The Return (not to be confused with the 2006 paranormal thriller that Buffy stars in) begins with a series of early Polanksi-esque shots that filled me with dread. Maybe it was just because the scenario on screen tapped into my own fear–like the young boy in the movie, I too would never want to jump from a high tower into the sea. It's a great set up to a tense and brooding film filled with both spoken and unspoken distress and uneasiness.

Two young boys meet there long-absent dad when he suddenly returns after a twelve year absence; it's not clear where he's been or what he's been doing, but he offers to take the kids on a fishing trip that quickly devolves into a miserable adventure. A mean dad suddenly bossing them around, leaving them by the side of the road in pouring rain to teach them a lesson, pointing out their deficiencies as men at every turn, it's no wonder that I sided pretty squarely with Ivan, the younger, stubborn and angry kid who thinks his dad is pretty terrible.

But beyond dad issues and the delicate balances of siblings relationships, the story has a more ominous quality, an element of suspense raised by many unanswered questions. Just what is their father up to? Who is he calling on the phone? Why is he taking them where he does? On top of the already extremely uneasy familial situation, the film comes alive with these additional mysteries.

The cinematography is striking, often monochromatic to the point of almost looking black and white (this KINO trailer is narrated in English, but you'll still get a good sense of the film). The shots are all very artfully composed and frequently long, reminding me often of Knife in the Water. This is director Andrey Zvyagintsev's first feature length film after a career in commercials; it won several awards including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the Fassbinder Award at the European Film Awards.

On an extremely tragic note, one of the young actors drowned right before the film premiered.

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Posted on October 20, 2008

I have to admit that after being such a fan of the British Office, and a complete lover of the Ricky Gervais Show (with Karl Pilkington), the first season of Extras was a bit of a disappointment to me. I don't want to spend this whole time unfairly comparing the two TV shows, but I'd say the big difference is that everyone could relate to The Office and while David Brent is a mostly unlikable cringe inducing man, the show was full of pathos and sympathy.

Extras is a harder nut to crack. Taking cues perhaps from Curb Your Enthusiasm (that probably took cues from the British office in the first place) this is one of those obnoxious men getting caught in spiraling misunderstandings things; And, like only the truly British can truly do, it is really, heart breakingly depressing as much or even more so than as it is funny.

Of course, season one though, before I go slagging it off (any one else start to think in British slang terms after watching lots of BBC?) did have the best guest appearance of all time when Patrick Stewart showed of his comedic chops playing himself as an excitable teenage like perv who's dream project is a movie about a guy who can tear of women's clothing with his mind. As he explains animatedly “They try to cover up, but it's too late, I've already seen everything”. The show gradually grew on me and I entered the second series with a much more open mind.

There are lots of laughs this time around, where we find Gervais as actor Andy Millman no longer an extra but a bona fide TV star on a dismally crappy sitcom. The scenes of the show, called “When the Whistle Blows” are pitch perfect examples of mediocre, broad, lowest common denominator humor. The guest appearances, which aren't always the best part are well done with Daniel Radcliff and his unwrapped condom and Sir Ian McKellan and his hilarious theories on acting standing out. De Niro also gets the best line in the whole thing when he off screen asks “The woman from the pen?” (Watch it, you'll understand).

The best part though, aside from a bit of physical comedy involving an exploding bottle of sparkling water that completely caught me off guard and had me laughing until I couldn't breathe (and in fact, just thinking about it now gives me giggles in my tummy) is the almost freakishly tall Stephen Merchant as the ugly raincoat and maroon turtleneck wearing useless manager. The sweet and dim friend, Maggie Jacobs, played by Ashley Jensen is also extremely likable,?a much needed contrast to Millman's sometimes indefensible personality.

So, it's not The Office, but it's a tragicomedy worth watching, particularly in the sea of HBO's poor programming choices (have you actually seen True Blood??!!, My stars, it sucks).

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Posted on October 20, 2008

Manu Chao is truly a world artist. He sings in French, English, Spanish Galician, Portuguese, French, Arabic and Wolof, the most widely spoken language in Senegal; his music has roots in punk, reggae, rock, salsa, and other influences that he's picked up on his nomadic travels.

His biggest hit, Bongo Bong, which I dare anyone to not get hooked on, is a remake of King of Bongo, which Chao performed with his first band Mano Negra. That version is way less mellow and hypnotic, I prefer the remake by far. I also way prefer it to the cleaner, more mainstream Robbie Williams cover (that poor guy, he's so huge in England, but we Americans will just never love him).

This is one of my soon-to-be-brother-in-law's favorites, so I want to thank him for introducing me to such a spectacular song; it just makes me feel good to listen to it.

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Posted on October 20, 2008

I never understood those billboards asking you to donate your car to kids, always literally wondering why kids needed cars. Well, I am a bit wiser now, after?donating our sadly dead Subaru to Kars 4 Kids. While their jingle and red headed child logo are annoying, the process of donating your car, even if it does not run, couldn't be less annoying or more easy. Within 24 hours of calling about our donation, our old vehicle was gone. Ingenious! If an organization wants your money or your car, it's smart of them to make it so effortless.

All you have to do get our personal stuff out of it and send our plates in, the rest was done by the very grateful Kars 4 Kids staff. It's tax deductible, and the money the organization makes from selling your car and its parts (see, they do't actually literally give the cars to starving kids who need wheels) go to a Jewish organization called JOY which “JOY provides food, clothing, shelter, health and wellness, education, after school programs, special training, mentoring, tutoring, private counseling, summer programs, and guidance to children from the ages of six to eighteen.”

It beats trying to sell a junker and its for a great cause.

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Posted on October 20, 2008

Hollywood’s First Chinese Film Star

Anna May Wong was a fashionable, determined and talented beauty who managed to forge a career as a Chinese American in a less than tolerant decade (“miscegenation” laws, which banned interracial marriage and sex – barred her from even having on screen kisses with non-Chinese actors).

While she was often only playing stereotypical roles of dragon ladies or demure obedient women, off screen she was daring and non-shrinking violet. She was a stylish and sophisticated woman who was called “The World’s best-dressed woman” to the public’s shock by the Mayfair Mannequin Society of New York. She was good friends with other independent women like Marlene Dietrich and the controversial Leni Riefenstahl.

One of her most famous films, Piccadilly received new attention and praise when it was re-released after a restoration by the British Film Institute. This week’s website pick, Refinery 29 has a gallery of images.

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Posted on October 13, 2008