Past seven days

h man, what have I been doing this week? Only four movies? Actually I started Owatching the old sketch comedy show The State. Such a lot of talent came out of that show!

The Avengers
Cheyenne Autumn
Everything Must Go
Keyhole

The Other Side of Immigration

Oftentimes when returning from a late movie, I take the bus home through an area with a lot of night life, and I see lone Hispanic guys taking the bus too. I assume they are bar and restaurant workers probably working for low wages, and are pretty invisible to the loud drinkers partying in the area where they serve behind the scenes. I can't imagine that much of the profit of $5 martinis and corresponding tips end up in their pockets. They always seem very polite and quiet, and just seem to want to do their job and be left alone and go home after a long night's work.

This doc visits rural parts of Mexico and interviews many people about their views and opinions about immigration, especially as it relates to the U.S. The culture in Mexico is as you expect--poverty, corruption, political nepotism, lack of economic growth.

Mr. Lonely

This film shows that celebrity impersonators have typical, even depressing, lives, and not "celebrity" lives.

"Michael Jackson" (Diego Luna) performs on the streets and in old folks homes of Paris and meets "Marilyn Monroe" (Samantha Morton).  She invites him to join a group of other impersonators living in a commune, where her husband is "Charlie Chaplin" (played by Denis Lavant, he's often jealous and abusive) and their daughter is "Shirley Temple."

Michael seems dissatisfied with his life; his way of looking at life seems bigger than what it is offering him. He tries hard to find whatever it is he is seeking for, but the sadness around him reminds him that it may be futile.

Past seven days

If it looks like the lineup this week was heavy on the sci fi, that's because it was!  Portage Theatre held their annual Sci Fi Spectacular, a marathon of older films, although unfortunately there were lots of projection problems throughout the day.

Attack the Block
Brazil
God Bless America
Here Without Me
Joint Body
The Kingfisher
The Last Starfighter
Night of the Comet
Nine Nation Animation
The Theatre Bizarre
Twelve Monkeys

Robinson Crusoe on Mars

After trying to avoid a meteor, a spaceship is sucked into Mars' gravitational pull, forcing the astronauts to eject inside a small capsule, Draper (Paul Mantee) first, and his co-pilot (a small part by Adam West) second. Draper is unable to find his co-worker once he lands, but does find the test monkey Mona.

Draper spends the first day huddling in front of a fire instead of doing much of anything constructive to remedy his situation or find his co-pilot. As the days wear on, with the help of the monkey, he finds an oxygen source, water and food. He also discovers the wreckage of the capsule and that his co-pilot is dead.