Friday, December 25, 2009
2009/11/17 MASH (NR) (stars)
Prior to the show a doctor that worked in Korea in a MASH unit described the conditions that were experienced in these MASH units close to the front.
The theme song to the television series actually has words that are in the film. Main course is "Suicide is Painless,....".
The theme song to the television series actually has words that are in the film. Main course is "Suicide is Painless,....".
2009/11/17 Amelia (PG) (* * */5)
(2009-USA) - d. Mira Nair
Stars Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.
Story of Amelia Earhart and her attempt to be the first woman pilot to fly around the world in 1937. Towards the end, she and her co-pilot disappear somewhere in the Pacific Ocean trying to find a small island at which to refuel in bad weather conditions.
More a film about her flying, not about her relationships and personal life. There was not a lot of buildup to help the audience understand why she was how she was, so the film lacked some depth as to character.
Stars Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.
Story of Amelia Earhart and her attempt to be the first woman pilot to fly around the world in 1937. Towards the end, she and her co-pilot disappear somewhere in the Pacific Ocean trying to find a small island at which to refuel in bad weather conditions.
More a film about her flying, not about her relationships and personal life. There was not a lot of buildup to help the audience understand why she was how she was, so the film lacked some depth as to character.
2009/11/14 A Woman in Berlin (R) (* */5)
(2008-Germany/Poland) - d. Max Farberbock
Based on an anonymous diary found describing the crimes of Russian soliders committed during the last days of World War II in Berlin (1945). This story tells the story of one woman's survival. She was a journalist and could speak Russian. There were countless rapes, death and pillaging that took place causing nothing but fear in the people.
German with English subtitles
Based on an anonymous diary found describing the crimes of Russian soliders committed during the last days of World War II in Berlin (1945). This story tells the story of one woman's survival. She was a journalist and could speak Russian. There were countless rapes, death and pillaging that took place causing nothing but fear in the people.
German with English subtitles
2009/10/27 Executive Suite (NR) (stars)
After the film there was discussion with Bryn Mawr Trust CEO.
2009/10/24 The Burning Plain (R) (* * * * /5)
(2008 - USA/Argentina) - d. Guillermo Arriaga
Stars Kim Basinger and Charlize Theron.
There are several plots that go on during this film that at the end all come together.
The plot is a story of several different people separated by time and space -- Sylvia, a woman in Oregon who must undertake an emotional odyssey to rid herself of her past; Mariana and Santiago, two teenagers trying to piece together the shattered lives of their parents in a New Mexico border town; Maria, a little girl who goes on a border-crossing voyage to help her parents find redemption, forgiveness, and love; and Gina and Nick, a couple who must deal with an intense and clandestine affair... because they are both married.
Maria is Santiago's daughter. Santiago is a crop duster in a New Mexico town and he has a plane crash. His friend and the daughter go out to find (and stalk) the mother who left when Maria was very young. She works at a restaurant as a manager. One of the other stories is of her at a younger age catching her mother having an affair in a remote trailer (her mother had a masectomy and is not happy about her looks). She puts gas around the trailer and winds up killing both her mother and her lover in a huge explosion. Santiago becomes her love interest and she ends up becoming 'blood brothers' with him by a ritual. Coping with her past is a hard thing for her to do.
Flashbacks tell a story that seems to be taking place at the same time, and then at the end, how the movie comes together and explains all the holes and how the lives of these people are intertwined was very interesting to watch.
Stars Kim Basinger and Charlize Theron.
There are several plots that go on during this film that at the end all come together.
The plot is a story of several different people separated by time and space -- Sylvia, a woman in Oregon who must undertake an emotional odyssey to rid herself of her past; Mariana and Santiago, two teenagers trying to piece together the shattered lives of their parents in a New Mexico border town; Maria, a little girl who goes on a border-crossing voyage to help her parents find redemption, forgiveness, and love; and Gina and Nick, a couple who must deal with an intense and clandestine affair... because they are both married.
Maria is Santiago's daughter. Santiago is a crop duster in a New Mexico town and he has a plane crash. His friend and the daughter go out to find (and stalk) the mother who left when Maria was very young. She works at a restaurant as a manager. One of the other stories is of her at a younger age catching her mother having an affair in a remote trailer (her mother had a masectomy and is not happy about her looks). She puts gas around the trailer and winds up killing both her mother and her lover in a huge explosion. Santiago becomes her love interest and she ends up becoming 'blood brothers' with him by a ritual. Coping with her past is a hard thing for her to do.
Flashbacks tell a story that seems to be taking place at the same time, and then at the end, how the movie comes together and explains all the holes and how the lives of these people are intertwined was very interesting to watch.
2009/09/15 No Boundaries (R) ( * * * * /5)
(2009-USA) - d. Violet Mendoza & Jake Willing
There was a filmmaker appearance at our showing.
This film was set in Philadelphia. Isabel Moreno crosses the border into the United States, thinking only of making enough money to save her deathly ill mother. In Philadelphia, she finds comfort in her cousin Martin and is embraced by his neighbors, Gloria and Maurice. She is surprised to find a new family far from home, but even more surprised to fall in love with the one man that could put her right back where she started, Christopher Fox, an immigration agent. Faced with an ultimatum, Isabel is forced to question her loyalties and choose between her freedom and the love of her life.
There was a filmmaker appearance at our showing.
This film was set in Philadelphia. Isabel Moreno crosses the border into the United States, thinking only of making enough money to save her deathly ill mother. In Philadelphia, she finds comfort in her cousin Martin and is embraced by his neighbors, Gloria and Maurice. She is surprised to find a new family far from home, but even more surprised to fall in love with the one man that could put her right back where she started, Christopher Fox, an immigration agent. Faced with an ultimatum, Isabel is forced to question her loyalties and choose between her freedom and the love of her life.
2009/09/08 The Windmill Movie (NR) (* * * /5)
(2009-USA) - d. Alexander Olch
Documentary
At our showing, there was a filmmaker appearance.
Filmmaker Richard P. Rogers tried for twenty years to make a documentary about his own life. He died in 2001, leaving the project unfinished, until his widow, acclaimed photographer Susan Meiselas, commissioned his former student Alexander Olch to make a film out of the pieces. Starting in the Hamptons, in the town of Wainscott, the film weaves Rogers' footage into a journey through childhood memories, a less than encouraging mother, a family background of privilege, and Rogers' persistent, dogged attempts to document his own life. Rogers' friend, actor and writer Wallace Shawn, joins in the process, as the film investigates the differences between documentary and fiction, and tells the tragic story of Rogers' life.
This is the story as told by a student of his teacher. The teacher taught filmmaking, and had made several films, however, there was no film that depicted his life. There was lots of old footage that the wife had that the filmmaker went through to create a story of his teachers life. The unfinished story so to speak.
Documentary
At our showing, there was a filmmaker appearance.
Filmmaker Richard P. Rogers tried for twenty years to make a documentary about his own life. He died in 2001, leaving the project unfinished, until his widow, acclaimed photographer Susan Meiselas, commissioned his former student Alexander Olch to make a film out of the pieces. Starting in the Hamptons, in the town of Wainscott, the film weaves Rogers' footage into a journey through childhood memories, a less than encouraging mother, a family background of privilege, and Rogers' persistent, dogged attempts to document his own life. Rogers' friend, actor and writer Wallace Shawn, joins in the process, as the film investigates the differences between documentary and fiction, and tells the tragic story of Rogers' life.
This is the story as told by a student of his teacher. The teacher taught filmmaking, and had made several films, however, there was no film that depicted his life. There was lots of old footage that the wife had that the filmmaker went through to create a story of his teachers life. The unfinished story so to speak.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)