Anna Karenina

Deb 7    Me 6

This is one of those names that is famous but I didn't know anything about. It wasn't on my radar but it fit into the movie night time slot so we gave it a try. I'll give the film makers credit for trying something new, the whole thing was done play like, but as if their lives were on stage, very Shakespearean, and it was interesting. The way it was directed, the first twenty minutes I felt like they were going to break out in song. It seemed like too much fluff, but as I thought about it (mind wandering away) I concluded that they were moving the story along, however slowly. In the end it seemed like a lot of spectacle for what appeared to be a fairly thin story. I imagine this to be one of the great tales, that's why so many of us have heard of the book, but the screen version was all style and little substance. Very pretty to look at, the staging was amusing, but not very engaging.

The Flat (Ha-dira)

Deb 7    Me 7

This is a very interesting documentary about a Jewish family who discovers a connection between recently departed grandma and a Nazi SS officer. I enjoyed seeing some of the research process presented on screen and its astonishing how much information on the holocaust is available, even more since the Berlin wall came down. This was a good movie, but it will be a very good TV show someday, seeing it the silver screen added nothing to the viewing experience. A couple questions came up about the making of the movie. There is footage of going through grandma's stuff before the realization she had an interesting past. Why were they shooting this stuff or was it a re-enactment? The film poses a lot of other questions, but they are the meat of the movie and inspire some post popcorn conversation.

A Late Quartet

Deb 7     Me 7

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener have sort of turned into a duo and the movies where they are paired up are usually pretty darn good or better. This one was pretty good too. It also stars Christopher Walken and a guy I didn't recognize, and it's those strangers that keep me going to the movies. This has a good story and everyone does a fine job, Hoffman's slovenly act and disheveled appearance is almost requisite these days, but it seems to suit him, hope it doesn't get to be formula for him. The movie talks a lot about art and the creative process. There are parables and metaphors comparing art and life. This is where the movie is at its best. Some of the rest of it is just too melodramatic. They show how a team works and where it doesn't, but that alone isn't interesting to me. The strength comes from the understanding of and commitment to their art, and that carried the movie for me.