Film Ramblings

As the weather turns cooler, one thing I am excited for is going to the movies more often.

Just last week, I saw a great movie at the theater in town that features “soon to be on their way to DVD” new releases at discounted prices. We call it “the cheaps.” Anyhow, the film I saw, titled The Visitor, from the director of Station Agent and the producer of Sideways, is the story of newfound connections with strangers and their ability to transform and awaken a once joyless 62-year-old man to a new world and new life. It was poignant, understated, heartfelt, uplifting, human, and illuminating. I loved it, and it’s one of those movies in which you find yourself thinking about the characters afterwards, wondering how they’re doing, as if they really exist.

I’m also excited to see the film Choke, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk. The film, which was featured at this year's Sundance Film Festival, is being released nationwide today. It's the dark and twisted story of a sex-addicted con-man who pays for his mother’s hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of others who rescue him as he repeatedly pretends to choke to death. Certainly not your standard Disney flick. I have no idea if I will like it, and will quite certainly find it immensely disturbing, but I do think the concept is intriguing and I’ve always wanted to get a taste of Palahniuk’s work.

Finally, I read an article in last week’s New Yorker which was essentially a review of the new film, The Women, a remake of the 1939 classic. The film’s reviews have been abysmal across the board, but what I found most interesting is how the article talked about the recent movies that have been targeted to females (think: Sex and the City, Mama Mia, and the Women.) Now don’t get me wrong, I love me a little Sex and the City, but it’s undoubtedly trashy and shallow, and what does it really say about the film industry’s perceptions of women when we’re being targeted with the shallow garbage that’s come out lately?

There's my two cents. So bring on the cold, and the heavily salted and buttered popcorn, but give me something with a little more thought and substance.