Do You Remember Dolly Bell? (1981)
Filmmaker(s): Emir Kusturica
A young man grows up in Sarajevo in the 1960s, under the shadow of his good, but ailing father, and gets attracted by the world of small-time criminals.
Happythankyoumoreplease (2010)
Go Get Yourself Loved
Filmmaker(s): Josh Radnor
Captures a generational moment - young people on the cusp of truly growing up, tiring of their reflexive cynicism, each in their own ways struggling to connect and define what it means to love and be loved. Six New Yorkers juggle love, friendship, and the keenly challenging specter of adulthood. Sam Wexler is a struggling writer who's having a particularly bad day. When a young boy gets separated from his family on the subway, Sam makes the questionable decision to bring the child back to his apartment and thus begins a rewarding, yet complicated, friendship. Sam's life revolves around his friends — Annie, whose self-image keeps her from commitment; Charlie and Mary Catherine, a couple whose possible move to Los Angeles tests their relationship; and Mississippi, a cabaret singer who catches Sam's eye.
10 Feb Happythankyoumoreplease (2010)
Shorted Out If you live the life in films that I do, you will be offended when a filmmaker takes his responsibilities lightly. That is what I felt when watching this. The writer of the thing has made himself the central character: a writer who...
The Mystery Man (1935)
Stark Drama! A Shadow Creeping Through the Night!
Filmmaker(s): Ray McCarey
Hard-boiled newspaper reporter Larry Doyle (Robert Armstrong) goes a bit too far in celebrating a work bonus and wakes up on a train bound for St. Louis with only a buck on his person. To remedy the problem, Doyle pawns the revolver he's carrying. When the gun is subsequently used in a murder, Doyle's problems only multiply. In the meantime, he's also fallen in love with a comely stranger (Maxine Doyle) he convinced to impersonate his wife.
09 Feb The Mystery Man (1935)
Prehistoric Fishing Cinematic archeology is what this is all about. The film has lost all its appeal as the hooks have gone out of style. But we can see major chunks that have evolved to what we have now. The basic setup is the fold...
The Last Mistress (2007)
Filmmaker(s): Catherine Breillat
Secrets, rumors and betrayals surround the upcoming marriage between a young dissolute man and virtuous woman of the French aristocracy.
09 Feb The Last Mistress (2007)
Gaddafi’s Italian What you open to can be bigger and more fulfilling if you are careful to make those things few. Some films you can let permeate your soul, and others you must keep at a distance. Part of the experience of film, unavoidably, is...
Lovely, Still (2008)
Something mysterious, new, unexpected and lovely is happening to Robert Malone.
Filmmaker(s): Nicholas Fackler
A holiday fable that tells the story of an elderly man discovering love for the first time.
09 Feb Lovely, Still (2008)
First Date I rarely do this, recommend a bad film. But I will ask if you start this, that you see it through. The film takes advantage of the fact that we have a profoundly well developed notion of a movie romance. We have that...
Shadows in Paradise (1986)
Filmmaker(s): Aki Kaurismäki
Nikander, a rubbish collector and would-be entrepreneur, finds his plans for success dashed when his business associate dies. One evening, he meets Ilona, a down-on-her-luck cashier, in a local supermarket. Falteringly, a bond begins to develop between them.
09 Feb Shadows in Paradise (1986)
Foreground, Hinted Background I am attracted to ambitious films, ones that challenge and that have a lot of powerful layered machinery. It is how I build my life. They are work. Art is work if you intend to collect and use it as fuel. So...
Dirty Love (2005)
got dumped?
Filmmaker(s): John Asher
The klutzy yet stunning Rebecca Sommers walks in on her hunky boyfriend in bed with another woman. They break up and Rebecca starts to fall apart, but, with the help of her close girlfriends, she begins to date again. Unfortunately, the men she meets all happen to be crazy. John, her dorky guy friend, tries to express his secret love for Rebecca, but she's too busy to notice as she tries to come to terms with her breakup.
09 Feb Dirty Love (2005)
Ventriloquism for Dummies What an entertaining movie! I share the critical consensus, that it is poorly made and a failure in all its intended dimensions. But I watch movies a different way, and that allows me to get a lot out of it. In this...
The Girl (2000)
Filmmaker(s): Sande Zeig
A torrid affair between two women, a struggling artist and a flame-haired blues singer, upsets a man who has a thing for the girl.
09 Feb The Girl (2000)
Room in Paris I guess I should describe what the filmmaker described as her goals. She wanted to make a noir love story and to ‘abstract‘ it, making it pure, and therefore effective. This isn’t noir as I understand it, but that does not matter...
Midnight in Paris (2011)
Filmmaker(s): Woody Allen
A romantic comedy about a family traveling to the French capital for business. The party includes a young engaged couple forced to confront the illusion that a life different from their own is better.
09 Feb Midnight in Paris (2011)
The Woman’s Kitchen I am temporarily in a situation where it Is difficult to see a film. Building the conditions to watch one properly are rare, so when you can build such a space, what film do you build it around? As with meal long...
Never Let Me Go (2010)
These students have everything they need. Except time.
Filmmaker(s): Mark Romanek
As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy spend their childhood at an idyllic and secluded English boarding school. As they grow into adults, they must come to terms with the complexity and strength of their love for one another while also preparing for the haunting reality awaiting them.
