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Dance Your Way Through History with Mao’s Last Dancer

3 Aug

Really interesting movie to rent or download: 2010’s Mao’s Last Dancer. Based on the life of Li Cunxin, it tells of his journey from a poor rural village in China to Madame Mao’s Beijing Dance Academy, where he becomes a classically trained ballet dancer. Eventually he’s chosen by the communist regime to be one of the first cultural exchange students allowed in the U.S.

After landing in Houston and rising to local stardom at the Houston Ballet, he falls in love—yes, with a girl—but also with America’s freedom and prosperity. In 1981 the Chinese government learns of his intent to stay in the States and locks him in up in the consulate against his will. He defects at only 20 years old and has to live with the consequences of possibly never seeing his family again.

Seriously, you don’t have to like ballet to enjoy this movie (which is based on Cuxin’s autobiography). It’s a nice blend of history, art and personal determination. And we can all use a little extra inspiration!

TRAILER

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The Race to Nowhere: Students under pressure in disturbing indie film

7 Jul

I was lucky to catch a screening of The Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture. This doc was made by a mom with no filmmaking experience, Vicki Abeles, after she saw her own kids becoming overburdened, stressed-out and even sick from their hectic schedules, including hours of homework and resume-padding extracurriculars. She interviews parents, teachers and students about their experiences battling school routines that churn out kids who can’t think creatively or independently.

This film is many things: scary, sad, unbalanced in parts, but most of all—important. The fact that Vicki’s project has become the anchor for a grassroots movement for education reform, even without theater distribution, shows how much people care about what’s saying.

TRAILER

Find a screening near you.

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A feel-good documentary for New Yorkers, Etc.

23 Jun

A new indie doc coming out next week (July 1), Love, Etc follows a handful of New Yorkers in love or looking for it, including three couples and two single men. It’s poignant, funny and pretty damn accurate.

Meet an elderly pair from Canarsie who’ve been married for 48 years, a divorced dad with two teens living in Forest Hills, a gay play director who wants to be a father, two high school seniors enjoying their first serious relationship and a newlywed Indian couple living in Jamaica Hills.

WATCH THE TRAILER

You might appreciate this film if you have an affinity for any of the following:

-New York City

-documentaries

-people

-theater

-family

-music

-love

-life

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Even if you missed him in Rabbit Hole …

13 Jun

… you should know that Miles Teller is going to be the next big thing.

That is all.

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Iñárritu is brilliant

10 Jun

I’m a huge fan of Alejandro González Iñárritu. Loved Amores Perros, loved 21 Grams, liked Babel a lot.

Rented Biutiful last night and it was also very good, even though difficult to watch. Lots of depressing, hopeless-seeming moments about a dying father agonizing his way though the Barcelona underworld. Not a perfect film (a little long and confusing in parts) but definitely has Iñárritu’s trademark depth and heart. And Javier Bardem gives an incredible, sad, soulful performance.

But what I almost liked more than the movie: the short, making-of featurette narrated by Iñárritu himself that includes his journal entries as well as Flip Video footage he captured pre-production and during filming. He explains why he made the film, the experiences of the people in it (many of them not actors) and reveals some upsetting difficulties behind the scenes. Even if you saw Biutiful on the big screen, consider renting the DVD and spend an extra 30 minutes learning what makes this guy so great.

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Say “I Do” to Bridesmaids

28 Apr

Hate to admit it since I usually steer clear of chick flicks, but Bridesmaids is freakin’ funny! Starring Kristen Wiig (who also wrote it) and Maya Rudolph and produced by Judd Apatow, the movie had our mostly female audience laughing hysterically. There’s even some un-ladylike scatological humor thrown in for the boyfriends/husbands who get dragged along. I hope this film proves that female-driven comedy can be refreshing, relatable and raunchy—and still do well at the box office.

Let the estrogen flow!

Watch the trailer.

New movie: Wretches & Jabberers

1 Apr

Did you know April is Autism Awareness month?

Wretches & Jabberers is a documentary about two adult men with autism, Tracy and Larry,  who travel to Sri Lanka, Japan and Finland to meet other people on the autistic spectrum. It’s a moving story of advocacy, friendship and perseverance that sheds light on the intellectual and emotional complexities of people living with the developmental disorder. It will change your perception of autism.

Opens nationwide this month.

Tracy and Larry in Japan.

Courtesy of Douglas Biklen

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Heart-wrenching documentary: Dear Zachary

28 Mar

Netflix’ed last night: Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008), a deeply upsetting documentary about the failure of the justice system. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne explores the life and times of his childhood friend, Andrew Bagby, who was brutally murdered by an ex-girlfriend. When Kurt started the film it was to memorialize Andrew by talking to his friends and family—then the evil ex-gf reveals she’s pregnant with Andrew’s baby. His parents fight for custody … until the unthinkable happens.

See this—just not when you’re in the mood for a rom com.

Here’s the trailer.

Swedish House Mafia: Take One

14 Mar

Take One is a 45-minute documentary that follows house music DJs Swedish House Mafia over two years as they hit 250+ gigs in 15 countries. The guys—Steve Angello, Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso—are sometimes funny, other times obnoxious and even a little fat (sorry), BUT they produce awesome tracks and make crowds of thousands of people go ape shit crazy. And I dig that.

Check out the trailer.

Hear their most famous track, One.

More awesome live tracks here.

Life in a Day

10 Mar

Life in a Day is the story of one single day on Earth: July 24, 2010. Thousands of people from 192 countries took video footage on that day and uploaded it to YouTube. The film’s director (Kevin Macdonald of Touching the Void) and producer Ridley Scott  had 80,000 clips from which to choose to create this 90-minute documentary about interconnectedness and life on our planet. See how the other half live … supposedly coming to theaters exactly one year later on July 24, 2011.

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