La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful) (1997)

La Vita é Bella (Life is Beautiful)
Guest post by Sarah Jorgensen

I’m honored to have been asked by Brian to write a review of one of my favorite, favorite movies: La Vita é Bella. Readers may remember it from the Academy Awards in 1998, when lead actor Roberto Benigni won Best Actor for his role as Guido Orefice. He got a little crazy at the podium (who doesn’t?) and everyone laughed when he made his speech ("Thank you! This is a moment of ajoy, This is awonderful to be ahere. I want to dive in this ocean of agenerosity. A hailstorm of akindness!" –IMDB.com). It also won Academy Awards for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score, and Best Foreign Language Film, as well as the Grand Prize of the Jury at Cannes in 1998.
The movie takes place in Italy during the Holocaust, with Benigni as Guido and Nicoletta Braschi as his wife, Dora. The movie begins with Guido meeting and courting Dora, with lots of slapstick physical humor that fits well with the 1940’s setting. Guido eventually steals Dora away from her pompous fiancé (more slapstick) and marries her. They have a son, Giosué, played by Giorgio Cantarini. Despite not having many lines, Giorgio is one of the best child actors I’ve seen. He’s adorable without being saccharine, and captures the role very well.
On Giosué’s birthday, he, Guido, and Guido’s uncle Eliseo (Giustino Durano) are picked up and put on the train to a concentration camp. Dora, realizing what happened, demands to be put on the train even though she is not Jewish, and (naturally) she is accommodated. In order to soothe his son, Guido explains that he has arranged the train ride especially for Giosué’s birthday, and that it’s all part of an elaborate game. For the rest of the movie, which takes place in the camp, Guido tries to protect his son by continuing this charade.
Because of the setting and topic, there has been lots of debate about the movie. Can you even say "Holocaust" without getting into a deep discussion? Some have argued that the movie "whitewashes" the events of that period by leaving out realistic pain and suffering. It’s certainly a different approach than, say, Schindler’s List. However, the tagline is "An unforgettable fable that proves love, family and imagination conquer all." A fable, clearly, doesn’t require the realism and gore of a documentary, action movie, or even a straight drama. This isn’t to say that there is no pain or sadness in La Vita é Bella; it manages to blend comedy and drama (Can I say dramady? Are people really saying that now?) into a lovely, tender story of a man and his family. It reminds me of another movie I recently saw, Pan’s Labyrinth, which is also a sort of magical realism/child’s fantasy/war movie.
I strongly recommend watching the movie in the original Italian (with subtitles if you need them) because it captures the rhythm and tone of the movie much better than English. And you don’t have to watch peoples’ mouths move out of sync with the words, which always makes me crazy. I further recommend not reading the Wikipedia article about this movie unless you want to have the ending spoiled. A final note, it’s said that the title of this movie came from a quote of Leon Trotsky:

Natasha has just come up to the window from the courtyard and opened it wider so that the air may enter more freely into my room. I can see the bright green strip of grass beneath the wall, and the clear blue sky above the wall, and sunlight everywhere. Life is beautiful. Let the future generations cleanse it of all evil, oppression and violence, and enjoy it to the full.
(Trotsky’s Diary in Exile-1935)

5 out of 5 stars

Grindhouse (2007)

After being a complete moron by not seeing either Kill Bills in the theaters, I told myself never to wait for video on any other Quentin Tarantino picture. And after the awesomeness of Sin City, I'm not going to wait for Robert Rodriguez movies too (unless it's some crap like Spy Kids 5 or Lava Girl 2... I mean his real movies). So here comes Grindhouse. The combination of both in an over the top, gruesome, action packed, babe ridden, campy, and hilarious double feature paying homage to the horribly great exploitation movies that these directors fell in love with at the "grindhouses" of America. Needless to say, I was in the theater for it opening day.
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The first up on the bill is Rodriguez's Planet Terror, a gloriously gory zombie flick with a pace faster than the muscle cars in Tarantino's half. But these aren't your Dawn of the Dead-zombies, these are infected and contagious puss-filled zombies that boil, bubble, and ooze as they hollow out the skull of our favorite Black Eyed Pea (among countless others). But that's all I'm going to say about the plot because it's so crazy and twisted that I'd be writing forever. The action in this part is incredible and non-stop as the ragtag vigilantes blow away head after head. And then there's Rose McGowan; we've all see the commercials, and I assure you that her machine gun leg is as cool in the movie as it is in the trailer. But Planet Terror is also one of the funniest movies I've seen too. It's hilariously disgusting (zombie testicles!), has multiple stupid yet laugh-out-loud one liners, and "the #1 funniest ending" I have ever seen. When "The End" came on the screen, I would have had my money's worth but I was only half way there.
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Tarantino brings forth Death Proof, his serial killer/car chase flick starring Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike, a washed up and demented stuntman who feels invincible in his "death proof" stunt car. With a deliberately slow beginning, we get lulled into the carefree lives of a group of girls, then another group of girls, before all hell breaks loose. (*tip: if a bathroom break is needed during Grindhouse, I suggest sometime in the first 10 minutes of Death Proof... NOT THE INTERMISSION) When the girls are having their fun, the charming stuntman gets to know them then has his fun. However, the second group of girls QT focuses on are a lot tougher than Stuntman Mike had pegged. Led by Zoe Bell playing herself and doing all her own amazing stunts (she was Uma Thurman's stunt woman on the Kill Bills). Death Proof finishes with an unbelievable car chase. Zoe on the hood and Mike on their tail, this may very well be the best car chase I have ever seen. And it's all real (putting it ahead of that epic freeway sequence in Matrix Reloaded). A classic Tarantino with killer suspense, lightning fast and interesting dialogue, great music (T-REX!!!!), and cool characters; Death Proof joins the others as Tarantino is still yet to make a movie that isn't GREAT.
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The four fake trailers are also fantastic. Before it all is "Machete" the bad ass Mexican hit man which will have you hooked before either film ever starts. Then guest directors were brought in to make trailers for the intermission... Do not miss these. While both Rob Zombie and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) are good, the best by far is brought by Hostel's Eli Roth with"Thanksgiving." This 1980's slasher spoof is absolutely hysterical (in an utterly twisted way) and I'll leave it there.
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Complete with scratches, burns, skips, and missing reels, Grindhouse takes you back in time and is a fun ride. At 3 hours and 10 minutes, this is a beast to encounter, but well worth it. It is a unique cinema experience that definitely, definitely should be seen on the big screen. I don't know how one could have any more fun at the movies this year than this (even considering how awesome 300 was). So if you're prepared for three plus hours of violence and gore get ready to ENJOY and LAUGH (I laughed more in the first minute of this than all of Talledega Nights... and that's a comedy).
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4.5 out of 5 stars

Secretary (2002)

Rarely has a movie been so different from my expectations than Secretary was. I thought I was about to see a disturbing drama about the horrors of sadomasochism, but it turned out to be something of a romantic comedy. It just happens to be a very dark romance involving S&M with some moments of very dark comedy.

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Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Lee Holloway, a young girl trying to readjust to the real world after her release from a mental hospital while she tries to overcome her self-mutilation problems. After passing with flying colors in her typing class she finds a job as secretary for the unusual lawyer E. Edward Grey, played by James Spader. Grey is a demanding, obsessive compulsive boss who is very strict with his new secretary. He also is harboring some dark secret that he doesn't want anyone to know; no matter how much Lee tries to get to know him. When Lee's typos get too infuriating for Grey, he feels she needs to get punished and love blossoms.

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The performances by both Spader and Gyllenhaal are top notch. Spader is in his creepiest mode as he tries to shelter his pleasures from the rest of the world. He's scary but not to the point where you would fear him, and he's funny but not to the point where his character becomes a joke. He plays a man who thinks he has to live his life ashamed, but Maggie's Lee shows him that he could have someone to share happiness with. I think that the standout is Maggie Gyllenhaal. This is a very brave role for her to take for many reasons (which you'd see after viewing), and it is the one that turned her into a bonafide lead actress. Lee is a sweet, naive, and socially awkward girl who the audience feels for even as she fantasizes about activities that most find horrifying. She is trying to beat her self-mutilation problem, but isn't able to do so in any "normal" fashion. It isn't until she meets Spader's character when she finds a way to cope with her problems and be happy. Ten minutes into the movie, we care for Lee; and if a spanking is what she wants, we start to want it for her. A good job is also done by Jeremy Davies as Peter, Lee's boyfriend who doesn't really understand her at all.

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The movie itself is great to look at. From the opening sequence on you know that this is going to be something very unique. However, it isn't in style alone that makes this unique because the director Steven Shainberg treats this material in a way that few others would. He doesn't turn S&M into a joke or a dirty activity that is purely evil. It's just a way that allows some people to connect. To Lee, it's something that makes her happy and her sheltered upbringing never allowed to see the negative connotations that go with it. To Grey, it's something that makes him happy but his experience in the real world makes him think he's a bad person for that. The film allows you to see that being different isn't necessarily being bad, you just have to find that one person who understands you and all your idiosyncrasies. It also shows that you don't need some random starlet and Matthew McConaughey to make your romantic comedy. You can highlight that wholesome submissive-dominant relationship in your romantic comedy too.

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Though Secretary isn't the disturbing movie I expected it still deals with some disturbing subject matter, and I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. For those of you offended by scenes with sadomasochism, self-mutilation, masturbation, or nudity, this probably isn't the movie for you. But if you can handle those scenes, this is a movie I recommend.

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Good movie for some: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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(also, I think that I should make it clear that I don't really think that Secretary is advocating S&M, but rather a statement that if people find something that makes them happy without putting anyone in serious danger, who are we to judge them?)

This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)

Did you ever wonder who decides that a film should be, say rated PG-13 vs R? The answer to this question is the Motion Picture Association of America (aka MPAA). You would assume that they are some kind of govermental body that has the best interest of Americans at heart--not exactly the case. This documentary tries to find out who the MPAA is and how they decide what rating a film should get.

Throughout the film there are various clips of what is and what is not acceptable for various rating. This is unfortunate because I don't think PBS will be picking it up in the near future. Technically the MPAA gave it a NC-17 rating. Overall a great documentary that asks some great questions and convinced me that the MPAA needs a massive overhaul.

4 stars out of 5

American Psycho (2000)

Patrick Bateman is a self absorbed, obsessive, well...American Psycho. Christian Bale excels at this role and makes Patrick an iconic character. I am not sure what is more terrifying, his obsession with the way he looks, his insane critiques on music of the 1980s or the brutal way he commits his crimes. This film is certainly not for everyone because of the violent themes but I think it is genius and at times laugh out loud hilarious. I'm honestly a little worried that I enjoy it too much. Am I alone, please drop me a comment on your thoughts of this movie?

4.5 stars out of 5