Deep Something

In The Realms of the Unreal – A Movie Review

April 8, 2009 B. John 156 Views 0 Comments Biography, Dakota Fanning, Documentary, Henry Drager, Jessica Yu

Henry Darger, an elderly recluse, spent his childhood in Illinois’s asylum for feeble-minded children and his adulthood working as a janitor. He lived a quiet, nearly solitary existence, but his imaginary life was exciting, colorful and sexually provocative. When he died in Chicago in 1973, his landlady discovered in his room 300 paintings, some over 10 feet long, and a 15,000-page illustrated novel (The Realms of the Unreal), which told the epic story of the virtuous Vivian Girls leading a child slave revolt against the evil Glandelinians. Featuring Dakota Fanning (Hide and Seek) and Larry Pine (The Royal Tenenbaums) as narrators and imaginative animation of Darger’s work, Oscar® winner Jessica Yu (Breathing Lessons) brings to life one of the twentieth century’s greatest self-taught artists. This is a very interesting story with a surprising dose of an undercurrent of suspense about what will happen next. It was worth watching.

Culture Movies

Synecdoche, New York – A Movie Review

March 23, 2009 B. John 240 Views 0 Comments Catherine Keener, Charlie Kaufman, Comedy, Drama, Michelle Williams, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Theater director Caden Cotard is mounting a new play. His life catering to suburban blue-hairs at the local regional theater in Schenectady, New York is looking bleak. His wife Adele has left him to pursue her painting in Berlin, taking their young daughter Olive with her. His therapist, Madeleine Gravis, is better at plugging her best-seller than she is at counseling him. A new relationship with the alluringly candid Hazel has prematurely run aground. Worried about the transience of his life, he leaves his home behind. He gathers an ensemble cast into a warehouse in New York City, hoping to create a work of brutal honesty. Worth watching, but be prepared to have to think. I’m still trying to decipher the meaning of the burning house.

Culture Movies

Speed Racer – A Movie Review

March 23, 2009 B. John 235 Views 1 Comment Cartoon, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Wachowski

Born to race cars, Speed Racer is aggressive, instinctive and, most of all, fearless. His only real competition is the memory of the brother he idolized – the legendary Rex Racer, whose death in a race has left behind a legacy that Speed is driven to fulfill. Speed is loyal to the family racing business, led by his father, Pops Racer, the designer of Speed’s thundering Mach 5. Despite liking John Goodman and Susan Sarandon, I really had no interest in seeing this film. We had downloaded it via the Tivo from Amazon Unboxed for Lay’s nephews to watch this weekend when they were over.

Culture Fun Stuff Movies

Paul Blart: Mall Cop – A Movie Review

March 23, 2009 B. John 236 Views 0 Comments Action, Adventure, Kevin James, Steve Carr

A single, suburban dad tries to make ends meet as a security officer at a New Jersey mall. It’s a job he takes very seriously, though no one else does. When Santa’s helpers at the mall stage a coup, shutting down the megaplex and taking hostages (Paul’s daughter and sweetheart among them), Jersey’s most formidable mall cop will have to become a real cop to save the day.

Culture Movies

Lucky Ones, The – A Movie Review

March 9, 2009 B. John 223 Views 0 Comments Michael Pena, Neil Burger, Racbel Adams, Tim Robbins

Forced to grapple with old relationships, broken hopes and a country divided over the war, TK, Cheaver and Colee discover that home is not quite what they remembered, and that the unlikely companionship they’ve found might be what matters the most.

Culture Movies

In The Electric Mist – A Movie Review

March 8, 2009 B. John 198 Views 1 Comment Bertrand Tavernier, David E. Jensen, Drama, new orleans, Tommy Lee Jones

Detective Dave Robicheaux is trying to link the murder of a local hooker to New Orleans mobster Julie Balboni. But during his investigation Robicheaux is led into a series of surreal encounters with a troop of Confederate soldiers.

Culture Movies

Blindness – A Movie Review

March 8, 2009 B. John 206 Views 1 Comment Adaptation, Don McKellar, Drama, Fernando Meirelles, Foreign, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo

When a sudden plague of blindness devastates a city, a small group of the afflicted band together to triumphantly overcome the horrific conditions of their imposed quarantine.

Culture Movies

Slumdog Millionaire – A Movie Review

March 8, 2009 B. John 149 Views 0 Comments Adaptation, Anil Kapoor, Danny Boyle, Dev Patel, Drama, Foreign, Irrfan Khan, Loveleen Tandan

The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. I know I’ll be taken to the wood shed by some, so let me get this over with right away. I don’t think it was the best picture of the year.

Culture Movies Politics Presidency

W. – A Movie Review

February 23, 2009 B. John 254 Views 0 Comments Dick Chenney, Elizabeth Banks, george bush, George H.W. Bush, James Cromwell, Josh Brolin, Oliver Stone, W.

W. takes viewers through Bush’s eventful life — his struggles and triumphs, how he found both his wife and his faith, and of course the critical days leading up to Bush’s decision to invade Iraq. Lay and I watched this movie at home on DVD last weekend. It was more interesting than I expected. The film hopscotches through Bush’s life in an effort to compile all the seminal moments. Because of the number of “events” the film attempts to chronicle, this just all happens too fast. “W.” is not really a political movie per se; rather, it’s a movie about a man who went into politics but probably shouldn’t have. It’s about how a father can misread a son, how a son can suffer in the shadow of a famous dad and how temperament gets molded by events both internal and external.

Culture Movies

Gran Torino – A Movie Review

February 9, 2009 B. John 220 Views 0 Comments Action, Asian, Bee Vang, bigotry, Clint Eastwood, Drama, Gangs, Gangsters

Archie Bunker meets Dirty Harry: Walt Kowalski is a widower, grumpy, tough-minded, borderline-hateful, unhappy old man who can’t get along with either his kids or his neighbors, a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1973 Gran Torino he keeps in cherry condition. When his neighbor Tao, a young Hmong teenager, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Tao’s family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them form the gangs that foul their neighborhood. It’s worth seeing, just wait until it is out on video.

Culture Fun Stuff Movies

David Huynh Of The Movie Baby

February 5, 2009 B. John 586 Views 2 Comments Actor, Baby, David Huynh, Invasion, Movies, Stage, tv

A recent movie we watched on DVD was the 2008 movie “Baby.” It was a well made movie that provided a tense and gritty look at gang life in East L.A. I was especially impressed with the actor who played the Character, Baby, David Huynh. After reading up on him, I was especially impressed at how authentic he made the character, but he seems to share none of Baby’s background.