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Showing posts from July, 2012

Dark Horse

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By Moira Sullivan Selma Blair and Jordan Gelber in Dark Horse   Dark Horse by Todd Solondz premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year and is now in San Francisco. The film is enjoying a new romp at the theatres and it’s worth a visit to check out Solondz' latest creation. This is one of his upbeat movies compared with his previous somber tales about dysfunctional families even though this film is riddled with characters that are indeed dysfunctional. First there is Abe, brilliantly played by Jordan Gelber , a 30 + man who is the dark horse of the family, who lives at home with his parents played by Mia Farrow and Christopher Walken and who works in his father's business. Abe is a very unhappy man who was unable to strike out on his own and remained at home unlike his successful brother Richard, played by Justin Bartha , a doctor, who he felt wronged by growing up because he was just the opposite of him –successful and his father's favorite.

Farewell My Queen

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By Moira Sullivan In time for national independence day in France commemorating July 14, 1789 after the storming of the Bastille prison, is a new film about the events leading to the execution of Marie Antoinette directed by veteran filmmaker Benoît Jacquot.   This story is about the relationship of Marie Antoinette with her reader in the final three days of the Versailles court. Diane Kruger plays Antoinette and the reader Sidonie Laborde is played by Léa Seydoux. The film begins with Sidonie being called by the queen to read  plays for her. On the way, Sidonie passes the haughty Duchess de Polignac, played by Virginie Leydoyen.   The regal airs of the Duchess surpass those of the queen, who is amazingly tender and affectionate to her servant and attends to her mosquito bites with rose water. At the same time Sidonie is a quietly effective observer of her queen and can be seen eavesdropping or scrutinizing the increasing tension at court prior to and following the storming o

Mississippi I Am

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By Moira Sullivan When Constance Millen asked to bring her same sex partner to her high school prom in Mississippi in 2010 she was told no. She contacted the "Safe Schools Coalition" in her state and brought up a discrimination complaint.  The high school was ordered to explain their policy and allow Millen to bring her date. Rather than do that, the high school cancelled the prom. The incident brought Mississippi to national attention, a state that Lance Bass, former member of 'N' Synch was tired of seeing regarded as backwards. Bass came out in 2006 and received flack in his home state despite his popularity nationwide. He decided to produce Mississippi I Am, after hearing about Constance Millen, - a high quality documentary directed by Katherine Linton , and Harriet Hirshorn. They set out to interview the young gay people of Mississippi who became activists in order to change the attitudes of discrimination of gays in their state. According to the doc