Don't Come Knocking

I love Wim Wenders.

In Don't Come Knocking, Sam Shepard and Wenders renew their partnership that they started (?) with Paris, Texas. Part of this movie is very grounded and realistic in that it is the story of a washed up cowboy actor who has lived hard and is now watching his regrets and mistakes pile up. The other part is pure Wenders patchwork genius. I call it this because he takes images, ideas and moments of popular culture and eras and non-sequitur thrills and pieces them together like a quilt (e.g.: He takes a modern-day cowboy actor but has him stuck in the 60's era of Old West films making golden-lit, horse rearing silhouettes against the sunset kind of movies...and on the set, the Assistant Director hilariously rides a Segway around.)

There isn't anything too complicated going on here, and the characters have some flaws and uncomfortable scenes, but the story is good and the sets/locals are great. This is Sam Shepard's finest moment (that I have seen) and the direction is gorgeous. (Worth mentioning are also Tim Roth and Jessica Lange's performances.) Wenders' signature long, circling shots are present as is Great Music. I'll keep my eye out for the soundtrack.

Tsotsi

Tsotsi means "Thug" in Afrikaans. This is a story of a thug and his droogies, the thug's lost childhood and his chance at redemption. The townships of South Africa, repellent and mean, the separated middleclass in their posh suburbs, and the glimpses of beauty we are shown everywhere in this very difficult place are all combined expertly.

This isn't a fun or easy film, but it is beautiful and engrossing.

Oscar-Nominated Short Films

The Oscars were better than usual this year, I thought. Jon Stewart hosted, which made me revoke my 10 year ban on watching the show...ever since Titanic won all those awards, I knew the awards are worthless. Anyway, this year many political and independent films were nominated. With that in mind, we thought these would be better than they were...we both liked The Last Farm best, with Six Shooter (which won the Oscar) coming in a close second.

Manderlay

The critics scream "anti-american!" about Lars von Trier's "America" trilogy, but I think it's quite the contrary. LvT is showing sides of our shameful past and present. It's not "Anti-amercian" to point out that things are fucked up. In, fact, the current administration, seems to think it is our job...around the world. So, in that sense, it's very American. He's not American by the way, he's Danish, but you get my point. I appreciate what he's doing here and he led Jon and me to a fantastic conversation about our neighborhood. That's what great films are about.

We meet Grace and her father after they have gunned down the village of Dogville. They have journeyed East and are heading for the third film in the trilogy, Washington. They come upon a plantation, Manderlay, where slavery is still being practiced. Grace tries to free the slaves from their oppression and she finds that oppression is not black and white. Ouch. Sorry.

I eagerly await the next installment of the trilogy.

Tristam Shandy - A Cock and Bull Story

I'm not sure what the hell this movie was about. I thought parts of it were funny, but overall, it wasn't worth seeing. It's very post modern, very self-referential and very absurd.

I enjoyed Winterbottom's 24 Hour Party People and this has some of the same crazy shenanigans ...Scenes within scenes and people playing themselves playing someone else...

I never read the book, and from the other reviews I have read, it's not worth the time. What does make this movie worth watching: A cameo by Gillian Anderson, the genius of the "womb scene" and the apparently improvised conversation at the end of the movie during the credits.