Catfish and Never Let Me Go

Catfish and Never Let Me Go are two films that you are best off knowing very little about going in, so I'm not going to link the reviews. Catfish is a documentary that deals with the repercussions of Internet relationships. Never Let Me Go is a story of love, devotion, innocence and sacrifice. After seeing these films today, I will say that both are well worth seeing.

The Social Network

The Social Network is one of the few quality films I've seen this year. The writing, the acting, the editing and the relevance makes this film shine. I was surprised by how such a subtle story, made such a compelling film. It is not so much about Facebook, as it is a struggle of egos and money. Worth a look.

Wall Street : Money Never Sleeps

Wall Street : Money Never Sleeps is an OK film. The weakness is the script. It is full of cliche lines, and looses its focus about half way through the film. The reason to see this film is the performances. Michael Douglas revives Gordon Gekko with ease. Shia LaBeouf and Carrie Mulligan bring youth and optimism to a depressing story. Charlie Sheen, Josh Brolin, Eli Wallach, Frank Langella and Susan Sarandon make up a strong supporting cast. Oliver Stone shoots NYC like it's a rock star. I'm glad I saw this film.

Friday Flick Picks 10/8/10

The release of good film continues this weekend. Surprisingly, Never Let Me Go opens in art houses in RI. Lots of good buzz around this one. Also opening are Secretariat, It's Kind of a Funny Story. What am I planning to see? The Social Network, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, The Town and Let Me In are on my list. Good thing it's a long weekend. Enjoy!

Friday Flick Picks 10/1/10

I haven't written a Friday Flick Pick post in weeks! I blame the lack of decent films int theaters lately. I got tired of complaining about the summer movies and took a little break. This weekend it looks like there are quality films worth your time and movie dollar. I'm going to stay lazy and give you a list ,because I'm jumping in the car and heading to NJ to watch my grandson blow out the 2 candles on his cupcake!!

The Social Network
Let Me In
Wall Street:Money Never Sleeps
Easy A
The Town
Animal Kingdom

Worth going to the theater this weekend!!

Ondine

Ondine is a sweet story of love, faith and fantasy. A little girl with kidney disease believes that a girl her fisherman father pulls out of the sea, is a water nymph, with magical powers. That fantasy supports her through difficult times, and when reality crashes in, she is strong enough to handle it. There's a seedy backdrop, but there is also love and dedication. Strong performances make this an easy film to watch.

That Evening Sun

I met Scott Teems at Newport Film Festival last summer. He was squiring his film, That Evening Sun, around the country. A quiet, thoughtful young man, we had an interesting conversation about family, "the business" and actors with that "it" factor. I did not have time to see the film at the festival, but this week it was released to DVD. A poignant story of aging, love and consequences. Well written, well acted, great music and beautifully shot. Who was the actor Teems spoke of with the "it" factor? Mia Wasikowska. I've seen her in 2 other films since our conversation, and I agree. A young actress worth watching. And That Evening Sun? A film well worth watching as well. Thanks Scott.

Going the Distance

As a rule, romantic comedies don't appeal to me. Going the Distance broke that rule. Listening to reviewers I respect (both men), I saw this film. I don't usually gush about individual performances, but I think Christina Applegate and Charlie Day killed it in the laugh department. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl try to be sensible, but fall in love. Boy and girl live 3000 miles away from each other for a year. That's all I'll say about plot. Just know that I thought this was well written, well acted and the music plays a nice role. Well done.

The American

The American is a quiet, pensive story of an assassin. He is waiting in a small Italian village for instructions while he starts to evaluate what he is doing. I was not prepared for the love story that would quietly transform the man and his decision making process. Very little dialog, lots of good acting from Mr. Clooney. This is one of those films I've thought about a lot since I walked out of the theater. Well done.

Machete

Machete is a crazy, violent, gratuitous nod to the grindhouse genre. Using immigration as the centerpiece, there is corruption and conspiracy. There is nudity and violence. There is a lot of overacting and bad acting. Fun to watch, silly as hell.

Friday Flick Picks 9/3/10

I haven't been in a theater since August 15th, yikes! Fortunately this holiday weekend offers a few films I'd like to see. Machete and The American will make a good double feature. I'm also hearing good things about Going the Distance. Still in theaters are Inception, Scott Pilgrim vs the World, Get Low and Toy Story 3. Have a great holiday weekend!