01/20/2015 (DVD) Tuesdays with Mell The Good Lie, White Bird in a Blizzard, The Zero Theorem, Rudderless & more

This week: True stories filmed in GA, trippy movies, crazy moms, folk music, & the mafia: A varied mix sure to please any movie goer.
2014 PG-13 Drama

Director: Philippe Falardeau    

Writer: Margaret Nagle

Cast: Reese Witherspoon, Arnold Oceng , Ger Duany, Emmanuel Jal, Carey Stoll, Sarah Baker

 Filming locations:

Lawrenceville, Georgia

              

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

              

South Africa

Plot: Sudanese refugees given the chance to resettle in America arrive in Kansas City, Missouri. where their encounter with an employment agency counselor (Witherspoon) forever changes all of their lives.

Review: Though this movie didn't get as much much as the Oscar nominated Wild, this film has gotten some Heartland Awards and looks to be another notable performance by Witherspoon this year. I'm liking this Indie Witherspoon film streak. Given the fact that Ger Duany & Emmanuel Jal were two of these Lost Boys of Sudan, the name given to the groups of over 20,000 boys of the Nuer and Dinka ethnic groups who were displaced and/or orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War, that served as inspiration for the movie, it should provide much needed realism to their roles, and I look forward to seeing it. Also of note is the Heartland film festival nods & some Christian undertones where in the trailer at least one of the Sudanese boys says he's praying for their counselor & another praying in a church. Also, I've seen pictures of Witherspoon with her family going to church. Nice to see faith displayed in a positive light.

Rating: TBD

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documentary "How Violent Are You" - part of the BBC's Horizon series 

2014 R Drama Mystery Thriller

Director:

 Gregg Araki

Writers:

 Gregg Araki (screenplay), Laura Kasischke (based on the novel by)

Cast: Shailene Woodley, Eva Green, Christopher Meloni, Shiloh Fernandez, Gabourey Sidibe, Thomas Jane, Dale Dickey, Mark Indelicato, Angela Bassett

Plot: In 1988, a teenage girl's life is thrown into chaos when her mother disappears.

Review: I really hope the trailer didn't give too much away, but I still wanna see this. It looks like everything I love about movies: Great acting, intriguing story, beautiful production. Trivia: Eva Green, who plays Shailene Woodley's mother in the film is, in reality, only 12 years older than Woodley. Gregg Araki based the look of Kat Connor on Winona Ryder's style from the late 1980s.

Rating: TBD

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2013 R Drama Fantasy Scifi

Director:

 Terry Gilliam

Writer:

 Pat Rushin (screenplay)

Cast: Christoph Waltz, Rupert Friend,  Lily Cole, David Thewlis, Peter Stormare, Ben Whishaw, Mélanie Thierry, Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton 

Filming locations:

Bucharest, Romania

Strada Grigore Cobalcescu Nr. 41, Bucharest, Romania

(Qohen's home, exterior)

MediaPro Studios, Bucharest, Romania

(Qohen's home and other interiors)

Romanian Athenaeum, Bucharest, Romania

(Qohen's workplace)

Carol Park Mausoleum, Carol Park, Bucharest, Romania

(Qohen in the park)

ICPE Technology Park, Bucharest, Romania

(Qohen's examination by the 3 doctors)

PLOT: A computer hacker whose goal is to discover the reason for human existence continually finds his work interrupted thanks to the Management

Review: I love Terry Gilliam's style & previous work. This looks to fit right in with that. It's good to see Waltz in a different type of role for once instead of the bad guy he plays all the time. Trivia: The name "Qohen Leth" references "Qoheleth" (sometimes transliterated as "Qohelethin" or "Koheleth"), the original Hebrew name (and presumed author) of Ecclesiastes--the Bible book that investigates the meaning of life. According to director Terry Gilliam, Matt Damon and Ben Whishaw worked for scale just to be in this film, thus bringing the production in on schedule for a fraction of its original budget.  36 shooting days. Director of photography Nicola Pecorini decided to shoot on film rather than digitally. 

Rating: TBD

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2014 R Dramedy Music

Director:

William H. Macy

Writing Credits  

Casey Twenter	...	(written by) &
Jeff Robison	...	(written by) &
William H. Macy

Cast: Miles Heizer, Billy Crudup, Jamie Chung, Felicity Huffman, Selena Gomez, Kate Micucci, William H. Macy, Anton Yelchin, Laurence Fishburne

Produced by: William H. Macy et al.

Music by: 

Eef Barzelay Filming locations: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA Guthrie, Oklahoma, USA

Plot: A grieving father (Crudup) in a downward spiral stumbles across a box of his recently deceased son's demo tapes and lyrics. Shocked by the discovery of this unknown talent, he forms a band in the hope of finding some catharsis.

Review: I love music movies, the actors can sing, the music sounds amazing, and I love dramedies because they're a slice of real life. Looks like even Gomez is good in this. Directorial debut of William H. Macy. Yelchin, Crudup, Gomez, Macy & more perform in this. 

Rating: TBD

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2014 R Crime Drama Thriller

Director:

 James Mottern

Writer:

 Emilio Mauro

Cast: Ben Barnes, Toby Jones, Harvey Keitel, Leighton Meester

Filming Locations:

 Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Plot: Nick Tortano (Barnes) is a mafia criminal whose life spirals out of control once he becomes a made man. With the lives of his loved ones at risk, including his girlfriend, he must decide what's truly important to him.

Review: Mafia movies are a dime a dozen, but I love Leighton Meester & the trailer looked powerful so I'm interested. I hope she gets to do some real acting here.

Rating: TBD

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