Kym’s Picks: 02/10/2009

The Obvious:

 

Frozen River On a Mohawk reservation on the Canadian border, Ray (Melissa Leo, in an Oscar-nominated role) teams with widowed tribe member Lila (Misty Upham) to smuggle illegal immigrants into the United States. Although the work provides the women with much-needed money, each trip puts them in danger. How long will their luck hold before the authorities close in? Charlie McDermott co-stars in this drama nominated for multiple Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Feature.

 

W. Academy Award winner Oliver Stone directs an all-star cast in this satiric retrospective of the life and political career of George W. Bush (Josh Brolin), from his troubles as a young adult through his governorship of Texas and all the way to the Oval Office. Among the key supporting players are Richard Dreyfuss as veep Dick Cheney, Elizabeth Banks as first lady Laura Bush and Thandie Newton as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

 

Blindness Julianne Moore stars in this adaptation of José Saramago’s gripping masterpiece in which a plague of blindness overtakes the residents of her entire city. All sense of order breaks loose in the mental hospital where the blind are being quarantined, and it’s up to a woman (Moore) who’s keeping her sight a secret to lead a group safely to the streets. Gael García Bernal, Mark Ruffalo, Sandra Oh and Danny Glover also star in this psychological thriller.

 

Have Seen and Recommend:

 

Tales from the Darkside: Season 1 Eerie tales about a levitating boy, an endlessly ringing phone, an undead grandpa, a vengeful genie and a bookie whose life depends on a bet populate the premiere season of this macabre 1980s anthology series. The episodes — adapted from stories by Stephen King, Clive Barker and other horror writers — include guest appearances by Danny Aiello, Tippi Hedren, Justine Bateman, Harry Anderson, Carol Kane, Eddie Bracken and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

 

Simon & Simon: Season 2 Private detective brothers Rick (Gerald McRaney) and A.J. Simon (Jameson Parker) are so different that they can’t help but clash when it comes to solving some of the strangest cases in San Diego. The second season of this Emmy-nominated 1980s series finds the Simons hunting down an abducted dolphin so the animal’s grieving mate won’t starve herself to death, and helping a beloved television cowboy clear his name.

 

Wild at Heart: Series 1 Following a family bonding excursion to the African continent, veterinary surgeon Danny Trevanions (Stephen Tompkinson) and his new wife, Sarah (Amanda Holden), decide to uproot their family from Britain to the South African bush. Once there, the Trevanions decide to restore a dilapidated wild game reserve and turn it into the new family business. Lucy-Jo Hudson and Luke Ward-Wilkinson also star in this charming television series.

 

Possibilities:

 

My Name Is Bruce Mistaken for the character he plays in the Evil Dead films, B-movie icon Bruce Campbell (playing himself) is kidnapped by the citizens of a small mining town who want him to save them from a vengeful demon. At first, Campbell thinks it’s all part of an elaborate prank. But when he realizes the demon is in fact real, he comes face to face with a second terrifying enemy — his own fear. Ted Raimi co-stars in this tongue-in-cheek comedy.

 

Karma Police Recruited by a secret society known as the Karma Police, agent Charles West (Chamblee Ferguson) travels the world punishing the bad and rewarding the good. But the power of judging others’ actions takes its toll on West, who soon finds what goes around comes around. Hiding his true motivations, West keeps meting out punishments and rewards as his past closes in on him. John Wesley Shipp, Nicole Leigh Verdin and David Sullivan co-star.

 

Miracle at St. Anna During World War II, four black American soldiers find themselves trapped in a Tuscan village behind enemy lines. As they attempt to evade German forces and reunite with their comrades, the four experience firsthand the tragedy and triumph of war. Based on the acclaimed novel by James McBride and directed by Spike Lee, this epic war film stars Laz Alonso, Derek Luke, John Turturro, Omar Benson Miller and Michael Ealy.

 

Blade on the Feather Student Daniel Young (Tom Conti) appears unannounced at the country estate of retired university don Jason Cavendish (Donald Pleasence) claiming to be writing a thesis on one of Cavendish’s fantasy novels, but soon the visitor’s true agenda emerges. The twisting tale of British espionage — penned by the masterful British scribe Dennis Potter — also stars Denholm Elliott as Cavendish’s trusty butler.

 

The Lodger When a serial killer starts knocking off West Hollywood working girls in grisly ways, a mentally unbalanced landlady becomes convinced that one of her tenants is involved in the killings. Meanwhile, a detective who is under suspicion discovers clues to the murders that lead him to several disturbing revelations. David Ondaatje directs this remake of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1927 film of the same name. Simon Baker and Hope Davis star.

 

Chocolate Acclaimed Thai action director Prachya Pinkaew helms this martial arts drama, which follows Zen (JeeJa Yanin), a young autistic woman who discovers that she has the uncanny ability to absorb precision fighting skills just by watching martial arts movies. When her cancer-ridden mother’s creditors come calling, Zen attempts to settle the debts by standing up to a hardnosed gang of criminals who have wrongfully swindled money from her family.

 

Palimpsest: A Hypnotic Mystery When his friend and colleague falls from a window, troubled cop Marek (Andrzej Chyra) is assigned to the case and must determine whether the cause of death was murder or suicide. But as he delves deeper into the mystery, he is plunged into a mysterious dark underworld. Is it real or is it a mad delusion? Polish director Konrad Niewolski helms this stylish psychological thriller, which won Best Cinematography at the 2006 Polish Film Festival.

 

Simon of the Desert Cinematic legend Luis Bunuel directs this absurdist short film that follows the travails of a pious Catholic man who sets out to prove his devotion to God by living atop a column for six years, six months and six days. Inspired by the tale of St. Simeon Stylites, Bunuel’s satire takes square aim at the institution of religion – a recurring theme found in many of the director’s most popular works, including The Exterminating Angel and L’Age d’Or.

 

The Exterminating Angel Following an elegant dinner party, the guests begin to realize that they can’t leave the house in this absurdist satire written and directed by surrealist maestro Luis Buñuel. With no servants, the upper-crust group slowly loses its civility. As conditions worsen, they descend into savagery, experimenting with witchcraft, stuffing dead party guests into the closet, and cooking slaughtered sheep over fires of burning furniture.

 

Imprint Native American prosecutor Shayla Stonefeather (Tonantzin Carmelo) returns to the reservation to visit her father. After hearing strange voices, she must confront the memories of her long-missing brother and a Lakota boy she convicted in a controversial trial. Shayla initially refuses to believe there may be a supernatural connection, but soon realizes that she will have to listen to the ghostly apparitions in this paranormal thriller.

 

Documentaries and Music:

 

Darwin’s Secret Notebooks This documentary delves into the private journals of Charles Darwin, revealing the deliberate process by which the naturalist — and one-time creationist — arrived at his understanding of natural selection. Computer-generated imagery illustrates Darwin’s theories, and stunning cinematography takes you to the locations that sparked his revolutionary ideas. Evolutionary biologist Armand Leroi hosts this journey into the mind of a cautious genius.

 

Fractals: Hunting the Hidden Dimension: Nova Determined to understand the repeating patterns he was finding in nature, French mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot used an early form of computer imagery to produce his own versions, coining the recurring shapes fractals. This installment of the PBS series “Nova” examines the rules of these self-similar patterns and explores the ways these fascinating geometric configurations can be applied in the fields of science, medicine and the arts.

 

Rona Barrett’s Hollywood: Nothing But the Truth Through intimate one-on-one interviews, celebrity journalist Rona Barrett learns the secrets and dreams of Hollywood legends such as Cher, Raquel Welch, Robin Williams, John Travolta, John Wayne, Burt Reynolds, Richard Dreyfuss and many more. With more than 30 years of experience, Barrett knows how to connect with celebrities and talk to them about the issues they would normally share only with friends.

 

Joni Mitchell’s The Fiddle and the Drum Music icon Joni Mitchell pieces together dance, video art and her own acclaimed music in this unique and moving performance, a meditation on war and environmental disregard. Mitchell teams with choreographer Jean Grand-Maître of the Alberta Ballet Company for this project, which features the songs “Sex Kills,” “If,” “Slouching Toward Bethlehem,” “If I Had a Heart,” “For the Roses” and “Big Yellow Taxi.”

 

Kate Bush: The Hounds of Love: A Classic Album Under Review Featuring astute track-by-track analysis, this in-depth retrospective revisits British pop-rocker Kate Bush’s epic 1985 release “The Hounds of Love,” with noted journalists, musicologists and a host of insiders weighing in on the austere masterpiece. Rounding out the 90-minute video are live and studio performances of each song on the album, archival interviews with Bush and contributor biographies.

 

Roger McGuinn: Live at the Basement A founding member of popular rock band the Byrds, Roger McGuinn delivers an intimate music performance that features many of his group’s classics like “Feel a Whole Lot Better,” “The Ballad of Easy Rider,” “You Showed Me” and “Mr. Spaceman.” Throughout the course of the program, McGuinn appears in interviews in which he discusses the origins of specific songs and his experiences as part of the Byrds.

 

The Moody Blues: Inside the Music Original production engineers, music journalists and respected insiders analyze an amazing selection of performance footage from classic rock superstars the Moody Blues, providing unique insights and fascinating stories about this influential band. The documentary features longtime Decca engineer Derek Varnals, who mixed most of the band’s albums, their producer Tony Clarke, agent Keith Altham and journalist John Mendelssohn.

 

The Weird:

 

Otto; or, Up With Dead People Controversial filmmaker Bruce La Bruce’s irreverent take on zombie movies centers on a cheerless, undead teenager named Otto, whose quest for love and acceptance outstrips his hunger for flesh. Feeding on roadkill, Otto wanders the streets contemplating his existence and looking for a job in this unapologetically campy German import. Jey Crisfar, Katharina Klewinghaus, Susanne Sachsse and Marcel Schlutt star.

 

Videogame Theater Delight in the darkest secrets of videogame characters like Pac-Man, Frogger and Donkey Kong with this wickedly funny program, which uses puppets, hand-drawn backgrounds and retro music to tell outrageous tales of sex, drugs and violence. While poking fun at a plethora of pop culture icons, this behind-the-scenes look at the arcade world offers plenty of absurdity, offbeat humor and bizarre images.

 

imps* Short for The Immoral Minority Picture Show, this irreverent comedy skit anthology from writer-director Scott Mansfield is an equal-opportunity offender, skewering all facets of society with reckless abandon. Created in the tradition of the infamous Zucker Bros’ classic Kentucky Fried Movie, this hilarious film features several Hollywood notables, including Fred Willard, Michael McKean, Peter Scolari, Jimmie Walker and Linda Blair.