My Kid Could Paint That

What a fascinating story.  This doco chronicles a couple of years in the life of a child prodigy "modern artist" from the US.  It started out as a simple coverage of this rare talent, but then became a whole lot more interesting as some controversy came into play.  I won't spoil it for those who don't know the story.  It ends up being an examination of the documentary medium itself - is it also art because it's the interpretation of something by the doco creator?  Can a doco ever be completely impartial and matter-of-fact?  It raises many questions, and leaves you thinking afterwards.  8/10

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

We watched "Hatchet." 

I liked the "making of" DVD extra a little. 

We watched Atonement.  I haven't had a chance to watch the extras. Our friend who was here watching with us had read the book and kept saying how the scene was done much better in the book and then he left before the movie was over.  Ho hum.  I so dislike Vanessa Redgrave but good matching haircut.  Interesting story.

Next = Gone Baby Gone.  Didn't read Smokey's little-more-in-depth review cuz I wanna go into fresh.

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Logic Hat Online- logichat.org

Lake of Fire is on Netflix Watch Instantly. 2006 doc, nearly 3 hours long, on the abortion debate.

To establish a truly fair argument, dir. Tony Kaye demands a lot of you. This is an exhaustive look at abortion that includes (fake?) late-term abortion footage and the ugliest possible utterances. It's a ugly subject that takes a strong stomach to think about. The points given the most gravity in the closing scenes are ambiguous enough to allow for multiple interpretations of it's message. For example,

1) In order to take a realistic pro-life stance, one's other values must be aligned with the desire to save fetuses among all other life (ie. anti-capital punishment, anti-war, anti-gun, pro-world aid, pro-government assistance etc.) 2) Abortion is never an easy or casual decision.

Can't argue with the logic of either of those, myself.

Eccentrics and radicals are given a frustrating amount of time and tolerance, but it illustrates the empty-can-rattling-loudest theory. If you stick it out to the end, both sides are treated seriously by the filmmaker, chances are you will question your position,

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

Hey, I thought Spider and Eastern Promises were excellent... not so much History of Violence though. Dead Ringers was interesting but not very polished; it seemed like something was missing. I really need to catch up on Cronenberg....

The last movie I saw was actually "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium". SPOILER WARNING (if you actually care) Nothing I would have chosen on my own, but it was surprisingly interesting in some ways. What the previews don't let you know is that the whole film is basically about death, with Mr. Magorium deciding it's time to depart from the world, and leaving his store manager, Molly Mahoney (Natalie Portman) the store. However, she wants to pursue her dream of becoming a great composer/piano player, and doesn't think she has what it takes to run the store. Jason Bateman shows up, rather surprisingly, as an accountant who doesn't believe in magic. Extremely odd film swerves wildly from irritating to charming, to just strange, and has an ending both confusing and charming. I was also a little unclear about how exactly Mr. Magorium dies... the way they present is very odd. I thought he'd just disappear or something but they seem to bury him, because you see them standing next to a tombstone. Did they just put a tombstone up in remembrance of him, or did they actually find his body sitting there in the toy store? A pretty disturbing image...

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

Apparently the vote got split between Gloria Swanson and Bette Davis, so Davis ended up stealing it. I'd actually have to give Davis the Oscar, even though Sunset Boulevard is a much better film. Norma Desmond is a really broad character, and doesn't allow Swanson to show the kind of nuance that Davis did in All About Eve.

Last film I saw was Bad Taste. Saw this one free when I found out it was public domain. Glad I saw it, it's interesting to see Jackson's first film. Having seen this, Heavenly Creatures, Lord of the Rings, and King Kong, the only real connecting thread I can find between the four are that they're all filmed in New Zealand and have creative special effects. I can't pinpoint any distinctive style, much like Francis Ford Coppola. The film itself wasn't much, a really good by home movie standards though. Some amusing bits, creative kills, and fun gore. Really dull sometimes though, as in the long, unexciting shootouts... they should've avoided these considering their zero budget (which was definitely a huge part of the appeal). I would've loved it as a short, as a feature it couldn't hold my interest all the way through. Still fantastic ending, and a now unrecognizable Jackson seems positively psychotic as Derek. Might sicken you though, I felt a little queasy when they were drinking the green puke. Hard to understand through the thick New Zealand accents too... I'm glad the plot synopsis was there to clear up the alien's plans because I understood very little of the leader's speech. Not that it matters too much though. I'm definitely planning to watch the rest of Jackson's work though, to try to figure out if he has a distinctive style or recurring themes, and also just because I'm interested in his other films.

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

"The Water Horse:  Legend of the Deep"

 "E.T." meets "Free Willy."  Really, not bad.

Haha, I love that you recommended all of Jackson's films that I hadn't seen. You seem to be quite a fan! Have you noticed any universal themes, motifs, images, etc. that characterize Jackson's style? I always look for that sort of a thing in a director, particularly auteurs like Jackson, but have yet to establish any real connecting style between his films.

Last film I saw was "The Saddest Music In The World". Didn't like this the first time I saw it a couple years ago, but I've seen it twice now (for a film class, I reviewed it today since it was on the test), and it's really growing on me. I'm beginning to love it, I could really watch this again and again. "The Song Is You" is such a great song... I highly recommend this unusal and (initially) difficult film. It has Isabella Rossellini and Maria De Medeiros in fantastic roles. These are two highly underutilized actresses, who I always love to see pop up in any film, much less the same one! But that's just the start, the script is clever and delightful, and Guy Maddin's directorial style is incredibly complex and fascinating, I'm not sure I've ever seen anything quite like it. Sort of like ithe visual style most films would have today if silent film styles had just developed over time and never went out style, a modernization of very old techniques. Fascinating, tragic, disturbing, and funny.

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!