THE POPCORN REEL EDITOR'S DESK - a
not-so
weekly word about the movies
editor@popcornreel.com
TIME FOR THE V.I.M.'s!
Sunday, August 12, 2007
It's officially time for the v.i.m's --
the very important movies.
While that sounds a little lofty, pretentious and patronizing -- it isn't meant
to be. This week, and in subsequent months, are a few films opening in the
U.S., Canada and other countries that want your attention, and want you to do
something.
Films like "The Devil Came On Horseback",
about the continuing genocide in Darfur, as seen via former U.S. marine
Brian Steidle, are currently playing in
select U.S. theaters. (Darfur will be in movie theaters again in October
in the U.S., in a documentary called "Darfur Now", featuring Don Cheadle and
numerous others.) "No End In
Sight", Charles Ferguson's film on the quagmire in Iraq and the lack of
preparation in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion, is also currently playing
in select theaters. This Friday,
"The 11th Hour", a new documentary about climate change and global warming,
opens in New York and Los Angeles before continuing in a host of cities in the
following weeks. Leonardo DiCaprio narrates the film and also co-produces.
Filmmaker sisters Leila Conners Petersen
and Nadia Conners direct and write the film, which is a must-see (review
this Friday.)
"This Is England", a powerful and
biting crescendo of a film, opened in several U.S. cities over the last couple
of weeks and leaves a viewer with lots to mull over where the state of racism,
fear and hatred are concerned.
Shane Meadows' film, which
features an astonishing performance from young 13-year-old (at the time of
filming) Thomas "Tommo" Turgoose, is an electrifying statement about 1983
England. The film won best British Independent Film last November at the
British Independent Film Awards.
Next month, "In The Valley Of Elah", about the effects of war on a soldier and
his family, hits theaters. Paul Haggis, who has either written or directed
thought-provoking films like "Crash", "Million Dollar Baby",
"Flags Of Our Fathers",
"Letters From Iwo Jima", and
numerous others, directs Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon,
which has already been getting some good advance word.
In October, Tony Kaye, who directed "American History X", will have his epic
documentary "Lake Of Fire", about abortion and anti-abortion and their
respective activists, in U.S. theaters. The two-and-half-hour documentary
is shot in black and white, and shows some graphic imagery -- including a
29-year-old woman having the actual procedure done -- and provides provocative
and passionate viewpoints on a highly personal, sensitive and volatile subject.
Kaye had been filming "Lake Of Fire" for 17 years.
Possibly in November -- although not at all set in stone for theatrical release
yet, a documentary directed by Abby Epstein and co-produced by Ricki Lake,
"The Business Of
Being Born" - which examines the history of birthing and midwifery and
juxtaposes this against the hospital child birthing process and wonders whether
home-birthing is a better option -- several women come to the conclusion that
natural birthing is the way to go, for a number of reasons. The film
screened at the Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year in New York City.
Not important, but attention-getting title: coming soon, there's a film entitled
"Young People Fucking" -- an eyebrow-raising title for some, to be sure -- that
will open in several countries, debuting at the Toronto International Film
Festival next month. (If the film was titled, "Old People Fucking", would
it have made any difference??) Y.P.F. is about several couples who have
sex during the course of one night and find that sex brings its complications as
much as its pleasures.
While that last film is not necessarily as important a film as the others, per
se, it is one that will catch more than a few people's eyes, as will the rest of
the films mentioned here.
These and other films will be added (or have already been included) in The
Popcorn Reel Fall 2007
Movie Preview -- which has been posted for a month now and continues to grow!
Sincerely,
Omar P.L. Moore
Editor
The Popcorn Reel
editor@popcornreel.com
Archives from The Editor's Desk