DER-Reviews

According to the documentary’s synopsis, human beings have 98% of the same DNA as chimps with the remaining 2% having been ‘donated’ by ancient aliens from outer space.  Now ‘burnt out’ sister planet Venus having been deemed the original source of said DNA – according to the creators of Monkey Blood what happened to Venus could well be happening to planet Earth now, global warming and all.  So, is it time to panic or simple scaremongering?

While I don’t really agree with a number of reasonings put forward, there are also some that ring very true.  However, I am of the opinion that global warming is, essentially, a natural phenomenon albeit probably not helped by human waste and pollution – particularly caused by industry and their insufficient way of disposing toxic material in order to save a buck or two.  I am also not convinced that just because human genes amount to only a fraction of those of some flowers and fish or even microbes makes us inferior to them – it simply makes us different.  Mind you, some people may need to be told that the homo‑sapient is not the all‑superior species some think they are but that is an entirely different discussion altogether.

The second part of the documentary provides a number of resolutions to our current dilemma – approximately fifteen or sixteen were covered and discussed.  First and foremost money‑matters were engaged, encouraging people to avoid banks and using ‘flexible friends’ (ie cashless transactions) but invest their hard‑earned cash into gold, storing it in a safe in their own house.  While this makes sense to a degree – particularly considering the credit and debt‑laden society we currently live in – it is doubtful that this solution will really catch on.  Try to keep your debts and credit‑seeking down to a minimum and stop speculating at the stock market – which is apparently controlled by the 300 richest and controlling families in the world – and your money should be as safe as can be.  Personally, I would rather invest in property and precious metals for my retirement – particularly in view of the ever recurring news of yet another pension fund having gone belly‑up.

Said 300 dominant families essentially ruling the world (including politicians and the military) are set to include the likes of Bush and the (British) monarchy amongst others.  They essentially own all major banks and store chains (ie where we save and/or spend our money) and cause wars and general ill‑will in order to keep people’s minds occupied with fear and worry while profiteering from supplying both sides of the front lines with weapons to keep it all going for as long as possible.  Hence, voting for one political party or another does not really make any difference – with very few exceptions.

One solution touched upon, however, really made me smile and reminisce – the involvement of the (Free‑)Masons.  I have come across one man in particular who was exactly of that opinion and even provided me with relevant information.  Maybe it’s now time to finally have a look at it.  J  Thank You, Tommy!

The synopsis stating ‘Bill Maher’s take on the current state of world religion’ is rather misleading.  The disassembled title – Religion / Ridiculous – is much more on the spot, hitting the nail right on the head, really.  Essentially, Bill Maher’s quest around the world to talk to a variety of religious people pretty much turns into a farce of him ridiculing those people – some of which do not even seem to realise what he is doing and that is really the worrying part of it all.

Religulous opens with Bill Maher introducing us to the site where everything is supposed to be coming to an end … or was that the beginning?  It is also the place where he ends his journaling documentary, summing up his experiences and encounters along the way.  Mind you, he does not even stop from interviewing his own mother and sister – a family somewhat torn by religion at least from an outsider’s point of view.  A catholic man marrying a Jewish woman did not seem to affect the couple itself as such although the children were initially brought up in the catholic way and dutifully went to church every Sunday … until the parents’ using contraception apparently seemed to put a stop to that.  From there on they never went or even looked back.

Bill Maher’s journey takes him to a trucker stop church where the faithful worship as and when they pass through.  The interviewer’s poignant questions though only seem to scare off one of the truckers, the remainder stay behind and talk and answer albeit they will not stray from their faith and even end up including Bill in their final prayer.

Bill also meets with members of the Muslim faith including a rapper in London/UK and two gay Muslims in the Netherlands.  In Amsterdam he catches up with a pot‑smoking religious man wondering whether he is preaching a belief or just getting high.  He even makes it to the Vatican though the only interview he documents is that of a priest in the square outside the impressive home of the Pope.

Closer to home Bill catches up with two ex‑Mormons after being chased off the property of the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City as well as a now straight but former homosexual involved in ‘curing’ the ‘wrong mindset’ of gay people, seeing same sex relationships as sinful and unnatural.  Finally, Bill also catches up to the $400 (or was that $4,000?) suit wearing Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, claiming to be the new Messiah.  A religious park complete with Jesus Christ is also visited by the documentary team and a senator interviewed along the way – an essentially hilarious farce that should also make you think and wonder at the same time.  Basically, you will have to decide for yourself whether you want to mindlessly believe and follow those you enrich with your hard‑earned cash or whether you truly believe in your faith and allow yourself a mind of your own – ie think for yourself, no matter what your religious background.  Blessed Be!

Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah in one and the same movie.  Reason enough to go and see it really.  Then take the premise of the story being set in 1964 – the verge of black people officially being allowed to vote in the States and legally and politically seen as equal to white people.  This, of course, did not sit well with some of the folk desperately wanting to feel superior to something and/or someone – sadly, this is still the case in today’s society!

The Secret Life of Bees opens in a simple house with teenager Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) about to turn fourteen.  She has a vision of bees visiting her and is fascinated by it but is tormented at the same time by nightmares about a violent incident ten years earlier during which her mother was killed.  Lily now lives with her controlling father Ray (Paul Bettany) and caregiver/housekeeper Rosaleen Daise (Jennifer Hudson), secretly worshipping her late mother Deborah (Hilarie Burton).

Rosaleen convinces Ray to let Lily accompany her to town on the teenager’s actual birthday instead of selling peaches on the farm where he works.  With voting fast approaching three bullies question Rosaleen whether she will be casting her vote, trying to intimidate both and ridiculing particularly the young black woman by claiming she was probably to dumb to read or write anyway.  Rosaleen’s defiance infuriates the bullies, one of which restrains Lily while the other two beat up on the black woman.  Nobody around intervenes although the police eventually show up arresting Rosaleen for not apologising to her tormentor, having sprayed his boots and pants with her drink while spelling out her name on the ground in front of his feet.  This is the last straw for the teenager.  She decides to run away from her own hell, springing Rosaleen from hospital and taking off.

They eventually end up at the house of the Boatwright siblings after being intrigued by a honey jar boasting a black Madonna holding a black infant.  The three sisters are very different from one another.  August (Queen Latifah) is the mothering intermediary insisting on taking Lily and Rosaleen in despite wondering just what they are actually running from.  June (Alicia Keys) is determined to go her own way, be her own woman and obviously harbouring a lot of anger which also seems to make her keep refusing the marriage proposals of her beau Neil (Nate Parker) whom she is so obviously in love with.  Finally, there is sweet and innocent May (Sophie Okonedo), broken emotionally since her twin sister April died, but she is also the source of a lot of love and laughter positively influencing her environment.

A very moving feature with a poignant message based in a difficult, coming of age time of black people and the first true intermingling of black and white folk.  It also demonstrates that there are, always have been and always will be those who can accept people the way they are, no matter what the colour of their skin, their belief‑system or background and that is a most positive, inspiring and promising outlook.

A project apparently based on writer / director / lead actor Paul Gross’ grandfather Michael Dunne, essentially thirty years in the making.  Naturally, a movie is never an exact biography, in fact and according to interviews as well as the documentary ‘The Road to Passchendaele’ recording the making of this feature, while the film is inspired by Michael Dunne’s experiences and even includes at least one actual event during his serving in WWI, it essentially shows the way of life, general demeanour and warfare during the period of the ‘war to end all wars’.

Passchendaele opens with a war sequence at Vimy where Sergeant Michael Dunne (Paul Gross) is injured and suffers from shell‑shock.  He is subsequently shipped back to his native Canada after going AWOL in order to heal his physical wounds and determine his mental well‑being.  Nurse Sarah Mann (Caroline Dhavernas) cares for him at a Calgary infirmary and while they both like one another, war and hospital policies prevent them from taking it any further.

Subsequently, the Sergeant is ordered to appear before a military medical tribunal in order to determine his fate – whether to return him to the front, a court martial and almost certain death by firing squad or to remain in Canada and be assigned other duties.  While nightmares of seeing many of his comrades shot and literally blown to pieces keep the soldier from sleeping he still seems determined to not defend himself, almost having a death wish.  In those days, military command in particular views so‑called shell‑shocked soldiers as cowards wanting to avoid carrying out their duties rather than accepting it as the real illness it is – Neurasthenia.  Thankfully, there are those – particularly of the medical profession – starting to think otherwise resulting in Michael Dunne being determined unfit for duty and reassigned to work at the local recruitment office.

Having rejected Sarah’s younger brother David’s (Joe Dinicol) attempt to enlist – his main reason being to gain his sweetheart Cassie’s (Meredith Bailey) hand in marriage – Michael ends up taking him home drunk and beaten, forcing another encounter with his former nurse.  He starts wooing her, she starts to relent and a gentle romance is blooming with the raging war forgotten – at least for a short time.  Intrigue, controversy and unforeseen circumstances eventually lead to David Mann leaving for the front and Sergeant Dunne feels compelled to follow and protect the only surviving relative of his one true love.

A very engaging, 100% Canadian feature magnificently written, directed and lead by an ever‑convincing and multi‑talented Paul Gross.  Caroline Dhavernas and Joe Dinicol as well as the remaining support cast and crew do an absolutely wonderful job at literally bringing a war now mostly forgotten back to life.  They allow the audience to experience this important period of the early Twentieth Century when Canadian soldiers proved to the world their essence and determination at a great loss.  The storm troopers were born and came of age during WWI.

Not only does this movie give the (Western) audience an insight into the ‘mythical’ world of the samurai but it also deals with the subject of honour on so many levels.  According to their belief – what good is a man (the overall provider of a household) gone blind, even if it did happen while he was doing his duty?  Let’s face it, we have all heard of the ‘honourable suicide’ some are so proud to perform by way of age‑old tradition.  They believe this to be the only way out of a dilemma they find themselves in, no longer being able to carry out the duty they were assigned to complete.  However, isn’t taking your own life really the coward’s way out, essentially not wanting to face unpleasant adjustments to a new way of life?  I suppose, this is where the different way of thinking, traditions and general way of life comes in.

Love and Honor introduces us to the household of proud samurai Shinnojo Mimura (Takuya Kimura), his wife Kayo (Rei Dan) and their loyal servant Tokuhei (Takashi Sasano) who already served his father and helped raise the son, his new master.  The audience is soon introduced to the fact that Shinnojo does not feel fulfilled carrying out his duties as a samurai (which does not automatically mean that your work will entail fighting and/or teaching) but has ideas of his own where his future is concerned.  He considers setting up his own school introducing the young to the techniques and teachings of the samurai but without the usual chaste separation.  He intends to teach any youth of any background and not only those of the wealthy, influential and powerful.  This is virtually unheard of and is very likely to produce a lot of controversy if not right‑out scandal of which he is warned profusely.

This, however, does not deter Shinnojo who is determined to put his plans into action as soon as possible, in fact, he means to talk to the local regent at the castle – for whom he tastes food, this being his current samurai duties – this very day.  Unfortunately, before he gets a chance to voice his plans, he is taken violently ill.  Thankfully, due to his strong and healthy constitution he survives but suffers the side‑effect of loosing his sight.  At first there is hope that this may only be temporary although the doctor attending soon resigns to the fact that his patient will not recover and remain blind for life.  Kayo takes the precaution of having her beloved husband’s weapons removed in order to prevent him from killing himself which is tradition amongst the ‘higher chaste’ of the samurai and is determined to find a way out of the current situation.

Shinnojo’s relatives, on the surface, seem to be concerned and wanting to help albeit only as long as they are not required to dig into their own pockets.  Kayo is eventually urged to ask the head of security for help – a selfish man who is taken by her beauty and offers to do what he can such as talk to the regent to find a solution.  And thus the overall healing process is taking twists and turns with unavoidable repercussions …

Yes, yet another feature in a foreign tongue making the reading of subtitles unavoidable.  However, cast and crew provide such a magnificent end product combined with beautiful, even serene scenery that it is a task easily and gladly accomplished.  There are some sword fights but the main storyline rallies around the subject Love and Honor in the world of the samurai.

Yet another quirky foreign movie with a difference.  The main protagonist is a man of experience leaving prison in order to build a new life – with some rules attached – following WWII and the resulting ‘revolution’ in Eastern Europe.  And thus we become privy to Jan Dite’s (Oldrich Kaiser) reminiscence – having desperately wanted to become a millionaire and therefore part of the ‘Elite’.

The story is set in Eastern Europe and begins prior to WWII and the Nazi invasion.  Young Jan Dite (Ivan Barnev) initially tries his luck selling snacks at the train station but is not entirely successful.  However, it is here that he discovers that people will literally fall over one another in order to pick up a few coins on the ground and this, essentially, becomes his ‘quirk’ throughout his career in service.

Said service turns out to be initially that of a trainee waiter, after deciding that a career in hotels may well be his ticket to fame and fortune.  He soon finds his first job in a small restaurant/bar across the street from a brothel.  Therefore, most of its clientele is male and rather well‑off – usually middle‑aged upward – ie they don’t have to work and have money to spend all day long … on both sides of the street.

Here the young man learns his first lesson or two, namely to listen attentively as to what is going on but to keep his mouth shut – at least where the clientele is concerned.  The manager, of course, will want to know.  A smack to the head – one of many dished out by the manager (guess that could be called his ‘quirk’) – seals the deal after Jan’s initial faux‑pas of advising one of the guests at his next chess move.  However, word soon gets round that the young man’s advice is worth taking and to the dismay of the manager the customers now officially ask the trainee waiter’s advice.

During his time of working his first job at the restaurant/bar he also comes across his first encounter with the female of the species – away from simple camaraderie that he grew up experiencing.  One of the new girls from across the road seeks shelter from a heavy downpour and the manager invites her in, admiring her beauty and, in particular, the now rather see‑through wet dress she is wearing.  It is, however, the young trainee waiter who catches her fancy and is subsequently invited across the road after his shift ends.

Following that encounter and a relevant incident with the young woman at the restaurant/bar Jan considers it time to move on and works his way up from a position at a ‘spa for well‑off men’ to the respected Hotel Paris.  Latter he considers his ticket out of poverty and into the sphere of the rich whose company he always craved.  Nothing and no one is to stand in his way up to fulfil his life‑long dream of becoming a millionaire himself.  His little quirk, however, he never lets go of, no matter in what or how sophisticated surroundings he finds himself in – the throwing of coins and watching the rich and powerful crawl on the floor gathering up pennies …

Funny enough I expected this movie to simply be an entertaining and fun musical rather than a feature with a sublime message.  Mind you, I really ought to have known better it being a Walt Disney production.  The acting, animation and general choreography as well as the sometimes simply breathtaking scenery did just that – take my breath away.  A most definitely and surprisingly inspiring film indeed.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua opens with successful business woman Viv (Jamie Lee Curtis) carrying overindulged and spoilt rotten little lapdog Chloe (voice – Drew Barrymore) from appointment to appointment.  Indeed, the chihuahua has her own extensive schedule and is very aware of it, too, as are her various equally spoilt doggie friends.  In walks equally flakey Rachel (Piper Perabo), Viv’s niece, who is reeled in as a dogsitter for Chloe at the last minute as Viv needs to fly to Europe and the scheduled dogsitter is unavailable at short to no notice.  This does not sit well with either Chloe who sees Rachel as superficial and only interested in having fun rather than taking responsibility for anything or anyone while said niece is none too happy to have to adhere to a rather tight schedule for a spoilt little lapdog.

It comes as it must with Viv departing and Rachel taking residence in her aunt’s Beverly Hills villa with a couple of equally giggly and irresponsible friends. Here she first encounters aunt Viv’s Mexican landscaper Sam Cortez (Manolo Cardona) and his own rescue Chihuahua Pepi (voice – George Lopez).  Needless to say the encounter is less than friendly and/or constructive albeit both parties remain polite whenever somewhat exasperated.

The three girls then decide to drive across the Mexican border for some partying and pack up pampered Chloe heading due south.  There, however, things are starting to go wrong real fast.  Rachel tries to feed Chloe simple dog food for which the spoilt lapdog retaliates immediately.  The girls then file out the door not realising that clever little Chloe finds a way to get out of the hotel room in search of the woman supposedly looking after her.  Instead, she is picked up by a member of a local dog fight gang and ends up in a cage surrounded by other stolen pooches in order to become ‘game’ to the dreaded Doberman El Diablo (voice – Edward James Olmos), owned by gang leader Vasquez (José María Yazpik).  Latter has thus far managed to avoid capture by local law enforcement despite them being well aware of his criminal activities.  There she also encounters ex‑police dog German Shepherd Delgado (voice – Andy Garcia) who instigates a mass escape and the adventure really begins.

The story evolves around both the human and animal (including a clever rat and a not so clever iguana) world – both learning their own lessons and to rely on one another.  They all converse amongst one another without actually understanding the other species as such – particularly where the humans are concerned.  However, unlike other movies, this is not really the issue here – it is essentially about the spoilt rich – human and pooch – to learn that those of ‘lesser money’ are not necessarily of lesser breed or importance.

Not the most memorable movie but well worth seeing nonetheless.  After all, it is a ‘coming of age’ feature directed at mainly young audiences without so much as talking down to or at anyone, no matter what their age or demeanour.

After the initial pre‑story, City of Ember opens in the house of inventor Loris Harrow (Tim Robbins) and his coming of age son Doon (Harry Treadaway) who is not very taken by his gadget driven dad.  Doon’s main ambition is to become an electrician in the up and coming job draw (literally!) in order to help fix the failing Generator which is essentially the life source of the underground city of Ember.

Mayor Cole (Bill Murray) who is meant to make sure that all people are safe and cared for is, however, a typical politician looking out for himself only while pretending to be the benefactor to all citizens.  He is surrounded by those hoping to gain for their own benefit such as his personal guard (B.J. Hogg), personal lackey (Toby Jones) and the main distributor of food, Looper (Mackenzie Crook).

Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan – Oscar nominated actress for Atonement) lives with her demented grandmother (Liz Smith) and younger sister Poppy (Amy & Catherine Quinn) in the house of her ancestors.  Granny’s great-great-grandfather was the seventh Mayor of Ember who actually knew that the underground city was only meant to exist for 200 years after which a certain box – now lost – was due to open and provide the citizens with instructions on how to reach the by then hopefully less polluted and life sustainable surface of the planet.

Lina is late arriving at the graduation / job distribution and picks the profession of pipe maintenance out of the bag which she less than cares for.  Doon, on the other hand, is due to become a messenger – worlds away from his dream of working as an electrician in the generator room which he had set all his hopes upon.  He does try to switch with one of his former classmates but is less than successful, though ends up exchanging job prospects with Lina who is all too happy and eager to work as a messenger.  After all, she knows pretty much everyone by name and is well‑liked in return, contrary to the broody Doon who is much better suited using his hands to fix ‘things’ rather than running from one end of town to the other delivering messages between people.

Lina eventually comes across the mysterious box, courtesy of her ailing grandmother literally taking their remaining furniture apart in search of it and little Poppy having found and playing with its contents.  However, before the young messenger can find out what Granny knows about the box though cannot really remember in the state she is in, the old woman dies in her sleep.  It is now up to Lina and Doon to figure out what to do while at the same time avoid capture by the corrupt Mayor and his henchmen, finding allies in the most unlikely places along the way.

The likes of well‑established actors such as Martin Landau, Tim Robbins and Bill Murray always providing brilliant performances as well as creative newcomers Saoirse Ronan and Harry Treadaway offer a solid basis for City of Ember.  The screenplay (by Caroline Thompson) based on a book (by Jeanne Duprau) and directed by Gil Kenan add their own aspects to this underground adventure that turns out to be interesting to experience, particularly with some unexpected twists and turns mixed into the process.

A very moving documentary about the lives of Joy and Ron Holiday – their career spanning four decades – later joined by Chuck Lizza and their exotic cats.  By the sound of things they were the first to include tigers and leopards into their (dance) act – even before Siegfried and Roy invented their show in Las Vegas.  Also, the Cat Dancers travelled and moved around quite a bit with their act while Siegfried and Roy never left the casino town in the middle of the Nevada desert.

Ron Holiday narrates and is interviewed for this documentary which starts off at his house where he gets ready for a day’s work.  Having retired from being a dancer and choreographing animals acts on stage, at nearly seventy years of age he now works as an instructor, teaching his students the do’s and don’t’s of working with exotic animals, particularly big cats, that he worked with virtually all of his adult life.  While he literally learnt the hard way – through trial and error – how to work with tigers, leopards and jaguars amongst others, he now passes on this wisdom to the next generation in order to spare them some tough lessons he had to overcome.  He puts it as – if you are looking for a diploma or certificate of some kind, you are in the wrong place.  I teach about life and pass on my experience and that’s that.

Ron and Joy met when they were children.  They literally grew up together connected through their love of dancing.  Ron was the first to leave for New York and once Joy followed they started seeing one another in a new light and no longer just as dance partners.

They started off performing ballet – becoming well‑established adagio dancers – a career which is, essentially, short‑lived before offers dry up.  In their early thirties they inherited their first black leopard courtesy of actor William Holden and integrated the panther into their act.  Their future vocation literally took off from there.  They initially spoilt their first exotic cat rotten but learnt their lesson quickly once another animal joined their growing family and they went from strength to strength.

Leaving their New York apartment behind they settled on the Cat Dancers ranch in Florida, joined a circus act along the way where they met Chuck Lizza who subsequently completed their human family.  They all lived together with their exotic cats who – due to a very healthy diet introduced by their ‘parents’ – outlived their own kind by at least ten years.  However, as tame and loving as those animals were, they were still wild at heart, reacting to outside influences like the big and powerful cats they are and then tragedy struck …

Two days to go to the end of the festival and I finally managed to see a couple of movies – see separate reviews of Cat Dancers (Doc) and Rachel Getting Married (Can) – when my early selection totalled fifteen.  Somehow, however, despite currently not working, I never made it to any of the other screenings.

The films on my initial Must See List included Cat Dancers – a documentary covering the lives of Ron and Joy Holiday and their pioneering exotic cat act – Living Goddess – a feature about a little Nepalese girl that is both ordinary and extraordinary, so ordained by local traditions … at least until she reaches her teens – and Romance of Astrea and Celadon – reminding me very much of the Shakespearean play of Twelfth Night which I recently enjoyed on the Bard on the Beach stage.  It involves romance – of course – cross‑dressing and general confusion set in mystical surroundings of the 5^th Century.  Whether it is as much a comedy as Twelfth Night I don’t know and may have missed my chance now to find out.

I also selected a few interesting screenings that might be of interest such as Girl By The Lake – an Italian Who‑Dunnit thriller – Mothers and Daughters – the title is really self‑explanatory and the main reason I would have wanted to see this one was that my mother passed away very recently – and, finally, Fifty Dead Men Walking – covering the story of an undercover agent in the UK where I lived for twenty odd years.  Guess, it brought back memories.

Out of these ‘wriggled down’ six options I only managed to see the documentary Cat Dancers in the end – being an avid cat lover and always having wanted to go and experience Siegfried and Roy’s Las Vegas Cat Show prior to one party being badly injured, forcing them both to retire, particularly by way of protecting the ‘offending’ animal.  Well, let’s face it – there are differences between how men and women are ‘wired’ (am currently reading a very interesting book on that one) so there would, of course, be differences in how animals and humans think and they are not always aware of the injuries they can cause despite their best intentions.

Rachel Getting Married I had initially marked because a friend of mine had listed it as a movie she wanted to go and see but, eventually, it did not even make my initial list of fifteen.  However, having read some very positive reviews on this feature as well as articles praising the main protagonist, Anne Hathaway – a brilliant and very talented young actress – finally drew me to the festival.  What a rush!