A Late Quartet, the movie reviewed

Phillip Seymour Hoffman's tragic death inspired me to take a look and see what movies Netflix might have streaming in which he acted. I was pleased to find A Late Quartet which not only had Hoffman but Catherine Keener and Christopher Walken.

This is a superb movie which was sadly appropriate to watch at this time. Like so many movies filmed in New York City, the city played a silent but essential role in the film. In fact one could almost say that the film could have taken place nowhere else.

Hoffman plays second violin in a legendary string quartet that is celebrating its 25^th season. Walken plays the cellist, also the very senior member of the group. Catherine Keener plays the violist. I can't discuss the plot without spoiling it, so I will just encourage you to watch the film to find out what happens.

The milieu is the life of a professional classical musician living in NYC. The central music is the very dramatic Opus 131 late quartet of Beethoven. Everything flows from that; the culture, the refinement, the elegance is all a given. And the Passion with a capital P.

This is a very human drama showing how people with all their frailties can be and often are ennobled by their art. It is full of metaphor and somewhat melodramatic like the music they are playing, with these three great actors and a great supporting cast creating a very watchable, interesting and entertaining ensemble work that aspires to Art. Recommended!

Moving Art: Flowers, a review

There is a whole series of these Moving Art films which I found on Netflix. I give this one Five stars out of a possible five...I would give it 7 stars, it was that wonderful. 25 minutes of bliss!

The Cinematography is by Louie Schwartzberg and he is apparently also the producer. The word superb is bandied about but I can't think of another superlative right now that better fits the bill.

The music is by Ludovic Einaudi. I had run across his sublime music in a Pandora mix of new age music, and he does not disappoint here.

The rest of the production staff had to be top notch too because this was just an excellent,uplifting piece of film making. It is totally appropriate to call it Art with a capital A and it is worthy of your purchase, or at the very least, your viewing.

This first link is to the Moving Art website: http://movingart.com/about/

Actually, that is all you need. I'm sure you can find a place to buy it if you want to. I'm not making any commissions here, just sharing the love:)

Promised Land, the Movie Reviewed

Promised Land is a movie about Fracking. It is well made but I found it more interesting for providing some background into why the Fracking companies have been so successful, rather than its value as a drama.

Matt Damon, Francis McDormand and John Krasinski do well with their leads. The story they tell about the methods of the Fracking companies was enlightening to say the least, and really helped me understand why the rural landowners have bought this dangerous technology that more often than not ruins their land and water.

Recommended!

Joyful Noise, the movie, reviewed

The ECK or Spirit's first manifestation is as the Sound Current, and this is the foundation of all life. This Sound Current can be heard as an inner Sound, and its quality varies depending on what level of consciousness it is being filtered through.

One of the manifestations of the Sound Current on the astral plane, or the plane of emotions, is Gospel. The Joyful Noise is all about this uplifting and exuberant Sound as it manifests on the plane of feelings.

This is an old fashioned corny Hollywood movie. Does it manipulate your emotions? Of course! I think the best attitude to take in watching and listening to a movie like this is: Bring it on! Be like a little child and just enjoy it. It is pretty irresistible anyway:)

This is modern gospel too, ala, Michael Jackson, Sly Stone etc, so it really rocks!

Like all great gospel music, it opens the heart and uplifts and makes you feel Happy! What's not to like? Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Cortney Vance, and a very talented musical cast make the whole production a delight. Is it predictable? Duh? And again I say so what? Bring it on. We all need to see another happy ending. Recommended!

Astral City: A Spiritual Journey, the movie reviewed

This is a fascinating film that will be of special interest to those of us who are interested in higher states of consciousness, karma and reincarnation, and the survival of Soul.

Its a Brazilian film with subtitles. I discovered that the film is the second most expensive ever made in Brazil. I mention this because it is apparent that this is not an Indie film; it looks like a major production and the professional values are appreciated since it is a look into the Astral plane; it is quite breathtaking.

I found it interesting on many levels. Culturally it was fascinating to see the characters speaking Portuguese and the whole thing taking place in a non-English speaking world. Every treatment of this subject I have ever seen was in American English so just the Brazilian slant was interesting in itself.

The back story itself is equally interesting. I won't get into it here but you can find more info at this link. Particularly note the links to a You Tube video about the original author and another site which explores Spiritism, the path he articulated. All fascinating stuff:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1467388/

BTW, I found this DVD at my local library. How cool is that? Recommended!

Me and You and Everyone We Know, A movie review

I realized soon after I started watching this movie that I had seen it before. But I proceeded to watch it through again, with fresh eyes.

A few days ago I watched a very remarkable movie called The Future which turned out to be written and directed by Miranda July, who also starred in, wrote and directed both of these Indie films. I was so impressed with this The Future movie that I looked up her earlier film, which is the one that is the subject of this review. This 2005 film is available for streaming on Netflix.

If all this starts to sound a bit Gertrude Stein-ish, it's the effect of spending too much time in the universe according to the very quirky and talented Ms July and attempting to write about it. She is an artist with a very particular vision. The Me and You film really breaks new ground and has stuff rarely before found in films to be seen by the public,at least in my experience, for instance children exploring their sexuality via the anonymity of the computer as well as in person. It's controversial stuff but July's approach to the material is so clearly mature and non-salacious that it has to be seen as the art that it is.

Real art always breaks new ground and walks the razor's edge, and now having seen two movies by this artist, I am starting to get a very good sense of her very individual vision of the Truth. It is refreshingly real, unsentimental, and true in a way rarely seen but often attempted especially in Indie films. Kids, especially pre-adolescents are curious about and often fascinated by sex. This combined with their inexperience and unbridled imagination makes for juicy stories. Coming-of-age is a favorite topic of filmmakers since it is a time so rich and pregnant with feeling and discovery.

Sex, love, art, communication and relationship are the themes explored here. Not just the kids exploring, but the adults experimenting with marriage, separation, divorce and reaching out for new love, new adventures and new artistic expression. There is a potential Pedophile here also to make things edgy and a bit dangerous. The way it is treated though is artistic, humorous and with compassion. But clearly this is not a film that would be recommended for or by the typical Republican household. It no doubt has been dismissed with selected denunciations and/or warnings by the narrow-minded. Lets just say its R rating is appropriate.

So it is a given that the audience for this movie is open minded, non-judgmental and sensitive and appreciative of the quirky, whimsical and artistic. If that is you, I predict you will enjoy this film as much as I did, even more so on a second viewing.

THE FUTURE, the movie reviewed

This indie film was written, directed by and stars a woman by the name of Miranda July. This was my first exposure to her work. It is quite clear that what we have here is an Artist with a very particular vision. She does not consent to the consensual reality. Instead she shows us her version, her vision.

Just like the cover, Miranda turns things upside down. Instead of seeing the Fu-ture, Miranda see it as it is displayed on the cover. The Fut-ure. This little off kilter reading is a very sweet exercise in mindfulness because it makes us take a fresh look at the ordinary. 

This film is all about an exercise in Miranda's kind of mindfulness. All an artist can do is allow you to see the world afresh, and she accomplishes this. So you can call her quirky, weird, a genius or just Way Whimsical but she is just doing what real Artists do.

It is appropriate that the setting is contemporary LA and the players are young enough to have spent a good portion of their formative years playing in the virtual reality of cyberspace. This is the setting where Miranda's vision works; its a viable possible extension of reality that we can relate to by stretching our own vision of what is possible.

The film moves slowly; it is always an exercise in meditative awareness. The most ordinary things are given respectful and sometimes crystalline attention. I found it to be most enjoyable and even though the vision was sometimes dark, it was always human and real and re-freshing. There was humor and pathos and much thoughtfulness.  

There is a certain kind of sunset that we would call a Maxfield Parrish sunset. When we say a Rubens woman everyone with some culture immediately sees a rosy voluptuous woman. It is only a small stretch to view an interior room and think it looks like a Miranda July's room. She is that good...

Recommended!