German Gems
Contemporary German cinema arrives at the Castro Theater on Sunday, February 28th, with the first one-day German Gems festival. Five films will be shown, one after the other, with the first, "Tender Parasites", beginning at noon, and the last, "The Bone Man", screening at 9:15. Between 6:00 and 7:00 there will be a reception for the filmmakers in attendance.
Broken Embraces
Wow. Broken Embraces, the latest film from Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, left me rapt for 2 hours.& In this span, he tells a story of love, sex, obsession, violence and revenge, all taking place in the world of film-making. If there is one constant in Almodovar’s many films, it is the presence of interesting, passionate, strong female characters. Penelope Cruz, fast becoming one of the director’s muses after starring in his previous film, “Volver”, shines as the enigmatic Lena, a woman torn between two lovers while beginning a promising movie career.
Avatar
To be honest when I first heard about the movie Avatar and its amazing graphics I was not overly excited to see it and figured I would check it out on DVD or when it came to HBO or Showtime. And that would have definitely been a mistake.
George Clooney in "Up in the Air"
"Up in the Air", starring George Clooney and currently in theaters everywhere, tells the story of Ryan Bingham, a frequent flyer, collector of miles and rewards points through various hotels, airlines and car rental services, and smooth talker who fires people for a living. He flies into a city, touches down at a company where workers are to be laid off, and fires them, one by one, day in and day out. The film explores what sort of effect this can have on someone who has managed not to be tied to anything- a home, a family, and certainly not a workspace.
