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Strength and Honor – sp – The movie is set in Ireland. A reluctant boxer goes back to fighting in a bare fisted tournament so he can win money for treatment for his sick child. Another Rockyesque movie. Actor Michael  Madsen does a very good job of playing the hero. Mike Mahon,the first time Director is already planning the sequels II and III which he says will be set in the United States in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. He obviously has talent and if he ratchets it up a notch you might want to look back and see how he started things.(2007)

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Slumdog Millionaire – sp – The movie is set in Mumbai, India and depicts the tremendous poverty among vast numbers of people. It focuses on the lives of two brothers and captures their own relationship while also demonstrating the impact on them and other children who grow up in these dire circumstances. It also contains a beautiful and ongoing love story around and through all the action in the film. The screenplay by Simon Beaufoy weaves an outstanding story. It is ironic that Mumbai has been in the news as the site of new terrorism. Danny Boyle was interviewed at our screening and deserves the accolades he is getting for making this film. (Addendum – Won Oscar for Best Picture) 2008

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Revolutionary Road – sp – Leonardo DeCaprio and Kate Winslet reunite since Titanic but this time they play an almost middle aged couple who have moved to the suburbs and struggle with their identity and the meaning of life. The relationship is not pretty but the acting and directing is outstanding. Unfortunately despite a skillful script by Justin Haythe who was the guest at our film course, we did not care that much about the characters.(2008)

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Rachel Getting Married – rm – Anne Hathaway stars and could win awards for her portrayal of the sister of the bride who has just come out of drug rehab to attend her sister’s wedding. She has the nuances and character of what shrinks may call a Borderline Personality. The writer who is the daughter of famed Director Sidney Lumet has captured the complicated relationship between Hathaway’s character and her sister, the bride and framed it with interesting studies of their parents – the mother being played by Deborah Winger. Unfortunately, in our opinion, the movie is quite remarkable for the first 2/3 of it. After an overly long wedding scene with symbolism we didn’t quite get, the film seems to fade. It needed a film doctor to complete it. However we still think it is worthwhile –if for nothing else to see Ms. Hathaway’s outstanding performance. 2008

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Quinceañera – nf – This film sweetly tells the story of a young girl of Mexican descent just before her “coming out debut” on her 15th birthday. Issues of immigrant families, coming of age, family dynamics, difference and acceptance. 2006

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Our Song – nf – This was an interesting “coming of age” story about three girls living in Brooklyn in difficult circumstances. They belonged to a terrific marching band which held practices which bonded them together and provided some stability in their lives. The dialogue and situations were so real that their confusion, dreams and pain were palpable. 2000

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Paris 36 – sp – They don’t make many musical these days let alone a really good one, but French Director Christophe Barratier has not only done this but has discovered a new singing star/actress, 18 year old Nora Arnezeder . The story takes place in 1936 Paris and appears to reflect the complicated political conflicts of the time as well as the romantic flavor of this setting. While the storyline is one of reopening the music theater in town, the characters do have some depth, making it a worthwhile and enjoyable experience. If you love musicals or if you are any kind of a Francophile you will not want to miss this picture. In French with subtitles. 2008

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Match Point – nf – We missed this Woody Allan movie and heard some people recommend it so we decided to see it on Netflix. It is set in London or thereabouts and seems to be a parody of a suspenseful drama. There is the conflicted, for the most part unlikeable main character who is a former tennis pro, who connects with the likeable pretty girl next door type except she and her family are very wealthy. There is the other women, sexy moody and ultimately very demanding, played very well by Scarlett Johansson. The script as expected is well written with special moments and prolonged periods of tension. As with all Woody Allan movies, the casting and production is top notch as was his direction. After two hours and four minutes we finally understand the meaning of his match point. We initially concluded this movie was clever but not great. Over the next few days we found ourselves both thinking about the movie and discussing the fine points which in our opinion elevates our final rating. 2005

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Man on Wire – rm – This is the true story of the wire walking Frenchman who actually walked between the two World Trade Center towers in the 1970s. Much of it was a reenactment with some documentary footage. We read numerous movie reviews which were very positive. However while we found it interesting we didn’t think that movie achieved any stimulating insight into the main character or his side kicks. (In English) 2008

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Iron Jawed Angels – nf – Most of us did not learn very much in school about the women’s suffrage movement. This film, which was made in 2004, shows the period 1912 to 1920 and provides a gripping emotional depiction of this piece of history that changed the face of our country. It is the story of a group of young suffragettes led by Alice Paul who is played brilliantly by Hilary Swank and also features Francis O’Connor who is excellent in the part of Lucy Burns as well as roles by Angelica Huston, Lois Smith and Patrick Dempsey. It shows the brave unforgettable actions of these women as they organized and ultimately demonstrated in front of the White House with their banners in all kinds of weather. They were even taken to jail for peaceably protesting for their right to vote and were treated unbelievably badly, essentially as political prisoners on U.S. soil. It clearly demonstrated how President Woodrow Wilson’s own words which decried the lack of democracy in other parts of the world were pointed out as being applicable to most of the United States which was denying women the right to vote and control their own destiny. The team of screenwriters relied mostly on the true story based on books, speeches and newspapers of the time. Katja von Garneir does a wonderful job directing this movie and bringing the characters to life. You can not help but being caught up in the emotion as a new constitutional amendment is finally ratified by the required number of states. 2004