The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

— Well, yes, it may be geared toward seniors and it may be a little thin on plot. Yes too, it may be the anti-“Avengers” movie of the summer. But mostly it was funny, colorful, tale of adventure and reinvention. Probably doesn’t hurt that I’m part of its target demographic (although I’m part of the younger demographic!). Besides, I absolutely love Judi Dench. And it was nice to find a summer film without superheroes, cutesy kids, surround sound explosions, or three dimensions.

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[2011. 124 min. Directed by John Madden. Starring Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton, Dev Patel, and Maggie Smith.]
http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/the-best-exotic-marigold-hotel-20120503

Shame

— Watched "Shame" yesterday and can't seem to shake it. So well done and yet, so, what's the word? Icky. Always unsettling when a good actor (Michael Fassbender) and a good director (Steve McQueen) make me feel voyeuristic much of time and the rest of the time the camera hold a shot for so long that I feel like I'm being forced to watch. Sparse on dialogue and really worth the journey.

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[2011. 101 min. Directed by Steve McQueen. Starring Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, and Jaems Badge.]
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/shame/

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

— Back from "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" and did enjoy it quite a bit. A nice, fun film based on the book by the guy who was almost as old as I am when he wrote it (it was his first book). I always appreciate late bloomers, much more than college drop-out millionaires.

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[2011. 107 min. Directed by Lasse Hallstrom. Starring Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, and Amr Waked.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/salmon-fishing-in-the-yemen-2012

The Skin I Live In

— Have only seen a few DVDs in the past month and only one struck me as really good, although “The Trip” and “Take Shelter” both came close. Much less successful were “A Dangerous Method” and “The Rum Diary”. “The Skin I Live In” was unsettling enough but not quite as dark as I would have liked. Still, Almodovar’s filmmaking was wonderful and the actors all did a fine job, leaving me with plenty of ideas and images rolling around in my mind.

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[2011. 120 min. Directed by Pedro Almodovar. Starring Antonio Banderas, Elena Anaya, and Jan Cornet.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/movies/the-skin-i-live-in-directed-by-pedro-almodovar-review.html?_r=0

Kill List

— The Guardian reviewer said "If Ricky Gervais or Mike Leigh made a horror film, it might look something like this unsettlingly strange offering from British director Ben Wheatley". Well, after seeing "Kill List" yesterday and I think that about sums it up, except for it also being very brutal in places. Oh, and it was a very good horror film too! Definitely "unsettling". Kind of "Blair Witch" and "Wicker Man" for the art house crowd. this year

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[2011. 95 min. Directed by Ben Wheatley. Starring Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, and Harry Simpson.]
http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/kill-list-2012

Bully

— Just came from "Bully", Lee Hirsh's film that tells a story kids need to see—and educators—even though it received an R rating from the MPAA. Kids who are different really ought to feel safe at school and educators need to get a clue about what's really happening.

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[2011. 98 min. Directed by Lee Hirsch. Featuring Ja’Maeya Jackson, Kelby Johnson, and Lona Johnson.]
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-bully-20120302,0,3436722.story

The Island President

— "The Island President" was a beautiful film, but sad to be viewing it in a country doing so little about global warming.

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[2011. 101 min. Directed by Jon Shenk. Featuring Mohamed Nasheed.]
http://www.docnyc.net/film/the-island-president/

How To Survive the Plague

— "How to Survive the Plague" had a great crowd at 10:30 a.m. Well worth seeing.

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[2012. 110 min. Directed by David France. Featuring Peter Staley, Larry Kramer, and Iris Long.]
http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/120083/how_to_survive_a_plague