“Mein lieber 3-hund” Everyone needs a hobby. Hitler was a painter, Mussolini a violinist, Hussein’s was plain and simple torture, and I love watching movies. But what about Germany’s most acclaimed and celebrated surgeon for separating Siamese twins? Here is a guy with one of the most high pressured jobs in existence, having the lives of two human beings in his hands each and every time he goes to work, cleaning up what some would say are God’s mistakes. So what could he possibly do when he arrives back home?…
Read MoreMonth: May 2010
REVIEW: Just Wright [2010]
“You’re da bomb dot com” It truly is a pleasure to see Queen Latifah in a starring role; the woman is good. I’ll admit, I often forget her knack of acting naturally and ability to charm her way across the screen when all I see is her doing thankless parts in Valentine’s Day or Stranger Than Fiction, both of which make you wonder why they bothered casting someone of her caliber and expense to do absolutely nothing. Her talent and constant good-natured attitude force you to pull for her character…
Read MoreREVIEW: Robin Hood [2010]
“We are men of the hood, merry at your expense” I’ll start this out with the truth: Robin Hood is not Robin Hood—and that’s not a bad thing. You’ll catch on very early once you realize the name Robin Longstride for Russell Crowe’s lead character isn’t an artistic change because it rolls easier off the tongue. No, the Loxley moniker does also exist; only it’s attached to King Richard’s right hand man, neck deep in the Crusades’ final hoorah. Throw in the fact The Lionheart himself dies within the first…
Read More360|365 GEH Film Festival Recap … Where eggs come to perform
Only Sid Rosenzweig, 360|365 Programming Committee member, could introduce himself before more than one screening as an “all-around good guy” and not have it get old. Complete with a smile spanning ear to ear, Sid’s jovial demeanor never let you see the statement as anything other than a good-natured ice-breaker, leading him into the description of whatever film he was presenting next. This attitude was prevalent amongst all involved, making it a joy to attend the 360|365 George Eastman House Film Festival‘s inaugural season, knowing that the organizers, presenters, and…
Read More360|365FF10 REVIEW: Winter’s Bone [2010]
“Never ask for what ought to be offered” If you are going to adapt a novel by author Daniel Woodrell—the self-coined writer of “country noir”—you better make sure you get the look and feel of the Missouri Ozarks correct, no matter how dark, dirty, or devastating its hellish journey. I haven’t seen Ang Lee’s attempt to do just that with Ride with the Devil, but after catching Debra Granik’s Winter’s Bone at the 360|365 George Eastman House Film Festival as well as listening to co-writer and producer Anne Rosellini afterwards,…
Read More360|365FF10 REVIEW: Io sono l’amore [I Am Love] [2010]
“‘Happy’ is a word that makes one sad” It only took one look at the American poster for Io sono l’amore [I Am Love] to know I needed to see the film. The use of typography over an elegant family portrait, blocking every face but star Tilda Swinton’s, is gorgeous and much more relevant to the work it represents than I’d ever imagine. Throughout the entire piece, characters are often seen with obstructions between them and the camera, giving the audience a voyeuristic view into the Italian family’s world. There…
Read More360|365FF10 REVIEW: Monogamy [2010]
“When do you want to swing by to choose your prints?” Those of you that say a monogamous relationship isn’t possible, that you can’t live the rest of your life with the same person and seriously be happy, Monogamy is the film for you. As succinctly and authentically as it can, Dana Adam Shapiro’s film, (Oscar nominated director of the documentary Murderball), peers through the window of Theo’s life. The guy has it all: a beautiful fiancé, a self-employed photography job where he calls the shots, and an apartment in…
Read More360|365FF10 REVIEW: Celda 211 [Cell 211] [2009]
“I’ll see what I can do” Now this is the film I thought Un prophète would be. Despite all the hype surrounding that French prison drama—it was great—it never reached the pedestal of perfection for me. Yet here is the Goya sweeping Celda 211 [Cell 211]—not even given the country’s selection for inclusion on the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar list, but then that whole process of one per country is messed up to begin with—criminally given no buzz in America that I’ve been aware of. It snuck by me…
Read More360|365FF10 REVIEW: The Secret of Kells [2009]
“I’ve seen the book that turned darkness into light” I remember the morning that Oscar nominations came out and hearing which films were up for the Best Animated Feature, completely perplexed when The Secret of Kells was announced. I had been nodding my head in a gesture of agreement until that moment, having never heard the film’s title before in my life. Well, thanks to the 360|365 George Eastman House Film Festival, I was able to finally enter Tomm Moore’s Celtic world at the time of the legendary Book of…
Read More360|365FF10 REVIEW: Cinema Museum [2008]
“Floral Odors: fresh, inspiring, and nice” The second half of a Mark Lewis documentary short doubleheader at the 360|365 George Eastman House Film Festival was his 2008 look inside of the Cinema Museum. A private collection owned by Ronald Grant and Martin Humphries in Britain, their curator Anna takes us on a first person tour of the cluttered and packed rooms full of movie memorabilia spanning decades. Lewis shoots it all, I would guess, with a Steadicam that he helms, following Anna through the corridors and into cramped rooms, or…
Read More360|365FF10 REVIEW: Backstory [2009]
“I have to light whatever face he’s wearing today” What better way is there to tell the story of the cinematic technique called rear projection than with the father/son duo integrally involved in its success, interviewed in front of their own technology? It definitely helps that Bill Hansard Sr. and Bill Hansard Jr. possess such a humorous attitude and candid nature, keeping Mark Lewis’ documentary short Backstory as fun as it is informative. For every story about new riggings for improved car motion footage or technological innovations to even get…
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