the movieGOOMBA

4 GOOMBAS

Shot on the streets of India, Slumdog is full of hope and great story-telling. I was surprised to know that much of this intercrately weaved film was in English, but most of Jamal's youth was told in Hindi. I think that many viewers may find this movie to be eye opening. It isn't everyday that American's sitting in their cushy stadium seating see children living in landfills and fearing organized begging rings. But aside from international awareness, Slumdog is touching and its hero posseses an ironic innocense and unyielding spirit that makes this film unique and touching.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly cheesy premise. I'm guessing that the decision to base it around a game show has something to do with Indian culture in general. India loves light-hearted, sometimes (mostly) corny media (e.g. the Bollywood musical), and I appreciated the thought to add the authentic cultural influence. However, in no way is Slumdog corny.

Slumdog has cinematic style and class - hip but not trendy. Ocassionally, some scenes were shot in documentary style while his happy childhood memories look like nostaligic home movies. It definitely had cinéma vérité influences. The lighting marks each scene's tone, and then, there was the awesome soundtrack filled wth pop music from around the world. And I cannot forget to mention the subtle details in the subtitles, which is telling of the filmmaker's devotion to every component of this film

However, Slumdog's ending isn't as powerful as I hoped it would be, but my only compliant may have little to do with the movie and more to do with how jaded I am. There is remarkable quality found in this film, and it is worth watching - both for its story and for its message.

Sidenote: I thought the young Jamal was absolutely adorable.

4.5 GOOMBAS

2 GOOMBAS

2.5 GOOMBAS

Movies that take the time to present the plot in an interesting and creative manner always catches my attention, even if the overall movie is incompetent. Case in point I'm Reed Fish. Now, I really hate dishing on indie flicks because of what and who they represent. The people who write, produce, and act in these films are artistic, liberated, and scrappy. They are the cool, weird people who have what it takes, so I feel really bad when I hate the movie and must report on it.

Staring the relatively unknown Jay Baruchel and former Gilmore girl, Alexis Bledel, I'm Reed Fish is about the do-over. The young Reed Fish inherited his small town, local radio station from his late father, the original Fish. Living a lackluster, monotonal life, his approaching marriage to the town sweetheart leaves him less than enthusiastic, especially when his high school crush, Jill, returns to Mud Meadows and rekindled feelings become apparent.

Reed Fish is living a different person's life. He has no passion and goes through the painful journey of finding himself amidst his already chosen path, and what this film does is take these themes and literally does them over. The film we're watching is actually a movie in a movie. I don't want to give any more away, but the concept is completely innovative and deserves praise. However, the story, itself, is uninspired and dull, yet the gimmick eased the sluggish ache.

Reed Fish, the character, was a little bit slimy, and the girls unremarkable. Now, this may be because my basis is on the "amateur" flick (i.e. the movie about the movie), not the "real" film. The filmmakers may have attempted to make it look novice on purpose, but it isn't enough to show me that they were pursuing that technique. They fail either way.

I don't like I'm Reed Fish, and I'm happy that I'm not him.

4.5 GOOMBAS

Realness is easy to take for granted. One thinks it's just common sense, but what really makes something "real." Does it have to be tangible? Do you have to see it to believe it; to believe in it? The thing I love the most in this whole wide world is my Cabbage Patch Kid doll, Fifi. I don't talk about her much, but she's quietly sat on my bed for my entire life. I love her like I love nothing else. She's the first thing I reach for when I have a bad day, and the last thing I kiss before I got so sleep. I don't know what compels my fondness for her, and I don't expect anyone to understand. She may not have "life," but she's in my life. So even though she's not real to you, it doesn't matter. She's real to me, and that is what makes something real.

Lars And The Real Girl creatively explores this same concept of love for an inanimate object. A grown man, Lars is an obliviously awkward recluse, yet he is sweet, thoughtful, and kind. He diligently goes to work each morning, and devotedly attends service every Sunday. He is refreshingly naive but has the depth of a thousand year old man. Completely incapable of handling the most simple human interaction, Lars orders an anatomically correct, life-size doll, Bianca; not for sex, but for companionship (both are waiting for marriage). All of sudden, Lars is a new person. He attends parties, makes new friends, and he's the happiest he's ever been. This is what every healthy relationship should do to a person . . . except his girlfriend's a doll.

"How is this movie even watchable?" you ask. Well, obviously Lars is delusional, but that's about all that's wrong with his character. And its heartwarming to see a town that loves Lars so much that its people go out of its way to humor him. Through the duration of the film, Bianca is never shown in the nude, and she is never cast aside like a "thing" that was born from a box. She's treated with respect and decency; just like a person. Because of Lars' love for Bianca, and the town's love for Lars, the rigid, silicone Bianca is full of life and personality. The dry, situational humor makes the pathos of this film bearable, and Ryan Gosling's exceptional acting compels empathy from an audience that may balk at the idea of making room in its heart for loony Lars and his doll.

This movie sends an interesting message about the things we need to do to work out our feelings, and it has so much optimism about people and their ability to embrace and understand the differences in others. This is a good movie. Don't judge it before you see it.

3.5 GOOMBAS

Sound in deliberate absence is a very powerful symbol in film making. It can evoke anxiousness, tranquility, or self discipline; represent anger, meditation, or solace. Chronicling six months of life in the brotherhood, Into Great Silence is a documentary about the life of Carthusian monks at the Grande Chartreuse monastery in France. The filmmaker, Philip Groning first sought film permissions from the monastery 16 years prior to the making of the film, but the monastery declined stating that they were not yet ready. Sixteen years later, they said they were ready. Change works slow in the Catholic church.

Artistic and meaningful, the film is 95% silent, and it is a 100% diagetic movie, meaning no overlaying commentary or narration, no background music, and no sound effects. Shots are long, drawn out, and juxtaposed in a way that creates a senselessness of time. Sometimes its night, then its day. They're praying together in the dark, then they're alone. Its winter, now its spring. Its winter again. He's chopping wood, another monk is working on the garden, another praying and eating lunch. Is this a different day? Now its early morning . . . or is it dusk? One day rolls into another, and we are captured in this spell of seemingly non-existent time. These are how the monks live, and for three hours, so will we.

This is definitely not a popcorn movie. It's a meditation. To paraphrase what the Prior said to the novice entering the Order, "our way is of silence and solitude, and through it becomes one everlasting prayer." Great silence it is.

Art cannot be appreciated if not in the right mindset, so if you do decide to go see it, know that its the experience that makes this film special. That was the only way I was able to sit through a three hour, silent, monk documentary. I wonder how many "Hail Mary's" I could have said in three hours?



For more information on Carthusian monks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carthusian

4 GOOMBAS

As a kid, I thought dandelions were the coolest things. They grew all over my yard and when they were moved, the little seed umbrellas let go and danced in the wind. But in reality dandelions are weeds, and the kind of dandelions that are white and have seed umbrellas . . . those dandelions are dead.

A perfect title for this film, Dandelion evokes those same conflicted feelings of innocense and the realities of life. Mason Mullich is a teen whose personality is indifference, and he often daydreams about committing suicide. He is later blamed for manslaughter, a crime he did not commit, but instead of turning in the real culprit, he remains silent. For two years he remains in a juvenile delinquent center, and once he is free, he is a different person.

So subtle was this change that you forget that he wasn't like this when he left. It starts with warm comments that he says to his alcoholic mother; a fishing trip with his dad. And of course, he falls in love. This innocent love makes him realize that there is love in his dysfunctional family. There is love in his non-existent town and his drug addict friends. But of course, this innocent love is taken away. Yet despite a tragedy, he manages to see that love for what it was, just love. Not tragedy.

Although the tone of this film was slow at times, it added to the movie's character. You can't have a normal paced movie set in a place that was all river, rolling hills, tall grass, and absolutely nothing to do but park your truck out in a field and drink beer. The setting was beautiful and poignant, and the slow pace enhanced the simplicity of this place and this story. Poetic realism in its finest.

Just like dandelions were in childhood innocence, death does not have to be the end; just a beginning somewhere else.

5 GOOMBAS

1 GOOMBA

Now, I am always a sucker for indie films, but I must say that this movie was a disappointment. Luckily, I didn't waste the entire 2 hours of my life, as I decided to turn the movie off when one of the brothers decided he was going to marry a woman he had just met 4 hours before.

According to Netflix, The Puffy Chair is about this: "When Josh (Mark Duplass, whose brother Jay directs) finds the perfect birthday present for his father, he decides to deliver it in person. But with his high-maintenance girlfriend Emily (Kathryn Aselton) and granola brother Rhett (Rhett Wilkins) along for the ride, Josh's simple road trip turns into a much bigger journey than anyone anticipated."

The downfall of this film was the protagonist. I just could not relate to him. Don't get me wrong. I don't have to relate to all protagonists in order to enjoy a film, but I do have to feel something for him/her. This guy had no emotion. When his girlfriend yanked the tablecloth and all the dishes that were on it to the floor in a fit of rage, Josh just sits there. His words seem dumbstruck, but his face doesn't. When he tries to cheat the motel owner out of her ten dollars, all I could think of was "what a bastard" and "what a slim ball." When he decides to look for dirt on the puffy chair salesman rather than confront him about the matter, all I could think was "coward" and "idiot." There are characters that you are suppose to love to hate, but Josh is not even close. His character is someone whose existence is so aggravating that you can't even appreciate some of the better scenes because he's made you irritated. Could it be the acting or the writing? Both? Anything is possible.

Shot mostly with a handheld camera, this film tries to simulate reality with its cinema verite shots. It thinks that making the film look like a documentary will make it look artsy and professional. All it really accomplishes is making the 'comedic scenes' look dumb and the emotional scenes bland. This film is one with The Simple Life, scripted fiction that attempts to pass as a commentary on real life.

Sorry Duplass brothers, your omage to Say Anything did not win me over. Next time, try to not be consumed with indie film cliches, then maybe we'll talk.