The First Grader
At times both heartwarming and heartbreaking, The First Grader is based on a true story. In 2002, the Kenyan government announced that primary education would now be free to all,…
Jane Eyre
A quick check of IMDB reveals that Jane Eyre has been made no less than 22 times since the advent of film; the earliest was in 1910. Charlotte Brontë wrote…
Certified Copy
There are some movies that are nearly impossible to review because to tell the story is to give away (ruin) the experience of watching it. Certified Copy is one of…
Arthur
Arthur, oh where to start? It's a remake of the 1981 Academy Award winner. Yep, nominated for 4 and won 2. It starred Dudley Moore, Liza Minnelli and Sir John…
Another Year
Mike Leigh knows how to write and direct women better than just about anyone else I can think of. He has been nominated for 5 Academy Awards for writing/directing films…
Restrepo
In 2007, journalist/filmmakers Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington spent 15 months on assignment for Vanity Fair, embedded with the Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment of the…
Gasland
Fracking! That is what Gasland is all about. If you haven't heard of fracking, you'll know more than you could imagine after watching this frightening documentary. It all begins when…
Animal Kingdom
Out in the jungle, the strongest creatures prevail by preying on the weakest. In the gritty drama Animal Kingdom, this dynamic is played out within a tight knit family of…
Made in Dagenham
Working Chicks of the World Unite! And get yourselves down to the cinema. You’ve probably never heard of a woman named Rita O’Grady or the town of Dagenham, but if…
Exit Through the Gift Shop
What an oddly involving documentary! Exit Through the Gift Shop begins with a simple story. A Frenchman living in Los Angeles named Thierry Guetta loves to shoot video of everything…
Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin’ About Him?)
I remember really liking Harry Nilsson back in the day and even buying a couple of his albums, including the wonderful Nilsson Schmilsson. But I didn't really grasp his mark…
WGA Best of 2010
The Writers Guild of America has picked its favorite scripts of the past year. And as usual, many of the films that will no doubt be nominated for Best Screenplay…
Arty Chick’s Top Picks of 2010
I’ve been looking back over all the films I saw during this past year and while I feel like it was a pretty good year for movies, for me it…