky doctors, danger, aliens and some odd science, but it's great adventure and features some outstanding acting from some of the cream of the crop of British acting.

Both Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant are fantastic. They are goofy, eager, energetic, but with a sophisticated charm that shows a depth of character.

And it's so well written. There's all sorts of talk about this being the golden age of television because of serial dramas like the Wire and Deadwood. And it's true. But I think that some more credit should be given to Doctor Who. There are several episodes that are outstanding in their complexity, tension and character development. Most of the series is just really fun, a little Buffy-ish at times, but there are particular episodes, especially "Blink", written by Stephen Moffat the incoming writer and executive producer in 2010, that are extraordinary and like nothing else on TV.

Check it out. If you're not into sci fi, or don't possess whimsy as a friend tends to put it, then just watch "Blink". I was so freaked out and scared. I can't remember the last time I was so tense. I even thought about turning it off to catch my breath and calm down.

A new Doctor will appear sometime later this year. My fingers are crossed. He has some big shoes to fill. And why can't the Doctor become a woman? Hmmm....

Here's some info for finding episodes on the web. They're also snuck onto youtube through coded titles like DW S1E1. (Doctor Who Season 1 Episode 1) So you can give that a try too if you're interested.

Shut Up & Sing - % % % %

So I gave this doc 4%s for surprising me. It's a well told story of real conflicts in a set of adult women's lives. I didn't end up admiring the Dixie Chicks, in fact I'm sad that they were so wishy-washy, and apologetic when the controversy started. And they never really said anything too firmly. But the story of the group finding themselves as musicians and mature women was interesting to watch.

The film jumps back and forth between 2003 and 2005/6. In 2003 on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, while playing a gig in London, the lead singer, Natalie Bains, said that she was with the audience, on "the good side", probably meaning that she was with the enormous anti-war protests occurring in London at the time. And she wrapped up by saying that they were ashamed that the president is from Texas.

That first tour shows the Dixie Chicks dressed up in trendy semi-punk fashion and working with a corporate sponsor for their tour, Lipton. They start out as total commercial material and through the controversy, lose their fan base. They realize that many of their fans were very fickle and extremely judgmental. As time goes by and the controversy doesn't ease, it frees them as a group from their commercial limitations as are attached to the country music market. Country radio stations won't play them because of a grass-roots boycott by an extreme right nationalist group.

This rejection fuels them creatively and for the first time ever, they write (nearly) all of the songs on their new album, in 2005. The music isn't my taste, but it's moving to see women really express their feelings and experiences through music. Their maturity, confidence and strength are exciting and push them forward into making more interesting and less common music. And as they mount their next tour, they dress like adult women. No more fake punk skirts and bizarre makeup. It's still heavy fashion, but it's more sophisticated and subdued. And they are all mothers at this point. They have families and have been through a rough patch and came out stronger and more independent. They begin to say, screw the record company, screw the financial instability. We believe in ourselves and our music. They take a greater ownership and seem to be more involved in their music. It's a great transformation to see.

It's not going to revolutionize anything, but it's quality. It didn't change my worldview or leave me in tears. But I think it is a telling statement of the US and traditional country culture that they could toss out these fine musicians so fast and support an ignorant ass like Toby Keith for bashing the Dixie Chicks. Bleck. He comes off as simple minded and as an opportunistic reactionary thug. So I say good luck, Dixie Chicks! I hope their new found freedom enables them to pursue their lives and their music into new directions.

Surfwise - % % % %

Ah the Paskowitz family. "The First Family of Surfing"

Surfwise introduces each parent and child, all 9 of them - 8 boys and one girl. They are each interesting characters, mainly resulting from father, Dorian, and his egoistic, semi-cult leader persona. Dorian decided to raise his children by piling them into a camper and traveling the world surfing. His wife, Juliette, remains enthralled with him as a passionate idealist.

The children, now all adults, have varying degrees of enthusiasm about their upbringing. The film, directed by Doug Pray, concedes to the fantasy for the first part of the film, depicting the sun-tanned, lean, wild, surfing children and their quirky father's ideas of how to raise a family. Dorian at one point shouts that he wanted to be as good a father as a gorilla. So if a gorilla breast fed until the baby was two, that's what they would do. He seems to have taken bits of information from many places and latched on to a father knows best mentality.

The rules of the family, including morning calisthenics, all sleeping in a small camper together even though the parents had sex every night in ear shot of the kids, surfing every morning, eating seven grain cereal, etc... sound very 60s cultish. But much of it is appealing.

The siblings all clearly love each other and family is very important to them all. But as the film progresses, the usual cracks appear in family dynamics. The children resent the father's authority, particularly since he was an absolute dictator. The eldest child takes on a fatherly position and the other brothers resent him and compete amongst themselves, especially in surfing competitions. They were so poor that they didn't all have clothes. Many went shirtless at times. They all express regrets about their lack of formal education. None of them ever attended school, and now as adults have a difficult time reintegrating into society.

The film is lovely, incorporating interviews with this very beautiful family, old family photos, and film of them surfing. It is captivating to see such vibrant children and the ocean's eruptive waves. Clearly surfing is a lot of fun.

It's a great documentary that shows a rounded depiction, with an ambiguous perspective, of a unique family of interesting characters. It explores issues of familial loyalty, best parenting practices, consumerism, hindsight, health and love. All with a gorgeous background of beaches and tanned skin. It's a fun watch.

The Counterfeiters - % % % %

A great story with a great conundrum at its heart.

A world-class forger, Jewish in 1938 Germany, Solomon, Sally for short, is imprisoned in a concentration camp. After a time of starvation and desperate conditions, his skills are recognized and he is sent to lead a team of fellow prisoners in the quest to forge the British pound and then the US dollar. By the time they get to perfecting the dollar, they have worked out that Germany is bankrupt and perhaps this is the turning point of the war.

Sally, on the right, masterfully played by Karl Markovics, believes firmly that you must take care of yourself and no one else. A traumatic incident is alluded to, presumably his family were killed in Russia. But his coworker Burger, left, played by August Diehl, and the character whose autobiography the film is based upon, is a communist and attempts to delay the printing of the dollar, putting his life and others at risk, hoping to protest or attack the Nazis.

This is not the Pianist. It is not the greatest story ever told. But it is an interesting one and it is affecting and tense. It's got moments of absurdity. The characters are interesting. It's funny sometimes. It's filmed extremely well and the acting is superb. It's bookended with an interesting story set after the war, which I usually feel is cheating because then you know atleast some characters survive, but in this case the bookending story actually adds to the film and is a compelling short piece in itself.

I'm still pondering what I would do in their situation. Do I hold to my ideals and protest, getting myself and others killed, or do I try to survive at all costs, hoping that then I will win out in the end.

Totally watch this film. It's not as good as The Lives of Others, as far as new German cinema goes, but it's a great movie.