Kimmedia

This BBC miniseries is a study in political power struggles and the people whose lives fuel them.  Francis Urquhart (played by Ian Richardson) happens to be the prime minister of England but his character gives insight into the motivations and actions of politicians everywhere obsessed with their own rise to power regardless of the cost to the people they simultaneously pretend to be serving.

While those familiar with Amma will surely enjoy this intimate and touching film about Amma - people with no awareness of who Amma is would probably also enjoy this film as: an introduction to Amma, gurus, Hindu religion, Darshan, pacifism or just as a beautifully executed film that is a visual pleasure to watch.

The thoughtful editing and diverse and artistic footage really conjured up the timelessness and intimacy many experience in Amma’s presence.

" A battle without bloodshed . . . only peace and love."

Only Yesterday - an anime by Isao Takahata (a long-time colleague of Hayao Miyazaki) is called Omoide Poro Poro in Japanese which means "Memories Like Falling Teardrops".

In the film, Takahata poignantly captures the emotions of the rite of passage between girl and young woman. The anime - much of it taking place in the countryside of Japan - is beautifully artistic.  The plot revolves around the main character’s childhood dreams juxtaposed with her adult ones - switching back and forth between them.  A coming of age tale, the story is simple, direct, heartfelt and crosses cultural boundaries as a story any girl or grown woman could relate to. Notably, the article at Wikipedia on this movie states "In spite of its subject matter, the film was a surprise box office success, attracting a large adult audience of both sexes." So don’t shy away from watching it just cuz your a guy.

Doctor Who, a space traveler, takes on a passenger and assistant, Rose and together they explore dimensions in time. I liked some of the older Doctor Whos starring Tom Baker, especially because of the quirky, sometimes cheesy, special effects. Although the effects are much more sophisticated now the delightful quirkiness of the older shows is still very present. The chemistry is good between Christopher Eccleston and Billie Piper, the two main actors.

This definitely provides the ticket to some fun, light entertainment.

by Alejandro Jodorowsky

This psychological, psychedelic film was (to me) about the soul’s journey through the world from the point of the unconscious world of collective archetypes. The attempt to take on the depiction of such a journey seems just crazy and also very exciting and awesome. It’s so rare to see this side of existence portrayed in art and I wish there was more of this type of film making.

If you check out the reviews at amazon.com you’ll see that this movie downright brings out hostile, angry feelings in some people and in truth there’s not an iota of respect for sacred cows of any breed in this film.

Some admirable effort was put into this BBC Warner miniseries based on Charles Dicken’s “Bleak House.” I’d just read the novel and was wondering how all the complexity would translate into film and this adaptation did an excellent job of it.

Dickens gets away with rather cardboard characters because his writing is rich in underlying social and political analysis. But often the translation of these 2D characters into film makes for maudlin entertainment and doesn’t do justice to Dicken’s stories or writing. In this adaptation many creative filming devices are used to convey nuance and subtlety that add some of the deeper meanings (not necessarily portrayed by the characters) into the film. It truly captures Dicken’s juxtapositioning of the dark and deluded aspects of humanity with the potential for goodness or at least humor.

I generally don’t like schmaltzy themes but I’ll make an exception for this one.  The set and costume colors were pure fun and my eyes were very very happy through the whole film.  I also really dislike Broadway musicals but since the music in this one had an Indian twist it was slightly more bearable than usual.  This movie fit the bill for some light entertainment and served up some truly delicious eye candy.

This documentary is a clear and insightful account of a group of people in unoccupied France who reached out to help Jewish children during World War II in a remarkable act of compassion and bravery.

This story affirms the goodness and demonstrates the long lasting effects of simple acts of good will that humans can show towards each other.

Artwork and photos of the children of Chabannes

This film meanders through the subconscious worlds of its main characters. The special effects work feels very handcrafted and original and augments the feeling that one is in the dream world or subconscious of the characters. The story is maybe a love story but like everything else in the film it’s about what’s going on below the surface where so called reality is a matter of one’s moods, feelings and thoughts in the present moment.

This movie isn’t perfect but it is entertaining. The biggest and perhaps only real problem is the ending which is just plain goofy, unbelievable and a let down. In a lesser movie that would destroy the whole thing but there’s much to enjoy in the rest of the film. The general topic, art school (or it could be any liberal arts school) and the games amongst the inmates be they students, teachers or janitors. Having just finished an arts program myself  I could relate to many of the situations. The movie stimulated some interesting conversations between my partner and I after we watched it.  If only they’d done a decent ending . . . I did have some fun trying to think of an ending that would’ve worked.