[MLUG - DISCUSSION] more movie reviews

[Mike Miller <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

On DVD:

March of the Penguins -- interesting stuff, must have been a nightmare to 
film, but if it had been 20 minutes long, it would have been long enough. 
I'm glad I didn't pay to see it in a theater.  People are raving about 
Morgan Freeman's narration, but I don't see why.  It doesn't matter to me 
whose voice I hear.  This could have been a nice episode of Nova or a 
National Geographic TV special.  Whoever managed to get people to see this 
as a feature-length film was a genius.  I don't really get it.  The DVD 
extras are as good as the movie.  With Winged Migration a couple of years 
ago, the DVD extras were better than the movie.

Constant Gardner -- filmed in Kenya, which is unusual.  The time jumping 
and dream sequences make the film interesting.  The story unfolds in 
clever ways that provide a series of small surprises.  The acting is 
excellent.  The idea that corporations hire hit men seems like baloney to 
me because I don't think they'd be willing to take that kind of risk.  It 
was very well acted and nicely filmed but a little hard to follow at 
times.  I give it an A-.

Cronicas -- In Spanish w/ subtitles.  Filmed in Ecuador (that's why we 
watched it -- my wife is from Ecuador).  Starring John Leguizamo.  This is 
a pretty good film and certainly the best movie ever with an Ecuadorian 
director.  It has an interesting twist and makes an interesting statement. 
Go Ecuador!

Penn & Teller "Bullshit" -- You can get this from Netflix, or other rental 
chains.  The first season is a few years old.  I watched the first DVD of 
the first season and liked it a lot.  I think this is excellent 
"infotainment":  Penn's dialogue is funny and challenging and the topics 
are very interesting.  I give it an A+, but note that there is plenty of 
swearing in the film.  Penn explains that he may call someone a "fucking 
asshole" whose claims are "bullshit" without getting sued, but if he were 
to call someone a "fraud," he might easily be sued.

Me and You and Everyone We Know -- This is a very quirky film.  I liked it 
a lot.  It makes a statement about relationships and the internet that can 
be represented by these symbols:  ))<>((   I give it an A for its 
originality.  Miranda July must be a really interesting person.


Classics on DVD:

On the Waterfront -- a Marlon Brando classic directed by Elia Kazan.  "I 
coulda been a contender!"  It is great to watch an old film like this one 
to see the way people talked, etc.  I really liked this one.

La Dolce Vita -- Fellini before he got really weird.  This is a long film 
- about three hours - and B&W, but it is one of the all-time classics of 
great filmmaking.  It's one of those films that the great film critics 
keep going back to.  It was filmed in Rome in about 1960 and in its time 
it was shocking, maybe even pornographic, by fairly tame by today's 
standards.  It was banned by the Catholic church.  It is definitely making 
statements about life and about religion.  Interestingly, there is a lot 
in the film about "paparazzi," but they were not called paparazzi at the 
time.  A character in the film is named Paparazzo -- he's an annoying 
photographer. The modern word "paparazzi" was derived from the name of 
that character.  Paparazzo is a genuine Italian surname, but Fellini chose 
it because it sounds a bit like the Italian word for mosquito.


Mike

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