Genre: Drama

Year: 2003

Country: Russia

Rating:

Starring: Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov, Konstantin Lavronenko, Natalya Vdovina, Yelizaveta Aleksandrova

Director: Andrei Zvyagintsev

My Review: Not to be confused with the 2006 movie starring Sarah Michelle Geller and Sam Shepard. I rated that movie a 2 out of 5. Here is a Russian movie with some outstanding camera work. Outstanding locations in the remote Russian wilderness. The story revolves around two young boys (in their early teens), who are shocked to discover their father has returned after a 12 year absence. Filled with questions, they wonder where he's been all their lives, why has he come back, is he staying? Filled with joy, regret, anger and questions. The boys go on a camping trip with their father. The drama unfolds with perfect pacing, excellent acting, superb direction and a fantastic sense of angst and discovery. The technical aspects of the film were nearly flawless. The editing and composition superb. A feature film debut from director Andrey Zvyagintsev. Excellent cultural experience. Filled with wonder, discovery, angst and mystery. The only let down was the rather sad ending. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: Two teenage Russian boys have their father return home suddenly after being absent for 12 years. The father takes the boys on a holiday to a remote island on a lake in the north of Russia that turns into a test of manhood of almost mythic proportions.

Genre: Western, Comedy

Year: 1969

Country: Italy

Rating:

Starring: Terence Hill, Woody Strode, Bud Spencer, Eduardo Ciannelli, Glauco Onorato

Director: Giuseppe Colizzi

My Review: An Italian 'Spaghetti Western' made in the late 60s (1969). The movie stars Terence Hill (of the Trinity films and several other mediocre westerns/action flicks) and Bud Spencer, another Italian actor who appeared in numerous Italian produced westerns (including two of the Trinity films). This DVD was obviously a transfer from VHS, and the quality was terrible. Filmed at various Spanish sites, the locations look like the American west (possibly Utah, New Mexico or Arizona). The story; a town is held ransom to the thugs of a ruthless business man. Honey Fisher squeezes the residents for all they've got, then he takes their land. His plans for total domination are disturbed when a gunslinger and traveling circus show up unexpectedly. Honey's goal is gold and the visit by a state commissioner is his chance to wrestle the last of the deeds from these oppressed townsfolk. Cat Stevens (played by Terence Hill) and Hutch Bessy (played by Bud Spencer) join forces with the members of a traveling circus to challenge the authority of his iron fist. The cinematography (despite the great locations) was terrible; as was the sound production and direction. The directors use of quick cuts and close ups was a bit unusual if not disturbing. The plot was rather confusing, and I'm still not sure why this gunslinger would have bothered with this town. Perhaps the whole film didn't make it onto the DVD? The only redeeming part of this film was the pacing and the acting (by the principals) was o.k. I give it a 2 out of 5.

Summary: Honey Fisher has become a powerful man in this small Western town that has grown up around gold-prospecting fields. Fisher and his gang have managed, through swindling, murder, and terror, to gain leases on the important gold-yielding land in the area. A state commissioner comes to town to review the leases, which are crucial to Fisher's power. Cat Stevens and Hutch Bessy join forces with circus performers and townsfolk led by Stevens' friend Finch to fight against Fisher and his henchmen.

Genre: Western

Year: 1970

Country: USA, Spain

Rating:

Starring: Pernell Roberts, Sue Lyon, Julián Mateos, Leslie Nielsen, María Martín

Director: John Peyser

My Review: Starring Pernell Roberts (who gave up his role in Bonanza to star in this movie) as U.S. Marshal Ross and Leslie Nielsen as Mr. Brown. Here's a jointly produced (U.S. and Spanish) western filmed in the Almeria, Andalucia, region of Spain. The locations were great, but the camera work and editing left that part of the film on the cutting room floor. The story: Marshall Ross shows up in a po-dunk border town, looking for Julian Mateos - a Mexican bandit accused of murder. Ross's job is to bring Mateos back alive for questioning in relation to the murder of a bank guard. Mr. Brown is a Pinkerton agent with a different agenda. His company wants to find this murderer at all costs, and Brown prefers him dead rather than alive. Complicating things is the pretty young Myra Polsen, played by Sue Lyon. She insists on coming along as these two unlikely allies track down her boyfriend. So, into the badlands they go. Tracking Mateos proves quite easy as his horse fell into a ravine and he only made it a couple days out. When the group catches up with Mateos, things get slightly more complicated. Myra tries to help her boyfriend escape and Mr. Brown seems intent on killing Mateos. The second half of the movie is an odd segment where all four are struggling to make it back from the desert. Apparently, a two day journey into the badlands requires a lengthy trip across a desert with little or no water… The plot was odd, including a rape (not shown), a shoot out, a shotgun wedding, a little strip show (no we didn't get to see it) and a good guy who's more blood thirsty than the bandit. The DVD contained a very poor quality VHS transfer, and the censorship was a bit annoying. This may have been a transfer from a recorded television airing, as the word 'Whore' was permitted by American cinema (film released in 1970). I give this stinker a 1 out of 5.

Summary: A U.S. marshal sets out to bring in a Mexican bandit accused of killing his girlfriend's father, but it turns out that there's more to the story than there first appears to be.

Genre: Documentary, Short

Year: 1919

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring:

Director: Ephen Ives

My Review: An episode (season 23/episode 6 (originally aired 24 Jan, 2011) of 'The American Experience' a PBS documentary, running since 1988. Here is a very well produced documentary. Highly informative, educational and entertaining. This particular episode chronicles the engineering miracle known as the Panama Canal. Finished in 1914, this 48-mile canal revolutionized the shipping industry, and catapulted the United States into a seat of unbridled industrial strength. With archival footage, stock photos, and numerous first hand accounts, the program reveals the trials and tribulations encountered during the 10 year effort to build this wonder of the modern world. The show was well produced and narrated, but it did drag on at times. Unfortunately, as of 1 March, 2011, funding for PBS programming is on the chopping block in congress. American politicians will likely vote to kill all funding for public television, thus ending the long running tradition of programming for the sake of education in America. I give this particular show a 3 out of 5, and I hope (for the sake of future generations) that congress does not vote to strip away all funding for public broadcast in the U.S.

Summary:

Genre: Animation, Comedy, Fantasy, Musical, Romance

Year: 2008

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Annette Hanshaw, Aseem Chhabra, Bhavana Nagulapally, Manish Acharya, Reena Shah

Director: Nina Paley

My Review: The ancient Indian epic - Ramayana - as told with artistic animation, 1920's blues, and a contemporary parallel. Excellent humor, educational narration and entertaining production. Narrated by a trio of three fairly knowledgable cast members, the narration is relaxed conversational style. Not the typical academic deconstruction one might have expected in this (limited) examination of Hindu mythology. Several different styles of animation are used to depict the story of Ramayana from a different point of view. That of Sita, the queen/wife of Lord Rama. This point of view does have a somewhat controversial result; it points a rather heavy finger at sexism in Indian culture. Sita's 14 year exile in a forest is contrasted against the director's (Nina Paley) own tragic love story. The Indian artistic styling was outstanding, the animation quite well done, and the conversational narration excellent. While I don't know much about Hindu culture or mythology, I found 'Sita Sings the Blues' to be highly entertaining and somewhat educational. The mixing of genres and artistic blending of stylized motifs was truly a work of art. The Jazzy injection of 1920's blues (by little known American singer Annette Hanshaw) was superbly complimentary to the entire movie, and there's absolutely no way hollywood (or bollywood) could have produced something this enjoyable without a multi-million dollar budget. Nina produced the entire thing for chess than $300,000, and most of that went to 'Copyright Holders'. 4 out of 5.

Summary: The movie is about Sita, the Hindu Goddess from the epic "The Ramayana", who accompanies Lord Rama on a 14 year exile in forest. Sita is abducted by Ravana, the ruler of Lanka. This movie tells the story of Rama and Sita, along-with a biographical account of the director's relationship with her husband.

Genre: Drama, War

Year: 2007

Country: France

Rating:

Starring: Cécile De France, Patrick Bruel, Ludivine Sagnier, Julie Depardieu, Mathieu Amalric

Director: Claude Miller

My Review: Set in the 50's, here's a personal drama which revolves around one Jewish Family, their son, and a series of painful family secrets which haunt the family still. Told through flashbacks, the present day portion of the story is told in black and white, while the past is told in vivid color. That's where the truth lies; in the unforgettable, undeniable ever-present reality of the past. In this story, a 15 year old boy discovers a remnant of his families painful past. Buried away amongst the forgotten memoirs of a hard life, sealed away in the dusty attic, the appearance of this innocent relic unleashes a tale of unrequited love, deception, jealousy, denial, and a heinous crime more personally tragic than the ascendency of hateful Nazis. This family of French Jews might survive the Nazis, but can they survive their own personal battle? The tale is told in a rather direct manner. There's no overwrought posing, no over-acting, no over-blown scenes of melodrama. At the same time, this tale is full of powerful consequences and difficult decisions. The writing, direction and acting outstanding. The pacing and editing was excellent. A simple and direct story, a powerful film. I give it a 5 out of 5.

Summary: In 1953, a sensitive French boy finds out from a neighbor that his family's Jewish. François Grimbert becomes a physician, and gradually peels the layers of his buried family history which resulted in his difficult upbringing, raised as Catholic by his "Aryan" appearing parents. His athletic father labored to stamp out stereotypical Jewish characteristics he perceived in his son, to keep the family's many secrets, as most relatives fought in World War II, and later were hauled off to labor and death camps by the Gestapo. Based on a true story.

Genre: Drama, War

Year: 1968

Country: Hungary, Soviet Union

Rating:

Starring: József Madaras, Tibor Molnár, András Kozák, Jácint Juhász, Anatoli Yabbarov

Director: Miklós Jancsó

My Review: An extremely chaotic film mirrors the chaos of war in this black and white Hungarian film. Produced in 1967, the film was initially banned in Soviet Russia. The story is set along the Volga river in 1919. Hungarians communists are helping the Bolsheviks' (Red) in their struggle against Czarists (White). This small strip of land is the setting for a series of back and forth battles between the Reds and the Whites. One side takes an abandoned military fort, then it's retaken by the other side. Prisoners escape into the woods, they're captured near a hospital, then plot to retake the hospital. Captives are executed against walls, or stripped naked and forced to flee on foot into the woods. Nurses are abducted, forced to dance to a marching band's waltzes, then allowed to leave unmolested. Other nurses are ordered to strip, then swim in the Volga, or threatened with rape by unscrupulous soldiers. If you're trying to figure out what the hell was going on, or who was winning, you'll be lost in short order. I don't know what the point of this movie was. Perhaps it was simply saying that war is chaos. If that's the case, then it made it's case quite effectively. There is no 'main' character, and you're never quite sure which side is winning. The movie does a good job depicting war as violent, absurd, and morally confused. The direction and acting in this woefully scripted movie are lacking, and I could barely stand to watch it. The locations were great, but the camera work sub-par. I give it a 2 out of 5.

Summary: In 1919, Hungarian Communists aid the Bolsheviks' defeat of Czarists, the Whites. Near the Volga, a monastery and a field hospital are held by one side then the other. Captives are executed or sent running naked into the woods. Neither side has a plan, and characters the camera picks out soon die. A White Cossack officer kills a Hungarian and is executed by his own superiors when he tries to rape a milkmaid. At the hospital, White officers order nurses into the woods, dressed in finery, to waltz. A nurse aids the Reds, then they accuse her of treason for following White orders. Red soldiers walk willingly, singing, into an overwhelming force. War seems chaotic and arbitrary.

Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime

Year: 2010

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren, Karl Urban

Director: Robert Schwentke

My Review: A fantastic cast, starring: Bruce Willis (as Frank), Mary-Louise Parker (as Sarah), John Malkovich (as Marvin), Helen Mirren (as Victoria), Karl Urban (as William Cooper), Morgan Freeman (as Joe), Richard Dreyfus, even Ernest Borgnine! and many others. It's an all-star cast and they all work well together. Bruce Willis plays Frank Moses, a retired black-ops CIA agent. With a new identity and a pensioners low-profile life, he's finally trying to live a 'normal' life - Until… The CIA paints him, and a group of other ex-CIA black ops, as 'Red' or rogue ops who must be eliminated. It's a quintessential action flick despite the age of its cast. Explosions, car chases, endless supplies of bullets, and indestructible heros. One thing hollywood does right. There's no need to analyze the script (which has some considerate cohesion, great dialogue, and a few artistic touches), no need to calculate the probabilities, or doubt the physics. It's pure go with the flow, adrenaline driven, kick ass, action! The plot is a bit transparent, but the plot isn't all that important in this movie. The hot bods, big explosions, hot rods and crazy character keep the action moving from start to finish. I loved it. 4 out of 5.

Summary: Frank (Bruce Willis) is retired, bored and lonely living off his government pension in a nondescript suburb in an equally nondescript house. The only joy in Frank's life are his calls to the government pension processing center when he gets to talk to his case worker Sarah (Mary-Louis Parker). Sarah is as bored and lonely as Frank and marks her conversations with the unknown Frank and her spy novels as the only things fun in her life. When something in Frank's past forces Frank back into his old line of work and puts an unwitting Sarah in the middle of the intrigue, Frank and Sarah begin a journey into Franks past and the people he used to work with. Like Frank they are all RED ... Retired Extremely Dangerous.