In The House, 2013 Director: Francois Ozon Writers: Juan Mayorga (play), Francois Ozon (screenplay) Stars: Fabrice Luchini, Ernst Umhauer, Kristin Scott Thomas Ask yourself. What’s happening In The House? That is, who really knows what’s happening In The House? “If you can think of life, for a moment, as a large house with a nursery, … Continue reading
Blancanieves, 2013 Written and Directed, Pablo Berger Director of Photography, Kiko de la Rica Starring Maribel Verdu (Encarna), Daniel Gimenez Cacho (Antonio Villalta), Angela Molia (Dona Concha), Sofia Oria (Carmencita), Macarena Garcia (Carmen) Once upon a time, in a land faraway called Spain, a girl named Carmenita after her mother, nicknamed Blancanieves by dwarves and … Continue reading
Promised Land, 2012 Directed by Gus Van Sant Screenplay by John Krasinski, Matt Damon; Story by Dave Eggers Starring Matt Damon, Frances McDormand, Hal Holbrook, Rosemarie DeWitt Promised Land opens in an opulent five-star restaurant, where Steve Butler (Matt Damon) is a young man realizing his lifelong ambition. He’s being vetted for an executive … Continue reading
Turning Point, 1977 Directed by Herbert Ross Written by Arthur Laurents Starring Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine, Mikhail Baryshinknov If you can recall a time when a turn to the right meant losing forever the left See Turning Point nail the moment when one woman’s life another woman makes Because personal choice choreographs a dance for … Continue reading
(Jane Alexander Stewart is on vacation for January. True Shields, Berkeley Lit Grad ’12 and movie buff, keeps Cinemashrink’s Oscar lights burning with a mythic overview of Zero Dark Thirty.) Zero Dark Thirty, 2013 Directed by Kathryn Bigelow Screenplay by Mark Boal Starring Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton Synopsis: A dramatization … Continue reading
Synopsis: Lincoln, written by Tony Kushner and directed by Steven Spielberg, portrays Abraham Lincoln’s masterful and determined political leadership in passing the 13th Amendment through the US House of Representatives and abolishing slavery by law. As my memory serves, Abraham Lincoln was a tall and skinny man who spoke eye to eye from whatever lofty podium to … Continue reading
Argo, 2012 Director, Ben Affleck Screenplay, Chris Terrio Starring Ben Affleck, John Goodman, Alan Arkin Synopsis: A dramatization of the true story of CIA agent Tony Mendez’s miraculous rescue of six American diplomats during the famous 1979 Iranian hostage crisis — a feat made possible by disguising them as Canadian filmmakers. What was I thinking? … Continue reading
Beasts of the Southern Wild, 2012 Director: Benh Zeitlin Writers: Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin Stars: Ouvenzhane Wallis, Dwight Henry and Levy Easterly Synopsis: In a hidden-in-full-view delta community called the Bathtub separated from civilization by a levee somewhere in the South, a six-year-old girl named Hushpuppy scrambles through swampland and piles of junk in pink … Continue reading
If you’d like to discover a film anew, treat yourself to a gem. See a classic, an offbeat treat or an on-beat documentary. Because each film reveals aspects of ourselves and deepens our knowledge of what it is to be human. Days of Heaven, 1978 Written and directed by Terence Malick (also director of Tree … Continue reading
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, 2012 Directed by John Madden Written by Ol Parker (screenplay), Deborah Moggach (novel) Starring Judi Densch, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith and Dev Patel As Americans living in a youth oriented culture, we’re haunted by a fear of old age. Fear blanks our vision, restricts us to fulfilling childhood dreams and … Continue reading
