Mid-August Lunch (Pranzo di Ferragosto)

Definitions

Ferragosto: a major Italian holiday, celebrated August 15, that involves an elaborate meal. The majority of the population goes out of town for a few days. (Americans, think “Thanksgiving weekend”)

Pranzo:  lunch or dinner

Youth, beauty, materialism, and other facets of contemporary culture permeate the cinema landscape today.  Mid-August Lunch (2008), a gem of a movie, is the antithesis of these themes and should not be missed.  The storyline is gentle, uncomplicated but rich, and leaves the viewer with considerable substance on which to ponder long after the film is over.

The movie begins with Gianni, a middle-aged man who lives with and cares for his elderly mother in her small apartment in Rome.  Gianni inadvertently finds himself providing respite care for three additional elderly women, whose families have gone away on holiday to celebrate Ferragosto.  Initially displeased with their disposition, after being dismissed to the care of a complete stranger, the women and Gianni try to make the best of this rather awkward situation.  Liberated from the confines of their prescribed roles within their families, the women’s more youthful, true personalities begin to emerge as the afternoon evolves.  Later that evening, one of the women confides to Gianni, “We live on memories. Without memories what would you do?”  The following day the women and Gianni prepare their own Pranzo di Ferragosto celebration meal, creating new memories for each of these new friends.

 Mid-August Lunch is a directorial debut for Italian actor and screenwriter Gianni Di Gregorio who also plays the central character of this film.  The calculated simplicity of this story and the cinematography, which features close-ups of the actors, images of the delicious meals prepared, and quintessential scenes of Rome work together to create a rich story.  The viewer readily connects with the characters, seeing the individual within each of the women, as well as the caring and generous Gianni.  Foreign language film viewers who oppose subtitles should not dismiss this movie.  The dialogue is not complex and moves at a comfortable pace; the viewer quickly forgets she is reading subtitles.  Charming scenes of the story unfold during the final credits… do not shut the DVD player off too quickly.  I urge you to see Mid-August Lunch, and, if you are like me, you will tell your friends and family to do the same.

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Spirited Away

I don’t usually watch Anime, but my daughter enthused about Spirited Away, so we sat down on the couch to watch it together on her laptop. That became a nudging, pushing, “Turn the screen this way” experience for  both of us, so I was very pleased to discover that my library owns it on DVD. The library copy usually has several holds, so I had to wait. But it was worth it! This movie proves that a great story is a great story, no matter its format.

Ten-year-old Jahiro is unhappy about moving to a new house in a new town with a new school. As they are driving to their new home her father decides to take a short cut and the road ends at a strange, abandoned building. Jahiro doesn’t want to enter, but her parents seem strangely compelled. A short while later, without realizing it, they have entered a new world, peopled with odd, grotesque spirits. Jahiro is terrified, but her parents are unaware that anything is wrong and are soon trapped. From here the story gets compelling and creepier and creepier. Jahiro will need help to navigate this world and save her parents. But who is really her friend, and who is pretending to help her for their own ends?

I enjoyed the snippets of Japanese culture, that may have been so ingrained in the creators’ minds that they didn’t realize that they were showing something that might be different in other places. For example, on several occasions I noticed that in the midst of drama and action and danger, the characters stop to take off their shoes before going inside. Even in an emergency they can’t imagine running into a bathhouse with their shoes on.  Other details were also intriguing, such as the night clothes and driving on the left.  To me this shows that the creators were portraying what they saw around them, and not what an outsider might think a place is like.

This movie was animated the old-fashioned way with drawings, rather than being computer generated. I found the animation painterly, rather than the gaudy, flashing, flatness of some Disney movies. I loved the details – I could even recognize the bushes in the background and name hydrangeas, daphne, camellias and rhododendrons (not a quality appreciated by my family in the middle of a movie!).

My library’s double disk set included a Japanese documentary about the making of the movie. At the time the documentary was made in 2001 Spirited Away was the highest grossing film in Japanese history. It was dubbed into English without changing the original animation at all, which is unusual.  The English language version won the Academy Award for an animated feature in 2003. The director, Hayao Miyazaki had his sixtieth birthday while Spirited Away was being made, but he still wrote,  drew and directed for it. The documentary shows a meeting when they are working on a scene where Jahiro needs to give a pill to a dragon to save it. Miyazaki asks, “Has no one given a pill to a dog?” When it turns out only one person has even owned a dog, he mutters, “Pathetic!” and takes them all to a veterinary hospital to see all sorts of dogs dosed. I think this attention to detail shows all the way through this gripping, exciting and usual movie.

I recommend Spirited Away for everyone! It is suitable for children, but the gripping story, creepy events, great art and wonderful music will entertain young and old, even those who never watch this sort of thing.

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Brave (2012)

I’ll watch most any Pixar movie, at least once, just because it is Pixar. Pixar Animation Studios is known for its excellent animation, fun stories, and interesting characters. In these respects Brave finds its mark. Set in Scotland, the story focuses on Princess Merida, daughter of the refined Queen Elinor and the earthy King Fergus. The plot follows a fairly traditional storyline. Merida is loved by her parents, but eventually she rebels against them when her role as princess gets in the way of her desire to make decisions for herself. I don’t think it’s revealing too much to say that when Merida learns she is expected to marry an unappealing suitor, she gets upset. What ensues, while not unpredictable, is well choreographed. Merida does some rash things and then bravely and effectively deals with the consequences. There’s magic, mayhem, malady and madness to be sure.

One thing to enjoy about this animated feature are the characters. While zany at times, when it matters they all prove to be grounded in “real life.” For example, King Fergus is an over-the-top Scotsman, full of bluster and boast, but when his family is in trouble, he’s totally focused and dedicated, willing to lay down his life to protect those he loves. Even Merida’s horse has elements of realism that I liked. Okay, the magic is not as true to life.

The casting also is well done. Anyone familiar with Billy Connolly’s work will immediately recognize him in the role of Fergus. He’s as entertaining, loud and silly as ever. Emma Thompson brings her usual elegance, wit and sophistication to the part of Elinor. Kelly Macdonald, as Merida, is strong, sassy, rebellious and smart.

For me the most appealing aspect of Brave is the animation. Not only are the human characters fun to watch, the animals come alive in and of themselves. Especially impressive is the scenery; buildings, trees, vistas, even the sky, are all drawn with care and beauty. Apparently, the animation is so spectacular because Pixar wrote new software to make it that way.

Because this is a Pixar (and Disney) production, you can be sure that eventually everything will be set right. Getting there is the story. Brave offers fine coming of age and family values messages. Like most animated movies of this genre it gives the viewer a story filled with excitement, remorse and some touching moments. In short, Pixar’s movie Brave tells a good story in a fun and entertaining way. With animation that is astounding, the movie can be enjoyed by anyone, whatever your age.

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Tower Heist (2011)

This movie has plenty of star power in it. For me, that has generally suggested a less than stellar movie. I always figure producers try to compensate for a weak script by hiring big named actors. However, I was pleasantly surprised by Tower Heist. It is smart, funny, well acted, and entertaining. The script doesn’t talk down to the viewer and stays away from making the characters behave as fools or dullards.

At its heart, Tower Heist is a caper flick. The not-so-far-flung premise has Josh Kovaks (Ben Stiller) as manager of an exclusive apartment building in New York City. Kovaks and his staff cater to the every need of their residents, especially the penthouse occupant Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda). When Shaw is arrested by the FBI, they assume it is a misunderstanding. It is not. Shaw is the mastermind behind a huge Ponzi scheme. Sound familiar?

Like everyone else, Kovaks believed Mr. Shaw to be a nice, self-made man, who looked out for the little guy and could be trusted. That’s what prompted him to ask Shaw to invest the employees’ pension fund. With the Ponzi scheme collapsed, the pensions are gone. Kovaks is angry at Shaw. Tower staff are angry at Kovaks. Basically people’s lives are in ruin, since their retirement funds have vanished. That’s when the movie gets a bit less like real life and more like a movie. Kovaks wants redemption, revenge and repayment. Together with a gang made up of Slide, a childhood acquaintance, turned thief (Eddie Murphy); Mr. Fitzhugh, a down on his luck Wall Street broker (Matthew Broderick); and his ne’er do well brother-in-law Charlie (Casey Affleck), Kovaks hatches a plan to get everyone’s pension investments back. What ensues is not consistently realistic, nor completely plausible, but is perfectly enjoyable. There are story holes in anything of this sort, but we’re suspending disbelief here.

For me, pieces of Tower Heist were reminiscent of the 1999 Thomas Crown Affair remake, offering some good twists and reasonable writing. Mind you, not the entire movie, but certainly elements. Stiller’s portrayal of Kovaks as an earnest, well intentioned person is believable and heartwarming. Unlike many of his recent acting attempts, Murphy plays a character that is both smart and obnoxious (rather than just the latter). Slide reminded me more of the parts that made Eddie Murphy famous than anything he’s done in years. Alan Alda plays his part perfectly. Characterizations throughout the movie were sometimes exaggerated, however, generally not so much so that I wanted to turn away.

Impossibilities and improbabilities aside, this was fine entertainment. It is, after all, just a movie. There’s humor, retribution, a little action, and even some romance. I’m not giving anything away to write that by the end of Tower Heist the good guys win and the bad guys lose. If you a have an extra 104 minutes and enjoy light comedy/action genre movies, Tower Heist may be a good match for you.

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Portrait of Jennie (1948)

In today’s review, Noreen reflects on some recent and not-so-recent trends in fiction for teens:

Having just read Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake, I planned to blog about  it.  However, my colleague Jennifer D. had already done that.  After reading the book and Jennifer’s post, I started thinking about all the paranormal literature that is being written for young adults, and how teens respond to it. While it is relatively new to today’s teens, after years of books like Sweet Valley High, supernatural fiction obviously isn’t all that new.  We’ve had horror classics like Dracula and Frankenstein, but there were also popular supernatural romance stories in the 1940s and 50s.

After World War II, Daniel Bubbeo wrote a play, The Enchanted Cottage, which was partly written to ease the pain of the disfigured veterans who were returning home.  The plot was simple—a homely maid and a scarred ex GI meet in a cottage.  They decide to marry more out of loneliness than love.  As the relationship deepens they become more and more beautiful to each other.  The movie, starring Robert Young and  Dorothy McGuire, with the help of an able make-up crew, actually shows the transformation of the characters.

And who can forget Portrait of Jennie.  Eben Adams, a struggling artist, encounters a young girl in Central Park named Jennie who prattles on about things from the past. Just as Eben is about to ask her some questions, Jenny disappears.  She reappears in future months looking a bit older each time. He paints her portrait, which turns out to be the turning point in his career. Eben also uncovers information that tells him he is falling in love with the ghost of a girl who perished during a hurricane years ago. On the anniversary of the hurricane, he rushes to the site where she supposedly perished.  As a new storm approaches, Jennie disappears for a final time.  Eben is almost convinced she was a figment of his imagination, until he realizes he is holding her scarf in his hand.  He also realizes that their love will endure through the magic of his portrait.

Anna Dressed in Blood has the same emotional content as The Enchanted Cottage and the Portrait of Jennie.  The difference is the violence in Anna Dressed in Blood.  It makes me wonder if today’s books mirror what’s going on in our world.  We seem to be a society filled with random violence, which is reflected in the literature.  The question becomes:  can an old fashioned love story stand on its own?

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Christmas in the Clouds

I remember one of our library users recommending Christmas in the Clouds to me last year.  She said it wasn’t a typical feel-good holiday movie, but in a good way.  It was a movie she would check out to watch again and again.  I’m sorry it took me a whole year to get around to watching this – it is delightful!

Sky Mountain Resort is located on an American Indian reservation and is in desperate need of some publicity.  The resort manager, Ray Clouds on Fire, receives a letter that a travel magazine is sending a reviewer to check out the resort over the Christmas holiday week.  A good review would be just what they need to get more guests to the resort.  The staff doesn’t know who this reviewer will be — so of course, they assume it’s the wrong guest.

One of the many quirky characters at the resort is the chef played by Graham Greene (Dances with Wolves, Twilight).  He’s a vegetarian, reluctantly fixing dishes with meat to appease his boss.  But when he comes out to the dining room to greet the guests during dinner, well, you just have to watch what happens.

And there’s romance!  Ray’s dad has been corresponding with a widow who decides to surprise him with a visit to the resort.  Again, a mistaken identity worthy of a Shakespearean play ensues.  But with the attraction, flirtation, tongue-in-cheek silliness… the movie delivered more than what I was expecting.

Christmas in the Clouds was featured in the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.  It also competed in the 2001 editions of the Austin Film Festival and the Santa Fe Film Festival, winning the Best Competition Feature Film Award and the Best Native American-Themed Film Award, respectively.

While the mistaken identity theme isn’t new, it is treated well.  It’s not zany; it’s amusing.  You won’t guffaw; but you’ll have a smile on your face.  If you’re looking for a sweet romance with a touch of Christmas cheer – snuggle up with Christmas in the Clouds (94 minutes, rated PG).

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Shallow Grave

Before he won the Academy Award for directing Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and became the artistic director for the opening ceremony for the 2012 London Summer Olympic Games, Danny Boyle distinguished himself in the mid-‘90s as a director of edgy, highly stylized films, including A Life Less Ordinary (1997), Trainspotting (1996), and Shallow Grave (1994), his feature film directing debut.

Set in Edinburgh, Scotland, the plot of Shallow Grave centers around three cynical and self-absorbed friends who share a spacious and well-appointed flat: David (Christopher Eccleston), an accountant; Juliet (Kerry Fox), a doctor; and Alex (Ewan McGregor), a tabloid journalist. They’re in need of a new roommate, and the film opens with a series of disastrous interviews in which prospective roommates are cruelly appraised, then rejected. Finally, Juliet personally interviews one intriguing candidate, a mysterious man named Hugo (Keith Allen) who says he’s returning to the city to write a novel. Juliet and Hugo make a connection, and she convinces David and Alex to take Hugo on as a roommate. The arrangement seems ideal until the morning after Hugo moves in. After he fails to join them for breakfast, the concerned roommates go to his room and discover him dead on his bed. Searching for answers, Alex discovers a suitcase full of money under the bed. Juliet wants to report Hugo’s death to the police, but Alex objects, arguing that if they call the police they’ll have to report the money as well. He proposes hiding the body and keeping the money. I do not want to give away too many details in this review (although readers of this blog can connect the dots based on the title and my brief summary); however, I do not think it is revealing too much to say that a seemingly foolproof plan becomes complicated when fractures in the friendship, not to mention Hugo’s past, begin to catch up with the roommates.

Shallow Grave is not a traditional murder mystery. The suspense is not focused on ‘whodunit’; instead, the suspense is generated from the ways in which the roommates, especially David, internalize their actions and the cumulative effect these actions have on the friendship. A subplot involving Hugo’s associates is not quite as well-developed, but it does help to tie events together at the end.

I first saw Shallow Grave back in 1996, and I think the film has held up surprisingly well. Ewan McGregor brings a lot of charisma to the role of Alex and arguably has the film’s most memorable lines, but Shallow Grave’s real chills come from Christopher Eccleston’s carefully crafted performance as the seemingly milquetoast, but ultimately unstable David. At 93 minutes, Shallow Grave is taut and fast-paced, and it is a good showcase for the talents of director Danny Boyle who, in the 18 years since the film’s release, has produced a diverse and impressive body of work.

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Dangerous Curves atop Hollywood Heels: the Lives, Careers and Misfortunes of 14 Hard-Luck Girls of the Silent Screen, by Michael G. Ankerich

Bud gets this Halloween week started with a post that goes back to the dark side of the silent film days:

A small-town girl comes to Hollywood looking for stardom. She hits the big-time in her first starring role and fame and fortune are hers forevermore. It’s the old Hollywood fable. But there is another old Hollywood story, one that is far more common. In this scenario, the ingenue hits town, maybe has some success, maybe not, but there is no happy ending to her tinsel town tale. Booze, drugs, poor choices in men, personal problems or simple bad luck sends her on the downward slide to obscurity where the ending is almost always tragic.

Dangerous Curves Atop Hollywood Heels by Michael Ankerich explores this dark side of the film industry with short biographies of fourteen silent movie actresses who found moderate success in the 1920s only to hit hard times in the ‘30s. For these poor souls, the Depression years really were depressing. Among the ladies detailed are:

Agnes Ayres: This once popular actress is best known for co-starring with Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik. But she put on weight, lost her looks and was prone to diva behavior and nervous breakdowns so the film industry gave her the heave-ho. She died alone at the age of 48, physically and emotionally depleted from years of struggling to regain the spotlight.

Barbara La Marr: La Marr, who played seductive vamps onscreen, was known as The Girl Who Was Too Beautiful. In her brief, scandal-plagued life she burned through five husbands, numerous lovers and a vast quantity of drugs and alcohol. She died at 30 from some mysterious wasting disease leaving behind a child and an unmatched reputation for living hard and fast.

Mary Nolan:  Mary had a hard knock life, much of which she brought on herself with her predilection for stimulants, drama and bad, bad men. After a brief stint as a Ziegfeld Girl she went on to become an international film star. But Mary had masochistic tendencies and her rendezvous with sadistic men did not lead to 50 Shades of Grey love affairs.  Instead, unsurprisingly, they resulted in scandal, severe physical injuries and continual pain that she numbed with narcotics. Poor Mary wrecked her career, lost her money and ended up singing in cheap saloons before the inevitable sad fade out at the age of 42.

Despite–or perhaps because of–the dark nature of these stories they are compulsively readable, poignant scandal sheets from the early years of the film industry.  The depressing nature of the stories is mitigated somewhat by the writing which is not mean-spirited or salacious. The author Ankerich is clearly sympathetic to these ill-fated starlets.

Each section is sourced, includes the actresses’ filmography and there are plenty of illustrations.  Recommended for film buffs or anyone with an interest in women’s history or celebrity scandals.

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La Vie En Rose

I first watched this film not long after its release in 2007 and I come back to it time and again. Like many people my age, I was only familiar with a couple of Édith Piaf’s songs prior to watching La Vie En Rose.  But I was immediately fascinated by this portrayal of the famous French singer, whose voice was often described as the “soul of Paris.”

We first see Édith as a young child on the streets of Paris and then as a frail invalid nearing the end of her life in 1963.  La Vie En Rose is told in a non-linear format and follows two general timelines.  The first follows Édith as she grows up and attains great international fame as a singer, and in the second we see her attempt to recover from two bad car accidents, which left her with an addiction to painkillers, in order to perform one last time.

Abandoned by her mother and father as a very young child, Édith is left to grow up in her grandmother’s brothel and is cared for tenderly by one of the prostitutes, Titine.  But a few years later, her father, a contortionist in a traveling circus, returns to claim her and forces her to join his itinerant lifestyle.  We then meet her again, a few years later, living on the streets of Paris with her friend, Simone, singing for her supper. It is while singing on a street corner that she comes to the attention of Louis Laplée, a cabaret owner.  From this point, the movie charts Édith’s rise to fame under his patronage through the time she spent in New York and California, until her premature death at the age of 47 in the French Riviera.

Piaf’s life had its fair share of trials and triumphs, just as you would expect in any musical biopic, but it is Marion Cotillard’s performance that is the real revelation here.  Marion Cotillard gives the performance of a lifetime as the La Môme Piaf and in fact she won a Best Actress Oscar for the role (the first time an Oscar has been given for a French-language role). But by no means is the character of Édith always sympathetic–her fame and sycophantic hangers-on turn her into something of a monster, spoiled and prone to tantrums.  But at the end, it is the gift of her voice that triumphs.

And what would a film about Edith Piaf be without the music?  It features a long list of classics including “La Vie En Rose” and, of course, her swan song “Non, je ne regrette rien.”  La Vie En Rose is a marvelous film about the remarkable life of one of the twentieth-century’s greatest stars and I highly recommend it.

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Puss in Boots (2011)

Starring the vocal talents of Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, and Zach Galifianakis, this animated movie is simply fun to watch.  The eponymous lead character of the film is based on the Puss in Boots character created by the Schrek franchise.  The story is set before Shrek, in the same basic world construct, a combination fairytale and pre-industrial age society.  This lets the storytellers introduce magic, sword fighting, and cool outfits, as well as seemingly anachronistic elements that are okay because the world is make believe.  After all, this is an animated feature.

This version of Puss in Boots gives the viewer a history of the cat, from wastrel orphan to self-styled Zorro-esque hero.  Puss is quick on all his feet, fast with his blade, and an expert at romance.  He meets his match in the form of Kitty Softpaw, a cat burglar of the highest caliber.  Add to the mix Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, and some entertaining support characters and you get a delightful romp of swashbuckling kitties, adventure, treasure, friendship, and love.  What more could you want?

Part of what makes Puss in Boots wonderful is the brilliant casting of Banderas and Hayek.  Their characterizations of Puss and Kitty Softpaws make these animated creatures funny and exciting. It is obvious these two actors enjoyed playing their roles.  The animation is creative and bright, giving the movie the feel of a Disney classic, but seriously ramped up.  The writing is smart, quick, and witty.  Unlike many recent films of this ilk, Puss in Boots avoids most of the clichés and plot shenanigans that make a movie like this unappealing to adults (and some children). The angst is kept to a minimum, there’s little self-doubt by the main characters, and the moral is not hammered home so frequently that it overshadows the entertainment value.  That said, good does triumph over evil, and honesty is the best policy.

Puss in Boots is a great example of what DreamWorks can do when it has a strong script and does not dumb down the story.  Combining parts of various fairytales, this animated spinoff hits its mark over and over again.  People who are fond of creatures of the feline persuasion may especially enjoy the film.  It has numerous cat jokes that appeal to anyone who enjoys the company of a purring pet.  In 2011, Puss in Boots was among the Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Feature.  Personally, I enjoyed it much more than the feature that won.  Even if you disagree on that point, you are bound to enjoy Puss in Boots.  It’s the Cat’s Meow.

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See No Evil: The Story of the Moors Murders (2008) and Longford (2007)

Between the years 1963-65, Ian Brady and his girlfriend Myra Hindley kidnapped, tortured and murdered five children, burying their remains on the Saddleworth Moor near the Manchester area of England. Known in the UK as the Moors Murders, these sadistic crimes and their aftermath are brought vividly to life in the BBC mini-series, See No Evil: The Story of the Moors Murders, and in the HBO movie, Longford.

Part police procedural and part family drama, See No Evil is unusual for a crime tale in that it doesn’t actually show the crimes. In fact, it doesn’t dwell on the murders much at all, except for a couple of brief but horrific flashbacks. Rather it focuses on the savage pair’s everyday activities and family relations. It emphasizes the tragic effect the killings had on the victims’ loved ones and, in particular, on Myra’s sister, Maureen (Joanne Froggatt, who played Anna on Downton Abbey), and her husband David Smith (Michael McNulty). It was David, with Maureen’s encouragement, who broke the case open by reporting to the police that he had seen Ian brutally murder a teenager with a hatchet.

Despite the lack of criminal activity the movie is engrossing. Sean Harris as Ian and Maxine Peake as Myra do a fine job in displaying the subtle but distinctly cold and creepy attributes of this pair of psychopaths. The location filming on the windswept Moors and the haunting musical score ratchet up the tension.

Longford, also based on the Moors Murders case, takes place years after Ian and Myra have both been convicted and imprisoned. Myra is trying to get paroled by claiming that she has found God and repented her acts, which she only did because Ian made her do it, not to mention all the pre-trial prejudice due to her bad mug shot. (The mug shot really is creepy; google “Myra Hindley mug shot” to see it.)

In an effort to boost her chance for parole, she contacts British aristocrat Frank Aungier Pakenham, the Earl of Longford. Longford was a deeply religious Catholic, social activist and longtime advocate of prisoner’s rights. Opinion of him varied, with some approving of his work while others considered him to be a gullible, upper-class twit. Longford (Jim Broadbent) enthusiastically takes up Myra’s cause much to his personal and professional detriment.

This movie is intriguing right up to the end because of the sociopathic personalities of Brady and Hindley. Has she really repented her crimes and, even if she has, does that entitle her to be set free? Her partner in crime, Brady, disputes her conversion and tells Longford that she is just using him. Who is telling the truth? What about the victim’s families, who are outraged at the thought of this murderess being released? Themes of guilt, redemption, punishment and even sexism are touched on.

Both films are well done forays into true crime at its darkest. One criticism I could make is that the filmmakers presuppose a basic knowledge of the crimes that many Americans may not have. Nevertheless, both films are recommended. They are unrated but not suitable for children.

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World War II: When Lions Roared

This is an exceptional historical drama about the Big Three leaders of  the Allied front—Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt—and how they worked together to fight and overcome Hitler’s Nazi war machine in World War 2.  It offers a fascinating and unique “behind the scenes” look at the negotiations and decisions made by these three men. This insider view is enhanced by the fact that David Rintels, who wrote the screenplay, based most of the dialogue on transcripts, reports and memoirs of that time,  which lends an air of authenticity and significance to the dialogue, even when minute and mundane matters are discussed.

This three-hour film covers all of the major events of this great war from beginning to end. This includes many of the major conflicts like the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Battle of Stalingrad and the D-Day invasion. Newsreel footage from each of these major events adds realism to the movie and significance to the diplomacy of the Big Three leaders.  Several meetings between the leaders are featured prominently,  including the important and well-known conferences in Tehran in 1943 and in Yalta in 1945.  Many of these meetings  involved a good deal of discord and wrangling: Churchill, for instance, was vehemently opposed to the spread of communism and was especially concerned about the fate of Poland when the war ended, while Stalin pushed long and loud for a second front in the West to help relieve his armies in Russia, and often accused the other two leaders of not doing enough.

The acting is first-rate: Bob Hoskins as Churchill, John Lithgow as Roosevelt, and Michael Caine as Stalin do a fine job with their very demanding roles. I especially liked Michael Caine, who had his part down pat; with his height, make-up and accent he made for an often chilling Stalin, so it is no surprise to me that he was nominated for an Emmy for his performance.  I also liked Ed Begley Jr. as Roosevelt’s aide Harry Hopkins and Jan Triska as Stalin’s aide Vyacheslav Molotov; both are very believable as top assistants carrying out the plans of their respective leaders.

I would recommend this movie, which won one Emmy award and was nominated for five others, to anyone interested in the history of World War 2. Because of its comprehensive coverage, it could be a good way for students to learn about this war,  and would also be a good movie to watch on Memorial Day.  I showed it to my 81-year-old Dad, who has seen every WW2 movie at least a dozen times and who was not interested in watching any of them for a thirteenth time.  But he paid this movie the biggest compliment when he thanked me at least three times over the next day or so for getting and watching this movie with him.

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What’s Your Number?

We’ve all done it, everyone does it. It is fun, interesting, and only takes a few minutes of your time. You almost can’t help yourself, the lure is too great. You find yourself ensnared. You open yourself to the possibilities and believe all that you’re told. You decide when you’re done that you’ll never, ever take dating advice from a magazine article again.

In What’s Your Number? Anna Farris plays Ally Darling, a woman who reevaluates her love life after reading an article in a woman’s magazine that states that a woman is doomed to be alone if she goes beyond the magic number of boyfriends. Unwilling to jeopardize her future by exceeding the number, Ally sets her sights on tracking down all of her old flames to find “the one” that got away.

Colin Shea, played by Chris Evans, is Ally’s playboy neighbor. Not interested in commitment, Colin has a bevy of beautiful women in and out of his apartment. In most cases Colin hides out until the poor girls get the clue that one night with him does not make a relationship. So the two broker a deal. Colin will hunt down Ally’s exes, and Ally will do her part to get the girls packing sooner rather than later.

In some ways this is the typical romantic comedy.  You’ll get a few laughs, a few “aw” moments, and a girl that finds herself and love in the end. But what I enjoyed most about this movie was that the humor didn’t solely rely on crude jokes. There were jokes but mostly about the pitfalls of dating and life. Ally and Colin were equally matched and played by two funny and endearing actors. The chemistry worked and I found myself wondering how things would play out even though I knew I was guaranteed a happy ending. There is a small deception. After all, you need conflict even in a romantic comedy, but you are saved from the “Big Secret” that makes you wonder what the script writer was thinking. This is a fun movie that’s not too sweet to watch with your significant other or to enjoy with girlfriends so you can commiserate over all the bad dating advice you ever took from a magazine.

Check the WRL catalog for What’s Your Number?

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Between the Folds (2009)

Would you believe that a handful of artistic and scientific geniuses have actually turned their backs on traditional science and math careers to spend the majority of their time folding paper in super-advanced forms of Origami?

“What are the limits, the physical limits of this artform?”

I was once fascinated by artists such as Paul Gauguin, who shed his respectable life (including his wife and children) and escaped to exotic Tahiti to paint with wild abandon. This documentary includes interviews with various scientific wizards from around the world who have abandoned their ordinary lives and even lucrative jobs to pursue their Origami passions to an extreme.

They’re using their amazing brains to meld science, math, music, and engineering with art, advancing Origami theory further than ever dreamed, beyond Origami pioneers such as the great Akira Yoshizawa (1911-2005), who is credited with moving traditional Origami into its more sculptural era using wet-folding. He also designed the step-by-step notational diagramming system so common in the instruction books used today. This made it possible for nearly anyone, even without natural artistic ability, to create beautiful and adorably cute objects out of Origami paper. Utilizing the compilation of previous knowledge, Origami scholars are using complex mathematical algorithms that elevate art to scientific awesomeness and seeking ways that Origami can significantly contribute practical solutions such as in curing diseases. When thinking of Alzheimer’s, for example, may we someday be able to unfold or refold our lost memories?

Do not watch this DVD with the expectation that you will learn how to make some cool new Origami creations. This movie will just awe you with such unbelievable designs in Origami that only its top geniuses can master. Many of their works took hours, even hundreds of hours, to design, fold, and sculpt into phenomenal art!

“Any square paper can be folded into any shape!”

Between the Folds is a visual feast, well worth your time. I was most awed by Chris Palmer’s gorgeous folded-paper interpretations of light patterns and movement inspired by the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. There are some very interesting, short interview excerpts (“outtakes”) in the special features that provide additional detail on a number of subjects briefly featured in the film. Some of the interviews allow some delightfully quirky personalities to shine and may elicit a few giggles. My teens and I were mesmerized by this video; they wanted to shuck their homework and get out the box of folding papers, but I reminded them that the geniuses in this film got their degrees first and then they advanced the art of Origami! I did concede that there were examples of students whose math and science skills improved through the use of Origami in the classroom.

Check the WRL catalog for Between the Folds.

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Harry Brown

Harry Brown is an uncompromising movie that grabbed me by the throat. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t.

I was browsing in the library for a movie for the weekend and chose it for veteran British actor Michael Caine. He is well-known in America as the Butler from Batman, but also stars or features in over fifty movies that the Williamsburg Regional Library owns. His performance as British pensioner Harry Brown is stunning.

The movie opens with shaky scenes filmed on a phone. Drug-addled youths pursue and appear to kill a young mother pushing her child in a stroller through a park on a sunny morning. Then the scene cuts to the apparent peace of everyman Harry Brown’s ordinary life. We see him as he rises in the morning and goes about his daily business in his small and shabby council flat. He spends his quiet days visiting his dying wife in hospital, while his own emphysema slows him down. He walks to the hospital as he is not nearly rich enough to own a car. We know he wants to take a short cut through a pedestrian tunnel under a busy road, but the tunnel is the hangout for the youths from the first scene.

Harry quietly endures the torments of his small life until his only friend, his pub companion, chess playing Leonard, is murdered by the tunnel youths. We know that Harry Brown used to be in the Marines but those days are long past. He is old and ill and generally inoffensive. But the criminals underestimate him and fail to realize that they are taking on someone who has nothing to lose.

This may sound like the plot of a predictable action movie, but Harry Brown is more. It is certainly violent – disturbingly so, but there is nothing cartoonish about the violence and Harry’s character and ordinary decency are revealed by the understated but breathtaking acting of Michael Caine.

Harry Brown is not a movie that is easy to watch in several senses. The plot moves forward unrelentingly. If you miss a development, you miss it. The violence is gritty and extremely disturbing. And the conclusions it draws about the role of the police and vigilantism are definitely controversial. Comparisons to Gran Torino are inevitable and you will have to draw your own conclusions about which movie you agree with. Overall, this is one of the most intense, gripping movies that I have ever seen, that has stayed with me even when I prefer to forget it.

Check the WRL catalog for Harry Brown

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The Way (2011)

Anyone who is tired of watching the typical Hollywood blockbuster movie should see this rare gem about the power of transformation. Tom (Martin Sheen) is a doctor from California who gets the news that every parent dreads—that his estranged son Daniel (Emilio Estevez) has died in an accident in the mountains of southern France while attempting to walk the famous El Camino de Santiago. When Tom visits France to recover his son’s body, he is helped by a local police captain, Henri (Tchéky Karyo, who played General Lafayette in The Patriot). Henri explains to Tom that pilgrims have walked this 500-mile trail for over a thousand years, seeking transformation on the journey and at its end, the Santiago de Compostola, where the bones of St. James are said to be buried. After going through Daniel’s personal effects, which include little more than his backpacking gear, Tom decides to walk the Way himself, using his son’s gear,  and he honors his son in a special way as he walks the trail.

Along the way he meets and walks with three very different people, all of whom have their own reasons for walking El Camino. There is a jovial Dutchman, Joost,  who is undertaking the journey to lose weight. There is the bitter Canadian, Sarah,  who wants to quit smoking. And then there is the comical Irishman, Jack, who wants to write the big novel but has been suffering from a bad bout of writer’s block. As they progress on the 500-mile journey, they learn much about themselves and each other as they experience the sights and sounds of the Camino. As they get to know each other, they slowly build a sense of community, helping each other find the transformation that they all seek. And together they learn the difference between the life they live and the life they choose.

There are many qualities that make this movie stand out. The acting is excellent. One of the reasons I saw this in the theater was because of Martin Sheen. I had just finished  watching all seven  seasons of  The West Wing, a TV show about the White House, where he figured prominently as President Josiah Bartlett. I wanted to see him act in a  different and much more demanding role. He doesn’t disappoint. Emilio Estevez is great as Tom’s son (and is Martin Sheen’s oldest son in real life), and also directs and produces the movie. They are supported by a fine cast of actors: Yorick van Wageningen as Joost,  Deborah Kara Unger as Sarah, and James Nesbitt as Jack.

As an avid traveler, I loved to see what the El Camino was like in the movie and would love to experience it for myself some day. The many scenic views of the El Camino were well chosen and were often breathtaking. The movie is enhanced by the wonderful music of Tyler Bates and songs from the likes of James Taylor and Alanis Morissette.

Williamsburg Regional Library has some resources you should check out if you want to know more about the Camino. They include Jack Hitt’s book  Off the Road: A modern-day walk down the pilgrim’s route into Spain which was used as a basis for the movie, but there are several others, including The Road to Santiago by  Kathryn Harrison, Travels with My Donkey: one man and his ass on a pilgrimage to Santiago by Tim Moore, and  Walk in a Relaxed Manner : life lessons from the Camino by Joyce Rupp. And coming up in May 2012, Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez will be releasing their book Along the Way: The Journey of a Father and Son.

Check the WRL catalog for The Way

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While you are waiting

Downton Abbey is one of the most popular British television series at our library right now.  With a long waiting list on the first season and the wait building on the second, I thought I would offer a few alternatives.  Here are four titles sure to please, while you are waiting….

Berkeley Square:  This series is set in the early 1900’s in  Berkeley Square, a wealthy neighborhood in the west end of London.  The story focuses on three nannies who meet in the adjacent park and become friends.  The nannies come from very different backgrounds and circumstances. Their personal issues begin to encroach on their work lives, putting each woman in compromising situations. While the storylines of this series mostly revolve around the help and their relationships, the following recommendations tend to focus more on the wealthy family members.

The Forsyte Saga (2002):  Based on the novel by John Galsworthy, the Forsyte Saga series was originally produced in 1967.  This updated adaptation is a much shorter, abridged version of the story.  This saga follows several generations of the wealthy Forsyte family through many difficulties: unhappy marriages, infidelity, and disownment.  Although the saga is dark at times, eventually, many of the family members find some happiness after years of strife.  This series is issued in two parts.

Gosford Park:  This feature film is an American production, written by British screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who later created the series Downton Abbey.  It’s a  murder mystery is set in the English country manor, Gosford Park. Several family members and friends are invited for a shooting party; each brings their own servants for their stay at the manor. As the story unfolds, we begin to learn the secrets of many of the characters. This sets the stage for multiple suspects, from upstairs and down. The film will keep you guessing right to the end, but eventually, the murderer and motive are revealed for a surprising conclusion.

The Grand:  This series begins on New Year’s Eve, 1919.  The Grand hotel has recently reopened after expensive renovations, which sets the stage for financial trouble from the outset. This is quickly resolved through a partnership between the Bannerman brothers, who have very different ideas and intentions.  While the Bannermans have their own issues to contend with, the guests’ and staff’s lives also bring intrigue and drama to the hotel. This series is issued in two parts.

Search the WRL catalog for Berkeley Square, The Forsyte Saga, The Forsyte Saga: Series 2, Gosford Park, The Grand, and The Grand: Series 2.

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Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist

“Would you be my boyfriend for five minutes?”

Nick isn’t cool—he’s neurotic, drives a Yugo, and is pining for his ex-girlfriend, the shallow, man-eating Tris. He leaves long, rambling messages on her cell phone and spends hours making mix CD after mix CD (like “Road to Closure, Vol. 12”), which she throws into the trash, providing music-lover Norah the chance to retrieve them. Norah isn’t cool either—she always plays by the rules and seems to spend most of her time looking after her unreliable friend, Caroline. But a chance encounter and a surprising proposition at a New York City club lead Nick and Norah on an unforgettable journey through the city’s indie music scene. A quest to find their favorite band’s secret show turns into a night they’ll never forget.

But their nocturnal adventures are interrupted by their search for Norah’s party-hard best friend, Caroline (played by the hilarious Ari Graynor). Nick and his band-mates try to help Norah find Caroline before they miss the show, but Nick’s cluelessness very nearly destroys his chance with our “hetero heroine.” However, in a moment of clarity (to the tune of Hot Chocolate’s “You Sexy Thing”), he recognizes his mistake. But is it too late to repair the damage he’s done?

As much as it tells the story of the immediate attraction and growing affection between the leads, the film is also a love song to New York City, as it follows Nick and Norah all over the city that never sleeps from dusk ‘til dawn.

The film stars Michael Cera as the bumbling, awkward Nick and Kat Dennings (currently onscreen in the sitcom Two Broke Girls) as the self-deprecating Norah. This movie is better than your average teen hipster comedy, in part due to the skills of Kat Dennings and Michael Cera, as well as the genuine affection the movie demonstrates for indie music. The lead characters’ mutual passion for music serves as a means of communication and the focal point for their growing attraction. Their attempts at conversation are hilariously awkward and clumsy, so their similar taste in music plays a vital role in their budding romance and attempts to articulate their feelings.

Kat Dennings’ portrayal of Norah’s insecurity is endearing and there are scene-stealing turns by Nick’s ex, the perpetually drunk Caroline, and Nick’s well-meaning, but inept, band-mates. The film is quirky and charming, fueled by a vibrant, contemporary soundtrack and smart, funny dialogue.

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is based on the young adult novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. WRL also has a copy of the soundtrack, which is well worth listening to for its assorted mix of indie darlings, including Army Navy, Band of Horses, and Vampire Weekend.

Check the WRL catalog for Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.

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