nomadreader

The backstory: Michelle Williams is nominated for an Oscar (Best Actress) and an Independent Spirit Award (Best Actress). Both she and Ryan Gosling were nominated for Golden Globes as well (Best Actress and Best Actor, respectively.) The basics: Blue Valentine is the story of Cindy and Dean. It begins in present time, when their marriage is quite strained. Then the film jumps between the first days of their relationship and the present. My thoughts: I tend to be drawn to films (and novels) about relationships and marriage. I also tend to favor films nominated for acting awards (especially Best Actress) over films nominated for Best Picture. Blue Valentine , it seems, was tailor-made for me, and I loved every minute. Blue Valentine isn't a glamorous tale; it's incredibly honest and real. Derek Cianfrance takes the viewer inside a relationship and exposes the good, the bad and the moments that shift the balance.   The film was edited with restraint: early scenes beca...

The backstory:   Made in Dagenham  is nominated for three BAFTA Awards: Outstanding British Film of the Year; Best Supporting Actress, Miranda Richardson; and Best Costume Design. The basics:  Made in Dagenham  is the story of the striking female machinists at the Ford factory in Dagenham, England in 1968. My thoughts: I'm a huge fan of films about both women's rights and social justice, and I admit to tearing up during the trailer for this film. Made in Dagenham  delivers exactly what it promises: an inspiring story, intelligent laughs, period fashion and accents that are difficult to understand at times. The story of these women is indeed extraordinary, but the film never veered over the top. It was true to its time and honestly portrayed the distinctions between doing what's easy and being an agent of change. Sally Hawkins is dynamite as the strike's unlikely leader, Rita. I give credit to her and Nigel Cole, the film's director, for honestly portrayin...

Welcome back to my Monday morning recap of my no-longer-Friday-night date with myself. I've been working Friday nights for the past few months, and I've missed both enjoying a movie and dinner and recapping them. I've decided to keep this feature on Monday morning, and I hope to find time each week to squeeze in a film at my favorite independent movie theater in Albany and my favorite restaurant, New World Bistro Bar. The backstory: I'm a huge fan of Angelina Jolie, and I've been eager to see Salt  ever since Tom Cruise dropped out and Angelina took over his role. I'm thrilled the day has come when gender-blind casting of a summer adventure film can exist. To further entice me, part of the film was shot right here in Albany last summer. Who knew our I-787 interchange closely resembles D.C.'s? It was fun to see some of our local landmarks in the trailer. The basics: Evelyn Salt is a CIA agent accused of being part of a brilliantly cool (for a fiction...

The backstory: As soon as I saw the trailer, I wanted to see this movie. The basics: The documentary cameras follow the four babies through the early stages of development. It's an insight into life and raising children in San Francisco; Tokyo; Opuwo, Namibia; and Bayanchandmani, Mongolia. My thoughts: Babies  was quite a bit like spending time with actual babies. It was sometimes boring and monotonous, but then a baby would do something so adorable or hilarious it made it all worthwhile. There was no narrative arc, and some scenes lasted longer than others. I found myself enjoying the Namibian baby the least because I know so little about their culture. There are no subtitles for the stories, so I was left lost (like a baby) with the other languages. I was hoping for more insight into the other cultures. I'm fascinated by differing gender roles and social customs around the world, and while I could infer some of these, I would have loved a little explanation. There ...

Welcome to my Monday morning recap of my fabulous Friday night date with myself. This week I'm back to my usual location: the Spectrum 8 Theatres and New World Bistro Bar. The back story: As someone who grew up on the c'singles (cassette singles) of Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, I was immediately interested in learning about her early years in rock and roll with the all-girl rock band, The Runaways. Feminism and music? Yes, please. Also, after being pleasantly surprised with how good Kristen Stewart was in Twilight ( my review ), playing a character I disliked in the novel, I was eager to see her act again. The basics: Although it was billed largely as a Joan Jett biopic, it's more of a Cherie Curry biopic. Cherie was the lead singer of The Runaways, and the script was based on her memoir Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway . The film focuses on Jett and Curry, and the band's other three members are barely included.  The verdict: Floria Sigismondi managed...

Welcome to my Monday morning recap of my fabulous Friday night date with myself. I was looking forward to seeing Chloe , even though I didn't know much about it, because I adore Julianne Moore, really like Liam Neeson and have somewhat recently become a fan of Amanda Seyfried. I'm also a big fan of the director, Atom Egoyan. Here's Chloe  in a nutshell: if you know nothing going in, it's a gripping, intriguing psychological and sexual thriller. Apparently if you watched the trailer, you know the film's climax, and I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it. The joy of this film was its twisted journey. The journey isn't amazing enough to shine through spoilers. Here are the barebones details that won't spoil the film's fun for you: Liam Neeson, a music professor, and Julianne Moore, a gynecologist, are somewhat happily married, but she suspects him of cheating. She hires Amanda Seyfriend (Chloe) to seduce Liam Neeson to see if he would fall for it. ...

Welcome to my Monday morning recap of my fabulous Friday night. After journeying to the suburbs for Alice in Wonderland last week, it was wonderful to be back in the neighborhood to enjoy an independent movie at the Spectrum and dinner at my favorite Albany restaurant, New World Bistro Bar . The Movie: I've been eager to see The Last Station for months, but it only opened in Albany a few weeks ago. The film was nominated for numerous awards, including Best Picture at the IFC Independent Spirit Awards. Helen Mirren was nominated for Best Actress and Christopher Plummer was nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Neither won, but seeing two powerhouse performances share so much screen time was a dream. Both displayed raw emotions beautifully. James McAvoy also shined.  Without giving away too much, the film is based on a novel by Jay Parini and focuses on the last year of Tolstoy's life. Tolstoy is a major celebrity in Russia, and the Tolstoyan Movement has become q...

Welcome to my Monday morning recap of my Sunday night (this week!) dinner and a movie date with myself. I had high hopes for Me & Orson Welles . It's directed by Richard Linklater, who is one of my favorite directors. Before Sunset  may be my favorite movie ever (and of course, it's precursor, Before Sunrise , is near the top of the list.) Together, the two films are magical for me. I also adore Dazed and Confused , which is my favorite high school film. I wish more people would watch SubUrbia , his version of the criminally under-appreciated play that defines Generation X (which is not available on dvd for some reason.) I adore Slacker , his offbeat first film, although I don't enjoy rewatching it as much as the others. Still, he's a director who has somewhat of a signature but also veers into more mainstream material from time to time ( Bad News Bears  and   School of Rock ).  The story takes place in New York City in 1937. Richard Samuel...

Welcome to my Monday morning recap of my fabulous Friday night. Each week I see a film at the Spectrum Theater , my local independent movie theater. Then, I have dinner at my favorite restaurant, New World Bistro Bar . Crazy Heart  finally opened in Albany. The trailer was amazing. Jeff Bridges has won a slew of Best Actor awards, including the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award, for his role as Bad Blake, a washed up country singer.  Crazy Heart  is a beautiful film. Bad Blake is a difficult person to watch at times. He's an alcoholic. He's self-destructive. He's a brilliant singer and songwriter, but he's wasting away. Jeff Bridges does an amazing job. Bad Blake is not a character you want to root for and one I knew I was too smart to hope for, but I did anyway. As wonderful as Jeff Bridges was, Maggie Gyllenhaal gives the film's best performance. I'm even more convinced she is the best actress of my generation. As Jean, a music reporter and...

Welcome to my Monday morning recap of my Friday night. First, I see a movie at the Spectrum 8 Theater . Then, I meander two doors down and enjoy dinner at New World Bistro Bar , my favorite restaurant in Albany . Broken Embraces is the latest film by one of my favorite directors, Pedro Almodovar. If you haven't seen his films ( Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, All About My Mother, Volver, Talk to Her and Bad Education) , you really should. Broken Embraces is classic Almodovar. It's a haunting story that slowly unfolds. It stars Penelope Cruz. It's visually haunting. In the interest of maximum enjoyment, I'll tell you a little bit about the plot. It's the story of Harry Caine, a now blind writer living in Madrid in 2008. It's also the story of a film he made in 1994 before he was blind. The story flashes back and forth from the past to the present and then settles comfortably in the past to enlighten the audience. It's harrowing at times ...

Welcome to my Monday morning recap (on Thursday afternoon) of my fabulous dinner and a movie date with myself! Up In the Air  is Jason Reitman's third film. I really enjoyed Thank You For Smoking  and absolutely adored Juno, so I had high hopes for Up in the Air .  George Clooney, who is fantastic in this role, plays a man who travels more than 300 days a year. His job is to fire people, and he has the perfect balance of charisma and toughness needed to fire people he doesn't know for a living. After seeing the trailer many, many times, I worried this film would be hampered by a trailer that gives away it's climax (if you've seen the trailer, then you know what I'm referring to). I was pleasantly surprised to see I was wrong. I don't want to spoil the film's actual climax(es), but rest assured, friends, you don't know too much going into the film. Another pleasant surprise was the humor. Yes, I expected it to be funny; I laughed in the trailer. T...

Welcome to my Monday morning recap of my fabulous Friday night film at Spectrum 8 Theater and dinner at New World Bistro Bar ! The movie: An Education is based on Lynn Barber's memoir . Nick Hornby wrote the screenplay . Carey Mulligan is nominated for a Golden Globe for best actress (and many other acting awards). The entire cast is nominated for the Screen Actors Guild award.  The barest of plot details: The film is set outside London in 1962. Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is sixteen, and one of the brightest students at her private girl's school. She wants to go to Oxford to read English literature. She meets a charming, friendly, older man.  This film is perhaps the perfect coming of age story. Yes, I realize what a strong statement that is. Lynn Barber's story is not necessarily unique, yet it is a product of the time she was raised. Still, as someone who came of age in the 1990's United States rather than the 1960's Britain, it could have been my story. It...

Welcome to my Monday morning recap of my fabulous Friday night movie at the Spectrum Theater and dinner at New World Bistro Bar! Invictus: I was thrilled Invictus finally came out. I love sports movies, and I am quite a big fan of Matt Damon. Throw in Morgan Freeman, and I was sold. I wanted so badly to like it, but it was only okay. The movie opens with some sensationally remade news footage of Nelson Mandela (with Morgan Freeman inserted) to provide backstory. Mandela takes over the presidency of a very divided South Africa, and he tries to unite the country around its rugby team. As the story begins, the white fans cheer for the Springboks, while the black fans cheer against them, no matter what team they're playing. Matt Damon plays the rugby team captain, Francois Pienaar. The good: The acting was good, and at times great. Morgan Freeman completely captured Nelson Mandela's frailty and disposition. Matt Damon was good, although I didn't think he had too much to...