Hello Again.
It’s day #6…the days are flying by.
I started off the morning with FRANCES HA – the new film from Noah Baumbach (director or THE SQUID AND THE WHALE, GREENBERG and MARGOT AT THE WEDDING). Greta Gerwig stars as Frances – a kindred spirit, down-on-her luck, professional dancer in NYC. The film is about her relationships and always-shifting residence. We grit our teeth as we watch her make mistakes (turning down jobs because she’s too proud, her alcohol intake, how she deals with men, etc.) and we truly like spending time with her even though she can certainly banter on while getting intoxicated. The writing and lead performance are what make this black/white film work, but I don’t think some of our regulars at THE NEON will connect with the material. (That said, I liked it quite a bit…and the music cues are delightful.)
Next up was a film that I was very excited to see – HYDE PARK ON HUDSON – starring Bill Murray and Laura Linney. This film appeared to be the next KING’S SPEECH (after seeing the marketing), but it’s not as magical as I had hoped. Don’t get me wrong…it’s a wonderful little film – it’s just not the next big thing. This is the movie about FDR and his extramarital relationship. It’s also about the weekend when the King & Queen of England visited…and the bond between the USA and Great Britain was forever changed. The photography is lovely, the performances are great…in addition to a couple other notes, I wish there was more of Eleanor.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzl3CkzQ5UM’]
Lastly, I saw DEAD EUROPE – a film about a son who goes to spread his father’s ashes in Greece only to begin discovering dark family secrets. Now residing in Australia, the young man’s travels take him all over Europe and get him into some disturbing situations. The premise and first 1/2 of this film were quite promising. Unfortunately, the 3rd act became a little bombastic, and I started to care less for the characters as I thought the plot became a little too over-the-top. That said, I think it’s important to expose deep-seeded racism and hatred…and this film is full of it.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrNnofw8CQw’]
There was one other film I started today. But after 15 minutes, I couldn’t stand it. The description was misleading, and the material was not at all to my liking. I had planned on 4 films – alas I only really saw three and had a nice dinner instead (eating right is something that generally doesn’t happen during this trip).
More tomorrow! Thanks for reading,
Jonathan
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