Powder Blue

I think I really like this film. It took be awhile to come to this, but I have a feeling I will be thinking about this for awhile. Headlined by Jessica Biel as a single-mom stripper, and supported by Forrest Whitaker, Ray, and even Patrick Swayze, the film managed to pull off extremely dark and depraved and hopeful all at the same time. What starts out as 4 disconnected stories condenses to two stories that are only connected through one chance encounter. In each story, we travel through hopelessness and desperation, with Los Angeles providing the background of isolation and loneliness. Only through relationships lost, avoided and discovered are the characters able to gain some semblance of wholeness in their lives. I found that the film gave a good balance of dark to hope, not transitioning too soon, or too late, (letting the characters live for a bit in their lives). And even in the end, this is not a happy movie, but a sufficiently resolved one. I do wish Los Angeles would have had a more prominent role instead of just the background color/soul of the film.
4 stars (out of 5)

Shadowlands

The 1985 British made story of the life (or a portion of the life) of author C.S. Lewis. The story is actually only the portion of his life where he meets, falls in love with and marries his wife, maybe a 1 year window. Quirky characters surround Lewis in his academic life, and I am not sure if they are made more quirky for the script, or are actually that strange in real life. But it made for amusing watching. My biggest complaint is that I could not understand 25% of the speaking. The accent along with mumbly speakers along with poor sound mixing left me feeling like I was missing several punchlines or setups. Otherwise, this is a solid biographical sketch, though not anything to write home about.
3 stars (out of 5)

Seventh Gay Adventist

A small, independent film that follows three gay couples as they navigate life in the adventist church. Probably you could make a similar film choosing any church denomination, so while the details of this film give some insight into the attitudes of Adventists towards LGBT, it is really more about relationships and community than about a particular religious belief system. The film tells the stories of these couples through interviews with the individuals and with those who are close to them. It provides an excellent portrayal of the stress and pain associated with having your identity (not what you do, but who you are) be a theological issue. Almost like if I attended a church that thought introversion was a sin. And yet I had a deep faith and commitment to the belief system held by that church. Well worth seeing regardless of your opinion about LGBT as it provides an opportunity to get to know people.
4 stars (out of 5)

Jesus Henry Christ

Henry is a freak of a kid, which his mom tells him means "special, and unique". The latter is true. He can remember everything he sees, and his memory goes back to when he was about 1 month old. He was talking at 6 months with a full adult vocabulary. It turns out that Henry is a test tube baby and the journey of discovering his biological father leads him to discover how to be a "normal" kid and how to love life being who he is. Overlay this plot with a Wes Anderson-like script (think Rushmore or Royal Tennenbaums) that is quirky to the point of excess and you get it. In fact, I think if you like the Wes Anderson gestalt, you will like this. I don't, and didn't.

2 stars (out of 5)

Darling Companion

Diane Keaton is a stressed out mom and wife who happens upon a stray dog along the freeway. She rescues him, names him "Freeway", and has a new best friend. And while Freeway is the star of the family, he takes no direct part in the pleasurable nature of the film. Keaton, Kevin Kline, Diane Weist, and Richard Jenkins are part of an excellent cast of 6 adults working through various relational tensions. The family connections (husband, wife, sister, boyfriend, nephew, stranger) of the six add complexity and familiarity between the actors and the plot is just farcical enough (and not too much) to be lighthearted and fun. So while the film is all about Freeway, it is all about how we relate, and who is important and who we want to be in those relationships. 

3 stars (out of 5)

The Score

This is one of those mysterious films that I missed when it was in theaters. Released in 2001, this is a well done heist film with Robert DiNiro and Edward Norton, and exactly the kind of film I like. How have I never heard of it? How many other films are "made for me" that I have not heard of? The Score is a good, solid offering in the heist genre. DeNiro is a master safe-cracker looking to get out of the business, but is enticed back in for "one last big job" - of course. Norton is the young guy who pulls him in with the "sure thing". Of course, the simple, sure thing gets progressively more complicated and we get to sit back and enjoy the planning and execution of the job. And clearly I am biased, but when DiNiro states that his safe-cracking method for this job "is just physics", I new I was settling in for something clever. No disappointments here.
4 stars (out of 5)

Detachment

Adrian Brody plays a mostly broken, somewhat depressed man who is a career substitute teacher in New York. He has embraced this career as a valuable and necessary part of the educational system and also as a way to remain isolated from any community. He can help, without becoming close enough to anyone for them to be able to help him. The scenario for his current assignment is the worst school, with the worst faculty morale. And he does what he can. What I love about this film is that it is mostly about Brody. We get interview snippets (but don't ever really know why an interview is taking place) along with old home movie snippets of his life. These give us insight to his life philosophy, his educational philosophy and history that has shaped his personality. All total, these snippets probably add up to 5 minutes of film time, but give real depth to the character. This is not a happy film, but it is real. Brody struggles with education, generational attitudes and his own failures in life. He is remarkably functional for a pessimist. He is working hard to be an existentialist, but finds that he cares too much to have any real success with it. This internal battle is not explicit, but is the strength of this film and Brody carries it with integrity.
5 stars (out of 5)