Touch me. Touch me like you didn't touch me last night.

Recent Films (No Spoilers):

Serenity (2005, USA, Sci-Fi/Action)

In which the fantastic television show Firefly, which was shafted by the network that showed it, unfolds into one of the better plotted / directed / written / acted science-fiction films I’ve seen in a very long time. Funny, ‘splosions, tears, and creepy things.  Oh, and space fights!!!

GRADE : A

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Brodeuses (Sequins): (2004, France, Drama)

 A delicate and wonderful film about a young girl in who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant, a fact she hides from her friends, family, co-workers, and to a degree, herself. A nice twist on the usual “younger person finds older person ready to give-up-on-life” genre of film, I must say it surprised me how good it was, even if nothing in it was genuinely surprising. The beauty of the almost constant tight-shots was impressive.

GRADE : B+

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Moolaadé : (2004, Senegal, Drama)

How often do you get to say that you saw a film that made you laugh a lot AND dealt with the horrors of female genital mutilation in modern Africa? I’ve seen one now. The setting was beautiful, but I think more impressive to me was the delicate balance struck between drama, humor, family, and religion. Never too far in any one direction. Amazing.

GRADE : A

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The Corpse Bride (2005, USA, Stop-Motion Comedy):

 Dunno, maybe I figure Tim Burton set that bar too high for me with The Nightmare Before Christmas, or perhaps it’s that all of the time spent in the “land of the living” bored me nearly to tears. Yes, the land of the dead was fun, but nothing new or groundbreaking. Lots of pretty and detailed work, but without even a skeleton of a plot to hang on, the flesh of the movie just kinda flops to the ground.

 GRADE : C-

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Broken Flowers (2005, USA, Comedramady...whatever):

 Cult director Jim Jarmusch steers an all-star cast…okay, I just wanted to say “Cult director” and “all-star cast” in the same sentence. Beautiful directing by JJ as usual, interesting and paced without being boring, Bill Murray and Jeffrey Wright attempt to reunite Murray with a son he didn’t know he had…and may not actually have after all. A cross country trek that is peopled with fascinating characters, all remarkably well-developed.

GRADE : A

Commence the throwing of stones.

 b