film binge

i have been on a film binge as of late...i've seen "The Black Dahlia" (well done but obviously a Hollywood film and Hilary Swank actually plays a real woman in this one hehe), "Sherrybaby" (absolutely brilliant...Maggie Gyllenhaal has quite a future...go and see it) and also caught a Chelsea Classics showing of Joan Crawford in "Flamingo Road" (always great to catch up on your Crawford....) and a French 3d animated film called "Renaissance" that blew me away! Yesterday I caught "Half Nelson" and "The Science of Sleep" a dizzying film about human interaction that was disturbing and disorienting with stop start animation and surreal and confusing dreamscapes all within one man's head portrayed superbly by Gael Garcia Bernal while on his quest to make Stephanie played wonderfully by Charlotte Gainsbourg...i definitely have to see this one again to help digest the intensely confusing although brilliant story. This the second time in two weeks that i caught two films in one day.....this is a surprisingly healthy addiction for me i must say and my selections have been quite rewarding....

The two standouts are:
"Renaissance" with a trippy future France setting with eye popping stark black and white 3d animation and a high paced ferocious storyline, i couldn't wait to recommend this to pretty much everyone i knew that had good taste in art and film. The film really put you in a trance and turned you into a fly on the wall of another world and time backed by a desperate plot filled with twists and turns that tricked me until the end. Go see it!
When 22-year-old Ilona (voice of Romola Garai) is abruptly kidnapped, Barthélémy Karas (voice of Daniel Craig), a Paris cop with a hard-fought reputation for finding anyone, is called into action. As the trail gets hot, Karas senses he's not the only one looking for the beautiful enigma, and every witness he digs up seems to turn up dead. Set in Paris in 2054, director Christian Volckman's bold vision of a stark near-future takes film noir to its most stylized edge, utilizing live action motion capture, animated in 3D and rendered in high contrast black and white to create a graphic novel come-to-life. Co-starring Jonathan Pryce and Ian Holm.

"Half Nelson" was absolutely amazing! The acting was intense both by the most adorable and talented Ryan Gosling and brazen newcomer Shareeka Epps. It was a dreary whirlpool of a film drowning you in the desperation and loneliness in both characters who develop an awkward and unusual comradery. I definitely want to check out other Gosling films and other films directed by Ryan Fleck, his cinematography was fantastic along with the gritty quality of the film. I also watched it after a rough night at the bar (and a certain prescription pill that i didn't have a prescription for) and that added to the experience for sure.
Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is a young inner-city junior high school teacher whose ideals wither and die in the face of reality. Day after day in his shabby Brooklyn classroom, he somehow finds the energy to inspire his 13 and 14-year-olds to examine everything from civil rights to the Civil War with a new enthusiasm. Rejecting the standard curriculum in favor of an edgier approach, Dan teaches his students how change works – on both a historical and personal scale – and how to think for themselves. Though Dan is brilliant, dynamic, and in control in the classroom, he spends his time outside school on the edge of consciousness. His disappointments and disillusionment have led to a serious drug habit. He juggles his hangovers and his homework, keeping his lives separated, until one of his troubled students, Drey (Shareeka Epps), catches him getting high after school. From this awkward beginning, Dan and Drey stumble into an unexpected friendship. Despite the differences in their ages and situations, they are both at an important intersection. Depending on which way they turn – and which choices they make – their lives will change.