Certified Copy

Starting out as an academic, philosophical discussion on the merits of "the original" vs. "a copy" turns into a living exploration of the subject. Certified Copy is a "walking and talking" film with basically two characters throughout (a la Before Sunset or Tape). Juliet Binoche is fabulous as always. The story begins with Binoche meeting up with an author whom she idolizes/respects/despises for an afternoon on the town. By the end of the film, we are left wondering if these two are role playing not knowing each other early, or knowing each other late. It is one of those films that by the end, you drive home thinking about whether you saw the beginning through the right lens. Engaging throughout.
4 stars (out of 5)

Source Code

Excellent. In the tradition of 12 Monkees and Inception, this sci-fi, time-travel, alternate-reality thriller definitely brings its A-game. Jake Gyllenhaal is an Army helicopter pilot who was shot down in Afghanistan. When he comes to, he is disoriented and confused. It takes the first third of the film to clear up his confusion. It turns out that he is not part of a special program that allows him to be sent to an alternate reality to live out the last 8 minutes of another mans life. In this case, the man happens to be a passenger on a commuter train that blows up in a terrorist attack. Gyllenhaal is tasked with discovering the bomb and relaying that information back to his "actual reality" to prevent the bomb. As with any good alternate reality film, we are left sorting out the details of how exactly the time travel works, and how the pieces of continuity fit together. And in this case Source Code does not disappoint with the details. As much as possible, the film is consistent and clear and plausible, which makes it one step better than Inception because in the end it does not get to rely on everything being "a dream".
5 stars (out of 5)

The Man without a Past

This Finnish film chronicles the story of a guy who gets beat up while traveling in an unfamiliar city. We don't know anything about him, except that he had a welding facemask in his luggage. Unfortunately, the guy doesn't know anything about himself either. He lost his memory in the beating. However, he is a pretty upbeat guy and finds a place to live in a squatters village (in a shipping container) and makes a friend in the local Salvation Army staff office. Without being too concerned about why he doesn't remember anything, or what might be important about his past, he goes on with his life an develops new relationships, friends and interests. Perhaps a good look at how an existentialist would approach memory loss. The film plays out slowly and feels really long, but never do you feel like you want to quit watching. I will leave it to you to determine if that makes it a good film or a poor film.
3 stars (out of 5)

Buddy

Two words: Stig Inge. Another in the line of Norwegian films about odd friends (see Elling). Here a couple of friends (Kristoffer and Geir) work together hanging billboards around town and use their freedom to perform Jackass like stunts for Kristoffer's video memoir. The two find a place to live as roommates with Stig Inge, who happens to be a bit of a recluse. It is an odd pairing and when Kristoffer's memoirs get picked up by a local TV channel for airing, everything becomes a little bit weird in the relationships. This is not high art, but it is a well developed story of friends that mature and realize why they are friends.
4 stars (out of 5)

Long Way Down

Ever since seeing The Motorcycle Diaries, I have thought a cross continent trip would be fun. This documentary cements that thought for me. Ewan McGregor and his buddy take a motorcycle trip from Ireland to Capetown and Long Way Down is a 12-hour or so documentary of their trip. Besides convincing me that such a trip would be fabulous, I am also now convinced that I could never do it. This isn't just two guys and two motorcycles. It is two guys, two motorcycles, 6 more guys, another motorcycle, 2 support vehicles, three months on the road and corporate sponsors. So maybe I will keep the dream alive, but just scale it back a bit. As far as this series goes, don't give up at the first episode (which is pretty boring). You could even probably skip the first couple hours as they prepare and travel through England and Europe. The real fun starts in Africa and fortunately, the route does not include a lot of paved roads. We get to see travel where tourists don't usually go. As far as travel shows go, this one is a lot of fun.

4 stars (out of 5)

Happy-Go-Lucky

Poppy is a generally positive and happy girl. She encounters all kinds of strange things and yet never seems to be nervous or frightened. Her personality just doesn't allow it. She decides to take driving lessons and her instructor is a pretty tight laced fellow. Driving lessons are very serious and not to be take lightly. The fact that Poppy is so cavalier about driving and that Scott is so uptight about teaching driving leads to a natural ongoing tension. This is a decent slice of life film where the tension is not so great as to make it serious. Unfortunately, the fact that it never really gets serious makes it also largely forgettable.
3 stars (out of 5)

The Maltese Falcon

A definite classic film noir. Bogart plays independent detective Sam Spade who stumbles onto a who-done-it and who-has-it mystery. A golden statue of a falcon believed to be covered in an ugly ceramic covering. This ancient artifact is obviously valuable and Spade gets involved with a woman who has it, or stole it, or knows who did, or who might. Murder and intrigue abound. Bogart is, of course, the smartest one on screen and seems to just be playing with everyone, always one step ahead. I am sure that it is a sign of the times, but I don't really see what is so great about his acting. He is a grizzled old guy with a really over-the-top method of acting. Any emotion that he needs to convey is super explicit on his face, as if the director said "Ok, now we will hold the camera on your face so you can show anger for a couple of seconds". It doesn't seem natural at all. Like I said, I am probably just not in touch with what good acting was back then. But whatever it was, it doesn't really hold up.
2 stars (out of 5)