An interesting clash of cultures occurs when a Chinese father visits his Americanized daughter in Spokane. A light and sweet relationship heads for unresolved issues as secrets are revealed as communication slowly improves. As the father tries to help his daughter deal with personal issues she struggles to maintain her independence. A Thousand Years of Good Prayers shows how different we can be but still be the same. [ RT ]
Sara, Jeffree, Norm and Heidi talk about A Thousand Years of Good Prayers after seeing it at the Varsity theater.
This is not your conventional love story. XXY is the story of a struggle of young person to come to grasp and understand the situation that this “intersex” teenager finds her/himself in. What!?!? I had to do some reseach to find the corrent term. “Intersex” is the preferred term for those born with shared sex chromosomes and what doctors call “genital ambiguity.” Did I mention this was an unconventional story? For 15-year-old Alex (played by a 22-year-old actress), having an intersex body is a source of anguished confusion. Alex has been raised as a girl by loving parents, who moved to an island off the coast of Uruguay to spare Alex from adolescent torment by insensitive schoolmates. But now Alex has stopped taking the hormone pills that suppress male characteristics, suggesting a pivotal life choice has been made. But it’s not easy. Alex’s secret gets out and more peer and other pressures complicate the situation. A riviting story that will cause hours of post viewing discusstion. [ 
Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna is getting pummled by the critics. Maybe the story of four Black American soliders fighting the Germans in Italy, 1944, was too big. But I thought the narrative worked and the production was fresh and brutal. It’s story, albeit fiction, that needed telling and Lee was the guy to tell it. [ 
Leave you sense of credibility at home if you go to Eagle Eye. It’s one of those roller coaster rides that depends on a complete lack of common sense to enjoy. The few positive points are the undedible charisma of young Shia LaBeouf and the entertaining humor of Billy Bob Thornton. Thornton’s character was the only reason I didn’t head for the exit early. [ 
From the author of the “Fight Club” book comes another book/movie that is just as wierd with, again, “12-step” meetings as a foundation. The chocking part is the basis of a scam run by Sam Rockwell’s character. I never thought much about it but I guess when some one saves your life they are pretty much a life long benefactor for the chokee. But Choke is more than about the choking. There is kind of a Tom Robbins “Roadside Attraction” story to follow here. And I must say it’s rather funny . . . in . . . shall we say . . . an unconventional way. Wait for the DVD but make sure you do see it. [ 
The elegant look of this period piece is matched by the performances in the film. In The Duchess Keira Knightley reaches a new maturity in her look and acting. The role of women, even upper crust women, in the 18th century gives them very little room for self-expression. If their husbands didn’t seek their consul they were pretty much stifled. This was the challenge Knightley’s character, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire faced. Add the loveless marriage and have good soap opera. [ 
Seeing a good movie a second time is always a good idea. You know which story lines to really pay attention to and which are just for momentary enjoyment. Also you can sit back and appreciate the performances of some really good actors. This what happen the second time watching Burn After Reading. I got the, if you will pardon the expression, big picture this time. How the Coens put together a espionage thriller parody. It so much more than a joke fest. [ 
It was interesting watching a film based on recent events that occurred within walking distance from where I live. The 1999 WTO riots were the back drop for this story of several personal relationships of those behind and in front of the battle fronts in Seattle during a few winter days of ‘99. Since so much had to be covered there wasn’t much depth to any of the stories or issues. But Battle in Seattle was well produced, using some actual footage, there wasn’t any blatant fictionalization to throw the story off course. [ 
The challenge here is to turn ironic dry witted English comic Ricky Gervais into an appealing romantic comedy leading man. The shift happens to swiftly in Ghost Town it almost gave me a whip lash. But I must say, despite the fact Gervais seemed so out of character down the home stretch and the plot so implausible, the ending had a surprisingly strong emotional punch. The less the American public know about Gervais’ vidcasts, HBO series and British sitcoms the easier it will be to buy the “new” Ricky Gervais. I, however, am very well acquainted with all of his work so this attempt was largely unsuccessful. [ 
Righteous Kill has it’s weakness but one of them isn’t the plot. No formula, cookie-cutter effort, here. It was interesting then add DeNiro and Pacino and it was worth the viewing. [ 