Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Cinema Paradiso

As readers of this blog (are there any?) will eventually learn, I'm a devoted movie fan. Last year, I saw more than 70 films in theaters, and I'll probably hit that number again this year, although I'm a little behind pace, having only seen seven of 2008's new releases so far.

The end of winter/early spring is often a tough time to find quality pics, but a diligent movie-goer can uncover decent options even in the leanest of times.

To wit, here are some titles I'd like to see in the coming weeks:

* "Snow Angels": The latest effort from talented young writer/director David Gordon Green ("George Washington") boasts a stellar ensemble cast led by Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale. That, and any movie with a music supervisor or trailer producer with good enough taste to put a song by The National in the coming attraction, is likely to extract my $10.

* "The Bank Job": This could be a great, underrated British crime gem in the vein of "Sexy Beast," "The Croupier" or "Layer Cake," or it could be complete shite. Director Roger Donaldson ("No Way Out") is a talented craftsman, and the cast -- featuring Jason Statham and Saffron Burrows -- is appealing. I'll roll the dice on this one.

* "City of Men": Set in the same Brazilian favela as the stunning "City of God," this look at two teenage friends approaching their 18th birthdays and the disparate paths their lives will take has divided critics, but producer Fernando Meirelles' previous look at this subject matter has banked enough goodwill with me that I'll give this one a shot.

* "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" and "The Counterfeiters": Still want to catch these two highly praised foreign flicks.

1 comment:

Alejandro Mata said...

Well if you didn´t think, you have got a reader!! interesting articles, great movies, is one of the things i really enjoy in life, see movies ahahahha, luck read you soon!