First up: "Little Miss Sunshine."... It's hard to describe this one without saying, you just gotta see it ...
The basics: A dysfunctional family tries whatever it takes to help a little girl, who's not exactly beauty material, reach her dream of winning the Little Miss Sunshine pageant ...
... Unfortunately, the press has made so much of the little indie flick, that I was expecting a little more than I came away. Nonetheless, it's still a film I would recommend to a friend ... it's one those quirky movies that comes along every once in while with a stellar cast and a story that can have you bursting with laughter one minute and have your stomach twisting the next.
While the entire cast was fun to watch, the standout performance for me was Steve Carell as the gay brother of Toni Collette's Sheryl. It was a serious role for Carrell and a deep contrast from 'Office' manager Michael Scott ...
... Changing gears from light-hearted comedy to rip-your-heart-out drama, our second film was "World Trade Center."
... This one had been on my list since the weekend it came out, mostly because of my strong attachment and fascination with that historic day ... Kates was quite a bit slower to warm up to the idea of watching it, so I was blindsided when I suggested this morning we watch it and she actually said yes. (After watching World Trade Center, she even said she thought she could watch 'United 93' now too ...)
The basics: Nicolas Cage and Will Jemeno as two Port Authority police officers who become trapped in the rubble of the World Trade Center on 9/11 ...
The film's grip is a given, but one the things that will stick with me here is Oliver Stone's finished product ... No conspiracy theories. No cheesy dramatization. Just honest, stick-to-history storytelling ... and he did it without ever showing you exactly what was going on -- the film doesn't show you the planes crashing into the towers; it doesn't show them crumbling -- but you know exactly what's happening by your own memories, and the characters dialogue and actions ...
The film did a wonderful job of weaving the officers' fight to survive with the feelings their families were having that terrible day (... great performances here also by Maggie Gyllenhaal and Maria Bello as the two wives ... ), in addition to some glimpses of how the rest of us were dealing with the day ...
Both must-see films ...
Some related good reads:
a Only time will tell if these unusual movies beat the 'odds' to take home Oscar gold
a On DVD, a Burst of 'Sunshine'
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