Run, Fatboy, Run (2007)

Harmless film that made me chuckle a few times.

Arsenic and Old Lace

An enjoyable enough film with memorably wacky characters and the always great Peter Lorre (and Cary Grant is fun to watch even when he isn't at his best).

Mr. Bean

Mr. Bean is to England as Larry David is to the United States.

2010 Films: Ranked Order

Films from 2010 that I have seen through today, ranked from best to worst.
1. A Prophet
2. Black Swan
3. Winter's Bone
4. Mother
5. Exit Through the Gift Shop
6. The King's Speech
7. The Social Network
8. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
9. Greenberg
10. The Secret in Their Eyes
11. The Kids Are All Right
12. The Ghost Writer
13. Please Give
14. I Am Love
15. Shutter Island
16. Mademoiselle Chambon
17. City Island
18. Soul Kitchen
19. Knight and Day
20. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest

Cama adentro (2004)

The Argentine film Cama adentro (Live-In Maid) could be an upstairs downstairs story except the two protagonists, an upper middle class woman fallen on hard times and her live in-maid, live on the same floor in the moderately sized apartment they have shared for thirty years. And, as the film shows, the two women do not live in two worlds but one. Made with a surprisingly assured hand by first time director Jorge Gaggero Wonderfully acted by both the leads. The film is made for domestic audiences (for example no direct reference is made to the 2001 economic crisis that shook Argentina) and the characters are both very, very strong Argentine types without them overplaying it. The film is still accessible to viewers unfamiliar with Argentine although knowledge of Spanish is helpful; the subtitles are pretty poorly done.

PS- Easily passes the The Bechdel Test

King’s Speech

Enjoyable Oscar bait. The acting and the writing hold up this film but all you need to know about filmmakers choices is the souring classical score that rises behind Colin Firth as he makes the crucial speech: a totally unfortunate play for the middle market.

Lugares Comunes (Common Ground)

Argentine film about an older couple dealing with aging in post-crisis Argentina circa 2002. Slow and pleasant watching but it doesn't do much, in particularly in the way it touches on the economic collapse of the country but then just uses as a form of local color rather than actually having anything to say what happened.

Matterhorn

An exceptional work of literature must break new ground, whether in its content, form, or style. By this standard, Karl Marlantes’ Matterhorn is not a great work. What it is, though, is a very fine novel. As an account of the deprivations of war, it is a clear heir to Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front. Catch 22 presents the absurdity of war with more comic force. Matterhorn’s depiction of the taking of a hill could be a written account of a nearly identical scene A Thin Red Line. The novel is also surprisingly small for such a think tome. It focuses on one group of soldiers, in a period that is not much more than a month. The nation back home appears only through the soldier’s thoughts. The narration occasionally brakes away from the principle focus on the troops on the ground to scenes that briefly depict the decisions of the commanders away from the front lines. The narrative is entirely linear; each chapter has a clear structure built around a specific event. The descriptions are detailed but never get caught in excessive minutiae. The writing is straightforward. The structure is straightforward. The characters are not without some complexity but none are probing psychological accounts.

Please Give

Quirky, uneven film about mostly unlikeable but descent New Yorkers. Not everything comes together but in someways not being a smooth product is part of its charm. Best part of the film is the opening montage of women getting mammograms.

Mother

Force of nature Mother trying to protect her slow-minded son, who has been arrested for murder. Great detective story, nice twists and depths in the plot and tone, and a couple of beautiful scenes.

In Treatment Season 2

Finished the second season. Enjoyable; Gabriel Byrne is always a reason to watch but the plots of the second were season were much weaker than those of the first. Most of the stories were basically generic clichés that have been done plenty of times. The acting and the originality of the format are enough to enliven them and make them watchable but with better scripts this show could be truly great is stead of just good.

Hitchcock's Sabotage (1936)

Overall this a good early Hitchcock. The plot is thin but this film has some great scenes. The one of Stevie unknowingly carrying the bomb is classic and the scene between Verloc and Mrs. Verloc as they exchange glances after Stevie's death is another excellent one. Hitchcock can convey more psychological feeling in a single shot that most directors can in an entire scene.

Soul Kitchen (2009)

Pleasant German comedy with a few laughs, likable characters, and a predictable plot. Not much else to say about it as a film but I do wonder about the multicultural aspects of its depiction of German society. Both this and director Fatih Akin's earlier In July (2000) depict a world of filled with diverse characters who are not fully alienated from society but are living just slightly on the margins of contemporary German society. In light of Angela Merkel's resent comments that multiculturalism has "utterly failed," what cultural position do these films occupy? How are they received in Germany? What is their audience and what is their commercial reception?