Saturday, November 26, 2011

The Muppets

For me, watching The Muppets with my daughter and grandson was pure joy. Three generations grinning in the dark, singing along and tapping our toes. This movie is a nostalgia bath, with a nice update for the characters, snappy musical numbers and and evil force for the Muppets to triumph over. I will admit to tearing up when they play The Rainbow Connection, one of the best versions ever. Another movie that will find it's way into my DVD collection some day. Well done!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Bellflower

Bellflower starts as a romance. When things go wrong there's a lot of flame, blood and pain. The movie goes dark quickly. Themes of friendship, loyalty, love and betrayal run through this story. The cinematography is gorgeous and the chase scenes are breathtaking. I'd like to see this film again.

Margin Call

In an unnamed company, at an ambiguous time, Margin Call tells the story of the key players in a financial collapse on Wall Street. I don't understand the world of traders, but in this film we are made to understand that there are risks, and the outcome is not always good for everyone. The performances in this film are outstanding.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Martha Marcy May Marlene

The film Martha Marcy May Marlene is the story of a young woman struggling with mental illness. The strength of this film is that it portrays her conditions just as confusing and hard to understand as they are in real life. The performances and structure of the film put the viewer close to those feelings of frustration and confusion very effectively. There is a lot to think about with this film. I liked it a lot.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Being Elmo : A Puppeteer's Journey

In the 60s I was introduced to the Muppets through Sesame Street. In the 70s the Muppets came to prime time TV. In the 80s my kids fell in love with the Muppets and carried me along. In the 90s Elmo became a sensation. Now, my grandsons are fans of the Muppets and especially Elmo. The appeal has spanned decades. The documentary Being Elmo:A Puppeteer's Journey is the story of Kevin Clash, and his dream to be a puppeteer in that Henson world. And boy did he! The behind the scenes on Sesame Street and the history of Clash's work is as interesting as Elmo's rise to stardom. The day after I saw this at IFC in NYC, My daughter and I ran into Clash and Elmo at BAM in Brooklyn. Very cool to see them after seeing the film. Well worth seeing.