Movie Magazine International Blog

By Jonathan W. Wind "What's D&G," asks Bruno, "Why Dolce & Gabanna, Hello?" I have to say I wasn't really expecting to enjoy Bruno, so when we arrived at the movie theater I was already uneasy, I'd seen the trailer - would I be inclined to storm out indignantly, as some people actually did?. My partner and I settled ourselves in, expecting a kind of gay "Borat." "Borat" was Sacha Baron Cohen's first foray into the "reality movie," not a documentary, mind you, more the thinking man's expose, and it was pretty funny. But all I kept hearing about "Bruno" was "it's over the top," and, well, it is, but it's even more than that. From the opening frame, no credits, Bruno plunges in. Bruno is a flamboyant limp-wristed fashion reporterr from Austria, a screamer with no boundaries. There are suggestively graphic scenes so preposterous I pondered my own sanity, but gradually the message ...

By Moira Sullivan The Oscar nominated Baader Meinhof Complex (best foreign language film from Germany) was bound to be made, and Uli Edel has done it. Not since Margarethe von Trotta’s The German Sisters (1981) has such a compelling film been made on the political violence of German youth in the late 60s and 70’s. It was a time of rebellion against the police state Germany had become and many decided to strike back with force. The Red Army Faction (RAF) was formed in 1976 and was behind several bombings, kidnapping and assassinations of political leaders. The key members were Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Ensslin. The film traces the evolution of the group and their demise and secretly arranged execution in prison that was made to look like a suicide. In the opening scene we learn of the early public attention Ulrike Meinhof (Martina Gedeck) garnished for covering the pompous state visit of the Shah of Iran in 1967, representing a country of vast illiteracy and poverty...

By Moira Sullivan Taking Woodstock is Ang Lee's latest picture that takes a look at the origins of the Woodstock festival in New York in August of 1969. It is based on the autobiography of Elliot Tiber, the son of two Russian Jewish immigrants who maintain a not very successful farm in upstate New York. James Shamus wrote the screenplay together with Tiber, which is a delightful one. The film gets great support from the outstanding performance of Imelda Staunton as Eliot’s mother Sonia and this is an actress who truly is able to play a wide variety of roles and still remain unique in every one of them. The story of Woodstock is taken from the point of view of Tiber. In this film he is called Eliot Teichberg, played by newcomer Demitri Martin. This is a great way to look at the Woodstock event for after all must of us have already seen or can see the concert footage. Instead Ang Lee shows us the metamorphosis of the land mass that later was to be home to thousands of middle ...

By Monica Sullivan "The Frightened City" has oodles of repeat value because the plot will zoom out of your head five minutes after you see it. Herbert Lom and John Gregson star as Waldo Zhernikov & Detective Inspector Sayers and Sean Connery is billed third as Paddy Damion. His hairline is quite high here, so I suspect that IS a rug he's wearing in 1962's "Dr.No" and all the subsequent Bond films. All the pretty girls wear tight, low-cut dresses and director John Lemont never misses a chance to emphasize their best assets including their navels during one dance sequence in a nightclub. He's wise to do that because all the musical numbers here are ghastly. We see Connery doing manly things from the start, like judo, and then we watch him take a shower and change into an undershirt, slacks and tight pullover shirt with no tie. There's plenty of American style thugs in this one with names like Tanky Thomas, Nero, Sanchetti, Salty Brewer, Lippy ...

By Monica Sullivan Ah, the joys of 1957 when men were men and women twiddled their thumbs. Kathy Ferguson (Barbara Stanwyck) begins the movie "Crime of Passion" with an exciting job as a columnist for a San Francisco newspaper. She even plays a key role in clearing up a murder case. She's en route to Manhattan on a fast-paced career track when she makes a quick stop in Los Angeles to meet Detective Lieutenant Bill Doyle of the Los Angeles Police Department (Sterling Hayden) for dinner. One thing leads to another and before you can say "darn my socks for me darling" she is Mrs. Bill Doyle, trapped in a suburb with no outlet for her tremendous energy. She's bored with her life and she hates Bill's friends on the force and their wives, so she takes up a new hobby, promoting Bill's career. This means sleeping with the boss, Inspector Tony Pope (Raymond Burr) and alienating him from other detectives who might get the job she wants Bill to have. See what h...

By Monica Sullivan "The Tenant" is my all-time favorite movie about apartment living. Director Roman Polanski casts himself as Trekolvsky, a meek little Polish file clerk by day who does his best to be a conscientious & thoughtful tenant at night, but only succeeds in getting pushed around by his neighbors. Trekolvsky discovers that his predecessor in his Paris apartment bumped herself off & he fears that a similar fate is in store for him. "The Tenant" is a surreal blend of terror & humor with a conclusion that has to be seen to be believed. It makes sense within the context of the story, but when you think twice about it (& you will think about "The Tenant" again & again), you may wonder how any filmmaker would dare to get away with it. Polanski at his best is in a class by himself & if he could get away with slicing up Jack Nicholson's nose in 1974's "Chinatown," he could certainly get away with the operati...

By Moira Sullivan The audience award for the best short film at the Frameline 33 LGBT Film Festival in San Francisco which ran last month went to Maria Breaux director and producer of Lucha, who wrote the screenplay together with Tina D'Elia. The beauty of a short film is that when it is well made everything is there which represents the intention of the filmmaker. Such is the case for Lucha. Lucha in Spanish means "to struggle". Filmed in San Francisco and El Salvador Lucha is the story of two women in love during this time of civil war: Lucha played by Eloisa Ramos and Isabella played by Maria Carolina Morales A. In what is probably their last day together Lucha and Isaibella comfort themselves by fantasizing about the war being over in their life in a spacious home by the sea. Lucha is committed to arm struggle. Her tough exterior is also shown in her inability to be vulnerable to Isabella in love scenes that are symbolic of how difficult it was to be in love in El S...

By Moira Sullivan Séraphine is the story of a gifted self-taught painter who lived in France from 1864 to 1942 and who got her inspiration from God. Yolande Moreau received a Cesar award as best actress of 2009 for her brilliant performance as Séraphine. Séraphine de Senlis is a middle aged plumb woman who dresses in blue, and who works at various odd jobs in people’s homes who treat her badly. That doesn’t seem to interfere with her mission to create, even when she is behind in her rent for two months. A sign on the door: "Mme Séraphine is not taking visitors" takes care of persistent creditors. Safe behind locked doors she paints and while she paints she sings religious hymns. And she spends her time in nature hugging and climbing trees and picking flowers. One day a man arrives as a tenant for a summer place and Séraphine is asked to clean up after him. He turns out to be the reputable art collector and critic, William Udhe, played by Ulrich Tukur and who takes an interest...

By Purple If you're starting to get burnt out on Hollywood superhero movies, then take a chance and step into a theater showing "Big Man Japan". While the basic premise may remind you of last years Will Smith's down and out hero "Hancock", "Big Man Japan" moves far away from the Hollywood formula and delivers a sentimental superhero story smothered in strange. Hitoshi Matsumoto is the co-writer, director and star of "Big Man Japan" and he shares his unique vision with a deadpan delivery that makes you laugh and yet ultimately feel sorry for Japan's current generation of hero. The movie is told from a low-budget handheld camera perspective, where a reality TV camera crew follows around "Big Man Japan" in his civilian identity during his off time. The slow pacing is a bit erratic, and at first you may wonder just what the point of the movie is about, as we're exposed to the dull, monotonous and lonely life of this seeming...

By Monica Sullivan I once knew a character who joined a monastery to atone for his sins. The notion of making peace with the people he had hurt didn't occur to him. I thought he was full of hooey & wasn't surprised when he left the monastery to start a 'new' life with an entirely different cast of supporting players. Not long into the 134 minute running time of "The Apostle," Texas Preacher Euliss Dewey (Robert Duvall) commits a vicious and inexcusable act. He vanishes from the scene of the crime & passes himself off as Apostle E.F. in Bayou Boutte, Louisiana. He works as a mechanic so that he can have free air time over the radio to start a new ministry & soon assembles enough followers for a new church, "The One Way Road To Heaven." While he's gaining the love and respect of the Louisiana congregation, he learns about the consequences of his behavior back home. E.F. stays put and preaches and preaches and preaches until the en...