Monday, April 26, 2004
Summer Film Drought
If you're like me, you stay as far away from certain films and theaters with valet parking as you can get during the dry summer months. But take heart. I have found some secret, lush oases that I can't wait to visit (for the first time or again). Won't you join me this summer? If for no other reason than to nourish your minds and hearts while you get out of the heat.
Run, don't walk to see Saved! You will not be disappointed by this light hearted comedy but you may have to see it twice because you'll miss a good 10% of the film from raucous audience laughter and applause. It's about a teenage young woman at a Christian high school who feels led by Jesus to sleep with her boyfriend to save him from being gay. She becomes pregnant and spends the school year trying to hide it from her friends who in turn try to "Save" her. Its uproariously funny and far, far better than some other crap coming out this summer. Jeanne's rating: Definitely worth $8, twice.
If you have an art theater in town, don't miss this quiet gem of a film, Elina, As If I Wasn't There. It got best of fest award at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival and rightly so I would add (and I saw 26 films during the festival so I should know). Our hero is a 10 year old girl who refuses to submit to a system that would prefer to keep her silent. A rare thing in film these days, I'd say. Jeanne's rating: Definitely worth $8, more than once.
You've heard me talk about The Corporation before so I won't bore you with my raving reviews. But I saw it a second time at the Minnapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival. I'm looking forward to seeing it again. See it. Jeanne's rating: Definitely worth $8 and a 4 hour drive out of your way.
Another quiet but captivating film that I loved from the MSP International Film Festival was Beautiful Memories. It is about a young woman who goes to day treatment for memory problems and falls in love with a man who has lost his memory of his wife and children dying in a car accident. She's losing her memories to Alzheimer's and he's gaining his back. It's a tremendously tender and sweet story about their love, her loss and his healing. I want to see it again if it ever makes it into theaters. Jeanne's rating: Worth $8 more than once.
Lest you think that I am recommending mostly obscure films, here's my list of films that I really want to see this summer instead of the usual fast-food fare:
Napoleon Dynamite looks fun and I heard good buzz about it at Sundance.
I heard at Sundance that Garden State was funny in a "The Graduate" sort of way.
"The best cinematography of all of Sundance" was what one Sundance person said about Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall and...Spring. That's enough to intrigue me.
I heard nothing about Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself at Sundance but it looks intriguing.
Last but definitely not least
Lest you think that I'm a complete and utter film snob, here are the McFilms I can't wait to see:
i robot (this geek really can't wait)
Shrek 2 (this ugly princess really can't wait)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (this fan who misses LOTR horribly already can't wait)
See you at the movies!
Run, don't walk to see Saved! You will not be disappointed by this light hearted comedy but you may have to see it twice because you'll miss a good 10% of the film from raucous audience laughter and applause. It's about a teenage young woman at a Christian high school who feels led by Jesus to sleep with her boyfriend to save him from being gay. She becomes pregnant and spends the school year trying to hide it from her friends who in turn try to "Save" her. Its uproariously funny and far, far better than some other crap coming out this summer. Jeanne's rating: Definitely worth $8, twice.
If you have an art theater in town, don't miss this quiet gem of a film, Elina, As If I Wasn't There. It got best of fest award at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival and rightly so I would add (and I saw 26 films during the festival so I should know). Our hero is a 10 year old girl who refuses to submit to a system that would prefer to keep her silent. A rare thing in film these days, I'd say. Jeanne's rating: Definitely worth $8, more than once.
You've heard me talk about The Corporation before so I won't bore you with my raving reviews. But I saw it a second time at the Minnapolis/St. Paul International Film Festival. I'm looking forward to seeing it again. See it. Jeanne's rating: Definitely worth $8 and a 4 hour drive out of your way.
Another quiet but captivating film that I loved from the MSP International Film Festival was Beautiful Memories. It is about a young woman who goes to day treatment for memory problems and falls in love with a man who has lost his memory of his wife and children dying in a car accident. She's losing her memories to Alzheimer's and he's gaining his back. It's a tremendously tender and sweet story about their love, her loss and his healing. I want to see it again if it ever makes it into theaters. Jeanne's rating: Worth $8 more than once.
Lest you think that I am recommending mostly obscure films, here's my list of films that I really want to see this summer instead of the usual fast-food fare:
Napoleon Dynamite looks fun and I heard good buzz about it at Sundance.
I heard at Sundance that Garden State was funny in a "The Graduate" sort of way.
"The best cinematography of all of Sundance" was what one Sundance person said about Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall and...Spring. That's enough to intrigue me.
I heard nothing about Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself at Sundance but it looks intriguing.
Last but definitely not least
Lest you think that I'm a complete and utter film snob, here are the McFilms I can't wait to see:
i robot (this geek really can't wait)
Shrek 2 (this ugly princess really can't wait)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (this fan who misses LOTR horribly already can't wait)
See you at the movies!
