Saturday, November 28, 2020
Masculin féminin (1966)
A romance between young Parisians, shown through a series of vignettes.
Quirky,
witty, meandering analysis of young relationships may appear fleeting
at first sight, but is fascinating to watch and reveals much more under
its surface; and, alone Jean-Pierre Léaud is worth the admission fee.
Halliwell**:
"An exploration of pop culture and politics, in a sequence of episodes
intercut with arbitrary happenings, and as much concerned with form as
content, moving cinema away from straightforward narrative to something
more abstract and less interesting."
Maltin***: "Engaging, original concoction mixes politics, sex, comedy, nostalgia with standard boy-meets-girl theme."
Maltin***: "Engaging, original concoction mixes politics, sex, comedy, nostalgia with standard boy-meets-girl theme."
Friday, November 27, 2020
Auschwitz: The Nazis & the 'Final Solution' (2005)
The history of the Final Solution phase of the Nazi Holocaust, particularly with the most infamous of the death camps.
Thorough
and comprehensive history of the Nazis' "final solution" doesn't spare
its audience the view of the atrocities, but does so with caution and
rather delivers more details of the succession of events that led to the
crime.
Thursday, November 26, 2020
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Metropolitan (1990)
A group of young upper-class Manhattanites are
blithely passing through the gala debutante season, when an unusual
outsider joins them and stirs them up.
A
brilliant and witty take on an absurd Upper class phenomenon is
intelligently handled with an excellent cast of newcomers and quite
entertaining appearing like a modern variant of a Jane Austen novel.
Halliwell***: "A conversation piece with wit and style to recommend it."
Maltin***: "Title might suggest teeming masses, but this thoroughly
original little film looks instead at N.Y.C.'s upper class...Social
comedy, brimming with irony...Sharply written by first-time director
Stillman and well acted by cast of newcomers; Eigeman, as Nick, is a
standout."
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
In Gefahr und größter Not bringt der Mittelweg den Tod (1974)
Two women with different goals in life are independently out on the town
of Frankfurt am Main: one is an offbeat thief and the other an East
German spy.
Satirical movie in classic Alexander Kluge style analyzes Germany society in a collage of documentary sequences and often humorous set pieces, but with a clear and original view on its subject.
Monday, November 23, 2020
Sunday, November 22, 2020
Mr. Morgan's Last Love (2013)
He's a widower in Paris who speaks no French. She's a dance instructor
less than half his age. Can they become a family, or will his estranged
adult children halt the friendship?
A quite unoriginal story is heavy-going, but watchable due to a good cast lead by a convincing performance by Michael Caine.
Maltin**: "Flat filming of a Françoise
Dorner novel...It fizzles in particular during the final stretch of a
story that's consistently obvious. Caine provides what minor blood flow
the movie has."
