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#232 | April 22, 2008 |
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"What happens when a musical form associated with the dubious glamour of dying young becomes entwined with the less glamorous and far less dubious eventuality of dying old?" asks the New Republic's Christopher Orr. "This is the question implicitly posed, and movingly answered, by the documentary Young@Heart." Under the direction of Bob Cilman, the Young@Heart Chorus covers tunes originally performed by the likes of Sonic Youth, James Brown and the Ramones. "It sounds dubious and cutesy," admits Jeffrey M Anderson, "but within minutes it reveals itself as the real thing and doubt gives way to unbridled enthusiasm." Jeffrey talks with Cilman, director Stephen Walker and two members of the chorus. Read article >>
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In This Dispatch:
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Wrote GreenCine's Craig Phillips in his "Best of 2007" list: " Tamara Jenkins' film is executed pitch-perfectly. As siblings, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Laura Linney have such a nice and easy comedic rappoir that it's hard to dislike either one of them; Linney is fast becoming - has become, really - one of our finest comedically empathetic actresses. The script gives us so many fully realized characters, each flawed in their own ways, that it makes you realize what a crock of s**t most dysfunctional family dramas are." The LA Times' Carina Chocano calls it "a brutal encounter with mortality told with uncommon humanity, wit and humor." |
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Extremely effective, creepy chiller from Mexico is "deliberately aimed at viewers with developed attention spans," mused Roger Ebert. "IIt lingers to create atmosphere, a sense of place, a sympathy with the characters, instead of rushing into cheap thrills." Adds Andy Klein in LA City Beat: "[A] genuinely creepy ghost story - Spain's entry for the Foreign Language Oscar - which, if not the year's best, is certainly among the best." Also available in Blu-ray. And don't miss our interview with the film's director, Juan Bayona, and scriptwriter, Sergio Sanchez. |
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Also out today (a lot!): Cloverfield;
Charlie Wilson's War;
Death of a Cyclist (Criterion);
Silent Ozu--Three Family Comedies (Eclipse);
Fireworks Wednesday;
Flash Point;
Sick Nurses;
Starting Out In The Evening (very underrated indie with terrific performance from Frank Langella);
Romulus, My Father;
Big Ideas For a Small Planet (Sundance);
Cuba: An African Odyssey ;
Easy Living;
Exquisite Short Films of Kihachiro Kawamoto;
Germany Pale Mother;
What Remains: Life & Work of Sally Mann (more here);
Fine Dead Girls (First Run).
New and Coming Releases lists | Your Queue | Discuss! | GreenCine's review blog: Guru | GC Member Reviews and Lists | New DVD Spotlight |
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What We're Watching |
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Continuing our way through the Agnes Varda set from Criterion, comes this real treat. There are those who feel that Agnes Varda's film La Pointe Courte represents the true birth of the French New Wave. After finally viewing this forgotten film (practically unseen by the world since its debut back in 1954), I would tend to agree. Every bit as ground-breaking as Truffaut's 400 Blows and Godard's Breathless, it has it's own measured pace and quiet inquiry--due, no doubt to its being made by a woman, and a woman as unusually gifted as Ms. Varda. The movie comprises two... Read review here >>.
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Old friends and compatriots Jan Hrebejk and Petr Jarchovsky have been making films together since 1999. Up and Down, which was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign film in 2004, is the product of their forth (but not their last) collaboration. Up and Down is one of those multi-character films like Paul Haggis' Crash (2005) and Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel (2006) in which the different characters featured in them intersect or overlap--a gimmick that for some mysterious reason attracts Oscar nominations. But unlike those aforementioned films, Up and Down is actually excellent. Not only does the film weave in many of the issues the Czech Republic inherited after the collapse of the USSR, but it also looks quite good. Photographed by Jan Malir, the... read review >>
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If you've never heard of Kihachiro Kawamoto, well, you're in the majority. But thanks to Kino and Kimfilms, the works of one of the world's greatest stop-motion animators are now more readily available. Famous for his beautiful, expressive puppets, Kawamoto began his career in the 1950s and honed his skills at the legendary Kratky Studios in Prague (under the mentorship of celebrated Czech animator Jiri Trnka), Kawamoto harnessed JapanÕs unique aesthetic traditions to create visually stunning stories. Drawing on ancient legends, contemporary short novels, as well as Noh, Kabuki, and Bunraku doll theater, KawamotoÕs haunting, poetic films speak of passion and loss in worlds populated by ghosts and demons.
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Explore |
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In time for today's Pennsylvania primary, Monica Peck brings us 10 Election Movies, both documentaries and features that should be required viewing as we gear up for another tumultuous election year. From 1939's Mr. Smith Goes to Washington to '06's Hacking Democracy (which makes a swell double-feature with Man of the Year), Full article >>
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Bein' Green on
Earth Day
