Netflix It: Going the Distance

Available through Netflix: Going the Distance, directed by Nanette Burstein

I fully expected this to be terrible, but Going the Distance is that rarest of gems—a romantic comedy in which two appealing actors portray likable characters whom we want to end up together. Shocking concept, I know. And the guy isn't a total loser, and the gal isn't an uptight prig! And chemistry! And Bechdel test! And no pedicures!

Synopsis from AllMovie:

Drew Barrymore and Justin Long star in this romantic comedy about a long-distance romance that may be worth fighting for. Garrett (Long) is still nursing the wounds from a recent breakup when he meets Erin (Barrymore), an unflinchingly honest girl with a big talent for bar trivia. Hitting it off immediately, the pair spend a romantic summer together in New York City. It was supposed to be a summer fling, but as fall approaches and Erin returns to San Francisco, the spark is still there. Subsequently dividing his days between working and hitting the bars with best friends Box (Jason Sudeikis) and Dan (Charlie Day), Garrett drops everything whenever Erin calls. The more Garrett's phone rings, the more his pals begin to suspect that their drinking buddy is taking the relationship a little too seriously. And they're not the only ones; Erin's sister, Corrine (Christina Applegate), is keen to ensure that her smitten sibling doesn't repeat the mistakes of her past, and she makes no attempts to sugarcoat the fact that she disapproves of the coast-to-coast romance. But the heart wants what the heart wants, and as the texting becomes more intense, both Garrett and Erin start to suspect that their summer fling may just be the real thing.

Foreign Parts

Showing at MoMA: Foreign Parts, directed by Véréna Paravel and J.P. Sniadecki


Synopsis from the MoMA website:

With the support of Harvard University’s Sensory Ethnography Lab, anthropologists Véréna Paravel and J. P. Sniadecki spent two years filming this intimate portrait of the auto repair shops and junkyards that lie in the shadow of the New York Mets’ Citi Field Stadium, in Willets Point, Queens, and the hardscrabble community of immigrants who work and live there. Once ignored and neglected by the city government, these residents recently became the target of a $3 billion redevelopment project of malls, offices, and high-rise condos. The rezoning and gentrification of the area, while perhaps less notorious in the annals of aesthetic crime than the destruction of Manhattan’s Penn Station, has been no less destructive to the vitality and diversity of New York City. Foreign Parts was awarded Best First Feature and a Special Jury Prize at the Locarno Film Festival, and was a highlight of the 2010 New York Film Festival.

Per Questi Stretti Morire (Cartografia de una Passione)

At the Venice Film Festival: Per Questi Stretti Morire (Cartografia de una Passione), directed by Isabella Sandri and Giuseppe Gaudrino

Synopsis from the festival's website:

The perseverance, excess and suffering in the life and works of the explorer, filmmaker and photographer Alberto Maria De Agostini (1883-1960) are arbitrarily reinvented. Having left his village in Piemonte at the age of 26 to become a missionary, he reached Patagonia and the Tierra del Fuego in 1910. He scaled mountains, discovered fjords and explored glaciers, naming them all. On encountering the anguish and pain of the destruction of the last Indio natives, he expressed these feelings eloquently through the photo plates and frames of his beautiful film Terre Magellaniche. All of this ends up as an imaginary and chaotic repository of memories, amongst the sad, hoarded remains of “white civilization.”

La belle endormie

At the Venice International Film Festival: La belle endormie, directed by Catherine Breillat

I really liked her Bluebeard, so I'm curious to see what Breillat does with a slightly less weird fairy tale. Although I've heard that earlier versions of Sleeping Beauty had the princess awakening from the suckling of the baby that was conceived and born while she was in her coma. That makes it weirder.

Synopsis from the festival's website:

Once upon a time... In a castle somewhere in a bygone age... The fairy Carabosse cuts the umbilical cord of a newborn babe, a little girl called Anastasia. Three young scatterbrained fairies appear, their cheeks red from running... Too late, says Carabosse, at sixteen the child’s hand will be pierced and she’ll die.

The young fairies burst into tears! Their tardiness didn’t deserve that. Now they must ward off the fatal curse... They just manage to predict that instead of dying, Anastasia will fall asleep for 100 years.

Sleeping for a century is very boring, so they bestow on her the possibility of wandering far and wide in her dreams during those 100 years of sleep...

Somewhere

At the Venice International Film Festival: Somewhere, directed by Sofia Coppola

Synopsis from the festival's website:

You have probably seen him in the tabloids: Johnny Marco drives around in a Ferrari and has a constant stream of girls and pills when he feels like having a night in. Comfortably numbed, Johnny drifts along. Then, his 11-year-old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) from his failed marriage arrives unexpectedly at the Chateau Hotel and he is forced to confront his life.

This film won the Golden Lion, which means that Coppola basically won the whole festival. Huzzah!

Attenberg

At the Venice International Film Festival: Attenberg, directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari

Synopsis from the festival's website:

Marina, a twenty-three year-old girl, lives with her architect father in a prototype factory town by the sea. Finding the human species strange and repellent, she keeps her distance. Instead she stubbornly observes it through songs of suicide, the mammal documentaries of Sir David Attenborough and the sex education lessons she receives from her only friend, Bella. A stranger comes to town and challenges her to a table football duel, on her own table. Meanwhile, her father ritualistically prepares for his exit from the 20th century, which he considers to be “overrated.” Caught between the two men and her collaborator Bella, Marina investigates the wondrous mystery of human fauna.

Meek's Cutoff

At the Venice International Film Festival*: Meek's Cutoff, directed by Kelly Reichardt

Synopsis from the festival's website:

The year is 1845, the earliest days of the Oregon Trail, and a wagon team of three families has hired the mountain man Stephen Meek to guide them over the Cascade Mountains. Claiming to know a short cut, Meek leads the group on an unmarked path across the high desert plain, only to become lost in the dry rock and sage. Over the ensuing days, the emigrants must face the scourges of hunger, thirst and their own lack of faith in each other’s instincts for survival. When a Native American wanderer crosses their path, the emigrants are torn between their trust in a guide who has proven himself unreliable and a man who has always been seen as the natural enemy.

*And yes, I realize the festival is over, but somehow I don't think any of us actually went, so the end result is basically the same, right?

Race to Nowhere

Opening in theaters: Race to Nowhere, directed by Vicki Abeles and Jessica Congdon

Synopsis from the film's website:

Director Vicki Abeles turns the personal political, igniting a national conversation in her new documentary about the pressures faced by American schoolchildren and their teachers in a system and culture obsessed with the illusion of achievement, competition and the pressure to perform. Featuring the heartbreaking stories of young people across the country who have been pushed to the brink, educators who are burned out and worried that students aren’t developing the skills they need, and parents who are trying to do what’s best for their kids, Race to Nowhere points to the silent epidemic in our schools: cheating has become commonplace, students have become disengaged, stress-related illness, depression and burnout are rampant, and young people arrive at college and the workplace unprepared and uninspired.

Race to Nowhere is a call to mobilize families, educators, and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens.

In Theaters: Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould

Opening in theaters: Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, directed by Michèle Hozer and Peter Raymont

The Romantics

Opening this weekend: The Romantics, directed by Galt Niederhoffer

Synopsis from AllMovie:

Wedding bells are bringing together a group of old friends as well as reawakening some old rivalries in this comedy-drama. Lila Hayes (Anna Paquin) and Tom McDevon (Josh Duhamel) first met when they were attending the same Ivy League college, and they became part of a circle of close friends who called themselves The Romantics. Six years after graduating, Lila and Tom are getting married, and their friends are seeing each other for the first time in years as they come together for the wedding. Laura Rosen (Katie Holmes), Lila's college roommate, has been invited to be the Maid of Honor, but while they're close friends, Laura has a secret -- she had a fling with Tom while he was dating Lila and she knows they still have feelings for one another. As the wedding day arrives, the occasion (and an open bar) brings some old skeletons out of the closet, especially as Lila's brother Chip (Elijah Wood) confesses his attraction to Laura. Also starring Candice Bergen and Malin Akerman, The Romantics was written and directed by Galt Niederhoffer, who adapted the screenplay from her own novel; the film received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival.

The movie's website is here.

Patrik, Age 1.5

Opening this weekend: Patrik, Age 1.5, directed by Ella Lemhagen

Synopsis from AllMovie:

A married pair of ex-urbanites relocates to a small village in hopes of starting a family, only to receive an unexpected surprise thanks to a mix-up at the adoption agency. Sven and Göran are finally set to realize their shared dream of becoming parents. In preparation, the happy couple even decides to leave city life behind in favor of moving to a quaint village in the country. Unfortunately, the local villagers don't exactly extend a warm welcome to the optimistic couple; while some greet them with outright hostility, most are content simply to shun them. Upon receiving news that the adoption agency was unable to locate a suitable international baby, Sven and Göran agree to take in a local orphan. On paper, Patrik was listed as being age 1.5, though upon meeting their new adopted child it quickly becomes apparent to Sven and Göran that someone misplaced a decimal point. In reality, Patrik is a homophobic 15-year-old juvenile delinquent who's none too happy about being taken in by a pair of aging gay men. Still, Göran recognizes that Patrik needs a home, and agrees to put the openly hostile boy up until he and Sven can find a more suitable place for him to live. But former street punk Sven isn't quite as accommodating due to the fact that he knows well what a young ruffian such as Patrik may be capable of. Over time, Sven's trepidation about Patrik prompts him to confront not only his own misgivings about marriage and suburban living, but his long-buried feelings about his own estranged son from a previous marriage as well.

Quest for Honor

Opening this weekend: Quest for Honor, directed by Mary Ann Smothers Bruni

Synopsis from AllMovie:

In a small village in the Kurdistan region of Northern Iraq, a woman dressed in Western-style clothes — jeans and high heels — is found shot to death by the side of the road, and the preliminary investigation suggests that the victim knew her killers ... and that whoever pulled the trigger several times took no chances on the victim surviving. Before long, police have come to suspect that this was an "honor killing," in which a woman is murdered by a relative who believes she's brought shame in some way to the family name. "Honor killings" are still considered acceptable in many parts of the Middle East, and while they may be against the law, police rarely spend much time and energy on such cases. Filmmaker Mary Ann Smothers Bruni uses this murder as a springboard for examining the grim phenomena of "honor killings" in the documentary Quest For Honor, which features interviews with members of Sulaimaniyah's Women's Media and Education Center, police officers who investigate honor killings, family members of honor killing victims (and some suspected killers) and others who have become a part of this grim abuse of justice. Quest For Honor was an official selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

The film's website is here.

In Theaters: Cairo Time

Opening this weekend: Cairo Time, written and directed by Ruba Nadda

Lucky Days

Opening in Brooklyn this weekend: Lucky Days, directed by Angelica Torn and Anthony Torn

Synopsis from AllMovie:

A young woman seeking freedom from her abusive boyfriend, her embarrassing family, and her own self-constructed cage encounters a long lost childhood sweetheart who taps into her inner turmoil during the course of an explosive weekend at the Coney Island amusement park. All Virginia wants is to live life on her own terms, but something deep within is preventing her from truly striking out on her own. Now, as Virginia reaches a crucial turning point, life as she knows it is about to end. The only choice for Virginia now is whether to resign herself to the fact that the greedy developers intent on tearing down the boardwalk will accomplish their goal regardless of what she does, or allow herself to disappear right along with the only world she ever knew.

In Theaters: The Parking Lot Movie

Opening in New York this weekend: The Parking Lot Movie, directed by Meghan Eckman

Helen

Opening in New York this weekend: Helen, written and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck

Synopsis from the film's Facebook page:

In the heartwrenching new film Helen, Ashley Judd portrays a beautiful, intelligent university professor who is happily married to David (Goran Visnjic) and enjoys a loving relationship with her teenage daughter (Alexia Fast) from a previous marriage. Despite all her good fortunes, Helen is hiding a secret; and a sudden, unexpected breakdown sends her spiraling into severe depression. Helen’s profound love for her family, which once kept them inseparable, now is tearing them apart. Amid the desperate battle for her life, her love and her sanity, Helen finds herself pulling away from David and seeking comfort from a fierce yet fragile, enigmatic and troubled young woman, Mathilda (Lauren Lee Smith), who is also struggling with a mental disorder – and whose extraordinary spirit and devotion shines like a flickering light inside Helen’s darkness.

In Theaters: The Extra Man

Opening this weekend: The Extra Man, written and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini

In Theaters: Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel

Opening this weekend: Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel, directed by Brigitte Berman

Jean-Michael Basquiat: The Radiant Child

Opening this weekend: Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child, directed by Tamra Davis

Synopsis from the movie's website:

Centered on a rare interview that director and friend Tamra Davis shot with Basquiat over twenty years ago, this definitive documentary chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of the young artist. In the crime-ridden NYC of the 1970s, he covers the city with the graffiti tag SAMO. In 1981 he puts paint on canvas for the first time, and by 1983 he is an artist with “rock star status.” He achieves critical and commercial success, though he is constantly confronted by racism from his peers. In 1985 he and Andy Warhol become close friends and painting collaborators, but they part ways and Warhol dies suddenly in 1987. Basquiat’s heroin addiction worsens, and he dies of an overdose in 1988 at the age of 27. The artist was 25 years old at the height of his career, and today his canvases sell for more than a million dollars. With compassion and psychological insight, Tamra Davis details the mysteries that surround this charismatic young man, an artist of enormous talent whose fortunes mirrored the rollercoaster quality of the downtown scene he seemed to embody.

Featuring interviews with Julian Schnabel, Larry Gagosian, Bruno Bischofberger, Tony Shafrazi, Fab 5 Freddy, Jeffrey Deitch, Glenn O'Brien, Maripol, Kai Eric, Nicholas Taylor, Fred Hoffmann, Michael Holman, Diego Cortez, Annina Nosei, Suzanne Mallouk, Rene Ricard, Kenny Scharf, among many others.

Ramona and Beezus

Opening this weekend: Ramona and Beezus, directed by Elizabeth Allen

I don't think I'm the target audience for this movie, but I loved the books so much I ordered Honey Nut Cheerio pencils that said, "Athena, Age 8." ("Athena" was what I wanted people to call me, as the goddess was my personal role model. Good thing I didn't know about sacrificing goats.)

From the movie's website:

The adventures of young Ramona Quimby (newcomer Joey King) and her big sister Beezus (Selena Gomez) come to life in this all new film based on the best-selling books by Beverly Cleary. Ramona's vivid imagination, boundless energy, and accident-prone antics keep everyone she meets on their toes. But her irrepressible sense of fun, adventure and mischief come in handy when she puts her mind to helping save her family's home.