A look at the life of a Parsi bank clerk in 1971 Bombay, India during the war with Pakistan. There are some really stunning shots of the city. The story and characters are quirky in some way that prevented me from fully buying into it, though I enjoyed the movie anyway.

Russel Crowe swashes his buckles, sweeps his strings, swings his hatchet, swabs his wounds, swills his rum, swoons in his cups, swaps his weevils, swears his oaths, and swarms his enemies. Interesting looks at early 19th century naval life. Standard Hollywood storytelling.

I’m amazed to learn that these musicians are based here in the eastern Sierras, in Mammoth Lakes. It may have to do with being starved for good music, but my jaw dropped several times during this performance. Brian Schuldt on cello and Rebecca Hang on violin both played expertly as far as I could tell,…

A fine British film. It does give in to the excesses inherent in the subject at times. I’m guessing it was inspired by the American film Homegrown, and if it doesn’t quite live up, it has fun trying.

A stark look at several characters throughout the 20th century dealing with depression and insanity, contemplating whether suicide is justfied when life has become unendurable. Although the movie’s message comes through clearly, the story line and the role of Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs. Dalloway in the screenplay can be confusing, especially if like me you…

A dense, strange, stilted Swedish movie that follows some high-bred characters as they grapple with isolation after the onset of world war III. Its philosophical monologues and symbolic characters seem to have potential, which kept us watching. Either they never panned out, or didn’t seem worth the effort to follow. In the end it felt…

This Argentinian film is about the slickest con artist movie I’ve seen. I’d say it outdoes The Sting. It gave Ann involved dreams about being swindled and deceived.

Tom Twyker, director of Run Lola Run, works again with the star of that movie, Franka Potente. I was impressed with this film, which has all the exciting visual and musical style of Run Lola Run but gets much more philosophical. It explores some ways people can be damaged, and ways they can heal. Beautiful…

I know living in the desert has changed me, but it’s difficult to express how. This book goes there and describes the spell, always hinting at the ineffable. It expands my feeling of desert rock and landscapes to include thoughts of those who experienced the same land long ago. It fuels my desire to go…

This is the real stuff. It was controversial when released in ’71, and it’s still provocative. The minimalist setting of small town Texas in 1952 boils the coming-of-age theme down to the bone. Great period soundtrack too, even if I’m not a big country fan.