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.