mandy-1 Reviews

Io Capitano (2023)

Brilliant Use of Film!

[10/10 · 11 January 2024]

This movie will inspire and haunt me for the rest of my life. I had the privilege of seeing it at the Palm Springs Film Festival. The director, the two main cast members, Seydou Sarr and Moustapha Fall plus the survivor whose life inspired the story were there. They told us more about the harrowing journey of two young boys from Senegal to Italy and the making of Io Capitano.

Director, Matteo Garrone said he wanted the production aspect of Io Capitano to be invisible. It was. The courage of refugees and migrants everywhere is inspiring but we rarely learn about their actual journeys. Io Capitano leaves us with the burning question, how come some people can move about the globe freely while others cannot? It is impossible to overlook the fact that those who travel freely are usually white and those who cannot without a lot of money or facing extreme danger. Are not.

I hope this riveting film has a social impact as strong as the impact it had on us in the audience.

Mark's Place: Mark's Place (2019) Season 1, Episode 2

Nice Visit to Palm Springs, Amateurish Show

[2/10 · 21 February 2020]

I was surprised and disappointed in the amateurish feel of this show. Lots of local color and local characters in Palm Springs, CA are not enough to make up for broad overacted performances. Hope it will grow with time.

System Crasher (2019)

Stunning Portrayal of an Out of Control Child

[10/10 · 18 January 2020]

I saw this at the Palm Springs Film Festival. It was so real I had to remind myself it was a theatrical film, not a documentary, when it was over. It's raw and moving, flawlessly directed, edited and above all acted. Not easy to view but so well worth it. It's been a week and I still think about it. I imagine it will be in indy theaters before long. If you get a chance and like truly unique films, go see it!

Almost Holy (2015)

Powerful inspiring subject, badly shot and edited.

[8/10 · 29 May 2016]

In "Almost Holy" we follow Ukraine Pastor, Gennadiy Mokhnenko, as he works according to his own sense of what is holy and what is not. He inspires us with his charismatic personality and passion for saving lives and souls from the living hell of alcohol and drug addiction, especially for the very young and vulnerable among us. While I am grateful to the filmmakers for bringing the material to us, the fragmented editing and repeated close shots that never showed where we were and what was going on left me wishing someone else had been in charge.

I gave it a high 8 stars because it is still an informative, inspiring and thought provoking look at a part of our world we know too little about.

Hesher (2010)

Love and Hate but Why?

[1/10 · 20 May 2011]

I'm so disappointed; I hated it. I love Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, Natalie Portman and Piper Laurie. I couldn't wait to see them together. My favorites are "Mysterious Skin" for Gordon-Leavitt and "Brothers" for Portman so I think I've earned my "not squeamish, not a movie wuss" badge.

But Hesher is so vulgar and gross I just got sick of it. Although all of the performances were excellent, especially the new kid, David Brochu, this one left me with one big question -- why? They had to have read the script to say the lines! There were four people in the theater when I saw it last week. None of them looked pleased when we left.

Win Win (2011)

"Win Win" is a Winner!

[9/10 · 17 April 2011]

Like enduring friendships, "Win Win" grows and deepens as it unfolds. The characters become more dear, the laughs get louder and the plot thickens.

Writer, director Thomas McCarthy (who also wrote and directed one of my all time favorite movies, "The Station Agent") has created a group of characters as strange and wonderful as real people, but with better lines. Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan are perfect. New-comer Alex Shaffer as a troubled teen wrestler creates a whole new kind of cool. Bobby Cannavale (also from "The Station Agent) sparkles in every scene.

If you want to see writing, directing and acting at it's best go see "Win Win." You'll win too.

Circo (I) (2010)

Heart Warming and Engrossing

[9/10 · 22 January 2011]

From the opening shots as this small family circus rolls into another town we are struck by how hardworking, courageous and creative they are. As this richly satisfying documentary unfolds we come to care deeply about the Ponce family we get to know through the lens of the single camera and the perspective of director and one man film crew, Aaron Schock.

Schock was there for Q and A at the Palm Springs film festival last week where most of the questions were about what happened next. The answers were as inspiring as the film. If you get a chance to see Circo, don't miss it!

Little Girl (2009)

A Rich Slice of Life

[8/10 · 16 January 2010]

A woman is out looking for her dog in a city park. She comes across a little girl in a pink snowsuit sitting in a swing all by herself. The story unfolds from there. If you like small, slow films that serve up a rich slice of life in an area you would otherwise never see, La Pivellina is well worth seeing. The characters who work in small circuses around Italy and their relationships with each other are interesting and believable. We grow to care more about them as the story and our time together unfolds. With no big bells or whistles, this film captured my full attention and left me still curious and wanting more.

I saw it at the Palm Springs Film Festival as a late choice among very few films with tickets still available. I'm glad I did.

The Lost City (2005)

A Long Look at Losing Havanna

[7/10 · 13 June 2006]

The music is great, of course, it is Cuba. The costumes are beautiful; so are the women and the men. Worth a look though for it's style and feel of the glamor that was Havana, the physical warmth and affection that lives in Cuban families and it's interesting anti-Castro portrayal of events. It even challenges the hero status of Che Guevara.

But Andy Garcia's tale of a wealthy family coming apart like this lovely island during the Cuban revolution suffers from the self-indulgence that so often weakens the work of writer/director/producer combos. Who is going to say, "Andy, enough of those close-ups of you looking longingly at your lost loves? After about an hour and a half, we sure wish someone would! It leaves me wondering why, with all Cuba has gone through, our government continues to punish Cubans with economic sanctions that do no harm to Castro, but keep the Cubans from thriving from their hard hard work and record breaking high literacy rates.

Buffalo Boy (2004)

A stunningly beautiful film!

[10/10 · 16 January 2006]

When I saw this film at the Palm Springs Film Festival I was prepared for a nice slice-of-life movie about a time and place I would never visit in any other way. This stunningly beautiful film delivers that and so much more. Set in Vietnam during the occupation by the French in the 1930's Bufalo Boy tells the story of a teenage boy who becomes a man when he leads his family's only hope for survival, two water buffalo, out of their flooded homeland to forage on higher ground. With this debut, the director combines riveting action/adventure, poignant relationships, powerful performances and excellent photography. He immerses us in a way of life that requires more courage in order to survive one day than most of us will have to summon in a life-time. Like a character with a starring role, the water is always there, always changing, always influencing the lives of those who depend on it to nurture them and fight with it to keep it from destroying them. Out soon in DVD but well worth the effort to see it on a large screen if you can.

Christmas in the Clouds (2001)

A Total Delight

[10/10 · 5 November 2005]

I saw this film in an almost-completed version a couple of years ago at the Palm Springs Native American Film Festival. The audience loved it. A lot of people have been waiting with crossed fingers hoping it would find a distributor for a big nationwide release.

It's fresh like the mountain air of it's setting. It's laugh out loud funny and somehow manages to be heart warming without being schmaltzy. The cast of newcomers and old favorites like Graham Greene and Rita Coolidge deliver fine performances in every role. Couldn't have come at a better time. We can celebrate this delightful holiday surprise for the whole family together at the movies!

Control Room (2004)

A Haunting Look at Real Iraq

[10/10 · 13 January 2005]

I went to see "Control Room" as a sort of a keep-informed duty and because I had heard how good it was. I did not know what a rare experience I was about to enjoy. This low tech documentary rivets your full attention and keeps it through every funny, informative and heartbreaking frame of the film. I still think about it and the people in it months later.

Although I celebrated the success of Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11, "Control Room" achieved something Moore was not able to do. It puts a human face on what it is like to await an invasion, wondering what will happen to you, your family and life as you know it. It reveals what it is like to be bombed and occupied by another country. It shows us what it is like to grapple with how to report the news to the Arab World with a commitment to truth that our media seems to have lost. More than that, it gave me a sense of concern and affection for the intelligent, committed people who run the first free television station in the Arab World.

Sideways (2004)

A Long Journey to the First Laugh

[2/10 · 14 December 2004]

Rarely have I found two leading characters so totally lacking in appeal as these guys. It was at least half way through before anything remotely interesting happened. At least the last 20 minutes or so provided some genuine belly laughs and chuckle provoking running sight gags that really worked.

At the risk of sounding prudish -- something I've never been accused of -- I found the whole concept and delivery unsavory in a wrinkle up your nose and wonder why is this up there on this big screen way.

Unless you find maudlin, pedantic drunks and conniving sex addicts really amusing I suggest you pass on this one.

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Close Up Boredom

[2/10 · 27 July 2004]

I saw this at our local IMAX. I didn't expect to be thrilled and wasn't. I did expect to be entertained but wasn't. I did not expect to be bored, but I was. The extreme close-ups in IMAX provided much more info about everyone's pores than I ever wanted to know. The wonderful sequences of Spidey crawling and swinging about were the only things to perk up about. Even the elegant Rosemary Murphy managed to irritate. Cardboard cartoon characters? Well, of course. It's Spiderman! Don't let all of that talk about it being a relationship movie fool you. It does not work as either a cartoon adventure or a movie about people with real feelings. Somehow the relentless abuse heaped on poor Peter Parker, the ludicrous Molina villian, boring love story, and all that exact-same-level of extreme violence seemed better left to the comics where you can turn the pages at your own pace.

OT: Our Town (2002)

They Laughed; They Cried; They Stood and Applauded

[10/10 · 24 July 2003]

This documentary about kids in a really tough L.A. school attempting an unlikely production of Thorton Wilder's "Our Town" rocked the 2003 Palm Springs Film Festival. Throw out any preconceptions you have about dry, dull documentaries. This one plays like a well scripted, well cast comedy/drama only it's real. The audience laughed; they cried; they stood up and applauded at the end. Then they awarded this low budget gem the Audience Favorite Award out of 180 films including Golden Globe and Oscar submissions from near and far.

I understand it will be out on DVD in August from The Film Movement. This one is worth searching for if want to be inspired, touched deeply, and cheering for the good guys.

Anger Management (2003)

Bad, Very Bad

[1/10 · 20 May 2003]

It is boring, tasteless, in-your-face-aggressive, obnoxiously vulgar, humorless, insulting to viewers' intelligence, heavy, slow, repetitive, and a total waste of it's good cast, but other than that -- well there is no other than that.

25th Hour (2002)

A striking, haunting film.

[10/10 · 19 February 2003]

From the opening sounds-before-sight of a screaming dog to the closing frames this film grabs you and does not let go. I've never liked a Spike Lee film before so for me this was a breakthough opus. Visually, intellectually and emotionally interesting with fully drawn complex characters superimposed on the stark background of post 9/11 NYC. The troubling reality of what happens in our prison system could not have been brought home with more of a punch.

Jedda the Uncivilized (1955)

A fascinating story leaves vivid memories over 45 years later.

[10/10 · 3 August 2002]

In 1955 when I was 14 years old, my mother and I emigrated to Australia. I went to 8th grade just outside Sydney -- Cremorne Girls High School. The opening of "Jedda" the first Australian color feature film was a very big deal there. In fact the opening of any film was a pretty big deal there, entailing reservations and dressing up.

In "Jedda," the title character, an aboriginal girl is brought up by a white family that adopts her. As a young woman, she is mysteriously drawn to go "Walkabout" as people of her tribe have for hundreds of years.

It must have been a good year for films. "Rock Around the Clock" heralded the dawn of rock 'n roll and "Black Board Jungle" launched the career of Sidney Poitier in a tale of urban classroom violence. "Rebel Without a Cause" came out in 1955 too. I can't remember what films I saw in any particular year before or since more vividly than these. Among those classics, the now unknown "Jedda" stands out with lasting images of a beautiful aboriginal woman, stunning countryside and the residue of an emotional wallop that keeps me thinking and wishing I could see it again over 45 years later.

The Official Story (1985)

A Beautiful But Dark Journey to Heartbreak

[10/10 · 28 July 2002]

This film unfolds so purposefully as if each frame has been chosen with exquisite care. From the lighting to the framing of each shot to the near perfect performances the viewer goes on a journey into the darker and darker mystery as a loving adoptive mother must ask "where did this precious child come from?" If you want to get an inkling of life in Argentina in 1985 and the true meaning of "los disaparacidos" (the disappeared ones) see this one.

Sunshine State (2002)

Oddly Flat Performances Level Interesting Story

[3/10 · 6 July 2002]

This is an unusually interesting story about important and relevant issues as one would expect from John Sayles. But somehow his direction flattened everyone's performance to a dull gray -- quite a feat since the stellar cast is full of actors who can deliver a wallop. It's as if someone (Sayles?) told them to "Just read the words and don't mess up the screenplay" and had them watch old "Dragnet" episodes to capture the style. It could have easily lost a good 15 minutes to pick up the pace as well. Almost every shot lingered a moment or two beyond its natural lifespan. Perhaps writer/Director Sayles got so caught up in his vision, he discounted the living, breathing talent of his real life cast. The result is extremely frustrating.

Sordid Lives (2000)

Funny, kind, hip and in its 23rd week in Palm Springs, CA

[10/10 · 21 April 2002]

I saw this with my 30-something son who asked, still smiling, as we came out of the theater, "How long do you think they took to make that?" "About a week," I answered and I'll bet they had the time of their lives."

Sordid Lives manages to be sweet, glib, compassionate, irreverent, moving and very funny on an obvious shoe string budget. A triumph over crash 'em up Hollywood and stale romance flicks.

See it in a theater if you can, the group amusement is a pleasure to share.

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (1995)

Brilliant! Disturbing! Does What Film Does Best

[10/10 · 8 July 2001]

This one takes you into another realm as only a really good movie can--from the dark, disturbing opening to the a-little-too-fairy-tale end. Stephen Rhea, the straight guy in "The Crying Game) at his best. This is one of my all-time favorites. One of the most thought provoking and emotionally involving films I've seen.