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Film
Edited by Brandon Judell
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| © Les Films 13 |
Roman de gare : A
Man, A Woman, and Too Much Plot
Who is the unshaven stranger (Dominique Pinon) driving down the highway
in Claude Lelouch's latest celluloid mystery, "Roman de gare"?
Is he a pedophilic prison escapee who plies his victims with magic tricks?
Or an unhappy professor running away from a sterile home life just before
his tenth wedding anniversary? Or is this bedraggled soul a ghostwriter
of bestselling murder mysteries for the highly adulated and extremely
wealthy Judith Ralitzer (Fanny Ardant)? By Brandon Judell.
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| Jacob Burkhardt as a bat-wielding hotel clerk; Royston Scott as the detective, Spade Slade, in "Tomorrow Always Comes" (2006), directed by Burckhardt. |
Surreal Moving Images
and Satirical Films of Jacob Burckhardt
A moving picture in the mind of an artist can take many forms. Think of
Jacob Burckhardt's mind as the recorder of his life journey and the teller
of satiric tales. Both are Burckhardt working to create a visual mood
that captures our attention with wit and sophistication. By Larry Litt.
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The Jews of Lebanon |
The Jews of Lebanon
Yves Turquier dedicates his 77-minute documentary, "The Jews of Lebanon,"
to those Lebanese Jews who immigrated to Mexico, Israel, the United States,
Canada, France, England, Switzerland, Brazil, and Italy to make new lives
for their families.
By Brandon Judell.
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| Brendan Fraser and Sarah Michelle Gellar in " The Air That I Breathe." |
The Air that I Breathe
Jieho Lee's film "The Air That I Breathe," is highly entertaining
and a lavishly acted drama. The critics are giving reviews on the production
notes; and the director is ever-so-intense on spiritual pronouncements
in the film. The storylines are interconnected; it is part of the joy
of "The Air That I Breathe." Furthermore the acting is impeccable,
the cinematography by Walt Lloyd is riveting, Marcelo Zarvos' score works
beautifully, and the direction laudable, especially for a debut feature.
By Brandon Judell.
A Tree Grows in Israel:
Joseph Cedar and his Beaufort
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| Liraz Liberti in "Beaufort" by Joseph Cedar |
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| The Brave One, Jodie Foster and Mary Steenburgen |
The Brave One: Or
Why The Nice Vigilante Shot Up the Big Apple
Director Neil Jordan, enjoin father/son team of Roderick and Bruce A.
in this dreary, cockamamie Valentine to New York City haters, a good argument
for the government sterilization of a certain family's genes when radio
personality Erica Bain (Foster) is confronting a bad day. By Brandon Judell.
Broken English: Parker
Posey is Unloved
Director/ writer Zoe Cassavetes, the daughter of actor John and actress
Gena, captures the desperate need for love unequivocally in "Broken
English." Parker Posey's performance is beautifully nuanced and finally
bereft of the slight comic cynicism so many of her characterizations are
slightly edged with. Posey's admirers will experience a sensual intoxication
that fans always experience when their film goddesses are at their very
best. By Brandon Judell.
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| Sydney White (Amanda Bynes) and admiring frat boy Tyler Prince (Matt Long) in "Sydney White." (Photo: Universal Studios) |
Sydney White: "I
Used to be Snow White But I Drifted." Sydneu?
"Being a progressive nerd is better than being a conservative
princess," or so preaches "Sydney White," an almost-delicious
spoof on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. (That's if you like poisoned
apples.) There's just a change of character names and locale. Now all
the action takes place on a college campus, cum predictable plot and stereotypes.
By Brandon Judell.
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| Splinter Movie Poster. |
"Splinter"
"Splinter," a not-bad actioner directed by Edward James
Olmos' s little boy, Michael D., features Tom Sizemore as Detective Cunningham,
a seedy, alcoholic L.A. cop who's corrupt to the gills. Luckily for him,
where he's situated, he almost doesn't stand out. By Brandon Judell.
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| L-R: Rebecca Gibney, Brenda Blethyn in "Introducing the Dwights." Photo by Daniel Smith © 2007 Goalpost Film Ltd. |
"Introducing
the Dwights"
There are films about monstrously overbearing moms, often played by Shelley
Winters, and there are those "heartwarming" coming-of-age/losing-one's-virginity
cinematic treats. Australia's entry into this field, ''Introducing the
Dwights," consolidates the best elements of both genres to create
a whacky, touching, sexy, biting comedy. By Brandon Judell.
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| Cast of "The Bubble." |
Eytan Fox's "The
Bubble"
Although the head-shaved, sprightly Eytan Fox might just be the prince
of the Kosher New Wave emanating out of Israel for the past decade, he's
definitely the king of the faygala division of the same movement. Fox's
"Yossi & Jagger" (2002) and "Walk on Water" (2004)
have brilliantly showcased the dilemma of being homosexual in a society
where machismo was once considered a treasured Zionist trait necessary
for national survival. In "The Bubble," Fox has explored gay
love within the military and homophobia within the Israeli intelligence
agency with warmth, wit, and applaudable plotting, dynamic acting, and
sterling technique. By Brandon Judell.
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Film
Poster for Waitress 2007. Photo Courtesy of movies.yahoo.com. |
''Waitress''
written and directed by Adrienne Shelly
If you recall the long-running TV series "Alice," you'll pretty
much be revisiting familiar territory with ''Waitress.'' The plot is quite
simple. Will Jenna ditch her husband and run off with her married obstetrician
(Nathan Fillion)? Will Dawn find a boyfriend? And will Becky ever reveal
her secret that just might have do with having sex? By Brandon Judell.
Hot Fuzz: The Good,
The Bad, and the Inane
Brandon Judell wrote: ''Brilliantly directed by Wright from a gleefully
acerbic script by both Wright and Simon, and masterfully shot and edited
by Jess Hall and Chris Dickens respectively, one can't overlook the inspired
casting. The best of both old and new Brit talent has been gathered here,
including Anne Reid ("The Mother"), Billie Whitelaw ("The
Omen"), Bill Nighy ("Notes on a Scandal"), Edward Woodward
("The Equalizer"), and Timothy Dalton (James Bond).'' Read his
whole review by clicking the link.
''Rome Rather Than
You''
"Rome Rather than You" is explained this way: "It's about
politics as it is about girls, cigarettes and terrorism, false papers
and water cutoffs. All in a disorderly fashion to better understand what
the social situation must refuse the characters." Seen and reviewed
by Brandon Judell.
A Voice Without a
Face: His Dad Was a Singing Spy
The 11th NY Sephardic Jewish Film Festival, one of the more delightful,
narrowly focused annual events in the Big Apple, offered "A Voice
Without a Face," directed by Assaf Basson. By Brandon Judell.
La Baker
In recent writing about her, the phallic bravado of Josephine Baker seems
mostly ignored or avoided. Yet to an unprejudiced eye, the sleek vertical
aplomb might appear patent. A curiously poignant scene in Annette von
Wangenheim's documentary, "Josephine Baker: Black Diva in a White
Man's World," unveiled on January 3rd and 12th in the Dance on Camera
Festival at New York's Walter Reade Theatre, shows Baker's smile, dancing.
By Brandon Judell.
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| Photo by Jean-François Baumard. |
Gorgeous (Comme T'y
Es Belle!)
"Gorgeous," a huge box office hit in France, is a comedy about
four attractive women of varying ages in rather varied relationships:
divorced, separated, married, and the fourth obviously single. The first
three have children. Some more than one. The ladies all also have family
members whom we meet and lovers, too. They additionally have jobs, one
with numerous co-workers. Consequently, at times, the screen seems to
be populated with a lively cast huger in number than that of "Birth
of a Nation." By Brandon Judell.
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| Dominique Swain from Alpha Dog. She is in the photo with Justin Timberlake, Charity Shea and Christopher Marquette. |
Dominique Swain: Lolita
Has a Tattoo
At the sweet age of 15, when other girls were getting their
braces tightened or dressing up as Spice Girls, Dominique Swain was "sitting"
on Jeremy Iron's lap, portraying Nabokov's infamous nymphet in HBO's "Lolita."
For her efforts, she was nominated for the Most Promising Actress award
by the Chicago Film Critics Association, and both she and Jeremy garnered
an MTV "Best Kiss" nomination. There's nothing like a little
intergenerational hoopla to get folks going. By Brandon Judell.
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| The Black Dahlia. Mia Kirshner. Picture by Rolf Konow/ Universal Pictures. |
The Black Dahlia:
The Bloom is Off
Brian De Palma, who scared the bejesus out of us with his Hitchcock
paeans "Carrie," "Dressed to Kill," and the underrated
"Blow Out," has also directed some spectacular flops over the
last four decades such as "The Bonfire of the Vanities," "Snake
Eyes," and "Casualties of War.""The Black Dahlia"
fits neatly into the latter category, but not without a few moments to
truly relish. By Brandon Judell.
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| David Ingram. |
Sidekick: The Downside
of Superpowers
Norman (Perry Mucci) is the ultimate office nebbish/computer geek, his
existence barely registering on anyone's awareness scale. Between keyboard
strokes, he moons over pretty secretaries, but to no avail, and at company
sports events, he's the only one relegated to videotaping the activities.
But just when his real life seems stuck on Dreary, Norman discovers that
Victor (David Ingram), one of his office mates, has superpowers. By Brandon
Judell.
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| Alex Pettyfer. Photographs by Liam Daniel. |
Alex Rider: Operation
Stormbreaker
If in 20 or 30 years, Daniel Craig has retired from playing Ian Fleming's
stalwart secret agent, the series' producers need look no further than
Alex Pettyfer as their new man. This British youth, who essays the 14-year-old
Alex Rider here, has the charisma, the moves, and the looks to play Mr.
Bond. He also can act which is much more than several actors who were
consigned the role could do (e.g. Roger Moore). By Brandon Judell.
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| Daniel London and Will Oldham. Courtesy Kino International. |
Old Joy: Two Hippies Go On A Car
Ride
After the screening I attended of "Old Joy," one slightly disgruntled
critic came up to me, complaining, "This isn't a film. There's no
arc. No action." "Ah!" I responded. "For stoned hippies,
this is 'Star Wars,' " But for the rest of us, this languid road
film will be almost a meditation. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I blissed
out into slumber for a short while during the film's commencement, only
to awaken refreshed and joyful, ready to embrace the world and the rest
of "Old Joy." By Brandon Judell.
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| Melinda Page Hamilton and Bryce Johnson stars in Sleeping Dogs Lie. Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. |
Sleeping Dogs Lie: Once In Love
With Amy Doesn't Mean Always
John Waters meets "Sleepless in Seattle" in this sweet, at-times
"tasteless" comic concoction about romance, reputation, the
need to confess, and the yearning of society to pigeonhole everyone with
a one-dimensional label. By Brandon Judell.
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| Volver. Penélope Cruz. Photo by Juan Gatti / El Deseo, courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics. |
Volver: Almodóvar Calms
Down
Someone has slipped Pedro Almodóvar a Valium. Yes, the delectable
high-pitched frenzy of his recent films such as "Talk to Her"
(2002), "Bad Education" (2004), and "Live Flesh" (1997),
with its trademark super-Almodóvar stylization and quirks suffusing
nearly every frame, has been put aside for the moment. Yes, in "Volver,"
there are no gigantic vaginas confronting miniature men, no stories within
stories within stories highlighting the travails of sexually-abused, pre-op
transsexuals, and no frenetic heterosexual copulations committed as acts
of revenge. Instead, what we have here is an at-times plaintive love letter
to women: a paean to their humor, their loyalty, and especially their
ability to survive their encounters with cheating, lying fornicators who
employ their penises as weapons of submission. By Brandon Judell.
America: Freedom to
Fascism
As whacked out as it may seem at times, "America: Freedom to Fascism"
is possibly the most important American documentary to be released this
year after Al Gore's "Inconvenient Truth." After all, the latter
predicts the death of mankind, while the former just prognosticates the
demise of liberty in these United States. By Brandon Judell.
Keeping Mum: A Killer of
a Mother Figure
Just when Brandon Judell thought he'd bore himself to death, having to
tell yet another inquirer that the only must-see comedy of the moment
was "Little Miss Sunshine," an almost equally fine option arose.
"Keeping Mum" is a delicious British take on the dysfunctional
household saga. Yes, in the tiny parish of Little Wallop (population:
57), everything is not going well for yet another nuclear family, this
time a vicar's. By Brandon Judell.
The Devil Wears Prada
Miranda Priestley, as blazingly portrayed by Meryl Streep, is the divine
despot of international fashion. She decides what belts are in, what fabrics
are de rigueur, and where hems should end. And if she decides that the
trendy should be hued in Golden Rod, Crimson, or Navajo White, they will
be. Miranda is a distaff version of Donald Trump. Streep, without a doubt,
gives here one of the grand comic performances of the year. By Brandon
Judell.
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"Jailbait" |
"Jailbait"
Michael Pitt fans can celebrate once again at this prison drama. Even
though "Jailbait" falls into that rare category of a film
in which he keeps his clothes on, the young man with the sultry lips,
Victorian pallor, and waif-like beauty still gets smacked around, emotionally
abused, raped, forced onto his knees, and, in a piece de resistance,
gets to wield a pencil as a deadly weapon. Lord knows what Pitt'd do
if his character had a Magic Marker. By Brandon Judell.
"John Tucker Must Die,"
does he?
Criticizing a summer teen movie for not being high art is like yelling
at a sociopath for being a serial killer. From "Tammy" to
"Gidget" to "The Beach Blanket Bingo" flicks, films
for the acne aged are supposed to be simpleminded fare that supplies
archetypes for the inexperienced members of the audience to imitate
once they leave the theater. So Brandon holds back on "John Tucker
Must Die," sort of. By Brandon Judell.
Scoop: Woody Wields a Sledgehammer
In "Crimes and Misdemeanors" (1989), Woody Allen served up
enough plot, wit, and wisdom to nourish a dozen films. This piercing
study of morality in the modern world, especially as
an experienced by two Jewish gents, one highly ethical and one not,
bears repeated viewings to uncover all of its nuances.As for it hilarious
bon mots such as the "Last time I was inside a woman was when I
visited the Statue of Liberty," there are dozens of such sallies
scattered throughout this often brilliant effort. Seventeen years later
Mr. Allen shovels up "Scoop," third-rate shtick with about
four funny lines, an indigestible plot, and colorless performances.
Unlike last year's delicious Hitchcockian traipse, "Match Point,"
"Scoop" makes you wish that this prolific director was a little
less profuse. Maybe there's a good reason most directors don't helm
a new feature every year. By Brandon Judell.
Jargo
Entertainment-wise, however, "Jargo," which was understandably
never released in theaters Stateside, has a lot less going for it. Unevenly
acted and abominably directed, this tale of two mismatched mates simply
can't make up its mind whether it's going to be an insipid teen comedy
or a despondent melodrama. It settles instead for colossal muddle. By
Brandon Judell.
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| "Stalk" by Leigh Hodgkinson. |
A Visit to the Brooklyn
International Film Festival
Home to the ninth annual Brooklyn International Film Festival, the Brooklyn
Museum, a cultural mecca in itself, is a perfect venue for an array of
120 short, experimental, animated, documentary and feature films from
all over the world. By Sasha Levites.
Interview with Marco Ursino,
Executive Director of the Brooklyn International Film Festival
This year, filmmaker Marco Ursino served as the executive
director of the ninth annual Brooklyn International Film Festival (BIFF).
Formerly known as Williamsburg Brooklyn Film Festival (WBFF), BIFF was
established in 1998 as the first international, competitive festival
for and by independent film makers. Ursino discusses this year's festival
and theme: "enigma 9." By Sasha Levites.
Jailbait
Michael Pitt fans can celebrate once again. Even though "Jailbait"
falls into that rare category of a film in which he keeps his clothes
on, the young man with the sultry lips, Victorian pallor, and waif-like
beauty still gets smacked around, emotionally abused, raped, forced
onto his knees, and, in a piece de resistance, gets to wield a pencil
as a deadly weapon. Lord knows what Pitt'd do if his character had a
Magic Marker.
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| Tom Hanks stars in Columbia Pictures' suspense thriller "The Da Vinci Code." |
The Da Vinci Code
In his introduction to "Candide," Andre Maurois notes Voltaire's
stance was "if we are prepared to view the Bible as a collection
of legends compiled by barbarian tribes, then he is prepared to admit
that it is 'as captivating as Homer.' If we claim to find therein a
divine utterance and super-human thoughts, then he claims the right
to quote the prophets, and show their cruel savagery." That savagery,
the result of the unwavering righteousness of some religious folks,
resounds throughout the novel "The Da Vinci Code," and to
an only slightly lesser degree in the film version directed by Ron Howard.
Drum
In 1951, South Africa had its own cut-rate version of the Harlem Renaissance.
In Sophiatown, a black township, writers, singers, gangsters, and immigrant
shop owners all held their own. Another attraction was that folks of
every epidermal coloring could commingle there. Within this potpourri
of exuberance, fancifulness, and limited freedoms, Jim Bailey (Jason
Flemyng), heir to a British mining family, starts a magazine, "Drum,"
that employs a collection of highly talented, hard-drinking, hard-living
black writers. The most talented, and the most consequential, man on
the magazine's masthead is Henry Nxumalo (Taye Diggs), a womanizing,
often inebriated, journalist whose articles supply quality escapism
to its readers. He is so good at his job, and his byline so associated
with the magazine, that he soon becomes known as Mr. Drum. "Drum,"
the film, is the story of how Mr. Drum becomes radicalized, and places
his family's security and his own life on the line to explore the abominations
of apartheid.
V for Vendetta
"People should not be afraid of their governments; governments
should be afraid of their people" is the pivotal statement of "V
for Vendetta." Although based on the 1989 graphic novel written
by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd, the film is every bit
as timely as that under scroll of info bombarding the lowers parts of
our sets when tuned to CNN. It will assuredly bomb its way into a thinking
man's cult film status.
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| Poster for "Sophie Scholl: The Final Days". |
Sophie
Scholl
"Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" is the latest German
film to connect with international audiences. Nominated for a Best-Foreign-Film-of-the-Year
Oscar and winner of the Best Bavarian Film award, here is yet another
of the recent slate of celluloid offerings contending that the individual
can and should make a difference in a society where the enemy might
be a Joseph McCarthy, a George W. Bush, a homophobic society, an occupation,
misogyny, or the Nazis. During World War II, in Munich, she, her brother
and their friends launched a secret organization, the White Rose, that
distributed leaflets urging others to defy the fascist state Germany
had become. On one such trek, at a university, Sophie and her brother
were caught. Brandon Judell engaged in a brief chat with the film's
director, Marc Rothemund and its star, Julia Jentsch.
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Dark
Night |
A highlight of the 21st Israel Film Festival (Feb. 23- March 9; http://www.israelfilmfestival.com) and an Oscar nominee for the 2005 Honorary Foreign Film Award in the Student Academy Awards competition, Leon (Leonid) Prudovsky's "Dark Night" is a potent, thoroughly professional take on the current Israeli/ Palestinian quagmire.
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| "The Forgotten Refugees" |
The Forgotten Refugees
In David G. Littman's 2002 National Review article, "The Forgotten
Refugees," the head of the Jewish community of Tripoli recalled
a 1945 riot: "The Arabs attacked Jews in obedience to mysterious
orders. Their outburst of bestial violence had no plausible motive.
For fifty hours they hunted men down, attacked houses and shops, killed
men, women, old and young, horribly tortured and dismembered Jews isolated
in the interior. . . . In order to carry out the slaughter, the attackers
used various weapons: knives, daggers, sticks, clubs, iron bars, revolvers,
and even hand grenades." Now director Michael Grynszpan has transformed
"The Forgotten Refugees" into an eye-opening 49-minute documentary.
The film is being screened as part of the 10th NY Sephardic Jewish Film
Festival that runs from February 2nd until the 8th.
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Keep Not Silent:
Ortho-Dykes. |
Keep Not Silent:
Ortho-Dykes
Although lesbianism today is not such an unimaginable lifestyle choice
as it was in the beginning of the twentieth century, for many women
with gay inclinations, being an openly girl-on-girl proponent can still
be an anguished, fear-riddled option. Don't believe me? Then view Ilil
Alexander's illuminating documentary, "Keep Not Silent: Ortho-Dykes,"
which is being screened as part of The 15th Annual New York Jewish Film
Festival, the yearly must-see event presented by both The Jewish Museum
and The Film Society of Lincoln Center.
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| Tsotsi and baby. |
Tsotsi: a Thug with
a Heart of Gold
In "Tsotsi," South Africa's nominee for Best Foreign Language
Oscar, a heartless, baby-faced monster finds his humanity when he accidentally
kidnaps a baby. It's based upon an Athol Fugard novel, and Fugard, not
an objective observer here, has written that "Tsotsi" just
might "rank as one of the best films ever to come out of South
Africa." But he may be right.
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| Casanova. |
Casanova
The man who wrote: "I have always loved truth so passionately that
I have often resorted to lying as a way of introducing it into the minds
which were ignorant of its charms" and "Marriage is the tomb
of love," seems the perfect antidote to cinema's current lack of
wit. But director Lasse Hallström, whose early films were clearly
his best (e.g. "My Life as a Dog"; "What's Eating Gilbert
Grape"), has hooked up with two screenwriters, Jeffrey ("Stage
Beauty") Hatcher and Kimberly Simi, to concoct a leaden farce that
is neither sexy nor funny. (Out on DVD April 25.)
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| Paradise Now. |
Making Nice with
Suicide Bombers: An interview with Hanu Abu-Assad
Brandon Judell writes: "Three weeks after I've seen Hanu Abu-Assad's
'Paradise Now,' I still can't shake its memory. When was the last time
you could say that about any film release, the bulk of which are so
easily disposable, that they're out of your system by the time you've
exited the Loew's exits." This coverage is followed with Mr. Judell's
review.
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| Before the Fall (Napola). |
Before the Fall
(Napola)
"Napola," the highlight of this year's Palm Springs Film Festival,
held in January, has turned out to be one of the best films of the year.
Think "Dead Poets' Society" meets the Hitler Youth. Now it's
rechristened "Before the Fall." If there were a god of celluloid,
and sadly there isn't, this feature would be garnering award nominations
in this country up the old gazoo.
theater by night
required reading
© copyright 2007, Metro New Media, Inc.
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