Go...Now!

Even without the excellent reviews I would have gone to see Slumdog Millionaire. I love AR Rahman soundtracks and MIA sings a couple of the songs. With both Anil Kapoor and Irfan Khan in key roles, I was ready to love it even before I saw it. I knew it would be good but I didn't expect it to be as great as it was. I won't bother to do a recap here as you likely already know what it's about. This was a move that had it all: great story, fine acting (especially from the kids), excellent music, color, drama, and an endearing hero. Some parts are admittedly hard to watch but the whole package is not to be missed. After my many hours of watching Hindi cinema I found it fascinating to see how a non-Indian made an Indian film but you don't need that background to enjoy the film.

A Date with MonkeyBoy

MonkeyBoy and I love Bollywood movies and have gone through everything our library has as well as many of the titles available on Netflix. We've seen a lot of movies, a few more than once, but what we've never managed to do was see one of these films in a theater.

It recently came to my attention that if I was willing to make a long drive and spend and exorbitant amount of money on tickets, we could see the latest Bollywood blockbuster on the big screen. The boy and I had a date and saw Om Shanti Om which was absolutely delightful. Apart from a Latino family, we were the only non-Indians in the theater. We had a moment of panic when the film started and the narration began without subtitles but it wasn't long before the English kicked in and we were able to follow the story just fine.

What I loved was that this movie brilliantly made fun of everything that I love about the genre: the self conscious actors, the dream sequences, the silly songs, copious costume changes, and convoluted and highly improbable plot lines. We got many of the jokes and references thanks to having watched so many of these films recently. While things began to plod after the intermission, the first half was very funny. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.

This is a second run theater--tickets normally cost $3.75 but they charge $12 for the Hindi films which seems a little bit over the top. We won't be running out there often, but this was a wonderful treat for the two of us and I'm glad I can count on Monkey Boy's company for such jaunts.

Fine Film

I love my Netflix subscription not only because it means I never have to see the DVD covers for another Saw movie again, but also for the recommendations that are flashed at me as I rate returned movies. I've ended up watching a number of movies I hadn't heard of based on whatever formula Netflix uses and they're often pretty good.

Last night I came home tired and overstimulated from work. For most people, that would indicate an early bedtime but nothing calms me down like an hour or two of knitting while watching a movie. One of the DVDs that had been sitting around for a while was C.R.A.Z.Y. --it looked good but I hadn't jumped to watch it right away. About 30 minutes into it last night, however, I realized that I was watching a truly fine film and I wanted to share this gem with any readers who may not have seen it.

I won't pretend that I can write a decent movie review because I simply can't. C.R.A.Z.Y. covers 20 years in the life of the Beaulieu family of Quebec. The parents are wonderfully well-developed complex characters who watch their five sons grow and struggle with life. The fourth son is the focus of the movie as he struggles with his sexual identity within the context of his family. As a mother of sons who are a bit different from stereotypical boys their age, this movie really touched me and I fell apart at the ending which brought up a loss that I know well. The movie is warm and funny in parts, and very difficult in others, making it well rounded and rich. The actors are terrific, the soundtrack adds so much, and the camera work and editing are surprising and skillful.

As for watching with the kids? I've always maintained that I'd much prefer having my kids see implied happy, healthy sex on film than violence, but they find any suggestion of sex hugely embarrassing and there's enough of that in this film that I wouldn't watch it with them. Also drug use, though it's not glorified. So no, not "a family movie" but a wonderful movie about a family nonetheless. I can't imagine any parent not being moved by this one.

Night Out

We just went here and saw this and couldn't have asked for a better night out. First of all, the cinema is all of 10 minutes from our house and so much more pleasant than a metroplex monstrosity. They even serve real desserts! It's kind of a revelation that the boys are old enough to babysit their sister for an evening but feel so much better leaving The Dark Lord in charge knowing we're close by.

But forget the theater--the movie was wonderful. Few people know that as a kid I had a serious fascination with Tudor England. It would have been fair to call it an obsession really. It's never left and I eat up any book or movie covering the reigns of Henry VIII and his children. I loved the first Elizabeth film and this was an excellent sequel, picking up where the first left off. Beautiful cinematography, fine acting, and absolutely splendid costumes. Big screen movies are pretty rare for me, but this was one worth watching in the theater.

I Can't Wait....

...for Sicko, Michael Moore's newest film. It opens in New York City this weekend and around the country on June 29. This time he takes on the American health care system. Fahrenheit 911 didn't end the war in Iraq, but I'm really hoping Sicko will stimulate discussion about what our citizens need and deserve. I love the"Prescription for Change" posted on the website:

1. Every American must have full, uninterrupted health care coverage for life.

2. Private, for-profit health insurance companies must be abolished.

3. Profits of pharmaceutical companies must be regulated like public utilities.

I love that Moore is willing to take on the the big guys in this film. We won't get anywhere with universal health coverage until the insurance industry is taken out and strangled, blood-sucking vampires that they are. Anyway, I can't wait to see it. Watch the trailer here:

Shame

We just finished watching When The Levees Broke, Spike Lee's outstanding 3 disc documentary about Hurricane Katrina and the flooding of New Orleans. It was brilliant: both eye opening and heart wrenching, but also tender, passionate, and angry. We hear from a huge range of people from working class residents of the lower 9th ward to middle class musicians and professionals to the mayor New Orleans and governor of Louisiana and everyone has a story to tell. Both local and federal governments are soundly condemned, but individual acts of courage and strength are honored and celebrated through the telling of these stories. The film is not in any way without its biases, but we got plenty of that in the mainstream reporting of Katrina and its aftermath. After all the stories turning Katrina survivors into nameless, faceless, frightening poor folks somewhere far away this film is refreshing in its depth and candor and moments of pure beauty despite the grim subject matter.

Worth Watching

The boys and I were fortunate to be able to attend the Inconvenient Truth presentation live at our synagogue the other evening. I wrote earlier about the film, but the presentation is even better. There's more information, the information is more current and, most important there's the opportunity for interaction with other people. It was a very worthwhile evening and opened the boys' eyes in a big way.

On the way home, we picked up a DVD that had been mentioned: Who Killed the Electric Car? This is an excellent film (creepy Mel Gibson interview notwithstanding) and is a must-see about the intentional efforts to prevent US consumers from obtaining zero emissions vehicles. Infuriating, really.

On a completely different subject, but also excellent: The Lost Boys of Sudan.The film was recommended to me by the woman who "hired" me to teach the Somali women to knit. It's a wonderful documentary about the resettlement of a group of young Sudanese orphans in the US. I've worked with refugees and immigrants for many years but never tire of hearing their stories, so I found this film very moving.

An American Jewish Christmas

We took part in that most classic of American Jewish rituals yesterday: going to the movies. The male part of the family saw Eragon. Those who'd read the book declared it awful and he who hadn't read the book also declared it awful.

The Princess and I saw Happy Feet which I confess I enjoyed far more than I'd expected to, wildly improbable plot notwithstanding. The music was great and Robin Williams was brilliant. The Little Argentine Adelie penguins cracked me up.

The customary follow up to Christmas Day movies is a Chinese meal but I just wasn't up for the chemical hangover. Is there a decent Chinese restaurant in Portland that serves vegetarian dishes that are MSG free? In a variation on the tradition, The Spouse and I walked to the neighborhood Vietnamese market which was doing a brisk business. We stocked up on the makings for a good Thai-style vegetable curry served it with some vegetarian spring rolls. Not bad at all.