Windfall (Israel, 2010)
Less of an indictment of wind energy companies (though it is that to some degree), Laura Israel's documentary is mostly an affirmation of the democratic process.
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Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ (Murphy, 2011)
The key to Hey Boo's success lies in director Mary Murphy's ability to balance critique and appreciation, providing both historical and biographical context to explain the novel's importance and testimonials to attest to its timeless qualities.
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Soul Surfer (McNamara, 2011)
UPDATE: A podcast on Soul Surfer at The Thin Place.
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Miral (Schnabel, 2010)
Julian Schnabel's latest film brings to the screen the autobiographical novel of Palestinian journalist Rula Jebreal. Here is a link to my review at Christianity Today Movies and TV.
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The Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson, 2001) — Ten Years Later
I can't quite shake the feeling that the world view that permeates this film genre is that life is an inherently miserable, humiliating experience...that the only joy in it is the supremacy and uniqueness of your particular misery. It's like a proud despair, almost as if the heroic stoicism of the modernists has crumbled and shown beneath it a sickly, pallid, postmodern gilded stoicism that doesn't fool anyone, least of all the people wearing it.
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Battle Los Angeles (Liebesman, 2011)
The title credits of Battle Los Angeles, which I always thought were the ultimate authority in such matters, does not have the colon.
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The Desert of Forbidden Art (Pope and Georgiev, 2011)
The directors of The Desert of Forbidden Art, Amanda Pope and Tchavdar Georgiev, state that they are drawn to "stories about stubborn, unsung people with vision who challenge the boundaries of their times."
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The Adjustment Bureau (Nolfi, 2011)
The biggest flaw of The Adjustment Bureau may be that its negatives are so easily articulable.
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A Beautiful Mind (Howard, 2001)
Do I think this was the best film of 2001? No. Neither though can I muster too much outrage at its victory. If the film were venerated today more than I think it is, my objections might be louder and more persistent. Absent inflated claims that I don't really hear coming from any quarter, I am content to let it stand as a well done commercially polished biopic with some top notch acting and an earnestness that while not winning me over does not really grate.