I have been back at it folks – going to the movies. I had a moment there (about a month or two) where I didn’t see shit, but I’m over that now. The thing is you gotta go every week to keep up with the indie and foreign flicks cause some of them stay at the theater less than a week. Oy! One day I will OD on buttered popcorn. I’ve put together a short list of some movies that stick in my mind. Some of these films are long gone from Chicago theaters. You will have to rent them or wait for the dvd release.
I always recommend going to the theater. Nothing, I say NOTHING beats the big screen unless you have a big screen at home, or your best friend does…
1. Away We Go: wonderful film about a happy, liberal couple who have been living in Colorado to be around his parents – to have a support group & family near home. She gets pregnant, they tell his parents, who quickly inform them that they will be living in Europe. Bye! So they decide to take a road trip to find a new place to live around friends & family to raise their child. (both of their careers make this possible) They’re feeling rather slacker-like and hope to be inspired by their wonderful friends (all of whom are married with kids) who live in different parts of the country. Well, it turns out the friends are all nuts: filled with angst and disappointment and some bratty children. We have a blast traveling with our favorite couple as they visit each nutty bunch. Maybe home is where the heart is? This is a lovely and very funny film.
2. A Serious Man: In theaters. I loved this movie! Directed and written by the Coen Brothers – need I say more? The film is set in a Jewish suburb in the sixties. Our hero is a college professor with a wife who wants to leave; a son who smokes pot constantly while trying to prepare for his Bar mitzvah; a daughter who is always yelling; a live-in, unemployed brother who spends too much time in the bathroom; a discontented sudent who is causing big trouble for him at work and not enough Rabbis to advise him. Oy Vey!
I’ve heard the stories from my Jewish friends of their childhood neighbors, going to Hebrew school… if you are Jewish you must see this. If you have any insights into the Jewish culture, you must see this. If you love watching Human nature – you must see this. Quirky, truthful, funny and smart – loved it!
However, the two young girls seated near me hated it!! “Boring!”
3. An Education: english film four stars from Roger Ebert. Loved it. Not your typical coming of age film about an English teen about to make the leap to Oxford once she finishes her exams. She’s attends an all girl high school. She has doting working class parents. She is a gifted, smart girl with very little life experience. She’s a bit bored. Then she meets an exciting stranger who charms, smarms and somehow wins us all over. His promise is so believable. But all that glitters is not gold. No lives are destroyed, no judgements made but there is a whole buncha growing up done.. It’s a coming of age tale but unlike any I’ve seen. It is a very special little film and it’s getting a lot of buzz.
4. Coco Before Chanel: In Theaters. I liked this film very much. Audrey Tautou (stars as Coco) can do no wrong in my eyes. The story centers on Coco before she became a designer. She was a cabaret singer who (with her sister) hook up with wealthy men for financial support, and entertainment but the men ultimately cast them aside for girls of their own class or richer. It’s pretty to look at; the time and place is set beautifully and you will actually get a kick out of searching Coco for signs of things to come.
5. The Big Fan: I just caught this film the day before it left the theater. Awesome movie. Our hero is a huge New York Giants fan. I’m talking the painting your face, calling into the radio station, obsessed kinda fan who attends every home game and tailgates. Did I mention that he cheers everyone as they go into the stadium and then he and his buddy watch outside on a portable television rigged to the car battery? Life outside of the giants stadium parking lot doesn’t get any better for our boy. He lives in Staten Island with his long suffering mom and grudgingly visits his sleazy personal injury lawyer brother and his super busty wife (great scene when the family gathers in his brother’s big obnoxious house to watch his latest TV commercial) But he isn’t bitter nor overly defensive when pressed about his future or lack thereof, after all he has the Giants. Our boy finally mets his favorite Giants player at a pizza joint and on impulse decides to follow him from Staten Island into a Manhatten nightclub.
He & his buddy finally muster the nerve to approach his hero and all goes well until he reveals that he did indeed follow him from
Staten Island (through some shady neighborhood) and the athlete snaps and pummels him into a coma. He survives and then refuses to prosecute – to the chagrin of his mother and sleazy lawyer brother. He wants the Giants to win and they can not win if their star player is in jail, or on suspension… This was a great movie.
Okay, that’s the shortlist. will be back with more…
Quick Can-Go-No-Wrong rental suggestions:
See April 2009 archives for film descriptions. I saw the following films at Ebertfest 2009.
1. Trouble the Water (Watch for me in the DVD features under Ebertfest 2009)
2. Let the Right One In (kick ass vampire flick – don’t let that deter you, fabulous film!!!!)
3. Frozen River
4. Woodstock
rick…
excelent post, keep it coming…