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To watch or not to watch? I will tour around Amsterdam’s cinemas and answer this crucial question every Friday. Without mercy, of course. Sucky movies will be slaughtered, cinematographic pearls will be appreciated as such. Or the other way around. After all, good taste is in the eye of the beholder.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
I once tried to read the book by Jonathan Safran Foer that inspired this film, but I just didn’t like it. Maybe this film is a better option for me to get to know the story. Now I won’t be distracted by Safran Foer’s style of writing. Oh wait! Noooo! The script is written by Eric Roth, the guy that is also responsible for a film I truly, truly, truly hate: Forrest Gump. If I’m dating a guy and he says he likes Forrest Gump, that’s a deal breaker right there!
I’ll try to look at it on the bright side. Stephen Daldry (The Reader) is directing and the story seems promising: a young kid loses his father on 9/11 and now he tries to solve a mystery he believes his father (Tom Hanks, yikes) left him. In the meantime he finds out more about his grandparents, who went through the Holocaust.
A lot of New Yorkers weren’t happy with this film; they thought Daldry abused 9/11 for corny sentiment. Worse, he even tried to find a meaning for the death of the victims. Let this be a lesson for Daldry: don’t direct films that are written by Roth.
Watch this film in Cineville‘s The Movies. Also in Pathe (all of them).
Albert Nobbs
We act like it’s a big accomplishment if someone gets nominated for an Oscar, while it’s not. Just choose a role that fits the following profile: handicapped, gay, too fat/skinny or just spend a lot of hours with the make-up artist. Glenn Close chose for the last option. Albert Nobbs is about a butler in 19th century London, a butler that is actually a woman. At a certain point the secret gets out in the open when Nobbs has to share his bedroom with a house-painter. But surprise, surprise: the painter was also born as a woman. This lesbian changed her appearance so she can have relationships with women. Smart. Nobbs isn’t that clever. In fact, he/she lost touch with reality and emotions a long time ago. What follows is a tragic story about a person who deeply struggles with life, sex and everything else that matters.
Watch this film in Cineville‘s De Uitkijk and The Movies. Also in Pathe (City and Tuschinski).
Paradiso: an Amsterdam stage affair
A portrait of the most famous music stage in Holland through the eyes of artists like Paul Weller, Chuck D. and Maxi Jazz. O yeah, and Tim Knol (booooring). The film shows a day in Paradiso: arrival, soundcheck, backstage, etc. Documentary maker Jeroen Berkvens has proven before that he is capable of doing a project like this, with his films about Nick Drake and Jimmy Rosenberg.
Watch this film in Cineville’s Kriterion.
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