Andrew Jenks, Room 335 - 4.5 stars

Andrew Jenks, Room 335 is an original. This is a documentary shot by 19 year old Andrew and his 2 buddies from NYU. They take up residence in a nursing home to see what life is like there and to learn from old people. It's adorable, warm, funny, touching, and excellent. You fall in love with Andrew, he's adorable, and many of the residents of Harbor Place. I was really amazed that he wasn't condescending or presumptuous.

My only problem with the film is that it was all done with hand-held camera, making it impossible for someone who is prone to motion-sickness to watch on a big screen. I missed a good quarter of the visuals. I saw it at the SB International Film Festival, so hopefully one day it will come to DVD. Since you might not get a chance to see it, you may want to check out his website.

Keep an eye out for Andrew, he's got an amazing career ahead of him. He says his next project will be following a friend on a cross-country bike trip to take the temperature of our politically fractured society.

Rush - 2.5 stars

Rush is a mediocre drug/cop movie starring the usually beautiful and creepy Jason Patric and the usually creepy and interesting Jennifer Jason Leigh. He's a street-wise narcotics officer in need of a new partner. She young, cute, and female. Normally this would add up to a nuanced relationship of him trying to keep his distance but eventually falling for the girl. However, he kisses her on the head a few minutes after they meet. Besides their pathetic relationship, the rest of it lives up to the genre. Sam Elliott, best known as the cowboy in The Big Lebowski, is a delight. In summary, it's not worth watching unless you want a basic education on street drugs.

Out of Africa - 3 stars

Out of Africa is a classic from 1985 starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. Those two are always a delight to watch, so you can't go wrong. The scenery is beautiful and the story is good. She is breaking out of her rigid upbringing and he is learning that freedom isn't all it's cracked up to be.

It's a lovely film, but not brilliant. At 2.5 hours long, it's perfect for a rainy Sunday afternoon on the couch with popcorn.

Rabbit-Proof Fence - 4 stars

Rabbit-Proof Fence was a delight to watch. It's a true story of 3 Aboriginal children who were stolen from their families by the Australian government in the 1930s. The Aussie government thought they were "improving" these "half-cast" children by taking them from their "savage" Aboriginal families and training them in camps to be white. The DVD has a special feature documentary about the film-making, which is worth watching. The 3 children that star in the film were Aboriginal bush kids who were picked in part for their native culture. A surprisingly good film.

Capturing the Friedmans - ? Stars

Capturing the Friedmans (yes, it's spelled correctly) is truly bizzare. It's a documentary about a father and son accused of sending child porn through the mail plus something like 100 counts of molestation and rape. It's like watching a car accident - it's gross, but you keep watching anyway. I think it was a good film, but it's hard to separate the subject from the object. I guess that makes it great? The parts about the molestation aren't as repulsive as you would think, rather what's gross is how the family reacts to the situation. Most of them are out of their minds. For example, one of the kids is actually filming the family as the charges unfold - that's where most of the footage comes from. It's worth watching to the end as the story continues to evolve through the final scenes.

Wedding Crashers - 1 star

I can't believe how bad Wedding Crashers was. I love Owen Wilson. I think he's hilarious and kind of hot. I love Vince Vaughn. I think he's charming in a dumb kind of way. It's possible that the "uncorked" version I saw was worse than the theatrical release, but it couldn't have been that different. There was one funny moment (balloon animals). I only watched the whole thing because I thought I must be missing something. I wasn't.

Good Night, and Good Luck - 4 stars

George Cloony is doing a brilliant job of sticking it to the Man. He has just produced and starred in two anti-Bush movies without being labelled liberal and unpatriotic. Syriana is a bit more obvious than Good Night and Good Luck, but the later is a better film. Good Night is the story of Edward R. Murrow's brave defeat of Senator Joe McCarthy's attack on the First Ammendment. The Senator accused anyone who stood up to the government as "Communist" and had them stand trial. It is beautifully shot in black and white, making you feel the time. The film was slow and a bit boring, but still quite good. Kudos to Clooney for bashing the Republican establishment for calling people who disagree with the Administration as unpatriotic.

Syriana & The Constant Gardener - 4 & 3 stars

I'm reviewing these movies together because they are basically the same film. However, The Constant Gardener - (4 stars) was much better. Both movies illustrate the evils of mega-corporations and mega-governments. Syriana (3 stars) as the story of big oil and Gardener was the story of big pharma. Syriana had dozens of characters with several different story lines involving bad governments, bad corporations, bad people, and a couple of good guys. Gardener had very few characters, one story line, and was easier to follow. It was also more scenic, compelling, and a better film. The movie posters above give you a hint to their different tones.

Brokeback Mountain - 5 stars

I'm shocked by how good Brokeback Mountain is, but I'm even more shocked that Heath Ledger is a great actor. I was excited to see a mainstream movie about 2 gay men, especially 2 who are building careers as major hotties. I don't think it's an accident that Cassanova is coming out very soon. Jake Gyllenhall has consistently acted in fascinating roles, the best of which is Donnie Darko. It didn't get much screen time because it came out around the same time as 9-11 happened. I was so trasnfixed by Donnie Darko that when I finished the movie, I turned the disc over and watched it again with the commentary.

Brokeback is a beautiful film with a believable story. It truly was a love story that happened to be between 2 men. It doesn't pound anything over your head. It is a simple and beautiful story of forbidden love. Ledger & Gyllenhall provide moving and suble performances. It was nice to see Gyllenhall play more of a strong adult than he has in previous roles.

The only criticism I could give is that it was a little bit long. Go see it!

Walk the Line - 4.5 stars

I've been a fan of Joaquin Pheonix for a long time. I thought I first saw him as a teenager in To Die For with Nicole Kidman, but he was awesome as the troubled teenager, Garry, in Parenthood. I had no idea he is the same person as Leaf Phoenix! With Walk the Line, Joaquin has just solidified his place as an A-List actor. He's compelling and believable as Johnny Cash with a wonderful performance by Reese Witherspoon as June Carter Cash. Both leads do their own singing and instrumentation.

This film is an unually good biopic. Usually I find them to be pretty boring unless you are already obsessed with the subject. Walk the Line is actually a really good film in its own right, especially if you enjoy Cash's music. One of my favorite things about the movie is his tours, friendships, and references to other famous musicians of the era including Elvis, Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Bob Dylan.