by Sandy | Jan 23, 2010 | Artist, Blogroll, Directors, dvd, Film, Movies
Italian Neorealist Director Roberto Rossellini, (1906-1977), made a series of films just after World War II labeled the “War Trilogy”. They have been issued as a DVD box set :
“Rome Open City, (1945)” “Paisan” (1946) and “Germany Year Zero” (1948)
Acclaimed by French directors François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, their articles appeared in the film magazine, “Cahiers du Cinema” declaring Rosselini “the father of the French New Wave”. His use of non-actors, his focus on little human interest stories and his use of the Italian street as back drop gave Rossellini ‘s films a grittiness and realism rarely seen in Europe before the war.
Roberto Rossellini’s “War Trilogy”
[ad#Adsense Link Unit]
[ad#Google Mobile]
by Sandy | Jan 9, 2010 | Blogroll, Film, Movies
2 film options to learn more about the situation in Darfur, the western region of Sudan, Africa.
“The Devil Came on Horseback”, 2007 – The “Save Darfur Coalition” is an alliance of over 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations whose mission is to raise public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of more than two million people in the Darfur region.”
“Darfur Now”, 2007 directed by Ted Braun – The documentary captures, thru images and interviews, the seemingly endless horror escalating among the Sudanese. This is a call for intervention – moral, diplomatic.
[ad#Adsense Link Unit]
by Bob Martin | Jan 2, 2010 | Actors, Art, Directors, Film, Movies
Pedro Almodóvar has a delightful way of telling a story.
Lluís Homar
Without discussing the plot, Broken Embraces (Los Abrazos Rotos) is reminiscent of Hitchcock both in the telling of the story and visuals. There is something sinister going on and the audience is intrigued and charmed.
Blanca Portillo
It’s funny and sad and never forced. Penelope Cruz and Blanca Portillo both blessed with extraordinary faces that deliver comedic lines with a seriousness that add to the plot of the movie. The film also stars Lluís Homar a seasoned, rugged, good looking actor and director who is perfect in his role.
This is the kind of movie that requires more then one viewing (always with sub-titles). There is a lot more to see and to be fascinated with. Good flick.
[ad#Adsense Link Unit]
by Bob Martin | Dec 24, 2009 | Art, Directors, Movies
An entertaining movie, especially on the giant IMAX
screen and a theater filled with kids impressed with 3D. and trying to touch everything. A couple of times I confused people walking in the isle as being in the movie. I had not seen a 3D movie in years and was surprised how much better the viewing was this time around.
Sigourney Weaver and Sam Worthington
I wanted the script to go someplace, away from the typical story line, “Dances 
with Wolves” or “Tarzan” which continues a myth that I find disappointing. So technically I found the movie excellent in telling the same tired story, it takes a westerner to save another culture from extinction that’s caused by western culture. A review in i09 brings up the issues of race, genocide and aligns Avatar with District 9, whose story although the same as Avatar I liked it better.
See it (almost everyone will) and there is no new insight in the story line, white man with a white hat saves the world again. Alien in 3D, now that would have been something.
[ad#Adsense Link Unit]
by Bob Martin | Dec 22, 2009 | Art, Culture, Movies, Museums
Fellini is seen as a puppeteer, a sort of Jim Henson, who demanded complete control
Federico Fellini
over his actors and anything else that had to do with his movies was truly an artist with a canvas that was in motion. What I take away from watching his movies was his honesty. Although movies like “8 &1/2” and “Juliet of the Spirits” are filled with dream or mystical sequences, it is impossible to escape Fellini’s truthfulness.
Fellini contributed to an unnamed movement that had us all thinking about film differently. He stoked up our imagination a bit.
An exhibit at the Jeu de Paume “Fellini, la Grande Parade” ends January 17th 2010 and for those of us who celebrate the coming of the New Year in Paris, seeing this exhibit might be a great way to bring in the year.
[ad#Adsense Link Unit]
by Sandy | Dec 19, 2009 | Actors, Arts, Entertainment and Music, Blogroll, Directors, Film, Movies
Don’t let the title fool you. This is not a Z list reality TV show.
“Dirty Pretty Things”, 2004 DVD, is a movie that explores how “invisibles” get over/get by in a hostile environment. Illegal immigrants often perform work that nobody else wants to do, but are not really seen. Jobs are done without creating attention or much notice being paid – which works well for those who live in a foreign country without “papers”.
Directed by Stephen Frears, the film, with the help of a great cast- Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, and Sofie Okendo – tells a story of men and women so desperate to find a better life far away from their home, that poverty and humiliation is endured day after day. Everyone has at least 2 jobs if they’re lucky and manage without sleep. Their situations are precarious and they can be easily exploited. But, this is not a PBS documentary.
This film has humor, charm and suspense. The 2 likable lead characters, a Nigerian Taxi driver and a Turkish hotel maid, cleverly interrupt a black market scheme to harvest body parts for profit. I found myself rooting for them to get over/get by – so that all their trials and tribulations were worth it.
“Dirty Pretty Things” – I enjoyed the movie!
Acclaimed by French directors François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, their articles appeared in the film magazine, “Cahiers du Cinema” declaring Rosselini “the father of the French New Wave”. His use of non-actors, his focus on little human interest stories and his use of the Italian street as back drop gave Rossellini ‘s films a grittiness and realism rarely seen in Europe before the war.
