Allen Spruill's Daily Thoughts: Movies

SIFF Review: Four Stars

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:53:49 GMT

France

Rating 5 out of 5

Funny crime caper about a beautiful girl who is on vacation enjoying some of her inheritence from a distant relative. She gets involved with a con man and ends up loaning him money, although he has no idea what it will cost. This is a very fun and stylish film.

Viewed 6/9 at Egyptian Theater

SIFF Review: The Iceberg

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:52:57 GMT

Belgium

Rating 4 out of 5

Dark comedy about a woman who gets stuck in a restaurant freezer overnight, which changes her life. She leaves her family on a quest to find an iceberg.

Viewed 6/9 at Pacific Place

SIFF Review: The Great Match

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:51:59 GMT

Spain

Rating 5 out of 5

Great film about people in remote regions of the world finding a way to get to a TV and watch the World Cup final. It was great fun watching the Amazon jungle tribe sending someone climbing up a tree holding a small satellite dish trying to get a signal. Everyone in the world is truly crazy over football, especially the World Cup.

Viewed 6/8 at Egyptian Theater

SIFF Review: Road to Guantanamo

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:51:08 GMT

Rating 5 out of 5

This is an inflinching account of four Pakistani men in their twenties who lived in Britain and got caught up in Guantanamo. They went to Pakistan for a wedding a month after 9/11 and for some reason decided to visit Afghanistan. Caught up in the fighting and mistaken as Taliban, they are shipped to Guantanamo for questioning. I don't consider myself overly political but if even part of the things in this film are happening, then I am very ashamed of our government.

SIFF Review: OSS 117: Nest of Spies

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:49:26 GMT

France

Rating 5 out of 5

Funny spy film from France, set in the 50's. OSS 117 is an agent who thinks he's a little bit James Bond and a little bit Austin Powers. Somehow he seems to be able to get the girl and solve the case, but not without many amusing incidents along the way.

Viewed 6/6 at Lincoln Square

SIFF Review: Little Red Flowers

Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:48:14 GMT

China

Rating 3 out of 5

Interesting story of a boarding kindergarten in China. The teachers give little red flowers for doing your daily chores and behaving well. We follow a little boy who starts at the kindergarten against his will and always seems to be misbehaving.

Viewed 6/4 at Egyptian Theater

SIFF Review: La Maison de Nina

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 04:57:12 GMT

Country: France

Rating: 4 of 5

Nina runs an orphanage during World War II for children abandoned by the war, with parents either fighting, in the resistance, or taken off to German concentration camps. When a group of young boys returns from the concentration camps to stay in her care, you get a sense of what the experience must have been like through the young boys' reactions to certain things, noises, and sights. It is an interesting way to view the war through the eyes of these children.

Viewed 6/3/2006 at Lincoln Square Cinemas

SIFF Review: Zozo

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 04:52:35 GMT

Country: Lebabon/Sweden

Rating: 4 of 5

Set in Beirut in the late 80's, we see a family that is planning to leave together and settle in Sweden, where grandparents have already settled. Before they can leave Beirut, everyone in the family except young Zozo is killed by the violence. It really awakened me to this war that happened in my lifetime. Zozo settles in Sweden with his grandparents, but he finds that adjusting to live there is not easy.

Viewed 6/3/2006 at Lincoln Square Cinemas

SIFF Review: Cave of the Yellow Dog

Mon, 05 Jun 2006 04:52:06 GMT

Country: Mongolia

Rating: 4 of 5

This is a beautiful story set in Mongolia. A young girl befriends a stray dog, and her father does not want her to keep it. But luckily it stays around. What more could you want than amazing scenery, cute kids, and an even cuter dog.

Viewed 6/3/2006 at Lincoln Square Cinemas

SIFF Review: 3 Needles

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 04:25:00 GMT

Country: China

Rating: 4 of 5

Three separate stories about the spread of aids set in Africa, China, and Canada. Touching and also funny at times, I enjoyed all three stories. I was reminded of how far we have come with HIV/AIDS treatment and education, and how much more is needed.

Viewed 6/2/2006 at Egyptian Theater

SIFF Review: Shanghai Dreams

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 04:24:28 GMT

Country: China

Rating: 3 of 5

Story of several families relocated from Shanghai to the interior of China to build up new areas. The adults dream of returning to Shanghai, but the children do not share their dreams.

Viewed 6/2/2006 at Egyptian Theater

SIFF Review: Smiling in a Warzone

Sun, 04 Jun 2006 04:21:24 GMT

Country: Denmark

Rating: 3 of 5

Set a year after 9/11, a woman in Denmark sees a story about a young girl in Kabul who wants to be a pilot. She flies her small plane to Afghanistan to meet the girl and take her flying. It is an interesting story of the journey from Denmark to Afghanistan, crossing several war zones.

Viewed 6/1/2006 at Broadway Performance Hall

The Island

Sun, 31 Jul 2005 06:37:09 GMT

I enjoyed this film. I like science fiction films and enjoy seeing what kinds of possible futures the storyteller brings us. The movie has a lot of great action at the end to keep you in your seat.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Monty Python

Wed, 13 Jul 2005 05:31:51 GMT

Some of you would have loved what I did Saturday night. I went to the Fremont Outdoor Movies (http://fremontoutdoormovies.com/) to see Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was great seeing it outdoors with around 1000 of my Seattle area friends. It is shown in a big parking lot (1/3 block) up on a wall painted white. They called it British night and had silly contests before (like silly walks). Great fun!

Movie: March of the Penguins

Thu, 07 Jul 2005 05:34:14 GMT

Fantastic documentary about the emperor penguins of Antarctica. We follow them through a year and witness their amazing mating cycle and the difficult weather that they must survive while guarding their young. It has beautiful photography and is amazing to watch.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Movie: War of the Worlds

Sat, 02 Jul 2005 03:03:51 GMT

Great summer action movie! This is a great film about the invasion of Earth and one family struggling to stay alive. Speilberg does a good job showing us the action and suspense, and making us feel like the family who doesn't know what will happen next and if they will make it.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Movie: Mad Hot Ballroom

Mon, 27 Jun 2005 19:07:05 GMT

This was a fun documentary showing the school program in New York City where older elementary school kids learn different ballroom dances. It's great fun watching the kids learn the tango, swing, ruhmba, and more. It is fun to hear directly from the kids about their lives and this program. You see several schools as they prepare for the city wide competition and then watch the results.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Movie: Batman Begins

Mon, 27 Jun 2005 19:06:22 GMT

This is a great superhero movie. I really enjoyed learning the backstory of Batman and how he gets started on his effort to save Gotham. There are great supporting roles by lots of well know actors. This is a fun summer movie.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Movie: Herbie: Fully Loaded

Mon, 27 Jun 2005 19:06:01 GMT

Not bad, but a little too formulaic. It was just a little too predictable for me. I would have preferred more of the spirit of the 60’s Herbie movies. I think Herbie is much more suited for road races than for Nascar oval tracks.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5