Kevin Bacon has a performance well worth watching in a fairly good movie about an Alcatraz prisoner and his experience in solitary confinement. Unfortunately, the movie made us feel very sympathetic to Bacon's character which the movie led us to believe was based on a true story. The true story was almost the opposite of what happens in the movie. It's one thing to reinterpret a story but manipulating the audience's emotions is another thing.
Knowing (2009)
Nicholas Cage tries to be an astrophysicist. I ain't buying it. The movie, either. Poor. Interesting, though, is that Discover Magazine had an article last year about what might still be around at the end of the world. The author said that what has been around the longest is usually what will survive to the end. He said that numbers and laughter were probably the first things in existence but that laughter probably came first and would probably out-live everything else. I didn't completely understand it but there it is. At least it gave me something to think about while watching this.
District 9 (2009)
Sci-fi meets apartheid in South Africa. Good movie. Intense. Well worth the time. An article said the title is a play on the real District 6 in Johannesburg which is a "vibrant mixed-race community."
Julie (2009)
So-so movie about a whiny blogger (aren't we all). Except she got hers turned into a movie. How in the hell did that happen? I want a movie. Also, I wouldn't mind a reader besides myself.
& Julia (2009)
Great movie about my favorite cook. Look for the OSS connections. I loved watching her on TV although I was always a Joy of Cooking cook on the ships. It was funny to see Irma Rombauer portrayed in this film. She mentions the trouble she had with the index when getting Joy of Cooking published. I became a Moosewood cook after settling in Portland. The first edition didn't have an index which infuriated me. I wrote to Mollie Katzen and complained (actually I whined). She wrote back and said the next edition would have an index. I have all of her cookbooks. Why don't all of us make all the recipes in all her books and blog about it and then watch the movie offers roll in?
Across the Universe (2007)
Wonderfully sweet musical using Beatles songs.
Vals Im Bashir (2008)
aka "Waltz with Bashir"
Intense, hard to follow, graphic animation film about the writer's experience in the Israeli army during the Lebanon War. Couldn't finish it.
State of Play (2009)
Highly rated suspense film when it came out this year. OK movie. Not too predictable. Not too boring.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
Wow! This is amazing. Paul Muni (yes, you know him from the Yiddish theatre circuit) plays the true story of a man who did escape. The commentary is exceptional. Almost a necessity to watch. Interesting that while the real story was almost more horrific than what is portrayed, Warner Bros. made his wife into a bad woman. It seemed to sell more at the time.
20,000 Cheers for the Chain Gang (1933)
One of the special features on the DVD for I Am a Fugitive. Very funny. If you've ever wondered why chain gang uniforms were striped then this will help. Also, Lassie as an alternative to bloodhounds. Along with other breeds.
