Knight at HOME at the Movies
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DVD Potpourri
Four indie releases, all worth checking out in this edition of DVD Recommendations.
Four indie releases, all worth checking out in this edition of DVD Recommendations.
Lars and the Real Girl – From MGM DVD. Ryan Gosling plays the title role in this
miraculous, off the wall comedy that is ultimately as sweet and endearing as It's a
Wonderful Life. Lars is a loner who lives in the garage of his late parent's home, now
inhabited by his brother and pregnant sister-in-law. The sister-in-law tries in vain to bring
Lars out of his shell and is overjoyed when he finally accepts an invitation to come to
dinner with his new "girlfriend." But it turns out that the "girlfriend" is a lifelike sex doll he
has named Bianca and claims is from Brazil. The horrified brother and sister-in-law
convince Lars that Bianca needs to see a doctor (played by the amazing Patricia Clarkson)
who surreptitiously diagnoses Lars at the same time. She advises that everyone go along
with Lars' delusion and pretend that Bianca is real - until Lars doesn't need the delusion
anymore. Defying expectations, the entire town does just that. This offbeat indie is so
hilarious and touching that after FIVE viewings I still can't get enough of Lars. It goes
without saying that Gosling and cast do stellar work and that Nancy Oliver's script is a
thing of beauty and director Craig Gillespie has brought out every small nuance. A lovely,
lovely movie. The disc includes a brief making of and a few other extras.
The Savages – From Twentieth Century Fox. Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman
co-star as siblings in this affecting dramedy which unfairly got overlooked at awards time
last year. Linney and Seymour Hoffman play a struggling office worker/playwright and her
college professor brother who are forced by circumstances to take over the care of their
difficult father who is slipping into dimentia (played by Phillip Bosco in a masterful
performance). The brother and sister, whose relationship is complex and filled with
jealousy and regret, is nevertheless strong enough to overcome their surface problems
but agreeing on what to do with the father that they've both been estranged from for
years is another story and makes for a much more compelling and entertaining film than
the premise would lead one to believe. Linney got an Oscar nod (and Seymour Hoffman
deserved one) as did the movie's wonderful script. The disc has some thoughtful extras
that help the viewer get a better look at the characters at the difficult situation they are
forced to confront - a familiar scenario for many of us. Strongly recommended.
2007 Oscar Nominated Short Films – From Magnolia. Like most of the Oscar
ceremony watching public I've never given much thought to the Short Films categories -
that is until I became a film critic four years ago and started receiving For Your
Consideration screeners of the nominees. It's been a genuine pleasure to watch the
amazing crop of both live action and animated shorts with each subsequent year and this
year the animated group - topped by what I think should have won the Oscar - Madame
Tutli Putli - was a highlight. But I'm also partial the winner - Peter and the Wolf and must
quickly add that a wide range of subject matters and styles awaits in this creative group.
Now at our screening parties it's become common for us to precede the feature(s) with
one or two (sometimes three!) of these little gems. The 2007 crop is a lively, compelling
group of Short Films, entertaining and thoughtful, and worth checking out.
My Kid Could Paint That – From Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Finally, a
fascinating documentary that follows the amazing story of 4 year-old Marla Olmstead, the
"pint sized Picasso," whose abstract paintings became a sensation when the media got a
wind of her. The film follows little Marla and her endearing parents through the following
two years with the second half focusing on the controversy that broke out when a "Sixty
Minutes" segment hosted by Charlie Rose blatantly questioned whether Marla was doing
the paintings herself or was having help from her father, an amateur painter himself. No
one seems to be able to verify whether the little girl is the true creator of the complex
abstracts because when the camera is turned on Marla doesn't paint like she normally
does - according to the father. The rest of the film focuses on the validity of Marla's art
and frankly, falters badly.
The filmmaker, who has obviously become too close to his subjects, literally injects
himself into the movie and includes scenes of himself wrestling with his conscience. Um,
who cares what you think? What has been a contemplative story becomes a maddeningly
frustrating one (and the addition of a 35 minute update piece is even more of a turn
off). No one seems to have thought of contacting the "60 Minutes" producers to verify
their story or done any objective reporting and the extensive footage the filmmaker
includes of the original small town reporter who broke the story opining away about the
lack of responsibility shown by the parents is distracting to the point where I was yelling
back at the screen. Instead of calmly suggesting - as the "60 Minutes" crew did - that a
hidden camera be set up to capture little Marla painting and get the real story one way or
the other, the filmmaker ambushes the parents with his concerns for her validity and
confesses that he has doubts himself! A deeply flawed last half, however, doesn't
overwhelm what is an otherwise interesting movie and yes, one worth checking out.
miraculous, off the wall comedy that is ultimately as sweet and endearing as It's a
Wonderful Life. Lars is a loner who lives in the garage of his late parent's home, now
inhabited by his brother and pregnant sister-in-law. The sister-in-law tries in vain to bring
Lars out of his shell and is overjoyed when he finally accepts an invitation to come to
dinner with his new "girlfriend." But it turns out that the "girlfriend" is a lifelike sex doll he
has named Bianca and claims is from Brazil. The horrified brother and sister-in-law
convince Lars that Bianca needs to see a doctor (played by the amazing Patricia Clarkson)
who surreptitiously diagnoses Lars at the same time. She advises that everyone go along
with Lars' delusion and pretend that Bianca is real - until Lars doesn't need the delusion
anymore. Defying expectations, the entire town does just that. This offbeat indie is so
hilarious and touching that after FIVE viewings I still can't get enough of Lars. It goes
without saying that Gosling and cast do stellar work and that Nancy Oliver's script is a
thing of beauty and director Craig Gillespie has brought out every small nuance. A lovely,
lovely movie. The disc includes a brief making of and a few other extras.
The Savages – From Twentieth Century Fox. Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman
co-star as siblings in this affecting dramedy which unfairly got overlooked at awards time
last year. Linney and Seymour Hoffman play a struggling office worker/playwright and her
college professor brother who are forced by circumstances to take over the care of their
difficult father who is slipping into dimentia (played by Phillip Bosco in a masterful
performance). The brother and sister, whose relationship is complex and filled with
jealousy and regret, is nevertheless strong enough to overcome their surface problems
but agreeing on what to do with the father that they've both been estranged from for
years is another story and makes for a much more compelling and entertaining film than
the premise would lead one to believe. Linney got an Oscar nod (and Seymour Hoffman
deserved one) as did the movie's wonderful script. The disc has some thoughtful extras
that help the viewer get a better look at the characters at the difficult situation they are
forced to confront - a familiar scenario for many of us. Strongly recommended.
2007 Oscar Nominated Short Films – From Magnolia. Like most of the Oscar
ceremony watching public I've never given much thought to the Short Films categories -
that is until I became a film critic four years ago and started receiving For Your
Consideration screeners of the nominees. It's been a genuine pleasure to watch the
amazing crop of both live action and animated shorts with each subsequent year and this
year the animated group - topped by what I think should have won the Oscar - Madame
Tutli Putli - was a highlight. But I'm also partial the winner - Peter and the Wolf and must
quickly add that a wide range of subject matters and styles awaits in this creative group.
Now at our screening parties it's become common for us to precede the feature(s) with
one or two (sometimes three!) of these little gems. The 2007 crop is a lively, compelling
group of Short Films, entertaining and thoughtful, and worth checking out.
My Kid Could Paint That – From Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Finally, a
fascinating documentary that follows the amazing story of 4 year-old Marla Olmstead, the
"pint sized Picasso," whose abstract paintings became a sensation when the media got a
wind of her. The film follows little Marla and her endearing parents through the following
two years with the second half focusing on the controversy that broke out when a "Sixty
Minutes" segment hosted by Charlie Rose blatantly questioned whether Marla was doing
the paintings herself or was having help from her father, an amateur painter himself. No
one seems to be able to verify whether the little girl is the true creator of the complex
abstracts because when the camera is turned on Marla doesn't paint like she normally
does - according to the father. The rest of the film focuses on the validity of Marla's art
and frankly, falters badly.
The filmmaker, who has obviously become too close to his subjects, literally injects
himself into the movie and includes scenes of himself wrestling with his conscience. Um,
who cares what you think? What has been a contemplative story becomes a maddeningly
frustrating one (and the addition of a 35 minute update piece is even more of a turn
off). No one seems to have thought of contacting the "60 Minutes" producers to verify
their story or done any objective reporting and the extensive footage the filmmaker
includes of the original small town reporter who broke the story opining away about the
lack of responsibility shown by the parents is distracting to the point where I was yelling
back at the screen. Instead of calmly suggesting - as the "60 Minutes" crew did - that a
hidden camera be set up to capture little Marla painting and get the real story one way or
the other, the filmmaker ambushes the parents with his concerns for her validity and
confesses that he has doubts himself! A deeply flawed last half, however, doesn't
overwhelm what is an otherwise interesting movie and yes, one worth checking out.
