The average viewer may not know who J. Paul Getty was. If they do recognize the name, it’s most likely from his extensive collection of art, housed in Santa Monica’s Getty Center or the Getty Villa, located just up the … Continue reading ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD
It is safe to say that any director worth their weight will eventually be compared to the cinematic yardstick that is Alfred Hitchcock. While all who make movies owe something to the Master of Suspense, the actual inheritor to his throne has yet to be decided. But if anyone deserves it, it is the French master of sex and psychology, François Ozon. For the past twenty years, Ozon has explored the tropes that Hitchcock made famous and would have had a field day with had the Production Code not encumber him, and Ozon’s latest, The New Girlfriend (Une nouvelle amie), … Continue reading THE NEW GIRLFRIEND
Aftermath – The much feared and talked about Nuclear Holocaust has finally come and claimed the lives of all but nine survivors who hole up in a farmhouse basement. The world may be over for most, but for these nine, the worst is far from over. Edward Furlong, Monica Keena, Andre Royo, Jessie Rusu, C.J. Thomason and Christine Kelly star in a script by Christian McDonald and directed by Peter Engert. In limited release from RLJ/Image Entertainment. Alive Inside – Michael Rossato-Bennett has been following Dan Cohen, a social worker and the founder of Music & Memory, as he … Continue reading Movie Beat – 07.18.14
Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case – Reactionary and revolutionary Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei is out on bail. Apparently the Chinese government is taking cues from The Untouchables, because Weiwei was thrown in solitary confinement for 81 days due to Tax Evasion. Ai Weiwei tries his best to dismantle the system from the inside, but the battle is taking its toll. Andreas Johnsen directs the documentary that follows China’s infamous political activist. International Film Circuit gives it a limited release. Chinese Puzzle – Marriage can sometimes be very complicated. Especially when you toss lesbian-lovers, green cards and psychotics into the … Continue reading Movie Beat – 05.16.14
Populaire is set in the high stakes world of competitive speed typing. Yes, you read that right, competitive speed typing. This is France in 1958 and any competition, any activity that might distract the mind from dwelling too long on the recent war is welcome. The girl with a gift for typing is Rose (Déborah François), just a small town girl, living in a lonely French world. Her father (Frédéric Pierrot) owns a dry goods shop, and has plans to hand the shop over to her and her betrothed (who works at the local mechanic shop), but Rose wants none … Continue reading POPULAIRE
33 Postcards – Mei Mei (Zhu Lin) is a Chinese orphan with a sponsor down in Australia, Dean Randall (Guy Pearce). They write back and forth for ten years, and Mei Mei grows up dreaming of Dean’s perfect life, his perfect family, and the perfect skyline of Sydney. Her choir travels to Australia for the Australian Choir Festival, and Mei Mei uses this trip to visit her beloved pen pal. When she meets Dean, things aren’t quite so hunky-dory as he is a convict with a very shady past. Mei Mei still sees some family as a hell of a lot better than no … Continue reading Movie Beat – 05.17.13
