02013.08: A Yearlong Film Viewing Balancing Act
Films I'm watching in August 02013. Part of A Yearlong Film Viewing Balancing Act. #yfvba http://olearysreellife.tumblr.com/ @olearysreellife
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- DirectorRuba NaddaStarsPatricia ClarksonAlexander SiddigElena AnayaA romantic drama about a brief, unexpected love affair that catches two people completely off-guard.02013.08.01: streamed on Netflix. Ruba Nadda's delicate, beautiful love story.
- DirectorEva WeberA lyrical and haunting portrait of reindeer herding in the twilight expanses of the Lappish wilderness.02013.08.01: Short: by Eva Weber
- DirectorJoss WhedonStarsAlexis DenisofAmy AckerFran KranzA modern retelling of Shakespeare's classic comedy about two pairs of lovers with different takes on romance and a way with words.02013.08.01: At IU Cinema with my sweetie. Joss Whedon's modern take on Shakespeare's comedy is delicious.
- DirectorDrew DeNicolaOlivia MoriStarsBilly AltmanJon AuerLester BangsBig Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is a feature-length documentary film about the dismal commercial failure, subsequent massive critical acclaim, and enduring legacy of pop music's greatest cult phenomenon, Big Star.02013.08.02: At Ryder Film series with my sweetie. I wept.
- DirectorAmy RedfordStarsSaffron BurrowsIsaach De BankoléPaz de la HuertaThe life of a woman is transformed after she is diagnosed with a terminal disease, fired from her job and abandoned by her boyfriend. Given two months to live, she throws caution to the wind to pursue her dreams.02013.08.03: Amy Redford's first feature film was mesmerizing.
- DirectorMaggie CareyStarsAubrey PlazaJohnny SimmonsBill HaderFeeling pressured to become more sexually experienced before she goes to college, Brandy Klark makes a list of things to accomplish before hitting campus in the fall.02013.08.04: Loved Maggie Carey's raunchy sex comedy.
- DirectorTom VaughanStarsShaun EvansAbigail ThawLavinia BertramThe strangulation of a married woman and the poisoning of an elderly botanist lead Morse to bring a serial killer to justice.02013.08.05: baby morse... on TV
- DirectorAnne RentonStarsKathleen TurnerEmily DeschanelJason RitterA devoutly Catholic wife and mother has been nominated for one of the church's top awards. She then goes about trying to prove she has the perfect family, refusing to accept them for who they are.02013.08.06: Anne Renton's first feature film. Kathleen Turner's great as a Catholic woman whose unconventional family threatens her chance to be Catholic Woman of the Year.
- DirectorAnne RentonStarsJenni BairdMichael Dean ConnollyJane Lynch02013.08.06: Short film by Anne Renton on YouTube
- DirectorRyan CooglerStarsMichael B. JordanMelonie DiazOctavia SpencerThe story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.02013.08.06: at AMC 11
- DirectorA. Sayeeda MorenoStarsMichael BillingsleyYetta GottesmanZabryna GuevaraIt's another sweltering 120-degree winter day with five more days to Christmas and hot is the only season left in New York City. Global warming has become a tangible threat to survival and everyone is creating new ways to protect themselves from the sun. Bato, an expecting father enters into a race against the sun, the birth, and his own identity to save his family as he is forced to sell the new currency of this world.02013.08.07: Short: A. Sayeeda Clark's sci-fi contribution to FutureStates.tv
- DirectorAbby EpsteinStarsMary Helen AyresJulia BarnettSylvie BlausteinBirth: it's a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to explore the maternity care system in America.02013.08.07: streamed Abby Epstein's documentary on netflix
- DirectorCraig BrewerStarsKenny WormaldJulianne HoughDennis QuaidCity teenager Ren MacCormack moves to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned, and his rebellious spirit shakes up the populace.02013.08.07: on disc borrowed from MCPL.
- DirectorAlice WuStarsJoan ChenMichelle KrusiecLynn ChenA gay Chinese-American and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations.
- DirectorGreg WhiteleyStarsArthur KaneDavid JohansenSylvain SylvainA recovering alcoholic and recently converted Mormon, Arthur "Killer" Kane, of the rock band The New York Dolls, is given a chance at reuniting with his band after 30 years.02013.08.09: Greg Whiteley's documentary on disc from MCPL.
- DirectorJenni ToivoniemiStarsOskari JoutsenAnna PaavilainenPäivi MäkinenTino, 16, has to host a date for Diablo, his family's stud cat. Tino's manhood is also put into test in front of two women.02013.08.10: at IU Cinema
- DirectorDamien ChazelleStarsJohnny SimmonsNate LangJ.K. SimmonsA ferocious, bullying music teacher teaches a dedicated student.
- DirectorMichael AlmereydaA photographer shares unpublished images chronicling time spent among the 'fiercely independent' residents of a remote English fishing village.
- DirectorKahlil JosephStarsSolomon GibbsStoryboard P.Flying Lotus
- DirectorTony DonoghueAn animated documentary about repair and recycling in an Irish village.
- DirectorJulia PottStarsAlex BrittonLaura FreeLove and a severed foot, at the end of the world.
- DirectorKibwe TavaresStarsDaniel KaluuyaMalachi KirbyLouis MahoneyMbwana and his best friend Juma are two young men with big dreams. These dreams become reality when they photograph a gigantic fish leaping out of the sea and their small town blossoms into a tourist hotspot as a result. But for Mbwana the reality isn't what he dreamed and when he meets the fish again, both of them forgotten, ruined and old, he decides only one of them can survive.
- DirectorMichelle MorganStarsStephanie AllynneJohn F. BeachJennifer CostagliolaA guilt-ridden, but well-intentioned, yuppie goes to great lengths to prove she is a decent person.
- DirectorTinatin GurchianiStarsTeona BagrationiTinatin GurchianiRamin IremadzeA filmmaker puts out a casting call for young adults, aged 15- to 23. The director wants to make a film about growing up in her home country, Georgia, and find commonalities across social and ethnic lines. She travels through cities and villages interviewing the candidates who responded and filming their daily lives. The boys and girls who responded to the call are radically different from one another, as are their personal reasons for auditioning. Some want be movie stars and see the film as a means to that end; others want to tell their personal story. One girl wants to call to account the mother who abandoned her; one boy wants to share the experience of caring for his handicapped family members; another wants to clear the name of a brother, currently serving a jail sentence. Together, their tales weave a kaleidoscopic tapestry of war and love, wealth and poverty, creating an extraordinarily complex vision of a modern society that still echoes with its Soviet past.
- DirectorDean ParisotStarsBruce WillisHelen MirrenJohn MalkovichRetired CIA agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device.02013.08.11: At Brown County Playhouse. Disappointing all around.
- DirectorCraig ViveirosStarsJames MerryRosalind HalsteadJack RothAn unpopular fitter is murdered during a royal visit at a family owned munitions factory.02013.08.12: on TV
- DirectorPete OhsAndrea SissonStarsChildren of Sólstafir KindergartenFriðgeir EinarssonPete OhsA documentary of a woman in search of her brother. The setting is surreal - where glaciers are more common than billboards and inhabitants speak to mountains. A design, filmmaking couple stretch their roots across the North Atlantic and plant them in Iceland where they're called to confront their limitations and follow their obsessions. As the nature of the island rapidly uncovers new perspectives on the human condition, the process of diagnosis, and the power of thought, the woman begins to find her brother amid the ranting wind, grandiose clouds, and bi-polarized sun. Their challenge when returning to the States is to bring this place of empowerment to each and every viewer to experience and to apply in their own lives.02013.08.13: Streamed on Seed & Spark using my credits.
- DirectorSylvia CaminerStarsLinda BlairCorey FeldmanRick SpringfieldThe first-ever feature documentary about Grammy® Winning musician, songwriter, actor, and New York Times best-selling author Rick Springfield and his ardently loyal fan base. Film focuses on some universal human desires, such as the importance of connecting with like-minded friends and the ability to create new memories as adults reminiscent of the carefree days of our adolescence. The film highlights Springfield's unique connection with his fans and how this relationship has been a source of happiness, comfort, and inspiration.02013.08.14: Sylvia Caminer's doc about Rick Springfield. on disc from MCPL.
- DirectorVera FarmigaStarsVera FarmigaJoshua LeonardDagmara DominczykA chronicle of one woman's lifelong struggle with her faith.02013.08.15: Vera Farmiga's formidible directorial debut. on disc borrowed from MCPL.
- DirectorSusanne RostockStarsHarry BelafonteSidney PoitierMarge ChampionMost people know the lasting legacy of Harry Belafonte, the entertainer. This film unearths his significant contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and to social justice globally.02013.08.15: Susanne Rostock's doc on Harry Belafonte. Streamed on Netflix.
- DirectorMargarethe von TrottaStarsBarbara SukowaAxel MilbergJanet McTeerA look at the life of philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt, who reported for 'The New Yorker' on the trial of the Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann in Jerusalem.02013.08.15: Margarethe von Trotta's feature film at IU Cinema
- DirectorCathy RandallStarsDanielle CatanzaritiCassandra JinmanTalia MonaghanA coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old girl trying to fit into both a posh private school and an ordinary public school.02013.08.16: Cathy Randall, dir. Watched on disc from Netflix with my sweetie. we enjoyed it.
- DirectorAbby GinzbergStarsCarl LumblyAndrew YoungThelton E. HendersonHenderson's decisions on affirmative action, environmental protection and prison reform --and the furors that surrounded them --serve as a prism on these changes and what they mean for American society.02013.08.16: Abby Ginzberg's documentary on disc from the library.
- DirectorJosephine DeckerStarsLisa DiazAdriana DismanMaggie MarionShe sails into the frame with verve, doom, determination! --And her teddy bear. Will the child pirate conquer New York? Or will New York conquer her?02013.08.17: Josephine Decker's short streaming on YouTube. 11 minutes.
- DirectorChristian PetzoldStarsNina HossDevid StriesowHinnerk SchönemannYella is estranged from her possessive and violent husband; but he can't quite bring himself to give her up. When their fraught interaction finally comes to dramatic conclusion, Yella's life takes an odd shift.02013.08.17: Christian Petzold's feature streaming on MUBI
- DirectorVictoria MahoneyStarsSonequa Martin-GreenZoë KravitzJason ClarkeAs her family falls apart, 17-year-old Sweetness O'Hara is left to fend for herself in a neighborhood where her survival is uncertain.02013.08.17: Victoria Mahoney's feature debut streaming on Netlfix.
- DirectorMalia BrukerStarsKatherine MarshIn a world where corporations reach us more easily and often than our loved ones, what can one girl do? She can crusade against the travesty of junk mail, calling her elected officials and picketing corporate headquarters. Or she can let the corporate courtship sweep her off her feet, saving and cherishing each written word that reaches her mailbox. A humorous blend of performance and documentary, Chase is both a playful reaction to the absurdity of corporate marketing and a heartfelt yearning for simpler ways of communicating. Director Malia Bruker brings you into her world, where music, art and romance live big and reality hides in a corner.02013.08.18: Saw this and Malia Bruker's new short Heirloom (premiere) at Bear's Place as part of the Ryder Film Series.
- DirectorChristina YaoStarsAaron KwokTielin ZhangLei HaoIn 1899, a care-free young man must prepare to take over his family's Chinese banking empire.02013.08.18: Christina Yao's feature film streamed on Netflix.
- DirectorAlma Har'elBombay Beach is one of the poorest communities in southern California located on the shores of the Salton Sea, a man-made sea stranded in the middle of the Colorado desert that was once a beautiful vacation destination for the privileged and is now a pool of dead fish. Film director Alma Har'el tells the story of three protagonists. The trials of Benny Parrish, a young boy diagnosed with bipolar disorder whose troubled soul and vivid imagination create both suffering and joy for him and his complex and loving family. The story of CeeJay Thompson, a black teenager and aspiring football player who has taken refuge in Bombay Beach hoping to avoid the same fate of his cousin who was murdered by a gang of youths in Los Angeles; and that of Red, an ancient survivor, once an oil field worker, living on the fumes of whiskey, cigarettes and an irrepressible love of life. Together these portraits form a triptych of manhood in its various ages and guises, in a gently hypnotic style that questions whether they are a product of their world or if their world is a construct of their own imaginations.02013.08.19: On disc from MCPL. Watched with my sweetie. Director: Alma Har'el.
- DirectorFernando EimbckeStarsDiego CatañoDaniel MirandaEnrique ArreolaFlama and Moko are fourteen years old; they have been best friends since they were kids. They have everything they need to survive yet another boring Sunday: an apartment without parents, videogames, porn magazines, soft drinks and pizza delivery. The electricity company, Rita, the neighbor, Ulises, a pizza deliveryman, eleven seconds, the Real Madrid-Manchester game, some chocolate brownies and a horrible painting of ducks, all combine to break the harmony of what promised to be a placid Sunday, and reveal issues such as the parents' divorce, loneliness, the confusion between adolescent love and friendship, as well as frustration in adult life. "Temporada de Patos" is a movie that shows that, when the lights go off, we can see the stars.02013.08.20: on disc from Netflix.
- DirectorNan Melville"I dream of building a community of dancers in a forsaken place amidst nature. A place where nothing exists, except dance. A place where you breathe, eat, sleep, dream, talk, imagine - dance. A place called Nrityagram." The dreamer? The extraordinary Protima Gauri Bedi (1948-1998). The result of her dream is brought to life in this documentary about the Nrityagram Dance Village and School near Bangalore, India. Protima's life as a high flying, daring Bombay socialite changed radically when she saw the guru Kelucharan Mahapatra performing Odissi Dance. She gave up everything to study with him and after years of rigorous training she became a celebrated dancer. When she realized that the Classical Indian Dance tradition would die out once the last of the gurus went, she devised a groundbreaking plan to build an institution where students learning Classical Indian dance would live together with the gurus who taught them. Her passion, her vision and the breadth of her achievements are shown through anecdotes related by old friends. Donated photographs and footage of Protima's days as a dancer, and of the construction of Nrityagram, give a glimpse into the past. While Protima's story is inspirational, the film largely focuses on her legacy; the renowned Nrityagram Dance Village and Ensemble. It showcases the continuance of the company after her tragic death in a mudslide while on a pilgrimage, and how the self-motivated, holistic lifestyle she implemented is still practiced. The exquisite talent of the Ensemble is showcased in performances I filmed in New York City. Nrityagram: For the Love of Dance demonstrates how the lead dancers and choreographer have elevated the contributions of the company, and how they continue to contribute to the growing appreciation of Indian classical dance in India and around the world.02013.08.20: Nan Melville's short doc streamed on Seed&Spark.
- DirectorIlisa BarbashLucien Castaing-TaylorIn the summer of 2003, a group of shepherds took a herd of sheep one final time through the Beartooth Mountains of Montana, in the extreme north-west of the United States. It was a journey of almost three hundred kilometres through expansive green valleys, by fields of snow, and across hazardous, narrow ridges - a journey brimming with challenges. The aging shepherds do their very best to keep the hundreds of sheep together; the panoramic high mountains are teeming with hungry wolves and grizzly bears.02013.08.21: watched on disc from Netflix.
- DirectorPaul LovelaceJessica WolfsonWhat does music from the inner city do for a teen in a town with one stoplight? How is minority culture from the big city absorbed and re-expressed in the lives of its American antithesis? Amongst visual poetry of the small towns, cornfields and rural beauty, Iowa Mixtape explores these questions with three different Iowans whose lives have been changed by Hip hop.02013.08.21: streamed on Seed&Spark
- DirectorMary McDonagh MurphyStarsMary BadhamJane BeasleyRick BraggIt is our national novel. Reading to Kill a Mockingbird is something we all have in common. Harper Lee's first and only novel turns 50 this summer and the author hasn't given an interview since 1964 or published a second book. In compelling interviews with Scott Turow, James McBride, Wally Lamb, Rosanne Cash, Anna Quindlen, Oprah Winfrey,Tom Brokaw, among others, and with rare cooperation from Harper Lee's sister and friends, Mary Murphy traces the history of this astonishing phenomenon.02013.08.22; very early morning...
- DirectorJason WillisStarsTerry EasleyGiovanni DominiceNeil KightCatnip is all the rage with today's modern feline, but do we really understand it? Is it a source for harmless kicks, or a potentially crippling addiction? Is it a tool to expand one's consciousness, or a downward spiraling path that can eventually lead to insanity? Once and for all the facts about this controversial substance are frankly discussed, in the long-lost drug educational film that never-was, "Catnip: Egress to Oblivion?".02013.08.22: Short film. voted for it. man made by Jason Willis. Funny. Reefer Madness style..
- DirectorAngela TuckerStarsAlizaAntoniaBarbFacing a sex obsessed culture, a mountain of stereotypes and misconceptions, and a lack of social or scientific research, asexuals - people who experience no sexual attraction - struggle to claim their identity.02013.08.22: Streamed on Netflix. Angela Tucker, dir.
- DirectorBalázs SimonyiStarsFerenc ElekLehel KovácsUpon finishing their drinks, two men in formal clothes leave a restaurant and walk into the night. As they traverse the road and leisurely walk towards their destination one wonders where that is and what their intention is.02013.08.23: Streamed on Film Movement. Director: Balazs Simonyi
- DirectorJeffrey KimballStarsRegina AlvarezAnya AuerbachMike BryantA diverse group of full-of-attitude New Yorkers reveals how a hidden world of beautiful wild birds in the middle of Manhattan has upended and magically transformed their lives.02013.08.23: Streamed on Netflix. Director: Jeffrey Kimball
- DirectorKim FairesStarsKim FairesRob HayActor Kim Faires retraces her own personal path from a childhood dream of playing ice hockey to its prosaic reality in this heartfelt story about making your passion work in the real world - and discovering along the way that sometimes the real thing is better than you imagined.02013.08.24: Streamed on Vimeo. Director: Kim Faires
- DirectorIan CheneyTHE CITY DARK is a feature documentary about the loss of night. After moving to NYC from rural Maine, filmmaker Ian Cheney asks a simple question - do we need the stars? - taking him from Brooklyn to Mauna Kea, Paris, and beyond. Exploring the threat of killer asteroids in Hawaii, tracking hatching turtles along the Florida coast, and rescuing injured birds on Chicago streets, Cheney unravels the myriad implications of a globe glittering with lights - including increased breast cancer rates from exposure to light at night, and a generation of kids without a glimpse of the universe above. Featuring stunning astrophotography and a cast of eclectic scientists, THE CITY DARK is the definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing stars.02013.08.24: tivoed from PBS POV ... watched with my sweetie.
- DirectorEsosa E.StarsEsosa E.Ohene CorneliusDardo Galletto02013.08.25: Short directed by Esosa Edosomwan streamed on Vimeo
- DirectorCaroline BottaroStarsSandrine BonnaireKevin KlineFrancis RenaudA chambermaid on Corsica is obsessed with chess after seeing a US expat play it lovingly with l'Américaine. She cleans his house and now also plays with him on Tuesdays.02013.08.25: on disc from MCPL.
- DirectorJosephine LinksStarsJosephine Links02013.08.26: short film by Josephine Links streamed on Doc Alliance.
- DirectorRachel SeifertMoving from country to country in South America, reporting from across the drugs frontline and interviewing top-level international politicians this film exposes the human cost of one of the most popular drugs on the London streets. Combining reportage from the drugs front line and interviews with those top-level international politicians who are campaigning to get us in the West to take real responsibility for our drugs problem, Cocaine Unwrapped presents prohibition in a wholly new light.02013.08.26: streamed from Netflix. Director: Rachel Seifert
- DirectorAri SandelStarsBen NewmarkNoureen DeWulfA.J. TannenA musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of dueling falafel restaurants on the West Bank.02013.08.27: Short - Oscar winner. Musical parody of West Side Story.
- DirectorShola LynchStarsShirley ChisholmWalter CronkiteGeorge WallaceA documentary on Brooklyn-based Congresswoman Shirley's Chisholm's 1972 presidential bid.02013.08.27: Shola Lynch's doc. Very moving. Takes me way back.
- DirectorJennifer PhangStarsJacqueline KimJames UrbaniakFreya AdamsGwen is the spokesperson for a radical technology allowing people to overcome their natural disadvantages and begin life anew. But when her job and family are in crisis, will she undergo the procedure herself?02013.08.28: Jennifer Phang's short film.
- DirectorRebecca Richman CohenAt a time when the country is rethinking its drug policies large and small, one state raises to the forefront of national attention. Once a pioneer in legalizing medical marijuana, the state of Montana is poised to become the first in the nation to repeal its medical marijuana law. Set against the sweeping vistas of the Rockies, the steamy lamplight of marijuana grow houses, and the bustling halls of the State Capitol, CODE OF THE WEST follows the 2011 Montana State Legislature as it debates the fate of medical marijuana. This is the story of the many lives and fraught emotions tied to one of the most heated policy questions facing the country today.02013.08.28: streamed on Netflix.
- DirectorRamin BahraniStarsWerner HerzogBarbara WeetmanA plastic bag, thrown out in the trash, attempts to find his way back to his owner and along the way discovers the world.02013.08.29: Ramin Bahrani's film featuring Werner Herzog voice over.
- DirectorDavid Gordon GreenStarsPaul RuddEmile HirschLance LeGaultTwo highway road workers spend the summer of 1988 away from their city lives. The isolated landscape becomes a place of misadventure as the men find themselves at odds with each other and the women they left behind.02013.08.29: At IU Cinema - delicious.
- DirectorTorill KoveStarsLiv UllmannA woman ponders over the strange coincidences that made her forefathers and -mothers meet and create the premises for her becoming the person that she is.02013.08.30: on disc from Netflix: Torill Kove's woman made Oscar winning animated short voiced by Liv Ullmann.
- DirectorJoachim RønningEspen SandbergStarsPål Sverre HagenAnders BaasmoGustaf SkarsgårdIn 1947, with five loyal friends in tow, explorer Thor Heyerdahl sails a fragile balsa wood raft along an ancient path some 4,300 miles across the Pacific.02013.08.31: on disc from Netflix.
- DirectorAlison EllwoodAlex GibneyStarsStanley TucciKen KeseyTimothy LearyA freewheeling portrait of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters' fabled road trip across America.02013.08.31: Streaming from Netflix via our Tivo. watching with my sweetie.
- DirectorLuke MathenyStarsLuke MathenyMarian BrockChristopher HirshA lovestruck, lounge-singing darts champion finds his prayers answered--literally--when he mysteriously receives a box of love-inducing darts.02013.08.31: Revisiting this cute short... sharing it with my sweetie.