Check Out the Trailer

In 2008, some critics hailed this WWII drama as one of the best films of the year, while others called it one of the worst. It’s shocking material divided critics, many complaining the film is not for kids as advertised. While I found the film profound, I do agree that this is not a film for small or sensitive children. But for mature kids and adults alike, this story of a German boy befriending a Jewish boy is a moving experience.

The story unfolds through the eyes of Bruno (Asa Butterfield, SON OF RAMBOW), an eight-year-old German boy whose father Ralf (David Thewlis, HARRY POTTER) works as a soldier. We the audience can see he is an SS officer. He has told his family that they must move from the city to the country where he had been reassigned. Bruno and his older sister Gretel (Amber Beattie) are sad to leave their friends. Their mother Elsa (Vera Farmiga, UP IN THE AIR) assures them that they will make new friends. But their fears are justified when they arrive at their new home — a cold looking concrete box in the middle of nowhere.
Read the rest of this entry »

Patrick Swayze - 1952-2009

This Weekend’s Film Festival would like to take the first week of the new year to look back on the work of those that passed in 2009. While I’ve chosen five to showcase, there are others who deserve our remembrance as well. Dom DeLuise was a staple of 1980s comedies and showed a great talent for voice acting starting with THE SECRET OF NIMH. I will remember Ron Silver most of all for the legal compass he played as Alan Dershowitz in REVERSAL OF FORTUNE. Natasha Richardson was part of a legendary movie acting family and stood out in films such as PATTY HEARST, NELL and THE WHITE COUNTESS. Ricardo Montalban is best known for his TV work, but many film fans will remember him as Khaaaaaaaaan! Farrah Fawcett was also a TV icon, but she would often give surprising turns in smaller film such as THE APOSTLE and DR. T AND THE WOMEN. Another icon, Michael Jackson, made his mark on cinema through music and innovative videos, but as a kid I knew him early on as the Scarecrow in THE WIZ. Brittany Murphy’s tragic death at the age of 32 robbed movies of an actress who showed such talent in overlooked gems like THE DEAD GIRL and big budgeted spectacles like HAPPY FEET. Most people will know James Whitmore as the kindly librarian Brooks in THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, but he was also a two-time Oscar nominee for 1949’s BATTLEGROUND and 1975’s GIVE ‘EM HELL, HARRY!
Read the rest of this entry »