Rebecca Redshaw
Sofa Cinema
Published on Wed, Nov 18, 2009Read More Sofa Cinema
Rebecca Redshaw's "SOFA CINEMA: An Easy Guide to DVDs Volume 1" is available at your local book store, at the Sequim Gazette and online at www.rebeccaredshaw.com.
The movies selected for review are the choice of the reviewer. Suggestions for DVD titles are welcome. Enjoy the movies.
NEW RELEASE/
Documentary
"Food, Inc."
Remember when dinner and a movie was a good first date? If "Food, Inc." is part of your plan, you might want to skip dinner. The documentary directed by Robert Kenner takes a harsh look at the food processing industry in the United States: a well-deserved harsh look.
Not every citizen has the advantage of living in an agriculturally friendly climate like those of us on the Olympic Peninsula. Here we actually do have a choice to eat meats and vegetables that are minimally affected (if at all) by pesticides and additives. That fact does not take away from the horrors depicted in "Food, Inc."
Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation," co-produced this documentary and is interviewed on screen.
Farmers who have maintained their independence from the massive conglomerates as well as a few souls who have defected from the corporate ranks share their insights into the changes in the industry over the past 50 years.
The facts as presented are overwhelming and the footage frequently disgusting. Add to that an overbearing musical score and "Food, Inc." becomes painful to watch in one sitting.
Like any good documentary, this one will trigger emotions and present opportunities for lively discussion. However, you just might want to have that discussion away from the dinner table.
HIDDEN GEM
"Romancing the Stone," rated PG
Every once in a while it's good to be silly and sometimes a movie helps. "Romancing the Stone" was first released 25 years ago and combines a good story with great stunts, a madcap chase for treasure and a little romance. Unlike many comedies that rely on current clichés, this script still rings true.
Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) lives a sheltered life, writing romance novels from her tiny New York apartment. Her world turns upside down when a treasure map is left on her doorstep and she learns her sister has been kidnapped in South America. Joan wastes no time flying to her rescue. Her lack of language skills are the least of her problems when she bumps into Jack Colton (Michael Douglas) who becomes her guide for hire. Their pursuits (her of her sister and his of a secret cache) are tailed closely by Ralph (Danny DeVito), who wants the treasure map, too, and assorted bad guys and federales.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis, "Romancing the Stone" is fast-paced fun. Turner and Douglas have comic as well as romantic chemistry and adding DeVito to the mix makes for an entertaining adventure.
CLASSIC
"The Americanization of Emily"
"The Americanization of Emily" - a war film whose lead character is adamantly anti-war? Actually, Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Madison (James Garner) is a self-described coward and quite happy with his role as a "dog-runner." That means his general duties in World War II consist of keeping the brass lavished with luxuries not to be found elsewhere. His specific charge is Adm. William Jessup (Melvyn Douglas) who, after becoming a widower, teeters between sanity and irrationality. Along the way, Charlie encounters the one English driver in the military motor pool who isn't enamored by his gifts of Hershey bars and designer gowns.
Emily was a breakthrough role for Julie Andrews in 1964. Squeezed in between "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music," "The Americanization of Emily" offered a pure dramatic turn. Emily is decidedly British in tone but hardly a "prig," as implied in the opening minutes, giving Andrews plenty of latitude to seduce the leading man as well as the audience.
Directed by Arthur Hiller with a script by Paddy Chayefsky, the black-and-white film tackles hefty issues regarding the morality of war. Luckily, the comic timing of Douglas and a young James Coburn along with the sexual chemistry between Andrews and Garner brings home the message without a heavy hand.
"The Americanization of Emily" benefits from a memorable musical score by Johnny Mandel.
Rebecca Redshaw can be reached at r2redshaw@
hotmail.com.
The movies selected for review are the choice of the reviewer. Suggestions for DVD titles are welcome. Enjoy the movies.
NEW RELEASE/
Documentary
"Food, Inc."
Remember when dinner and a movie was a good first date? If "Food, Inc." is part of your plan, you might want to skip dinner. The documentary directed by Robert Kenner takes a harsh look at the food processing industry in the United States: a well-deserved harsh look.
Not every citizen has the advantage of living in an agriculturally friendly climate like those of us on the Olympic Peninsula. Here we actually do have a choice to eat meats and vegetables that are minimally affected (if at all) by pesticides and additives. That fact does not take away from the horrors depicted in "Food, Inc."
Eric Schlosser, author of "Fast Food Nation," co-produced this documentary and is interviewed on screen.
Farmers who have maintained their independence from the massive conglomerates as well as a few souls who have defected from the corporate ranks share their insights into the changes in the industry over the past 50 years.
The facts as presented are overwhelming and the footage frequently disgusting. Add to that an overbearing musical score and "Food, Inc." becomes painful to watch in one sitting.
Like any good documentary, this one will trigger emotions and present opportunities for lively discussion. However, you just might want to have that discussion away from the dinner table.
HIDDEN GEM
"Romancing the Stone," rated PG
Every once in a while it's good to be silly and sometimes a movie helps. "Romancing the Stone" was first released 25 years ago and combines a good story with great stunts, a madcap chase for treasure and a little romance. Unlike many comedies that rely on current clichés, this script still rings true.
Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) lives a sheltered life, writing romance novels from her tiny New York apartment. Her world turns upside down when a treasure map is left on her doorstep and she learns her sister has been kidnapped in South America. Joan wastes no time flying to her rescue. Her lack of language skills are the least of her problems when she bumps into Jack Colton (Michael Douglas) who becomes her guide for hire. Their pursuits (her of her sister and his of a secret cache) are tailed closely by Ralph (Danny DeVito), who wants the treasure map, too, and assorted bad guys and federales.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis, "Romancing the Stone" is fast-paced fun. Turner and Douglas have comic as well as romantic chemistry and adding DeVito to the mix makes for an entertaining adventure.
CLASSIC
"The Americanization of Emily"
"The Americanization of Emily" - a war film whose lead character is adamantly anti-war? Actually, Lt. Cmdr. Charlie Madison (James Garner) is a self-described coward and quite happy with his role as a "dog-runner." That means his general duties in World War II consist of keeping the brass lavished with luxuries not to be found elsewhere. His specific charge is Adm. William Jessup (Melvyn Douglas) who, after becoming a widower, teeters between sanity and irrationality. Along the way, Charlie encounters the one English driver in the military motor pool who isn't enamored by his gifts of Hershey bars and designer gowns.
Emily was a breakthrough role for Julie Andrews in 1964. Squeezed in between "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music," "The Americanization of Emily" offered a pure dramatic turn. Emily is decidedly British in tone but hardly a "prig," as implied in the opening minutes, giving Andrews plenty of latitude to seduce the leading man as well as the audience.
Directed by Arthur Hiller with a script by Paddy Chayefsky, the black-and-white film tackles hefty issues regarding the morality of war. Luckily, the comic timing of Douglas and a young James Coburn along with the sexual chemistry between Andrews and Garner brings home the message without a heavy hand.
"The Americanization of Emily" benefits from a memorable musical score by Johnny Mandel.
Rebecca Redshaw can be reached at r2redshaw@
hotmail.com.
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