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Beautiful Kate (2009)
The past is always present.
Filmmaker(s): Rachel Ward

Ned Kendall is asked to return to the remote and isolated family home by his sister, to say goodbye to his father who is dying. Ned also brings his young aspiring actress fiancee who struggles with the isolation. When home he starts having memories of his childhood many involving his beautiful twin sister and his older brother. These memories awaken long-buried secrets from the family's past.

Writer’s Blocks In the last year, I saw a film (“In My Father’s Den“) with much the same themes. In that New Zealand film, a man, a celebrated war correspondent returns to his rural home on the death of his father. There are significant unresolved frictions...


Published May 16, 2023
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Avatar (2009)
Enter the world of Pandora.
Filmmaker(s): James Cameron

In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.

Pocahontas of the Southern Hemisphere This comment is on the IMAX 3d version. There aren’t many stories, are there? There are not many good storytellers either. Nor, it turns out, many filmmakers who can make even moderately big movies with a single governing imagination. That is the...


Published May 16, 2023
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Art & Copy (2009)
Creativity can solve anything
Filmmaker(s): Doug Pray

The personal odysseys of some of the most influential advertising visionaries of all time and the stories behind their campaigns.

Capture I love it when the matter and the form align. This is a documentary about the top creative folks in (US) advertising. It traces an explosion of influence from either putting creatives in charge or allowing the graphic/cinema guys to be up front — depending on...


Published May 16, 2023
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Assault Girls (2009)
Let the game begin.
Filmmaker(s): Mamoru Oshii

Three women and one man - with an assortment of weaponry - wage war against giant mutant sandwhales in a barren digital landscape, all to achieve points within the virtual reality video game called Avalon.

Long Form Loop I study long form film to see how it works. Some times what I end up seeing doesn't work. That is the case here; only the costumes matter, and one episode has resonance. Does that one episode qualify this as long form? Maybe....


Published May 16, 2023
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3 Idiots (2009)
Aal Izz Well!
Filmmaker(s): Rajkumar Hirani

Rascal. Joker. Dreamer. Genius... You've never met a college student quite like "Rancho." From the moment he arrives at India's most prestigious university, Rancho's outlandish schemes turn the campus upside down—along with the lives of his two newfound best friends. Together, they make life miserable for "Virus," the school’s uptight and heartless dean. But when Rancho catches the eye of the dean's daughter, Virus sets his sights on flunking out the "3 idiots" once and for all.

Five Lives and a Funeral The structure is a compelling nesting. We have the linear story of two school chums plus one who search for a lost third buddy. There are a number of twists in this that make it more than just a framing device....


Published March 12, 2023
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Knowing (2009)
What happens when the numbers run out?
Filmmaker(s): Alex Proyas

A teacher opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

The Cleansing Timing is everything. I saw this in a stressed state, looking for escape. I saw it in a grand old theatre with large, excellently tuned equipment. I saw it not knowing anything at all about it. And I loved it. Yes, I know people do not like...


Published March 2, 2023
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Adam (2009)
A story about two strangers. One a little stranger than the other...
Filmmaker(s): Max Mayer

Adam, a lonely man with Asperger's Syndrome, develops a relationship with his upstairs neighbor, Beth.

Stuttered Beginnings I found this to be offensive in that mild way that occurs so often. Storytellers sometimes have to make decisions that cost the viewer something — the worst kind of cheat because it pushes the pain onto the unwitting. Is it a net good...


Published February 27, 2023
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Kung Fu Chefs (2009)
Filmmaker(s): Ken Yip Wing-Kin

Ousted chef Wong Bing-Yi is determined to help Shen Qing at her restaurant "Four Seas". He trains a young chef, Lung Kin-Yat to compete against Chef Tin, the head chef at "Imperial Palace", for the title of "Top Chef".

Cabbage Soup Some time ago, I watched a mainstream trifle called “Kung Fu Panda.” The only appeal it had was the idea of discipline in ordinary things. The involvement of food was incidental and comic but it mattered. Food is not easy to film. But it is...


Published February 27, 2023
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Antichrist (2009)
When nature turns evil, true terror awaits.
Filmmaker(s): Lars von Trier

A grieving couple retreats to their cabin 'Eden' in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage. But nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.

Contagious Brokenness Down the road from me is a coven of Christian filmmakers. It is a school and the purpose is to make films that evangelise. This fascinates me; generally their stories are about fighting the devil, a narrative that encompasses both what is in the...


Published December 24, 2022
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500 Days of Summer (2009)
This is not a love story. This is a story about love.
Filmmaker(s): Marc Webb

Tom, greeting-card writer and hopeless romantic, is caught completely off-guard when his girlfriend, Summer, suddenly dumps him. He reflects on their 500 days together to try to figure out where their love affair went sour, and in doing so, Tom rediscovers his true passions in life.

Death by Numbers Boy, how frustrating it is to have a movie that is near perfect in some respects but broken in others, especially when it has the potential to do things. This has the potential because it is a love story that bends the expectations for...


Published December 15, 2022
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