Blue Valentine
Director: Derek Cianfrance
Stars: Michelle Williams, Ryan Gosling
Country of Origin: US
Why I Chose this Film: After its Sundance premiere, the film was hailed as one of the most tragic love stories ever seen, at least as far as realism goes. Williams is an intriguing actress, constantly picking difficult and innovative directors to work with.
The Rundown: Well, it is extremely tragic and heartbreaking to watch the disintegration of a couples, especially as the director chooses to switch back and forth from when they forged their commitment to one another and the present time. Gosling and Williams are pitch perfect, and the climax is moving, memorable and quite sad. I also found myself it a an interesting study on all the wrong reasons a couple should get together. I'm curious to see what people think when it's released as I found myself definitely siding with one part of this couple over the other. 9/10
What's Wrong With Virginia
Director: Dustin Lance Black
Stars: Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Amy Madigan, Toby Jones
Country of Origin: US
Why I Chose this Film: The directorial debut of the screenwriter of Milk (2008) has such a delightfully gay title I couldn't pass this up.
The Rundown: I felt a little lukewarm about this dark comedy coming of age tale about a teenager and his schizophrenic mother. Connelly turns in an interesting performance, but I was very distracted by her honey blonde hair. It's not that there's anything innately wrong with the film---I just thought it rang false throughout most of it, in particular, the teen boy's relationship with a terribly underwritten Emma Roberts. 7/10
Three
Director: Tom Tykwer
Stars: Sophie Rois, Devid, Streisow, Sebastian Schipper
Country of Origin: Germany
Why I Chose this Film: This is a return to Tykwer's native country after his venture into English speaking cinema with the excellent Heaven (2002), the dismal Perfume: Story of a Murderer (2006) and the entertaining but somewhat forgetable The International (2009).
The Rundown: Three tells a story of a childless couple of 20 years that both fall in love with the same man. It has to be hands down, the most classy, elegant and thought provoking film about a threesome that I've ever seen. I loved every minute of this feature and was delighted to see Tykwer at the North American premiere---a film to look for and experience. 10/10
Monsters
Director: Gareth Edwards
Stars: Scoot McNairy, Whitney Able
Country of Origin: UK
Why I Chose this Film: The plot, concerning an alien invasion on earth 6 years prior to the beginning of the tale, and a photojournalist who must get his rich boss' daughter from Mexico through the Infected Zone to the US.
The Rundown: It's an interesting and quite well made low budget film---but it's definitely not a monster movie. Rather it's a commentary about immigration with a pseudo District 9 (2009) atmosphere. Scoot McNairy revisits loserhood as he did with his other indie cred, In Search of a Midnight Kiss (2008). While the effects are quite good, I couldn't quite feel frightened about aliens that looked exactly like giant octopi. Or why travelers could only go North if they had means, and not fly to a different country and then to the US....but no matter. It's worth a look. 7/10
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