BUG - This came out early in the year as the latest horror/thriller to come in and out of theaters quickly. But it's more than that. This came from a play, which sounds strange for such a genre. It starts out as an indie-type reality drama and then suddenly becomes a paranoid thriller that spirals way out of control. Ashley Judd signed up for this because it's really an acting showcase, believe it or not... if you like acting crazy.
THE LIVES OF OTHERS - I've meant to see this, last year's Best Foreign Picture winner, for a while. It's dynamic. During the Soviet regime in East Germany, a member of the secret police is instructed to spy on a famous writer. The writer hasn't done anything, but a high official wants the writer's girlfriend, and so this drone begins spying. He soon realizes that the writer hasn't done anything wrong, but he knows the boss will push him to make up something, and he has a struggle of conscience.
This is a great film and worth its awards. It's tragic and heartfelt and also a reminder of Communism and the troubles it produced (this may seem obvious to most, but I sometimes need to be assured). Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is quite a director.
YEAR OF THE DOG - This cute indie dramedy from Mike White, writer of such slacker fare, goes in places you might expect it to but ends with a nice statement. Molly Shannon is a fairly boring single woman who loves her dog and simple life. When it dies, she has a crisis and starts to reach out to new people and places, and finds a new purpose in animal protection. This has a great cast with John C. Reilly, Peter Saarsgard, and Laura Dern on board, and though it doesn't seem that much different from the previous indie films of this nature (The Good Girl, You and Me and Everyone We Know, You Can Count on Me), it works well and finishes on a surprising upbeat. Good for indie lovers, and dog lovers everywhere.
Film reviews, criticism, discussions, rants, raves, and random pictures of Philip Seymour Hoffman.
No comments:
Post a Comment