The Call (2013) Six months after her mistake inadvertently resulted in a young girl’s murder, 9-11 operator Jordan Tuner (Halle Berry) takes a frantic call from kidnapped Casey Welson (Abigail Breslin) and realizes her kidnapper is the same murderer she encountered before. It’s a race against time to find him before he strikes again. Abigail Breslin… Continue reading Calling all the mortified
Tag: Documentary
The Tabloid ran a story about the air in room 237
Something in the Air (2012) Gilles is an artist in France in the 1970s. His friends are left-leaning political activists who expect him to join their protests. He has sympathy for their views, but their insistence he dedicate everything to the cause conflicts with his artistic commitment. This is a good movie about the struggle… Continue reading The Tabloid ran a story about the air in room 237
A soccer crowd goes to war and John Milius approves
Drug War (2012) When he’s arrested, drug lord Timmy Choi provides evidence against his partner to avoid the death penalty. It’s a decent movie, but identical to countless other warnings about the dangers of the drug business. Milius (2013) This film is a chronicles one of the greatest, unheralded directors in Hollywood history, John… Continue reading A soccer crowd goes to war and John Milius approves
While the California fires burn, the lady in number 6 saves our lives
Let the Fire Burn (2013 film) Did you know city leaders in Philadelphia once bombed a residential apartment? How did we collectively forget one of the largest cities in the United States once decided to murder its own people? MOVE was a bizarre radical origination led by John Africa. Its members destroyed sidewalks in order to plant… Continue reading While the California fires burn, the lady in number 6 saves our lives
Mexican gangstas
Narco Cultura (2013) In 2009, Forbes magazine listed notorious drug dealer Joaquin Guzman Loera as one of the richest people in the world. Mexican officials, including president Felipe Calderon, were outraged, claiming this hampered their ability to combat the drug trade engulfing large sections of Mexico by giving credibility to drug traffickers. This documentary places Forbes’… Continue reading Mexican gangstas
The grandmaster tells us stories
Stories We Tell (2012) Sarah Polley’s directorial work focuses on fractured relationships. Away from Her (2006) shows the effects of Alzheimer’s on a long-term commitment, Take This Waltz (2011) is about a young couple who experience a crisis, and her third feature film explores the brokenness in her own family. Twenty years after her mother died,… Continue reading The grandmaster tells us stories
Steve Jobs went through the celluloid looking glass to find his mom
Alice (1988) Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is the quintessential story about the uncertainty of childhood. To a child, the world is a mystery and its myriad rules often seem nonsensical; we have to learn to be rational. This odd blend of live action and stop-motion animation embraces the twisted, scary parts of Carroll’s work. … Continue reading Steve Jobs went through the celluloid looking glass to find his mom
Stalking a serial killer in the wild west
Stalker (1979) The eponymous stalker guides The Writer and The Professor to The Room, a magical place in the middle of a heavily restricted area known as The Zone, where your innermost desire becomes reality. The Writer is afraid he’s lost his inspiration and wants to use The Room as a muse. Initially reluctant to… Continue reading Stalking a serial killer in the wild west
An old man goes to a hell house and a flood breaks out
Venus (2006) Elderly actor Maurice (Peter O’Toole) begins a relationship with Jessie, the much younger niece of his friend Ian. Jessie tolerates his amorous advances because she’s struggling financially and Maurice provides her with a steady income, while the pursuit of Jessie provides Maurice with a purpose and renewed vitality. Richard Griffiths, Leslie Phillips, and… Continue reading An old man goes to a hell house and a flood breaks out
All my orphans
Orphans of the Storm (1921) In the late 18th century, Henriette (Lillian Gish) takes her blind sister Louise (Dorothy Gish) to Paris to find a doctor who can cure her condition. The two are separated by the political forces of the French Revolution. This romantic epic is really a warning about the then contemporary dangers of Bolshevism and… Continue reading All my orphans