Dik (00:10) 2011 Australia

A six year old comes home from school with a drawing and a sentence describing the picture. When he shows his father, the father misinterprets his artwork. This leads to an argument between the parents. This is one very funny short, the audience laughed throughout the short. I voted this short as my favorite.

Incident by a Bank (0:09) 2009 Sweden

Based on a true event, Incident by a Bank is a detailed recreation of a failed bank attempt. Using ninety extras and one camera, two onlookers are observing suspicious activity and wondering if a bank will be robbed. And they watch the entire bank job unfolded. Unbelievable as it sounds, parts of this short are really funny as the onlookers are wondering if a bank holdup will take place.

Manhattan Short September 23rd - October 2nd 2011

New Haven, Connecticut was one of the venues for the Manhattan Short One World*One Week*One Festival . The ten finalists were shown at the Whitney Humanities Center tonight and it was a wonderful night of international films. Each of the ten finalists will be reviewed.

Winter in Wartime - Oorlogswinter (1:43) 2008

Fourteen year old Michiel is aiding a wounded British soldier in this coming of age story set in Nazi occupied Holland.  Jack's plane has crashed and he shot a German soldier as he was hanging by his parachute in a tall tree. Jack has a serious leg wound and can't travel. Michiel comes across him hiding in a shelter and helps him. Michiel has his older sister Erika help take care of him because she is a nurse. Michiel makes a decision not to tell his father, the major of his town because his father is cooperating with the Germans in the sense he wants to keep the peace. Michiel's Uncle Ben is helping with the resistance and is reluctant to involve him. The Germans arrest Michiel's father and two other men who they mistaking believe are aiding the soldier. Will his father be released? Will Jack make it to his contacts and safety?  This is a beautifully shot film with many scenes of the snow covered Dutch  countryside. Winter in Wartime is a quiet movie, not much action or violence, but it does well in building suspense as Michiel works hard to keep Jack undiscovered. Michiel has to make some tough decisions when he has to decide on who to trust and this struggle is very effectively shown in the movie. I highly recommend this movie.

Jack (0.04) 2009

Jack, a Lakota Sioux, served proudly in Vietnam as part of the 7th Cavalry. At a party back in the States, Jack is told that the 7th Cavalry was the unit which massacred his people at Wounded Knee. This short film highlights his reaction to this news. Jack took first place in The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian presents the winners of the first-ever, “Answering the Call: Veterans Day Short Film Contest. The film can be viewed following this link: http://www.nmai.si.edu/fvc/veterans.

Repatriation of the Pawnee Scouts (4:00) 2009

The 2nd place winner of the Veteran's Day Short Film Contest was Repatriation of the Pawnee Scouts.
Six Pawnee Scouts, having been honorably discharged from the Army in 1868, were traveling through Kansas when they were shot to death by settlers. The Army was doing psychometric studies and had the decapitated heads sent east. The short shows the remains of the scouts sent home to be put in mother earth so there spirits can be free. Follow this link for the short: http://www.nmai.si.edu/fvc/veterans.

I Am the Warrior (0.03) 2009

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian presented the winners of the first-ever, “Answering the Call: Veterans Day Short Film Contest held in 2009. I Am a Warrior is a narration of the Native American contributions to their native land during wartime from the time of the Revolutionary War through WWII.  I Am a Warrior was given an award for 3rd place. To watch the short follow this link:  http://www.nmai.si.edu/fvc/veterans

Higher Ground (1:49) 2011

Corinne (Vera Farmiga), married fifteen years, lives with her husband and three children in the Hudson Valley. The Miller family are pillars of a close knit Fundamentalist Church community. All is well until Corinne begins to question her faith when her close friend Annika is diagnosed with a brain tumor. As Corinne struggles with her belief system, her marriage to Ethan founders. Higher Ground, Framiga's directing debut, is a close up look at a way of life that is unfamiliar to me and which I found very interesting. Farmiga does a great good at showing us a woman becoming open to new ways of thinking and feeling.. Her husband and friends, while good people, are stagnant in their thinking. Corinne simply outgrows her way of life and needs to move forward. And that was not easy for her, her family and her community. Four of us (all women) thought this was a good movie. It certainly provoked conversation on the ride home. And that is the best sign of a good movie.

Roadkill (1:28) TV 2011

Roadkill is a SyFy Original Movie which I had no interest in watching. I came across the movie as I was flipping through the channels and very surprising got hooked. Six American friends are touring Ireland in an RV. They accidentally hit an elderly woman with the RV who is a gypsy. The gypsies cast a curse on the tourists, The curse comes in the form of a large predator bird who is picking off the group one by one. The only hope for the group, other than getting back to Dublin, is a holding onto a medallion which keeps the wearer safe. I read later that this movie is popular among the Maneater series watchers. I'm not sure what the Maneater series is and it is one of life's mystery I will not try to uncover.

Red Hill (1:35) 2010

Shane Cooper reports to duty as a constable in Red Hill. Red Hill is in the quiet remote Australia. He has moved to Red Hill because his pregnant wife needs to a quiet lifestyle due to hypertension. Shane's first day happens to coincide with the prison breakout of Jimmy Conway, an Aboriginal who is serving time for murder. Red Hill police and citizens arm themselves since they believe that Jimmy is headed back to town. Jimmy quickly arms himself and begins to shoot the police, one by one. With one exception - Shane the new constable. As Shane discovers the dead bodies of law officers,he uncovers long time secret shared by Old Bill, the chief and his cronies. A suspenseful movie with beautiful scenery of the high-country and a lively soundtrack, Red Hill is a modern day Western. It is a violent, dark movie but plays like an American western set in the mid 1800s.

Moneyball (2:06) 2011

Do you like movies about underdogs? Do you like movies with a sports theme? Do you like movies about baseball? If you answered yes to any of the three, walk to your local theater. If you answered yes to any two, jog to the theater and if you answered yes to all three, run as fast as you can to the nearest theater! With Brad Pitt in the lead role, it's like putting extra butter on freshly popped popcorn. Pitt is Billy Beane, the real life general manager of the Oakland Athletics. Beane has difficulty signing top rated players due to his small budget of 37 million. Beane hires Peter Brand, an Yale graduate with an economics degree, to help sign underrated players for a song. The young team struggles to win games and Beane worries about retaining his job. As the season progresses, the team gels and goes on a record breaking winning streak. Will this be enough to take the team to the World Series? I recommend this movie for several reasons, the first being that this film is based on real events. The second is the highly rated cast of Pitt, Hill and Hoffman. The third reason is that I do strongly agree with Beane's basic premise, baseball is an unfair game. Rich teams get the talented players that poor teams don't have a chance of signing. Play ball!

The Lion King (In 3D) (1:27) 1994

Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa are back in 3D for a limited two week engagement. As I was sitting in the theatre wearing the glasses, it crossed my mind that maybe the extra cost of the 3D was a waste of money. Then the opening scene started and I was hooked again. The 3D effects won't be overwhelming but subtle  adding a nice touch.  Having watched the movie off and on over the years, it came as a surprise that The Lion King has a limited amount of musical numbers. The Lion King is worth another look on the big screen and worth the extra cost to see it in 3D/

Madeinusa (1:43) 2005

Madeinusa, the mayor's daughter, lives in the Peruvian Andes with her father and sister. Her mother left the family to live in Lima. During the local festival, a young man visits this remote village and is interested in Madeinusa. Although the festival takes place during the Holy time, it really is a time of village decadence. Madeinusa has been designated a Film Movement film. Frankly, I didn't finish this movie. It gave me the creeps because it was so odd.  Please comment about this movie because I don't get it. Enlighten me please.

Fallen Art - Sztuka spadania (0:06) 2004

A Polish animated short takes place at an old army base in a remote setting. Soldiers are taken to a high platform, given a medal, saluted, and then kicked off the platform resulting in the soldier free falling to earth.  The free fall is captured and artistically inspires the general. There are no words or subtitles to Fallen Art but there is a lively musical score.  Thank goodness the short is only six minutes in length, I had to watch it twice to understand what was happening.

Mozart's Sister - Nannerl, la Soeur de Mozart (2:00) 2011

Mozart had an older sister who they family referred to as Nannerl. Four years older that Mozart, Nannerl was also very talented. She could sing and play the harpsichord. She was also an accompanist violinist but was forced to stop playing since it was not socially acceptable. Nannerl was also was a composer but her father forbade it since composition was above a woman's ability. Nannerl was first promoted as a musical partner with her brother. Given the Wolfgang was a child prodigy, Nannerl soon became the second banana on tour. This is a slow plodding movie. However, it is also contains beautiful music, gorgeous scenes of palaces and their grounds. Mozart's Sister shows how grueling it was to be a traveling musician and also how frustrating it was for Nannerl to be so creative with such limited choices and opportunities.
This is a true art house film and it won't be every one's cup of tea but is does nicely for those who seek out artsy movies.

Drive (1:40) 2011

I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is the acting is very good. The bad news is Drive has some violent scenes, chock full of blood and gore. So much so it turned me off and I hesitate to recommend Drive. Ryan Gosling is a loner, working as an auto mechanic and part time as a stunt driver. Sometimes, he also is the driver of the get away car in robberies.  Gosling's character's doesn't have a name, he is referred to as "the Driver." Gosling, a quiet, low affective man, meets his neighbor Irene and her young son. He immediately is attracted to Irene and spends time with her and her young son. Irene's husband, Standard, is released from prison and comes home. Unfortunately, the mob wants him to do one last job. After the Driver finds Standard beaten up, he offers to be the get away driver. The pawn holdup goes wrong and the Driver finds out the mob is now after him. And this is where it gets very gory. I couldn't even watch some of the scenes. I did like the film, Gosling is wonderful as the skilled sociopath. He and Carey Mulligan give effective low key but powerful performances. The choice of music for the film is unusual and interesting. Caveat emptor.

Top Gun (1:49) 1986 An Oldie but Goodie

One of my all time favorites, Top Gun just celebrated the twenty-fifth anniversary of its release. And I've probably watched this movie about twenty-five times. I love the soundtrack, the aerial shots, and the relationship berween Mav and Goose. Watching tonight after not seeing it for awhile, it was a hoot to see a young Tom Cruise, Anthony Edwards and Val Kilmer. Steeped in 1980 culture and at the inner, but fictionalized, circle of Top Gun pilots. When you are surfing the channels and get to AMC, Top Gun is worth a look or another look.

The Boatlift (0:11)

The Boatlift is an excellent, uplifting, emotional documentary that is a must see. Thankfully, The Boatlift is available online at multiple sites. Two of the sites are The Coast Guard Digest and YouTube. Narrated by Tom Hanks, The Boatlift  recalls the efforts of private and public boaters to evacuate people from Manhattan on 9/11. When the towers fell, a half of million were stranded on Manhattan as the bridges and tunnels were closed. As the multitudes of survivors walked to the Sound, the Coast Guard began shuttling people away from the island. Given the magnitude of the crowds, the Coast Guard sounded a Mayday and asked boaters to help with the evacuation. And they did. People never had seen so many boats. The evacuation took nine hours and there were no accidents. Please watch this documentary about the unsung heroes of that day.

Incendies (2:10) 2011

Jeanne and Simon are twins living in Canada when their mother dies. During the reading of the will, they learn that their father is alive and they have an older brother. Before they can obtain their inheritance, the mother requires that they give both their father and brother letters she has written. The mother, Nawal, is a native of Lebanon and has kept her past a secret. Jeanne flies to her mother's village and begins to uncover facts of her mother's life. She learns the her mother was in prison after she left her village. Nawal's early life is shown in flashbacks. Jeanne begins to learn some of the sad details of her mother's life and calls for her brother, Simon for moral support. The twins soon uncover all the sordid details. The message of the mother is that through love, the cycle of violence can be broken. It crossed my mind that the message could also be "ignorance is bliss." Incendies was nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Film proving that Canadian films are not always lightweights.  Shot in Lebanon, the scenery is fantastic. The movie was extremely well acted. I thought the ending was a light far fetched but the two hour movie will keep you enthralled.  Incendies belongs high up on the rental queue.

Circumstance (1:47) 2011

Circumstance takes place in Tehran, Iran. Two teenage girls  secretly visit the underground social scene as they tell their families they are going to sewing class.  Atafeh and her parents welcome back her older brother, Mehran, from drug rehab. Mehran is now a changed man, no longer driven by his love of music but more interested in collaborating with the Morality Police. This is also a change for his family who are well educated and more secular. Mehran is attracted to Atafeh's best friend, Shireen. The problem is that Shireen is sexually attracted to Atafeh. Atafeh is also attracted to Shireen and is not happy with Mehran wanting to marry Shireen. The viewer can imagine how much danger the girls are flirting with. Mehran has hidden cameras throughout his home and is spying on all. Mehran also informs the police as to the location of the underground club the girls attend. The club is raided, they escape but eventually the Morality Police catch up with them, hauling them in the police station. My daughter and I attended the movie at the Criterion. It was screened in theatre 9 which holds no more than 20 people so we knew it was definitely an art house film. As we walked my daughter first words were "Thank God that we don't live in Iran." And I was in total agreement. This a good look at daily lives of young women (from affluent families) and the challenges they face. No violence but I was surprised at some of the vulgarity, they can swear like American teenagers. Circumstance was filmed in Beirut, Lebanon giving the film an authentic feel.

Brothers on Holy Ground (0:58) 2001

Brothers on Holy Ground is a documentary about New York firefighters made by Mike Lennon, a New York firefighter and is available through snagfilms.com. The documentary was filmed before, during and after 9/11. Officers, firemen and family members who lost their loved ones the day of the attack on the WTC are interviewed. I cried.

Beneath Hill 60 (2:02) 2010

Based on true events, Beneath Hill 60 tells the story of Oliver Wendell, an Australian miner during The first World War. Wendell enlists in the army and is sent to the Western Front. Germany has dug an elaborate underground tunnel system. The tunnels of Hill 60 are holding a massive amount of explosives. Wendell and his tunnelers are digging their own tunnel system under the German tunnels. The Brits are planning to tunnel to the the explosives and then blow them up. The tunnelers have both a dirty and dangerous job. Their jobs is also compounded by the Germans having listening posts along the Allies  system so the tunnelers have to work quietly, stopping when they think the Germans will pick up their sounds. When Wendell thinks of the girl he left behind, flashbacks of his life in Australia are shown. This is a little known, but important war story. Most of the movie is set in the tunnels and trenches but the story movies along at a decent pace. This is a must see for history buffs.

Contagion (1:46) 2011

Beth (Paltrow) arrives home from a business trip in Hong Kong feeling ill. Within days she is dead and so is her young son. Also dead are the people she came in contact with at a casino she visited before her departure for home. High contagious, the flu spreads rapidly with a death rate of 20 to 30 percent. Quickly, the WHO and Atlanta's CDC become involved with the race for a vaccine. A blogger (Law) with a large following is promoting a homeopathic remedy and discouraging readers not to take the vaccine. Within months, twelve million people worldwide are dead and social order is rapidly breaking down. Schools are closed, the hospital nurses are on strike until protocols are in place, and state borders are closed. The film addressed the bird flu and H1N1 and how these viruses mutate. Contagion is a frightening movie because it addresses the subject matter is a very realistic way. My grandmother always spoke about how frightening the Spanish Flu was in 1918. She was a teenage store clerk and lived in fear because so many people she knew died. She didn't like having to exchange money with customers. Let's hope we never have to live through this. On an another note, the best line in the movie was a prominent doctor saying to the blogger. "A blogger is not a writer, it is just graffiti with punctuation." I recommend this movie for the thoughtful, realistic manner in which the subject matter is treated, giving us a lot of food for thought.

The Last Kiss (1:43) 2006

Michael (Zach Braff) is turning thirty, has a successful career and a perfect girlfriend, Jenna. Then Jenna announces she is pregnant. Michael panics. When he meets Kim he spends time with her without telling Jenna. While this is taking place, Jenna's parents are having marital problems and briefly separate. Michael's friend Chris is also having marital problems. The Last Kiss focus on three couples as they struggle in their marriages. The story unfolds as the couples either reconcile, recommit or dissolve their relationship. To be brutally honest, I struggled to maintain interest in the movie for the first twenty-five minutes. I was about to shut off the movie when I began to care about the characters, especially Jenna's parents played by Blythe Danner and Tom Wilkerson. If you decide to watch The Last Kiss, be prepared to struggle through the first part of the movie, the last hour will bring about a satisfying ending.

In a Better World -Haeven (1:58) 2010

In a Better World was given a well deserved Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Elias is a Danish boy is targeted by a bully at school. Adding to his misery is his coping with parents who have separated and headed for divorce. He misses his father, a doctor, who travels back and forth to Africa to work in a refugee camp. Christian has just moved from Sweden to live with his grandmother and his father after the death of his mother from cancer. Christian befriends Elias which leads to Christian attacking and beating the school bully. Later, while Christian is with Elias, his dad and little brother, Elias witnesses an altercation between Christian's dad and another father. Elias's dad will not fight back as he believes that fighting or violence solves nothing. Elias finally agrees with Christian's plan to get even with the man who hit his father. However, the plan for revenge doesn't go as planned. Will the two families come together to help their sons work through the aftermath of the plan gone awry? Plain and simple, this is a very good movie. It is sometimes slow moving but the relationship between Elias and Christian unfolds in a very convincing way. The boys struggles are mirrored in the doctor's experiences in treating African refugees.  See this Danish movie.

Law Abiding Citizen (1:48) 2009

Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx are two of my favorite actors so I was surprised that I never saw Law Abiding Citizen when it was first released. Now I know - the message of the movie was blown to smithereens by all the violence. Clyde Shelton (Butler) is a family man who is tinkering in his basement when two men invade his home, beat and tie him up and then murder his wife and young daughter. The two killers are put on trial, one is given the death penalty and the other a short prison sentence because he cut a deal. Clyde is not happy with the deal because he beleives that Nick Rice, the Assistant D.A., give the deal so he wouldn't have to go to trial. It turns out that the heartbroken Clyde is also a highly trained former agent. He speciality was designing ways to "take out" enemies of the government. Now Clyde turns those skills to invent ways to "take out" the family murders. He then will turn his attention to the defense attorney, the judge and other officials that he thinks took the easy way out. How long will it take Rice (Foxx) to stop him? The premise of the movie is that justice is not always served, guilty people do go free. But the premise is lost in all the violence, the viewer starts off being sympathetic with Clyde but that feeling is soon lost as innocent people die. If you are channel surfing and come across this offering, keep on going. This movie should never have been made.

Notorious (2:02) 2009

Notorious is the story of Christopher Wallace, the rapper better known as Notorious B.I.G. The movie starts with Chris as a young boy being raised by his single mom, played by Angela Bassett. As a young teenager, Chris sells drugs and meets with success. After a slip up, Chris is arrested and spends some time in prison. While in prison, his girlfriend gives birth to his daughter. While he prison, Chris writes poetry. When he is released, he has an opportunity to become a rapper. With Sean Combs help, he releases his first album. Biggie rises to the top quickly. As he rises to the top, a war breaks out between the West Coast and East Coast rappers. Unfortunately, the war has been created by the press and then continue to fuel the flames until the war ends in tragedy. Neither my daughter or I are fans of the rapper genre but we both admitted that Notorious is a very interesting story, with a big round of applause to Jamal Woolard who became Biggie.

The Debt (1:44) 2011

Rachel, David, and Stefan are heroes. It's 1997 Israel and Stefan and Rachel's daughter has written a book detailing the mission as Massad agents bringing a Nazi doctor out of East Berlin to be tried as a crimes against humanity. Although Rachel is very proud of her daughter, she is uncomfortable with the attention. The movie flashes back to the 1967 mission and the plan to kidnap Dr. Vogel and smuggle him out of the country unfolds. As the mission is about to be successful, the trio hits a snag and they have to hold onto the doctor until another plan is developed. Keeping Vogel hidden in their apartment is causing conflict among the team members. Will the team's mission be successful or will their plan fall apart? The movie sifts back to 1997 with Rachel and Stefan coping with David's suicide. Will past secrets be kept safe or will the truth finally be revealed. Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkerson and Ciaran Hinds are excellent as the present day retired Massad agents. The actors who play the team in 1967 are also very good. This a quality story that moves along but it does have some short, intense violent scenes. See it.

Imagine Me and You (1:33) 2005

Set in modern day England,  Rachel and Hector's wedding day is here. All goes well except for one hitch. Rachel is instantly attracted to Luce, the florist. After the wedding, the couple invites Luce for dinner to introduce her to Cooper, a real ladies' man. Luce isn't interested in Cooper or any other man. She is attracted to Rachel. As time goes on, Rachel is continually drawn to Luce. Heck becomes aware that Rachel has changed and is convinced that it is his fault. Rachel is conflicted, she doesn't want to hurt Heck, her long time friend and recent husband. Imagine Me and You received poor reviews but I thought that the film treated the subject in a very sensitive manner. Heck is a good man and realizes that Rachel can not be happy staying married but he is distraught over losing Rachel. Rachel is torn between  Heck and Luce. Luce believes that single people should never come between a married couple. Whatever the outcome, someone will be hurt. Heck is portrayed by Matthew B. Goode as a sensitive man who heart is being broken. At first, Heck is not understanding what is going wrong in the marriage and reveals to his friend, Coop, that he is afraid to find out. This movie maybe the quality of a made for television movie but it deserves to be recognized for the dignified manner in which it handled the subject matter.