CELESTE AND JESSE FOREVER

Film reviewed by Barbara Twigg and Donna Christenson

Co-written by Harvard grad Rashida Jones, daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton, “Celeste and Jesse Forever” presents an entertaining mixture of emotions, both funny and poignant, as the two 30-something marrieds work their complicated way toward a possible divorce. They are obviously best friends and humor-compatible, presenting a relationship that offers an enviable slice of fun. But marriage is many-sided, and Celeste and Jesse go back and forth between the silliness, the love, and the frustrating, slowly making their way toward a final separation that often seems the wrong choice. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see this film—the trials and tribulations of an LA couple half my age—but the script is strong and the performances appealing,. The subject matter: love and marriage – speaks to most of us, at any age. --Barbara Twigg

Editor’s Note: If you don’t see something of yourself in this movie, you probably have your eyes (or your mind) closed. Rashida Jones has simultaneously created characters who feel completely real as individuals , while at the same time they resonate universally regarding the issues and choices we all have to make in life. What we value in ourselves and others, how being “right” can conflict with being happy, what it takes to heal a broken heart, and the often-immediate ramifications of our choices are all a part of this honest and charming film. –Donna Christenson

SYNOPSIS: Celeste (Rashida Jones) and Jesse (Andy Samberg) met in high school, married young and are growing apart. Now thirty, Celeste is the driven owner of her own media consulting firm, Jesse is once again unemployed and in no particular rush to do anything with his life. Celeste is convinced that divorcing Jesse is the right thing to do -- she is on her way up, he is on his way nowhere, and if they do it now instead of later, they can remain supportive friends. Jesse passively accepts this transition into friendship, even though he is still in love with her. As the reality of their separation sets in, Celeste slowly and painfully realizes she has been cavalier about their relationship, and her decision, which once seemed mature and progressive, now seems impulsive and selfish. But her timing with Jesse is less than fortuitous. 1 hr 29 minutes, Rated R

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RUBY SPARKS

Film Review by Rozanne Weissman

It's about time for an intriguing romantic fantasy film for those who want a break from this summer's shoot-em-up, over-the-top big blockbusters. And RUBY SPARKS offers just such a break, and it's a good "date movie" for men and women alike.

For those of us who loved the beguiling "Little Miss Sunshine," the same directorial (Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris), script writing (Zoe Kazan), and acting team (Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan) returns with another jewel of a film. With the proper buzz and the addition of social media and word of mouth, their second feature could be another hit.

In real life, Dano and Kazan have been together five years. Perhaps, then, it's no wonder that RUBY SPARKS deals with the big issue of control in a relationship.

At a film screening in Washington DC, Zoe Kazan reveals in a personal appearance that she was inspired in writing the script by two things:

• a discarded mannequin in the trash—she imagined it then coming to life
• the Greek myth of the sculptor Pygmalion who fell in love with one of his creations, only to see it come to life

Paul Dano plays a somewhat nerdy, bespectacled, LA novelist Calvin, who at age 19 wrote a literary sensation of massive proportions that he can't top a decade later. Women still flock to him. Friends and his agent try to reassure him. To overcome his writer's block, Calvin's shrink (Elliott Gould) gives him a one-page writing assignment.

Working on his romanticized manual Olympic typewriter, Calvin types away and makes a breakthrough by creating a character named Ruby who will love and inspire him. His very own muse. The pages flow. Fantasy turns into reality when he discovers Ruby (Zoe Kazan) a redhead with beautiful blue eyes, in the flesh, sitting on his couch, behaving exactly as he wrote her. And, if he wants to change her, he just writes something else: a great cook, loving, obedient, fluent in French....

In a hilarious scene, Calvin invites his brother Harry (Chris Messina) over to demonstrate that Ruby is real. Harry challenges Calvin to write something to see if Ruby follows suit. And she does. What power! It's that very power or control over another that is the crux of this tale.

In one of the most challenging scenes later in the film, Calvin quickly types changing scenarios with conflicting commands, manipulating Ruby and turning her almost manic in the process like the scene from "The Red Shoes"—complete with the symbolism of red shoes whether worn by Ruby or carried by a dog. "This was a really hard scene to get into," reveals Zoe, who was outstanding in this role with its multiple personality shifts.

Playing interesting supporting roles with great talent: Calvin's mother (Annette Bening), a new-age type who lives in Big Sur with her artist lover (Antonio Banderas).

What happens when Calvin stops writing? What happens when Ruby changes in unexpected ways when Calvin isn't pulling the strings? Ah, for that you have to see the film. It's humorous, clever, and worthwhile. Enjoy!

SYNOPSIS

A novelist struggling with writer's block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence. Calvin (Paul Dano) is a young novelist who achieved phenomenal success early in his career but is now struggling with his writing - as well as his romantic life. Finally, he makes a breakthrough and creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. When Calvin finds Ruby (Zoe Kazan), in the flesh, sitting on his couch about a week later, he is completely flabbergasted that his words have turned into a living, breathing person.

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MAGIC MIKE

Film Review by Rozanne Weissman

"MAGIC MIKE" is a great film to see on a hot night. That's when a heavily air conditioned movie theater is really appreciated. And, if you're a female, you may really appreciate that AC when Channing Tatum in the lead role as one of the gyrating, incredibly limber male strippers at Club Xquisite is seen in multiple close ups. And club owner played by Matthew McConaughey isn't wearing much either.

I actually went to the film to see why The Washington Post gave this movie 3 stars and "The Most Exotic Marigold Hotel" -- which I loved -- only 1 1/2 stars.

I still don't know why. But I do have one major suggestion to improve the MAGIC MIKE experience: IMAX 3D!!!

Since word is there will be a sequel, let's demand IMAX 3D.

SYNOPSIS:

Channing Tatum stars in this drama following an upstart male stripper (Alex Pettyfer) who is mentored by a veteran dancer, played by Tatum. Steven Soderbergh directed from a script by Reid Carolin, whose screenplay was inspired byTatum's work as a stripper before he made it in Hollywood. Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer,Joe Manganiello, Cody Horn, and Olivia Munn co-star.

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MOONRISE KINGDOM

Film review by Barbara Twigg

Having not cared for a lot of Wes Anderson’s earlier films, like Rushmore and The Royal Tennenbaum’s (too weird for my taste), I went cautiously to Moonrise Kingdom, especially since the previews looked, well, weird. But to my surprise, I, and my merry movie band of three others, quite liked this film. Yes, it is strange and over the top. But it is also highly imaginative, and at its core, a love story—of two juvenile misfits. Perhaps this streak of warmth, however packaged in chaos and explosive narrative, is what gives this film its heart. That even makes it a great date movie, however bizarre its trappings.

SYNOPSIS

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore -- and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle. Bruce Willis plays the local sheriff. Edward Norton is a Khaki Scout troop leader. Bill Murray and Frances McDormand portray the young girl's parents. The cast also includes Tilda Swinton, Jason Schwartzman, and Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward as the boy and girl. Directed by Wes Anderson. PG-13, 1 hr. 33 min.

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TRISHNA

Film Review by Barbara Twigg

I can’t say that I enjoyed Trishna, but I did appreciate it. It’s tough going watching the lovely Freida Pinto naively, yet poignantly, hopefully, making decisions that you know are not leading to a happy ending. Pinto does a wonderful job of submerging her actress glory into the role of a rural Indian girl, although her beauty permeates the film at all times, and transfixes her upper class lover. Filmed in India, the movie also offers a fascinating look at both rural and urban life in a country where much is changing within the ever present context of an ancient culture.

SYNOPSIS: Based on Thomas Hardy's classic novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Trishna tells the story of one woman whose life is destroyed by a combination of love and circumstances. Set in contemporary Rajasthan, Trishna (Freida Pinto) meets a wealthy young British businessman Jay Singh (Riz Ahmed) who has come to India to work in his father's hotel business. After an accident destroys her father's Jeep, Trishna goes to work for Jay, and they fall in love. But despite their feelings for each other, they cannot escape the conflicting pressures of a rural society which is changing rapidly through industrialisation, urbanisation and, above all, education. Trishna's tragedy is that she is torn between the traditions of her family life and the dreams and ambitions that her education has given her. 1 hour 48 minutes, in English and some Hindi.

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SAVAGES

Film Review by Rozanne Weissman

Near the opening of SAVAGES, model and actress of "Gossip Girl" fame Blake Lively (called O in the film—short for Ophelia) saunters down Laguna Beach. As the narrator of the film, O tells us that she might not actually be alive. Going back in time, in the first few minutes of the film, O has hot-and-heavy, back-to-back sex with two very different young men who are not only best friends but also business partners. First, there's hard-bodied, unemotional, tattooed former U.S. Navy SEAL Chon (Taylor Kitsch) followed by sensitive, loving, Buddhist biologist and UC Berkeley graduate Ben (Aaron Johnson).

"Yes, I'm with both of them," our free-spirited narrator O reveals to us. Together, the two guys provide the traits she desires in a man. It's kind of like a woman who thinks: If only I had this from this man and that from another man, I’d have the perfect man. But O acts on that thought. Their three-way relationship and deep friendship is open and sometimes turns into a ménage et trois.

And their lucrative business? They are sophisticated, independent growers and sellers of some of the best designer marijuana around as Ben puts his botany skills to use.

That's what interrupts their sexual bliss. What starts out as a love story turns into an action-packed drama that progresses to the dark side when the Mexican drug cartel, known as the Baja Cartel, wants a piece of the action and doesn't take no for an answer. Interestingly, the exceptionally violent cartel is led by a beautiful woman, Elena Sanchez (a.k.a Elena La Reina) (Salma Hayek) and her henchmen Miguel (a.k.a. Lado) (Benicio del Toro). Rounding out the ensemble cast is corrupt Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Denis (John Travolta) who is chunky and with a severely receding hairline in this role.

Saying more would result in spoiler alerts throughout. While some film critics criticize the young trio as not standing up to the more experienced veteran actors, I don't necessarily agree. The stoner business executives act like a lot of today's young, less experienced entrepreneurs.

SAVAGES is action-packed, extremely violent, bloody, dark, gory, brutal, gruesome, sexual, tense, and, yes, savage—in other words, generally not my type of film. But, I loved Savages.

Why? Like the dizzying plot, the superb, diverse cinematography and score kept moving and changing. Gifted director Oliver Stone interspersed breathtaking cinematography of scenes of Laguna Beach in Southern California where most of the film took place with images of brutal torture, including beheadings, by drug lords in Mexico. Throughout the film, Stone also used reverse tones, editing that suggested altered states and time warps when his characters were high on pot, movement from color to black and white film, and computer-generated images. It was powerful and captivating. I also gasped "WOW" when I experienced Stone's opening cinematography in Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Based on Don Winslow's 2010 best-selling novel of the same name, the screenplay adaptation for Savages was written by Shane Salerno, Wilson, and Stone.

SYNOPSIS:

Entrepreneurs Ben, a peaceful and charitable marijuana producer, and friend Chon, a former Navy SEAL, run a lucrative, homegrown industry—raising some of the best weed ever developed. They also share a one-of-a-kind love with Ophelia. Life is idyllic in their Southern California town... until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them. When the merciless head of the BC, Elena and her enforcer, Lado, underestimate the unbreakable bond of the three friends, Ben and Chon—with the reluctant assistance of a dirty DEA agent—wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel. And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills.

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HYSTERIA

Film Review by Rozanne Weissman

HYSTERIA is hysterical! While my friends have been reading "50 Shades of Gray" Books 1-3 Trilogy, I chuckled through and thoroughly enjoyed a Victorian era late 19th century comedy set in London. Women suffering from an epidemic of "hysteria"—which encompassed a wide range of maladies from insomnia to exhaustion, nervousness, depression, cramps, and sexual frustration—are treated by male doctors who massage their "lady parts" to the point of "paroxysmal convulsions" for relief.

It sure beat the typical medical treatment of the day— bleeding and leeches! Of course, the male doctors of this era assumed that orgasm could only be reached with penetration of the "male member." Satisfied women who knew better filled the waiting room of Dr. Dalrymple (Jonathan Pryce), London's leading specialist in women's medicine, when young and handsome Dr. Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy) is brought in to assist in this massage technique leading to orgasms.

Not to fear, in this comedy of manners about a delicate subject, the women are dressed and decently covered under a partial makeshift curtain or drape while their bloomers are presumably off and their feet are in stirrups to provide the best access. It is the Victorian era so we see none of the titillating details. The facial expressions tell the tale.

Popular Dr. Granville is so booked up in this lucrative and posh practice that his poor hand suffers from what today we would recognize as repetitive stress-induced carpal tunnel syndrome. Enter his friend the wealthy Lord Edmund St. John-Smythe (Rupert Everett) who is dabbling in electricity and has developed an awkward-looking electrical feather duster. Its vibrations seem to help Dr. Granville and provide a germ of an idea to modify the gadget into a makeshift vibrator to treat hysteria. And, at the end of the film we see the change and modification of vibrators through the ages—worth a good laugh.

And of course, there must be a side story, or a bit of romance, to a loosely based film about the invention of the vibrator. Granville lives with the doctor and his two daughters, the very attractive and proper Victorian Emily Dalrymple (Felicity Jones) and the very improper Charlotte Dalrymple (Maggie Gyllenhaal) who's a real pistol. Much to her high-class, snobbish father’s dismay, Charlotte is a rebellious crusader, who works with the poor at a settlement house and champions for them and for women in general. She even voices her belief that women in the not too distant future will be able to have the final say about their own welfare and bodies. Ah, how surprised she would be that even in today's world there is an ongoing debate about women's reproductive rights.

SYNOPSIS: HYSTERIA is a romantic comedy directed by Tanya Wexler and scripted by Stephen and Jonah Lisa Dyer, set in the Victorian era. The film's title refers to the once-common medical diagnosis of female hysteria and how the medical management of hysteria led to the invention of the vibrator. It's very loosely based on history.

Mortimer Granville is a brilliant young doctor in London in the 1880s; he takes modern science as seriously as he does his solemn Hippocratic Oath. Unfortunately, his rigour goes unappreciated by most of his peers. They dismiss Dr. Granville's enthusiasm for what they deem faddish new ideas—ideas such as his sanitation and "germ theory." And he finds himself bounced from employer to employer. Granville is nearly ready to give up on medicine altogether when he meets and becomes part of the practice of Dr. Robert Dalrymple, London's "foremost specialist in women's medicine." That lofty title means that Dalrymple is an expert in "hysteria," a malaise diagnosed so liberally that Dalrymple hypothesizes at least half the city's women are sufferers. To ease these patients' stress, he has developed a form of therapy that involves the careful manual stimula­tion of a certain female body part. In this period of sexual repression, it never occurs to Dalrymple that these housewives are experiencing something more basic and natural than a mysterious epidemic of insanity: sexual desire.

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THE INTOUCHABLES

Film Review by Rozanne Weissman

I loved the French film THE INTOUCHABLES (translates literally as Untouchable). It was a delightful surprise. How, I wondered, could the French create a feel-good dramatic comedy about an improbable match—a wealthy white quadriplegic Philippe (Francois Cluzet) and a street-smart, large, black, bald live-in caregiver Driss (Omar Sy) from the projects with no care-giving experience or seeming empathy —and turn a low-budget film with no stars into a box office smash in France? And it was inspired by a true story, no less.

The film opens at night as Driss is speeding in Phillipe's Maserati through the streets of Paris, with Philippe in the passenger seat. The police pursue and catch them—and you've got to see the rest to appreciate how the two improvise and play off each other by that point in their friendship. The story of the day-by-day growth of their relationship is told in flashback.

Philippe and his assistant Magalie are interviewing potential live-in caregivers when they come across Driss who flirts shamelessly, dresses inappropriately, and clearly does not want to be hired. He just wants a signature showing he was interviewed and rejected to continue receiving welfare benefits. To his surprise when he returns the next day, Driss is put on a trial period and begins the job where strength to lift his quadriplegic boss is a major factor.

It becomes more of a "buddy film" as the two men from very different worlds share improbable and colorful experiences together, learn from each other, and grow in the process.

SYNOPSIS: An irreverent, uplifting comedy about friendship, trust and human possibility, The Intouchables has broken box office records in its native France and across Europe. Based on a true story of friendship between a handicapped millionaire (Francois Cluzet) and his street smart ex-con caretaker (Omar Sy), The Intouchables depicts an unlikely camaraderie rooted in honesty and humor between two individuals who, on the surface, would seem to have nothing in common.

Philippe reveals to Driss that he became paralysed after a paragliding accident. His wife died and they were childless. So he adopted a daughter, who behaves in a spoiled manner. Driss persuades Philippe to begin being strict with her.

Directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, the film was nominated for a total of nine 2012 César Awards, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, including Best Picture, and winning Best Actor for breakout star Omar Sy, and won the Grand Prize at the 2011 Tokyo International Film Festival.

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FOR GREATER GLORY

Film Review by Rozanne Weissman

When some 20 nuns raced up the stairs in the dark, habits flowing, as the film screening of "For Greater Glory" began, I knew this wasn't your typical advance film screening filled with film critics/reviewers, bloggers, and film enthusiasts. Many in the audience were enthusiasts of a different type, religious enthusiasts from the Catholic Church, wanting to see a film which depicted the little-known, true-story of the vicious government persecution of Catholics for practicing their religion in Mexico in the 1920s.

How could this possibly happen in Mexico, which I visited a number of times and thought of as a Catholic country, I wondered? And why hadn't I heard about it while in Mexico or even in the history books? From that standpoint, the film was an awakening. Known in Mexico as "Cristiada," the film is a box office sensation there.

As the heavy-handed film opens, we see nonviolent protests and marches in response to Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles’ (Ruben Blades) attempt to outlaw public worship and secularize the country. Then, a boycott of Mexican businesses angered the president who ordered his military to enforce the anticlerical laws with deadly force. Indiscriminately and brutally, the military shot worshipers, destroyed cathedrals, and publicly executed priests.

Enter a boy, José Luis Sánchez del Rio (Mauricio Kuri), 14, who walks away with the film. Mentored by Father Christopher, a parish priest played by the incomparable Peter O'Toole, the youth pleads with the priest to escape and offers sanctuary in his home as government forces reached the church. Refusing, Father Christopher asked: "Who are you if you don't stand up for what you believe?" He was shot by a firing squad as José watched from his hiding place. José convinced his mother to let him join the disorganized ragtag rebellion, and off he rode with a young friend to participate in the Cristero War (1926-29).

Just as the priest mentored him, José is taken under wing and treated as a son by Enrique Gorostieta Velarde, an atheist and decorated general hired to lead the many warring factions. Gorostieta is played superbly by Cuban-born Andy Garcia and his very Catholic wife played less than superbly by “Desperate Housewives” Eva Longoria. While carrying the flag during battle, José is captured and tortured by government forces.

SPOILER ALERT: You may not want to read this paragraph if you plan to see the film: A Christ-like figure with all the symbolism throughout the torture to his ending, José is repeatedly told that he will be spared if he renounces Christ and abandons the Cristeros. "They're only words," he is told. The teenager never relents and ultimately becomes a martyr along with others there who fought for what they believed.

The movie gets into the Mexican threat to US oil interests which then, as now, gets the attention of the President of United States. President Calvin Coolidge sent Ambassador Dwight Morrow to Mexico with specific instruction to avoid war. During a clandestine meeting with Mexican Bishops on a train, Morrow was visibly shaken to see Cristeros hanging from every telephone pole.

Numerous endorsements by Catholic leaders for the film explicitly connect it to the current clash between church and state in the US today. And, this is where I have a huge problem. The film can stand on its own. It doesn't need to be a propaganda piece for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops fight against the Obama administration's birth control mandate and its upcoming June 21 to July 4 "Fortnight for Freedom," in dioceses across the nation. It's preposterous to equate the attempted wholesale demolition of the Catholic Church, its priests, and practitioners in Mexico depicted in "For Greater Glory" to modern-day politics where a case can be made for either side.

SYNOPSIS

What price would you pay for freedom? In the exhilarating action epic FOR GREATER GLORY an impassioned group of men and women each make the decision to risk it all for family, faith and the very future of their country, as the film's adventure unfolds against the long-hidden, true story of the 1920s Cristero War, ¬the daring people¹s revolt that rocked 20th Century North America.

Academy Award® nominee Andy Garcia headlines an acclaimed cast as General Gorostieta, the retired military man who at first thinks he has nothing personal at stake as he and his wife (Golden Globe nominee Eva Longoria) watch Mexico fall into a violent civil war. Yet the man who hesitates in joining the cause will soon become the resistance's most inspiring and self-sacrificing leader, as he begins to see the cost of religious persecution on his countrymen . . . and transforms a rag-tag band of rebels into a heroic force to be reckoned with. The General faces impossible odds against a powerful and ruthless government. Yet is those he meets on the journey ¬ youthful idealists, feisty renegades and, most of all, one remarkable teenager named Jose ¬ who reveal to him how courage and belief are forged even when justice seems lost.

Director Dean Wright brings a visual power honed from years as a leading Hollywood effects guru ¬ on such blockbusters as TITANIC, THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy and CHRONICLES OF NARNIA ¬ to this real-life tale that has never been told on screen before. The film is written by Michael Love. The producer is Pablo Jose Barroso. Garcia and Longoria lead a stellar multinational cast that includes the legendary Peter O¹Toole, rapidly rising star Oscar Isaac (DRIVE), recording star and actor Ruben Blades (SAFE HOUSE), Bruce Greenwood (STAR TREK, SUPER 8), Nestor Carbonell (THE DARK NIGHT RISES), Bruce McGill (LINCOLN), Santiago Cabrera (³Heroes,² CHE), Oscar®-nominated Catalina Sandino Moreno (MARIA FULL OF GRACE) and Eduardo Verástegui (BELLA).

Shooting on historic locations throughout Mexico, the equally accomplished behind the scenes team includes director of photography Eduardo Martinez Solares (BAD HABITS), Oscar®-nominated editor Richard Francis-Bruce (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, SEVEN, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER¹S STONE), production designer Salvador Parra (VOLVER) and Oscar®-winning composer James Horner (AVATAR, TITANIC, BRAVEHEART).

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THE FIVE-YEAR ENGAGEMENT

Film Review by Rozanne Weissman

Screened "The Five-Year Engagement." It's at least three years too long and nowhere near as funny, raunchy, or smart as "Bridesmaids"-- despite the fact that their marketing promotion is tying in the Judd Apatow connection. He produced Bridesmaids as well as this romantic comedy.

Disappointing in comparison-- or otherwise. Just ** stars.

SYNOPSIS: The director and writer/star of Forgetting Sarah Marshall re-team for the irreverent comedy The Five-Year Engagement. Beginning where most romantic comedies end, the new film from director Nicholas Stoller, producer Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) and Rodney Rothman (Get Him to the Greek) looks at what happens when an engaged couple, Jason Segel and Emily Blunt, keeps getting tripped up on the long walk down the aisle. The film was written by Segel and Stoller.

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Salmon Fishing in Yemen

Review by Barbara Twigg

"Salmon Fishing in Yemen" is a very appealing British film featuring a quite attractive sheik with a gorgeous Scottish estate for fishing, who wants to spend a not so small fortune to bring salmon to dry Yemen. With Ewan McGregor as a somewhat nerdy, but very charming government fishery expert coerced into taking on the seemingly impossible project with Emily Blunt. Don't let the strange sounding title keep you away from this very entertaining movie-- funny, different, and romantic. I could see Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn being perfectly cast in the title roles.

SYNOPSIS: A handful of curious Brits become fish out of water when they get mixed up in the dream project of an eccentric sheikh in this satiric comedy. Dr. Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor) is a scientist specializing in establishing fisheries who's muddling through a midlife crisis and a marriage that's going sour when he's approached by Patricia Maxwell (Kristin Scott Thomas) with an unusual proposition. Maxwell works for the prime minister of Yemen, and, in tandem with a remarkably wealthy sheikh (Amr Waked), he wants to introduce sport fishing to the Middle East as a way to promote better international relations. Jones isn't interested at first, but between Maxwell's aggressive enthusiasm and the beauty of Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt), a lovely businesswoman hired by the sheikh to make his dream a reality, he changes his mind and sets out to create a fully stocked lake in the midst of a desert.

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BOY

Film Review and Q&A with Director

By Rozanne Weissman

BOY is a hilarious and heartfelt coming-of-age tale about heroes, magic, and Michael Jackson. The indie film takes place in a rural Maori community on the East Coast of New Zealand in 1984 when Michael Jackson’s Thriller album and music video were still mega-hits. Boy has broken records as the highest grossing film in New Zealand. It's got a tougher road in the US but is well worth seeing.

Following the film screening, Boy’s script writer, director, and star New Zealand-born Taika Waititi, named as one of Variety magazine's "ten new directors to watch" in 2007, conducted a fun, off-the-wall Q&A where there was no censorship between the brain and mouth.

“I’ll invite you to ‘Q’ me and I’ll ‘A’ you,” Waititi instructs the audience. In response to a question as to where he found the unknown kids who star in the film, he playfully responds, “In chat rooms.” Actually, he found the native kids in schools. None had acted before. He actually found the engaging lead, who plays Boy (James Rolleston), just three days before shooting began after firing his predecessor when he turned into an adolescent with voice changes. He describes James as innocent and curious. It's a combination that plays well against Boy's fantasy hero father, Alamein (Taika Waititi himself), who turns out to be less than a mere mortal—but he sure shakes his stuff in elaborate musical numbers.

On why use native people, the director responds, "Because they're interesting." On why he's self-distributing the film and on the road shilling for his movie: "It’s an independent film that takes place in a country people cannot locate on the map, with a cast of unknowns, and virtually no promotional budget so I'm rolling it out from town to town. I cut out the middlemen because they suck." Why not get Harvey Weinstein to help: "But then you have to work with Harvey Weinstein!"

Why the focus on hero worship and Michael Jackson: "Anyone who was brown or black and doing well was appealing to New Zealand kids. What 11-year-old couldn't relate to a pop star earning millions and spending it on his own castle and zoo?" Did Michael Jackson know about the film? "He died at the end of filming, but his kids saw it.

"

In response to what’s next, he blurts out, “A comedy about vampires.” On how to become a scriptwriter, director, and actor, he advises, "Get a shit job that inspires you to be better." His inspirational "shit" job was stripping on a TV show and having to eat tuna four times a day to look buff.

SYNOPSIS

The year is 1984, and on the rural East Coast of New Zealand in Waihau Bay, Michael Jackson is king and "Thriller" is changing kids' lives.

Here we meet Boy, an 11-year-old dreamer who adores Michael Jackson and lives on a farm with his Gran, a goat called Leaf, his younger brother, Rocky (who thinks he has super powers), and a tribe of deserted cousins. Shortly after Gran leaves for a Tangihanga (funeral) in Wellington for a week, Boy's other hero, his father, Alamein (Taika Waititi or Taika Cohen, his mother’s maiden name), appears out of the blue with two odd sidekicks.

Alamein had been the subject of Boy's fantasies; he imagines him as a deep sea diver, war hero, and a close relation of Michael Jackson (he can even dance like him). Having imagined a heroic version of his father during his seven- year absence in jail for robbery, Boy comes face to face with the real version—an incompetent hoodlum who has returned only to find a bag of money he buried years before. Boy is forced to confront the man he thought he remembered, find his own potential, and learn to get along without the hero he had been hoping for and live a better life than his dad's.

Paladin (90 min). Opens in DC March 30.

CAST: James Rolleston, Te Aho Eketone-Whitu, Taika Waititi

DIR/WRITER: Taika Waititi

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JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI

Film Review by Rozanne Weissman

When I left the film screening of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, a Japanese subtitled documentary about Japan’s—and also the world’s—most famous sushi chef, Jiro Ono, I craved sushi.

That craving wasn't fed by the most expensive sushi offering at Whole Foods or other mediocre morsels in Washington, DC. I wanted to travel to Tokyo and sample all the sushi at Sukiyabashi Jiro with nine other patrons at the prestigious, tiny basement restaurant that only seats 10. And I wanted to watch the now 86-year-old restaurant owner and his two sons work their magic with raw fish and egg custard.

Apprentices, including Jiro's sons, work for at least 10 years to gain mastery, "get it right," and continue to improve with the eagle eyes of their perfectionistic taskmaster Jiro watching and evaluating every move.

It seemed odd to me that the documentary was accompanied by classical music by Philip Glass, Bach, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky. Nice though it was and much as I appreciate classical music, I would have preferred Japanese music to set the true tone. I actually found the music disconcerting.

SYNOPSIS: JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is the story of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious 3 star Michelin review, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro’s sushi bar.

For most of his life, Jiro has been mastering the art of making sushi, but even at his age he sees himself still striving for perfection, working from sunrise to well beyond sunset to taste every piece of fish; meticulously train his employees; and carefully mold and finesse the impeccable presentation of each sushi creation. At the heart of this story is Jiro’s relationship with his eldest son Yoshikazu, the worthy heir to Jiro’s legacy, who is unable to live up to his full potential in his father’s shadow.

The feature film debut of director David Gelb, JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI is a thoughtful and elegant meditation on work, family, and the art of perfection, chronicling Jiro’s life as both an unparalleled success in the culinary world, and a loving yet complicated father.

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AMERICAN REUNION

Film Review by Rozanne Weissman

What's there to say about the film "American Reunion:" It's racy, raunchy, and funny from start to finish. It's a summer-kind-of movie that debuted early—just like our warmer-than-normal winter. American Reunion continues the "American Pie" story a decade later as the same cast returns for their high school reunion.

If you liked "The Hangover" and the "American Pie" series as well as "Bridesmaids," you'll probably like this. Just remember: Laughter is jogging for the internal organs. And few of our organs get enough such exercise in our nation's capital.

SYNOPSIS: In the comedy American Reunion, all the American Pie characters we met a little more than a decade ago return to East Great Falls, Michigan, for their high-school reunion. In one long-overdue weekend, they discover what has changed, who hasn’t, and that time and distance can’t break the bonds of friendship.

It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a quest to lose their virginity. In the years that have passed, Jim and Michelle married while Kevin and Vicky said goodbye. Oz and Heather grew apart, but Finch still longs for Stifler’s mom. Now these lifelong friends have come home as adults to reminisce about—and get inspired by—the hormonal teens who launched a comedy legend.

They discover how their lives have developed as they gather for their high school reunion. How has life treated Michelle, Jim, Heather, Oz, Kevin, Vicky, Finch, Stiffler, and Stiffler's mom? In the summer of 1999, it was four boys on a quest to lose their virginity. In 2012, it's American Pie's little Kara who now is a bouncy, sexy high school senior looking for the perfect guy to help her lose her virginity.

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Filmfest DC: The Washington, DC International Film Festival

Announces Schedule of More Than 80 Washington, DC Premieres

Festival Spotlights International Comedies and Caribbean Journeys

From April 12 – 22, 2012

WASHINGTON—In its 26th year, Filmfest DC: The Washington, DC International Film Festival continues its commitment of bringing new and award-winning cinema from around the world to the nation’s capital. From April 12 – 22, Filmfest DC presents more than 80 films from more than 35 countries at top venues in Washington, DC. A full list of films, locations and screening times is now available on the Filmfest DC website, filmfestdc.org.

This year, the District’s oldest and largest film festival focuses on “The Lighter Side” with a slate of new international comedies from countries such as France, Argentina, Italy and Japan. Also featured will be Caribbean Journeys, a groundbreaking program of new work from Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The DC premiere of Marley, a documentary that paints a moving portrait of the reggae star, will receive its Washington, DC premiere. Calypso Rose about the legendary calypso singer and RasTa: A Soul’s Journey, featuring Bob Marley’s granddaughter, will have their American premieres at the festival.

“The festival’s Caribbean Journeys series helps give voice to the vibrant people of a culture rarely appreciated beyond the sun and sand,” said longtime festival director, Tony Gittens. “We’re also excited to explore how humor varies across cultures with our series of international comedies. But, more important, we’re hoping these films will showcase cinema’s unique ability to bring people together to enjoy a shared experience.”

More than a dozen international guests (see below) are expected to appear and discuss their films, including the director behind Monsieur Lazhar, a 2012 Oscar® finalist for Best Foreign Language Film, and the producer of Pink Ribbons, Inc., a controversial documentary that investigates corporate campaigns to fight breast cancer. This film is part of the festival’s Justice Matters series, designed to draw attention to social justice issues. Other special sections include Global Rhythms, a series of music films, Lunafest, an array of short films by, for and about women, and Filmfest DC for KIDS.

WHEN - April 12 – 22, 2012

WHERE

Avalon Theatre: 5612 Connecticut Avenue, NW

Embassy of France: 4101 Reservoir Road, NW

Goethe-Institut Washington: 812 Seventh Street, NW

Landmark's E Street Cinema: 555 11th Street, NW

National Gallery of Art: East Building Auditorium, 4th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW

Naval Heritage Center: 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Regal Cinemas Gallery Place: 701 7th Street, NW

TICKETS

Tickets will be available beginning March 26th on the tickets page of the Filmfest DC website, by calling 1-800-996-4774 or on-site at Goethe Institut Washington. General Admission tickets are $11 unless otherwise noted. Free events are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Discount passes are available online.

SPECIAL SERIES

The Lighter Side

In this series of international comedies, Filmfest DC explores humor across various cultures. Please click here for more information and a full list of films.

Caribbean Journeys

This groundbreaking new film series offers a glimpse into the historically artistic and culturally diverse Caribbean region. Please click here for more information and a full list of films.

Justice Matters

This series of films, specifically curated for the Washington, DC audience, explores social justice issues. Please click here for more information and a full list of films.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Opening Night – Regal Cinemas Gallery Place, Tickets: $25

Hosted by multi-Emmy® award-winning WJLA entertainment reporter, Arch Campbell, the celebration on April 12 at 7pm will feature the Washington, DC premiere of the Canadian comedy and box office hit Starbuck. A party at Bar Louie in Chinatown will follow.

Closing Night – Embassy of France, Tickets: $20

On April 22, Filmfest DC will continue its comedic theme with the French blockbuster The Intouchables, screening at 3pm and 7pm. A reception will take place between the screenings.

Filmfest DC for KIDS – Goethe-Institut Washington, Tickets: $5

Eleanor's Secret, a family-friendly film, screens Saturday, April 14 at 2:30pm and Saturday, April 21 at 2:30pm.

FREE EVENTS

Personal Connections to Public Stories: From Idea to Projection

Taking place at Busboys & Poets on 5th and K Streets, NW, this panel discussion will explore the variety of relationships that filmmakers have to the subject or topic of their films. Doors open at 10:00am on Saturday, April 14, and the panel discussion begins at 10:30am. Please click here for more information.

Screenings at the National Gallery of Art

Presented in association with the centennial celebration of the 1912 Japanese gift of cherry trees to Washington, DC, the following Japanese films will screen:

• Hanezu: Sunday, April 22, 4:30pm

• Late Spring: Saturday, April 21, 2:30pm

• Sansho the Bailiff: Sunday, April 15, 4:00pm

AWARDS

Cash awards will be made in the Circle Jury Award Competition, the Justice Matters Series and in the new First Features sections. Filmfest DC will also present two audience awards, and the SIGNIS jury will present an award. For more information regarding awards and a full list of competition films and award sponsors, please click here.

SCREENERS, INTERVIEWS AND PHOTOS

• A limited number of select screeners are available to the press upon request.

• In addition to special guests, Filmfest DC Director Tony Gittens and Filmfest DC Deputy Director Shirin Ghareeb, are available for interviews.

• High-resolution photos are available to download on the press page of the Filmfest DC website.

Major Filmfest DC sponsors include: University of the District of Columbia, National Endowment for the Arts, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Mayor’s Office of Motion Picture and Television Development, AMTRAK, WJLA Channel 7 and 8 is our Official Television Station, WAMU 88.5 is our Official Radio Station, WPFW is the Caribbean Journeys media sponsor, and Modus Hotels is our Official Hotel.

The Filmfest DC public information line is 202-628-FILM and its website is filmfestdc.org.

Please contact Jordan Stinnett, jstinnett@scottcircle.com; w: (202) 207-3662; c: (239) 938-4960 with media-related inquiries.

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

By Barbara Twigg

I hope the over-50, non-theater going set takes a chance on leaving their homes to see this film. Filmed in India, it captures its colorful chaos (said my friend who's been there twice, although the real India is much more crowded), as the newly-minted, expatriate Brits adjust in varying measure to dramatic change. The inimitable Maggie Smith, most recently seen as the haughty aristocrat in PBS's "Downton Abbey," portrays a cockney, bigoted, retired housekeeper with her customary flair and verve, as she seeks a bargain-priced hip replacement in an Indian hospital. Dev Patel, from "Slumdog Millionaire," may verge on an Indian stereotype, but he does it with such grandiose style and over-the-top well-meaning energy that his role, as the hotel's proprietor, is terrific. There are some predictable situations, but the film is funny and touching, with lots of great lines.

Synopsis: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel follows a group of British retirees who decide to "outsource" their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India. Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel and bolstered with visions of a life of leisure, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self. Though the new environment is less luxurious than imagined, they are forever transformed by their shared experiences, discovering that life can begin again when you let go of the past. Stars Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Tom Wilkinson and Maggie Smith.

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HUGO

review by Barbara Twigg

Nominated for 11 Academy Awards including best picture, Hugo achieves what director Martin Scorsese set out to do, and more ... make a film his kids could see. Based on Brian Selznick's 2008 Caldecott award-winning children's book, "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," Hugo is a lovely piece of work that can find an appreciative audience of any age. Gorgeous and colorful with 3-D depth, Hugo traces the struggles of a Paris orphan to live on his own and evade the orphan-snatching clutches of a the train station's policeman, played by Sasha Baron Cohen in an inspired piece of casting. The movie becomes fascinating to students of early film in the second half when it explores the early work (1902) of French film pioneer, Georges Melies. I had not previously heard of him, but seeing the original clips of this magician of film was a treat. Yes, Hugo is a PG children's movie, but rich and layered for all to enjoy.

SYNOPSIS: Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan who lives in the walls of a train station is wrapped up in a mystery involving his late father and an automaton. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Stars Ben Kingsley, Sasha Baron Cohen, and two wonderful young actors, British Asa Butterfield and American Chloe Grace Moretz. PG: 126 minutes.

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Act of Valor

Review by Rozanne Weissman

With Navy SEALS in the news for their daring helicopter rescue of a US aid worker held hostage by pirates in Somalia and their raid in Pakistan where they killed terrorist Osama Ben Laden, it's captivating to see eight active duty Navy SEALS –rather than actors – play dramatized versions of themselves in the action-adventure film "Act of Valor."

And, weapons firing live ammunition also add authenticity and a shot of adrenaline to the hybrid documentary/narrative feature film. Imagine being an extra in that film without hazardous duty pay!

Battle scenes were shot during pre-existing live SEAL training missions, plotted out and blocked by the troops themselves, with cameras placed atop their helmets for a first-hand view of the action, revealed co-director Mike "Mouse" McCoy at the first Washington DC film screening, appropriately at the United States Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue. The screening was filled with appreciative servicemen, wounded warriors, board members of the Memorial, and others.

The fast-paced action moves from Costa Rica to Mexicali to Somalia and Ukraine as the SEALS track a terrorist cell that aims to bring about the economic collapse of the United States through unique undetectable bombs. And, they also conduct a daring boat-air-lifted-to-a-helicopter rescue of an attractive female CIA operative being held hostage and tortured in Mexico. While the plot is fictional, the film includes re-enactments of actual combat missions and high-impact surprise assaults. It feels like going behind the scenes into dangerous, adrenaline-high missions and combat.

And that's exactly what the Navy wanted for this recruiting video for the SEALs and the U.S. armed forces' first feature-length recruiting film. Let's just say it has their "SEAL of approval." They gave unprecedented access to the Bandito Brothers production company and its filmmakers and directors Scott Waugh and McCoy who had previously produced commercials and videos for the military.

When producing a video for the Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen, who operate and maintain small craft used to support special operations missions, particularly those of SEALS, the filmmakers came up with the idea of an action movie about this elite and covert fighting force.

The filmmakers spent two years working around SEAL deployments in order to get the eight troops in their movie. In addition to the SEALS, the pilots and submarine crews in the film are also real members of the military. And the U.S. Navy parachute team did the jumps.

Described McCoy, "It's a humbling experience and a treat to tell how good these guys are and to deal with the SEAL ethos." What was the hardest shot in the film? "The submarine shot," he noted.

The military's measure of success for the film won't be box office results but new Navy SEAL recruits. At the Q&A following the film Vice Adm. John Totushek stated, "We want to attract the right people -- young people with the desire and drive who see what we do and are convinced it's for them."

SYNOPSIS: A Navy SEAL squad goes on a covert operation in Yugoslavia to rescue a kidnapped CIA officer, while also taking down terrorists who aim to strike America.

An unprecedented blend of real-life heroism and original filmmaking, Act of Valor stars a group of active-duty Navy SEALs in a powerful story of contemporary global anti-terrorism. Inspired by true events, the film combines stunning combat sequences, up-to-the minute battlefield technology and heart-pumping emotion for the ultimate action adventure.

Act of Valor takes audiences deep into the secretive world of the most elite, highly trained group of warriors in the modern world. When the rescue of a kidnapped CIA operative leads to the discovery of a deadly terrorist plot against the U.S., a team of SEALs is dispatched on a worldwide manhunt. As the valiant men of Bandito Platoon race to stop a coordinated attack that could kill and wound thousands of American civilians, they must balance their commitment to country, team and their families back home.

Directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh. Written by Kurt Johnstad. Relativity Media (1hr 41min)

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PINA

dance, dance otherwise we are lost

Reviewed by Rozanne Weissman, Barbara Twigg and Donna Christenson

If you LOVE modern dance and watching the wonderful ways the body moves, put on your 3D glasses and twirl into the movie theater to see PINA. If you don't, don't go.

--Rozanne

Nominated for Best Documentary in this year's Academy Awards, Wim Wenders' PINA is a dazzling display of modern dance. The 3-D does not so much reach out into the audience (yes, some raindrops and curtains come your way), but instead provides the visual depth that brings the sensuality of the dance alive. Though an aficionado of modern dance, I had not heard of the choreographer Pina Bausch before, yet was in awe of the breadth of her creativity, The variety of movement and theatrical tableaux continually held my interest, though at 100 minutes, it seemed a little long-- too much of a good thing can still be too much. I would heartily recommend this film to anyone who loves dance, or who wants to explore the world of modern art translated into human movement. It's the Hirshhorn of dance. Others could find it insufferable.

--Barbara

There are some marvelous moments in PINA, and I agree with both Rozanne & Barbara that it will be LOVED by some and of no interest whatsoever to others. I would note that when you go to the theater for a modern dance performance, the evening usually includes an intermission …which would have been a welcome break during what was often a very intense presentation. A very restless film critic (who shall go unnamed) was sitting next to me during the preview screening, constantly checking his watch …and that’s not a good sign! The moment the film ended (and before an additional dance segment showed up along with the credits), he grabbed his fedora (that’s an identity clue!) and dashed out to escape.

--Donna

SYNOPSIS

PINA is a feature-length dance film in 3D with the ensemble of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, featuring the unique and inspiring art of the great German choreographer, who died in the summer of 2009. Director Wim Wenders, who also made the popular "Buena Vista Social Club," takes the audience on a sensual, visually stunning journey of discovery into a new dimension: straight onto the stage with the legendary Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch ensemble, where he follows the dancers out of the theatre into the city and the surrounding areas of Wuppertal - the place, which for 35 years was the home and centre for Pina Bausch's creativity.

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A Separation

by Barbara Twigg

The Golden Globe winner this year for Best Foreign Language Film, Iran's "A Separation" is not an easy watch. There's lots of bickering, Iranian style, though the issues are universal ones: the burden of taking care of an aging parent, played against the stresses of marriage and the needs of an 11 year old daughter. The film offers a fascinating look at Iranian family court, and the efforts of an overwhelmed judge to sort out the facts of complex situations. By the end, my friends and I felt exhausted from the struggle, further complicated by the issues of the woman the couple hires to take care of the difficult father. It's a good and interesting film, though sometimes tiresome and repetitive-- but perhaps that's the point?

SYNOPSIS: A married couple is faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimers. Directed and written by Asghar Farhadi PG-13, 123 minutes

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'IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY'

Film Review by Rozanne Weissman

Angelina Jolie's directorial debut film, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," is powerful, gripping, dark, and bloody. It deals with the three-year war of genocide and ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 1990s.

Not unlike Hotel Rwanda, it's an important film to view, think about, and discuss. Both are the stories of man's inhumanity to man, of unimaginable violence and atrocities — including to women who are raped and used as human shields and children who are killed — while the world watches and does nothing.

Appropriately, it premiered in the nation's capital at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum a couple days before I screened it. It seems we never learn. Watching it, I was constantly reminded of my father's haunted look and the sad sound of his voice when he talked about losing his entire family in the Holocaust. "Why was I the only one who survived?" he questioned.

This is not a star's vanity project. For Jolie, who not only directed but also wrote and produced the film, it was a story that she needed to tell. It represents Jolie's worldview and concerns as a humanitarian activist, goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, and mother of children who are a mini-United Nations.

It's a high risk, politically complex, serious drama starring a cast of unknowns speaking in three languages—Bosnian, Serbian, and Croatian —with subtitles. Not exactly designed to fill seats in American theaters.

As the film opens, an attractive Muslim artist Ajla (Zana Marjanovic) meets a Serbian policeman, Danijel (Goran Kostic) at a nightclub. Sparks fly as they dance and flirt until a bomb blast rocks the place. Prior to this, the film notes in opening text that Muslims, Christians, Serbs, and Croats coexisted peacefully before the outbreak of war in 1992, triggered by the republic's declaration of independence from Yugoslavia.

The Yugoslav-backed Serbian army occupies the city and begins its campaign of ethnic cleansing. Serving as an officer in the Serbian army and recognizing Ajla among the prisoners, Danijel saves her from being raped by a fellow officer in a twist of fate which frames the story.

Portrayed initially as a more sensitive man who hates killing, Danijel maintains a protective watch over Ajla, ultimately installing her in private quarters where they can make love and Ajla can paint, away from the abuse and harassment of the other soldiers. The relationship between the captor and his captive always has an uneasy tension. Who can be trusted and how far?

Despite these interludes, the film is dark throughout — so much so that you want to avert your eyes or say enough already or STOP! While it may be painful to watch, it's nothing like the pain of the participants in the real drama. It's worth seeing and supporting a new director who takes a sizable risk.

Here's a little secret: Jolie's husband Brad Pitt appeared in the film, although it can't even be considered a cameo. Washington DC writer Carol Joynt thought she spotted him in the film and asked Pitt, hobbling around with a torn ACL at the Holocaust Museum. In her Washingtonian blog, she reports on his so-far secret 15 seconds: "Pitt lights up, a big smile. 'Yes, that was me,' he says. 'You noticed. I got killed. I worked it for all I could. I went down twice. I wanted more blood, but no, the director. . . .'”

SYNOPSIS:

Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War that tore the Balkan region apart in the 1990s, In the Land of Blood and Honey tells the story of Danijel (Goran Kostić) and Ajla (Zana Marjanović), two Bosnians from different sides of a brutal ethnic conflict.

Danijel, a Bosnian Serb police officer, and Ajla, a Bosnian Muslim artist, meet before the war and clearly like each other, but their relationship is changed as violence engulfs the country. Months later, Danijel is soldier fighting for the Serbs, serving under his father, General Nebojsa Vukojevich (Rade Šerbedžija), as an officer in the Bosnian Serb Army. He and Ajla come face to face again when she is taken from the apartment she shares with her sister, Lejla (Vanesa Glodjo), and Lejla's infant child by troops under Danijel's command. She is held captive in the camp he oversees.

As the conflict takes hold of their lives, their relationship changes and grows darker, their motives and connection to one another become ambiguous and their allegiances grow uncertain. In the Land of Blood and Honey portrays the incredible emotional, moral, and physical toll that the war takes on individuals as well as the consequences that stem from the lack of political will to intervene in a society stricken with conflict.

FilmDistrict (2hrs 7min)

CAST: Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic, Vanessa Glodjo, Rade Serbedzija, Boris Ler

DIR: Angelina Jolie

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THE ARTIST

Film Review by Rozanne Weissman

In a love affair with the early days of Hollywood when films were black and white and silent and the story was told through facial expressions and body language, French Director Michel Hazanavicius recreated that era in his highly acclaimed new film "The Artist."

A friend who travels to film festivals around the world and tips me off to films to see alerted me to this film a while back. When he said it was a silent, early-Hollywood-style film that I would love, I responded, "You've got to be kidding!" "And," he added, "it's directed by a Frenchman." I raised my eyebrows even higher.

Turns out "The Artist" is a charming delight that has attracted Academy award nominations buzz. The film has already garnered six Golden Globe nominations, the most of any film in the 69th Hollywood Foreign Press awards, including best motion picture, comedy, or musical. And it has three nominations for the SAG (Screen Actors Guild) Awards.

The lack of words means the film easily crosses international borders. It's beloved by French cinema audiences as well as critics and audiences in the US. Hazanavicius effectively mines the nostalgia of simpler times as well as the retro fever demonstrated by Emmy-and-Golden-Globe-winning TV shows like AMC's "Mad Men," which depicts Madison Ave. and the advertising world of the 60s.

The film stars Jean Dujardin as George Valentin, a dapper, self-absorbed, silent-era movie star with a pencil-thin mustache. It also stars Bérénice Bejo, Michel Hazanavicius' second wife, an Argentine native, who plays the effervescent Peppy Miller. She first meets Valentin as an adoring fan and then as an extra on the set of his latest film. Both stars turn in excellent performances. Dujardin won the Best Actor Award at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, where the film premiered.

As Wall Street crashes in 1929, Valentin's movie studio head Al Zimmer, played by John Goodman, debuts talkies for which Valentin is ill suited. At a time of economic turmoil and technological change, Peppy rises as a big star while Valentin, who refuses to change, hits bottom as his career ends with the arrival of talkies. He moves from a luxurious home to a tiny, dingy apartment and has to fire his loyal chauffeur Clifton (played by James Cromwell) who hasn't been paid for a year. He goes to work for Peppy.

Valentin's saving grace is his "best friend" Uggie, a Jack Russell terrier who follows him everywhere and steals the show. Perhaps The Artist might not have risen to such heights of acclaim were it not for the expressive, endearing dog. The dog, Uggie, makes Valentin seem more human during both his highs and lows, and — along with accompanying music and good acting —saves this silent picture some 70 years after talkies took over the industry.

SYNOPSIS: Silent film star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) attends the premiere of his film A Russian Affair. Outside the theater, Valentin is posing for pictures for the paparazzi when a woman, Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo), admiring Valentin while lost in a sea of adoring fans, drops her purse. She bends down to get it, but is accidentally pushed into Valentin. She ends up photographed, and the next day, she is on the front page of a newspaper, with the headline "Who's That Girl?"

SPOILER ALERT: We've deleted the rest of the synopsis so we don't spoil it for you by letting you know how this film turns out.

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Man on a Ledge

--Barbara

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The Big Year

10/17/11 Three of the unlikeliest actors to portray fanatical bird watchers--Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson--star in "The Big Year." In real life, the actors can barely recognize one bird from another. In the film, they are rival birders who have taken off a year of their lives to crisscross the country in a heavy-duty competition to spot the most bird species as well as the most elusive and rare birds. The competition is fierce for the #1 slot as the men try to one up each other "because no one ever remembers the one who came in second." The life-changing journey of each of the men coincides with various challenges in their lives. Will any of them realize that there are more important things in life than being the #1 birder in the nation?

Director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada, Marley and Me) teamed with screenwriter Howard Franklin to adapt author Mark Obmascik's novel of the same name. For me, there is much lacking in the film including believability. The birds deserve better! Not memorable roles for any of the actors. 2 1/2 stars.

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MONEYBALL

'The Debt' - Film Review with Director John Madden

Review from Barbara Twigg: I'd say it was a mission impossible style thriller, with psychological twists and multi-generation consequences, and without the technological over-dazzle. It dazzles instead with strong narrative story-telling, and genuine nail-biting excitement.

5 Days of War - Film Review & Director Interview

By Rozanne Weissman

8/17/11 In the first US film screening of 5 Days of War, Finnish film director Renny Harlin reveals to a Washington, DC audience: "I wanted to do something that would touch me more than a 'popcorn movie,' and I threatened my agent that I wanted better stories."

His agent put him together with Georgians (people from the Republic of Georgia) who came to Hollywood knowing no one. They wanted the story told of the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia. To the criticism on blogs that this film is anti-Russia propaganda, Harlin responds, "I took a point of view based on facts, eye witnesses, and research. This is not a documentary; it's a feature film not a history lesson." Georgians, however, have partially financed the film, which is totally digital.

So what's it like to film in Georgia which has no film industry? "It was logistically insane," said Harlin. "We had to bring equipment and crew from elsewhere. Tanks and helicopters were already there. There were 18 languages spoken on the set. It was raw and emotional for Georgians a year later. I didn't have to tell the extras how to feel during the evacuation scene. And during the testimonials at the end when people showed photos and talked of loved ones killed, everyone in the studio was in tears." The DVD will likely contain more testimonials.

Some behind-the-scenes stories shared by the director:

• Val Kilmer, who played the "Dutchman" and is known for coming up with crazy ideas, suggested that he be filmed in a bubble bath while talking on the phone vs skyping at his computer. Done.

• Andy Garcia, who played the president of Georgia, answered the real ringing red phone in the real president's office, not knowing who it was, saying, "I can't talk; we're shooting a film." And he hung up!

• For the battle scenes in Gori, Stalin's birthplace, a huge statue of Stalin dominated the square. After contentious debate, it was to be removed before filming. A plea from filmmakers extended removal a few weeks.

SYNOPSIS: 5 DAYS OF WAR starts with a brief scene in Iraq where the Georgian contingent of the coalition forces saves the life of an American reporter Thomas Anders (Rupert Friend). After Anders loses a close female reporting colleagues Miriam Eisner (Heather Graham) --most likely a lover-- in Iraq, he returns to Los Angeles devastated and haunted. He soon goes to Georgia on the advice of the "Dutchman" (Val Kilmer) in Tbilisi, who suspects that a large conflict is brewing. He and his cameraman Sebastian Ganz delve deeper into Georgian life as conflict escalates and they get caught in the crossfire when an air raid strikes a local wedding they stumble upon. With the help of a Georgian soldier who saved them in Iraq, their mission becomes to get their report out of the country to raise awareness of violence they have witnessed against civilians.

In this portrayal of courage under fire, acclaimed director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) combines heart pounding action with real human drama, as he tells the riveting story of this war reporter caught behind enemy lines during the 2008 Russian invasion of Georgia. As a nation fights for its survival, a coalition of international reporters and local Georgians risk their lives to tell the true human cost of military conflict. Filmed for six weeks on location, 5 DAYS OF WAR is a riveting, suspenseful portrait of courage under fire in a military hot zone in the republic of Georgia, on the eve of a Russian invasion.

Reunited with a small, intrepid band of war reporters in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, Anders and cameraman Sebastian (Richard Coyle), head north, toward the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, just in time to witness a Russian airstrike on the peaceful village of Vaziani. While Russian bombs rain down, Anders and Sebastian boldly document the devastation, then shuttle survivors to a military hospital in Gori, with the help of a brave and beautiful, Georgian school teacher, named Tatia (Emmanuelle Chriqui). Unable to break his story through the noise of Russian propaganda and a world distracted by the Olympics in China, Anders and Sebastian race back to the battle zone to help a desperate Tatia find her missing family. Caught in the crossfire of full-scale combat and witness to the murder of civilians in another Russian assault, Anders records the evidence that will shock the world. But before he can act, Anders is captured, along with Sebastian and Tatia, by the architects of these atrocities, the ruthless Colonel Demidov (Rade Serbedjiza) and his mercenary killer, Daniil (Mikko Nousiainen). Just when all seems lost they are rescued in a daring raid by a Georgian soldier, Captain Rezo (Johnathon Schaech). Anders and his friends must stand and fight for their freedom and their cause in a final battle in the city of Gori. Ultimately, while President Saakashvilli (Andy Garcia) seeks help from his allies, Anders faces one last test of courage as he strives to save Tatia’s life by sacrificing everything but the truth.

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8/3/11 Screened "50/50" based loosely on real-life story of screenwriter Will Reiser. A cancer diagnosis for a 27-year-old man affects his cheating girlfriend, outrageous best friend, over-protective mother, and dad w/Alzheimer's.

Add to the mix an inexperienced female therapist and wisecracking fellow chemo patients for humor & touching drama. Doesn't open until late Sept. Worth seeing.

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July 29, 2011 "How to Live Forever" documentary film director revealed tonight that well-known fitness guru Jack LaLanne had told him he hated exercise: "You leave a warm bed and a hot woman for a cold gym."

7/10/11 "What would it be like to meet yourself in a mirror earth?" asked director Mike Cahill at sci-fi film screening of "Another Earth" tonight (July 10).

NEVER LET ME GO is a very well-acted and thought-provoking film. Setting it in the recent past instead of the future was a good choice ...made it harder to dismiss it as fantasy, so the possibility felt very real and therefore more threatening. --Donna

"NEVER LET ME GO"