Kym’s Picks: 03/31/2009

The Obvious:

 

Seven Pounds Distraught over his wife’s death — and convinced that his own actions had something to do with it — a depressed IRS (Will Smith) agent begins plotting his suicide, vowing to improve the lives of seven strangers in the process. But a chance meeting with a woman who has a life-threatening heart defect (Rosario Dawson) threatens to derail his plans when, suddenly, their budding relationship feels a lot like love.

 

Slumdog Millionaire After coming within one question of winning 20 million rupees on the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” 18-year-old Mumbai “slumdog” Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is arrested on suspicion of cheating. While in custody, Jamal regales a jaded police inspector (Irfan Khan) with remarkable tales of his life on the streets, as well as the story of Latika (Freida Pinto), the woman he loved and lost. Danny Boyle’s film won a Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Picture.

 

Have Seen and Recommend:

 

The Fugitive: Season 2: Vol. 2 Dr. Richard Kimble (David Janssen) continues to stay one step ahead of persistent cop Lt. Philip Gerard (Barry Morse) while trying to locate the one-armed man who killed his wife in these episodes from the second season of the popular classic television series. But the noble doctor can’t help risking his life by slowing down and revealing his identity in order to help various people he meets along the way. William Conrad narrates.

 

Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea: Season 4: Vol. 1 The courageous crewmembers of the nuclear submarine Seaview go on all sorts of new adventures and face a variety of challenges in these episodes from the fourth and final season of producer Irwin Allen’s popular action-packed series. Escapades include encounters with berserk gorillas, a villainous puppet master and androids traveling through time, along with interplanetary abductions. Richard Basehart and David Hedison star.

 

Possibilities:

 

Ricky Gervais: Out of England: The Stand-Up Special Funnyman Ricky Gervais unleashes his formidable talent on Madison Square Garden — with political correctness taking a backseat — in his first special for HBO, home of his Emmy-winning series “Extras.” Gervais shares his thoughts on a variety of topics, including obesity, Nazis and nursery rhymes — even sacred cows such as physicist Stephen Hawking and Nelson Mandela are targets of the comic actor’s stinging wit in this hilarious performance.

 

Special Enrolling in a drug study to spice up his humdrum life as a low-paid meter reader, Les Franken (Michael Rapaport) begins taking an experimental antidepressant, which proves to have a few unexpected side effects. Convinced that he’s actually developing special powers that can be used to fight evil, Les decides to quit his day job and focus on being a superhero … despite his doctor’s professional opinion that his abilities are all in his mind.

 

The Brøken From the very first moment Gina (Lena Headey) spots a woman who looks exactly like her driving down a busy London street, reality ceases to exist as she knows it. Tailing her doppelganger, Gina finds herself immersed in a surreal landscape of mind-bending nightmares and inexplicable events. Written and directed by Sean Ellis, this disturbing tale also stars Richard Jenkins and Asier Newman.

 

Danton Acting as a metaphor for revolutionary events unfolding in Poland in the early 1980s, this powerful historical drama from legendary Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda follows Danton (Gérard Depardieu) and Robespierre (Wojciech Pszoniak), allies in the French Revolution who now find themselves engaged on opposite sides of the struggle to control the country’s future. A critical success, Danton earned numerous international awards, including a BAFTA.

 

Fatty Girl Goes to New York A heavyset Italian woman, Miris (Donatella Rettore), wins a trip to New York City, slims down with a beautiful baroness (Anita Ekberg) she meets and comes back to Italy to get revenge on the boy who tormented her in this zany early-1980s Italian comedy. With newfound looks and confidence, Miris is set to overcome her previous suicical thoughts and launch a fresh life. Umberto Lenzi directs; Gena Gas, Dario Caporaso and Howard Napper co-star.

 

Tell No One Eight years ago, pediatrician Alexandre Beck (François Cluzet) was the prime suspect in his wife’s murder. He’s put all that behind him, but now, two dead bodies have been found near his home — and once again, he’s the suspect. The case takes an unexpected turn when he receives an anonymous email showing his wife alive — and eight years older — instructing him to “tell no one.” Kristin Scott Thomas co-stars in Guillaume Canet’s powerhouse thriller.

 

The Cremator Karl (Rudolf Hrusínský), a professional cremator in Prague, fervently believes he is saving the soul of each body he burns. But as the Third Reich advances, Karl’s dedication gives way to madness as he seeks to turn the world into one big crematorium. Juraj Herz’s dark and darkly funny cult horror, a choice product of the Czech new wave, won Best Actor and Best Cinematography at the 1972 Sitges Film Festival.

 

Timecrimes After accidentally traveling to the past, Héctor (Karra Elejalde) meets himself and triggers a series of mysterious events that lead to a shocking crime. The gripping time-travel story — at once deeply intricate and easy to follow — also stars Candela Fernández. Oscar-nominated short-film director Nacho Vigalondo makes his feature debut with this finely crafted sci-fi thriller.

 

Documentaries and Music:

 

Is There Life on Mars?: Nova This fascinating documentary rounds up eye-opening evidence of the potential for life on Mars collected by NASA’s Phoenix lander, a probe sent to Mars in 2008 to join the twin robot explorers Spirit and Opportunity. Just two months after it arrived, the Phoenix confirmed the presence of ice on Martian soil, fueling scientists’ belief that the planet is — or once was — capable of sustaining life.

 

Journey to the Edge of the Universe This National Geographic program takes you on an epic, uninterrupted voyage through the cosmos, beginning on Earth and traveling outward through the solar system and the Milky Way, past distant galaxies and to the very limits of the universe. Images from the Hubble telescope and innovative computer graphics make possible the single, long traveling shot that comprises this journey, and unobtrusive narration explains the sights along the way.

 

Kingdom of the Blue Whale Journey around the globe with a team of top scientists to learn more about blue whales in this superb National Geographic documentary. A deep undersea expedition reveals information about the behavior of these fascinating creatures below the surface. Other areas explored include migration patterns, gender-specific behavior, feeding strategies, breeding grounds, the amazing range of dialects in whale communication and much more.

 

Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase This fascinating collection of shorts showcases the work of clay artist Joan C. Gratz, whose 1993 Academy Award winner for Best Animated Short Film, “Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase,” re-creates the works of more than 35 artists. Using only clay, Gratz morphs one famous painting into another, sometimes with amusing or unexpected results. Her painstaking technique duplicates works by Munch, da Vinci, Picasso, Matisse and Warhol, among others.

 

Vampire Secrets Learn the terrifying truth about vampires, the bloodsucking fiends that have been a staple of Hollywood horror films after emerging from popular folklore dating back more than 1,000 years. This fascinating historical study explains the cultural impact of Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, traces the origin of several common superstitions and reveals the connection between the ancient vampire myths of Europe, Greece and China.

 

Leonard Cohen: Live in London Captured in the middle of his first tour in more than 15 years, iconic singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen takes the stage at London’s O2 Arena to deliver this 26-song set of beloved classics and fan favorites. Selections include “Bird on the Wire,” “Everybody Knows,” “In My Secret Life,” “Who By Fire,” “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye,” “So Long, Marianne,” “First We Take Manhattan,” “Tower of Song” and “Suzanne.”

 

Martha Argerich Plays Mozart: Live from Tokyo Renowned concert pianist Martha Argerich joyfully dedicates this 2005 concert to the memory of her piano teacher, Friedrich Gulda, and is joined by Gulda’s sons Paul and Rico for an inspired rendition of Mozart’s Concerto for Three Pianos in F Major. String players Renaud Capuçon, Gautier Capuçon and Lyda Chen accompany Argerich in a performance that also includes Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D Minor and Symphony no. 32 in G Major.

 

The Weird:

 

The Sinful Dwarf Peculiarly accented dwarf Olaf (Torben Bille) lures women back to a London boarding house belonging to his washed-up singer mother (Clara Keller), where the unsuspecting lasses are drugged, bound and generally transformed into heroin-addicted prostitutes. The bizarre and deliciously sleazy grindhouse thriller also stars the voluptuous and beautiful Anne Sparrow — in her only film role — as the naïve damsel in distress Mary.

 

Cat in the Brain Italian horror director Lucio Fulci’s mind is his own worst nightmare in this graphically gory fright fest that gained a cult following thanks to an initial ban in the United Kingdom and one of the highest body counts in European cinema. In the midst of completing his latest masterpiece, Fulci is gripped by horrifying specters from his other films. He looks to a therapist to clear his head, but the doctor turns out to be an evil incarnate.

 

The Escapees After escaping from an insane asylum, two beautiful women — one spunky, the other depressed — fall in with a troupe of erotic dancers and embark on a surreal journey full of violence, burlesque and lesbian hookups. Director Jean Rollin, the exploitation auteur behind such cult hits as Fascination and Requiem for a Vampire, delivers the sordid goods again in this bizarre and kinky odyssey starring Laurence Dubas and Christiane Coppé.

Kym’s Picks: 03/17/2009

The Obvious:

 

Twilight Based on Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling novel, Twilight follows the saga of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart), who moves to a small town to live with her father. At school, she meets Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), a mysterious classmate who reveals himself to be a 108-year-old vampire. Despite his cautions, Bella falls in love with Edward, which endangers her life when a coven of bloodsuckers arrives to challenge Edward and his family.  —  Not my thing, but an obvious choice for many.

 

Oh No!

 

Van Wilder: Freshman Year This prequel to National Lampoon’s cult hit Van Wilder takes us to the beginning of young Van’s (Jonathan Bennett) college career and reveals how the charismatic slacker became the indomitable party animal we’ve come to know and love. Shocked by the conservative environment of his new school, Van sets out to liberate the student body from the iron fist of the domineering Coolidge College dean (Kurt Fuller).

 

Possibilities:

 

The Velveteen Rabbit Sent to the house of his stern grandmother for the holiday season, young Toby finds an instant cure to his loneliness when he discovers an attic containing three special toys — including a stuffed rabbit — that magically come to life. Featuring the voice talents of Jane Seymour, Tom Skerritt and Ellen Burstyn, this delightful mix of live action and animation is inspired by the classic children’s book by Margery Williams.

 

Elegy Cultural critic David Kepesh (Ben Kingsley) sits comfortably in his ivory tower, divorced from any romantic or familial entanglements, that is, until a striking 24-year-old daughter (Penélope Cruz) of Cuban exiles reawakens his sense of sexual excitement. Their unlikely bond yields shocking revelations that change David’s life forever. Spanish director Isabel Coixet helms this star-studded adaptation of the Philip Roth novel The Dying Animal.

 

My Zinc Bed Featuring fine performances, this BBC production of playwright David Hare’s searing tale about addiction and manipulation follows recovering alcoholic Paul Peplow (Paddy Considine), who takes a job with Internet mogul Victor Quinn (Jonathan Pryce) — a man with a hidden agenda. Lured into working for Quinn, Paul soon discovers that his boss is a master manipulator obsessed with addictive personalities … which includes Quinn’s wife (Uma Thurman).

 

Wuthering Heights Emily Brontë’s sweeping tale of romance set against the backdrop of the Yorkshire moors gets the “Masterpiece” treatment in this lush made-for-television adaptation starring Charlotte Riley and Tom Hardy. Cathy (Riley) eventually fell in love with Heathcliff (Hardy), the young Gypsy boy her father brought home years ago. But now that they’re adults, another man (Tom Payne) is offering her his affections — and a far more comfortable life.

 

Chrysalis While investigating a human trafficking case that may involve the man (Alain Figlarz) who killed his wife years earlier, cop David Hoffmann (Albert Dupontel) uncovers a clinic run by professor Brügen (Marthe Keller), whose research involves dream control. Filmmaker Julien Leclercq’s stylishly shot French technothriller, set in Paris circa 2020, also stars Marie Guillard as Hoffmann’s partner and Melanie Thierry as Brügen’s daughter.

 

Azur and Asmar: The Princes’ Quest Raised on tales of a Djinn fairy princess, Azur — a young Frenchman — goes to North Africa in search of the spirit, only to discover that his close childhood friend, Asmar — an Arab youth whose mother raised both boys — also seeks the genie. Now the former best friends become rivals as each tries to locate the fantastic Djinn firs, but only one can be successful in their quest. Michel Ocelot directs this family-friendly animated tale.

 

Dodes’ka-Den Tokyo’s slums set the scene for master director Akira Kurosawa’s first color feature, a glimpse into the lives of urban have-nots at their most desperate and transcendent. Mentally disabled Rokkuchan (Yoshitaka Zushi) drives his imaginary trolley on a daily route through the slums on excursions that act as the glue for several tales involving vagrants, swingers, gossips and other scrappy characters. Kin Sugai and Toshiyuki Tonomura also star.

 

Head Case: Seasons 1 & 2 Alexandra Wentworth stars in this documentary-style comedy series as Dr. Elizabeth Goode, an unconventional therapist who uses ridicule, humiliation and derision to treat her patients, most of whom are members of the Hollywood elite. Among those making cameos as Dr. Goode’s stereotypically neurotic patients are Jason Priestley, Alanis Morissette, Andy Dick, NFL Network’s Rich Eisen, Tom Sizemore and Ralph Macchio.

 

Documentaries and Music:

 

Light at the Edge of the World Join renowned anthropologist Wade Davis on a trip around the world as he explores four indigenous cultures, tracking how each has defended its traditions against the encroaching forces of modernization. Davis ascends the Andes to meet with descendants of the Incas, examines the ancient skill of Wayfinding in Polynesia, visits the sacred Buddhist monasteries of Nepal, and follows Inuit hunters in the Arctic.

 

Monster Black Holes Take a journey into deep space with this illuminating National Geographic documentary and hear from scientists who explore the mysteries of black holes — regions of space that consume everything in their path and emit a massive amount of energy. Topics include how black holes form, how scientists might be able to harness their power, and whether a black hole at the center of the Milky Way could one day destroy the galaxy.

 

Suspense: The Lost Episodes: Vol. 3 Boris Karloff, Hume Cronyn, Walter Matthau and Lloyd Bridges are just a few of the stars who appear in these episodes of the popular CBS mystery anthology series that ran from 1949-54. From teenagers being held hostage in an amusement park by a disgruntled employee to a Rod Serling-penned episode in which a henpecked man plots to blow up his wife at an atomic bomb test site, this collection will keep viewers on the edge of their seats.

 

The Weird:

 

The Life of Lucky Cucumber Wannabe filmmakers Phillip Fellini (Sam Maccarone) and Forrest Fonda (Preston Lacy) think they’ve found the subject of a lifetime when they meet a cave-dwelling, beer-swilling Missouri backwoodsman named Lucky “Cucumber” Cavanaugh (Dian Bachar), rumored to be the unluckiest man alive. But when Lucky’s fortunes begin to turn, he and the filmmakers end up on a wild adventure in this comic mockumentary.