Past seven days

Films I've watched in the past seven days:

30 Minutes or Less
A Somewhat Gentle Man
Black and White
Bread and Roses
It's Kind of a Funny Story
Legacy
Little Otik
The Brothers Bloom
The Necessities of Life

New York Asian Film Festival

I wished I lived in New York so I could attend the New York Asian Film Festival.  Although some of these films have made their way to Chicago via the silver screen in the past or are available on DVD, there are quite a few films and filmmakers I have not heard of before.  It sounds like it skews to a younger male audience with outrageous characters and themes of action/violence and sex.  I love the synopses, which sound as if they were written by people who have watched and loved these films.

The Art of Getting By

This film has gotten some decent reviews based on its "charm" but I don't think its lead characters, or any really, offer us anything to identify with.  Teens can find better films with more respectful views of their lives.

The Necessities of Life

I hesitate to mention where I saw this film as the audience gets more crowded each year.  Not that there will be many reading this tiny blog who will run, don't walk, to Cinema Chicago's International Summer Screenings.  But their film choices overall are pretty good, especially that from the Canadian Consulate, whom I think tries to find a good representative movie of not only their film culture, but the country as well.

30 Minutes or Less

I am just warning you to avoid this film, which stars Jesse Eisenberg.  He plays a 20-something pizza delivery boy that gets roped into a scheme by some dimwit criminals.  It is quite unfunny, and a major step back from The Social Network.  Since it is directed by the same guy who directed Zombieland, another film Eisenberg starred in, I assume it is a career choice based on that relationship rather than any artistic merit.  I imagine this will quickly disappear from the theatres when it comes out in August, but use your hard-earned $10 on another movie.

SilverDocs 2011

A movie-loving friend sent me the link to AFI's SilverDocs, a documentary film festival that just ended a week or so ago.  This year's program seems to focus on a lot of wacky character types.  Here's what I am hoping to hunt down on DVD: