I know that I'm a bit late with this one, but I figured, as they say, "better late than never!"
Here are some quick reviews, written a few months after I saw the films at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah back in January.
First of all, the most important thing was that I loved being able to stay seated after the film and hear Q&A sessions with many of the actors, directors, producers, etc. Really made the films more human.
Second of all, the films were astonishing compared with everyday blockbuster films because the themes weren't readily apparent, or easily digested. Many times during and after the film, we'd discuss who was really the 'good guy' or 'bad guy' -- a theme you can easily find in most 'normal' films simply by the color of clothes the actors wear. It was refreshing to be so engaged.
In the order I enjoyed them, and check the ratings before showing your family:
Get Low: Loved this one -- not the Lil' Jon song, but rather a film with Bill Murray and Robert Duvall. Based in truth, about a 40 year hermit from the south (Georgia, I think?), who threw his own funeral, pre-death, and thousands of people showed up. Great story, great acting.
Score: 8/10.
Click here to open trailer in new window, (opens in LA & NY theaters July 30).
Hesher: Awesome film about who is really good and who is really evil -- it's not always easy to see. Fun, as well. Pretty irreverent, as it has to do with anarchy, etc. Cast was really fun to watch -- breaking their typical roles: Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson.
Score: 8/10.
Closest thing I could find to a trailer.
Winters Bone: Intense movie about living in backwoods Missouri, and a family's struggles with nasty neighbors and drug addictions. Love that it was a real 'film', and had quiet spots without dialogue or music, etc.
Score: 7/10.
Cyrus: didn't care for it too much, though it was fun to see the locations, shot in LA. Kinda quirky, didn't know where it was going at many points. Fun enough to rent.
Score: 5/10.
Climate Refugees: Didn't care for it too much, though lots of good input from Lester Brown, author of Plan B. It focused on examples of what climate change was already doing, and tried to extrapolate to a doomsday scenario. I prefer looking at trends, rather than single data points, which could be attributed to a simple bad year, etc. I did like their randomly generated numbers of how many people will be coming to America in the next 40 years (I think it was 100 million).
Score: 4/10 (Don't bother unless you're really interested)
Here are some quick reviews, written a few months after I saw the films at Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah back in January.
First of all, the most important thing was that I loved being able to stay seated after the film and hear Q&A sessions with many of the actors, directors, producers, etc. Really made the films more human.
Second of all, the films were astonishing compared with everyday blockbuster films because the themes weren't readily apparent, or easily digested. Many times during and after the film, we'd discuss who was really the 'good guy' or 'bad guy' -- a theme you can easily find in most 'normal' films simply by the color of clothes the actors wear. It was refreshing to be so engaged.
In the order I enjoyed them, and check the ratings before showing your family:
Get Low: Loved this one -- not the Lil' Jon song, but rather a film with Bill Murray and Robert Duvall. Based in truth, about a 40 year hermit from the south (Georgia, I think?), who threw his own funeral, pre-death, and thousands of people showed up. Great story, great acting.
Score: 8/10.
Click here to open trailer in new window, (opens in LA & NY theaters July 30).
Hesher: Awesome film about who is really good and who is really evil -- it's not always easy to see. Fun, as well. Pretty irreverent, as it has to do with anarchy, etc. Cast was really fun to watch -- breaking their typical roles: Natalie Portman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson.
Score: 8/10.
Closest thing I could find to a trailer.
Winters Bone: Intense movie about living in backwoods Missouri, and a family's struggles with nasty neighbors and drug addictions. Love that it was a real 'film', and had quiet spots without dialogue or music, etc.
Score: 7/10.
Cyrus: didn't care for it too much, though it was fun to see the locations, shot in LA. Kinda quirky, didn't know where it was going at many points. Fun enough to rent.
Score: 5/10.
Climate Refugees: Didn't care for it too much, though lots of good input from Lester Brown, author of Plan B. It focused on examples of what climate change was already doing, and tried to extrapolate to a doomsday scenario. I prefer looking at trends, rather than single data points, which could be attributed to a simple bad year, etc. I did like their randomly generated numbers of how many people will be coming to America in the next 40 years (I think it was 100 million).
Score: 4/10 (Don't bother unless you're really interested)
