Overall, the 21st annual New Orleans Film Festival displayed many remarkable films. Below please find capsules of the highlights in addition to other movies that opened recently:
The Big Uneasy, a Hurricane Katrina documentary from comedian (and New Orleans resident) Harry Shearer–This is Spinal Tap, TV’s “The Simpsons”–gets the inside story of a disaster that could have been prevented from the people who were in charge. This informative and incendiary rebuke of our government and those they employ also features celebrity talent such as John Goodman, Brad Pitt and Patricia Clarkson. B
Co-writer/director Derek Cianfrance’s heartbreaking Blue Valentine tells the non-linear story of a married couple falling both in and out of love with tight cinema, verite (style to express the desperation. Michelle Williams (“Brokeback Mountain”) and Ryan Gosling (“Half Nelson”) bring a shattering realism to their roles, ably conveying their past and present. A
A shocking and true indictment of the corrupt Bush administration, Doug Liman’s Fair Game is a scathing and suspense-filled account of real-life undercover CIA operative Valerie Plume (Naomi Watts) and her husband Joe Wilson (Sean Penn), who took on top government officials after being railroaded by them. This superbly acted thriller examines the tenacity of the human spirit in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. B+
A departure from his usual thematic format, Hereafter once again confirms Clint Eastwood as a diverse and talented director. In this outing, the octogenarian focuses on three divergent tales of those affected and brought together by death: a French journalist (Cécile De France) who survives a tsunami after dying for a few minutes, a reluctant American psychic (Matt Damon) who lacks human connection because of his ability to speak to the dead, and a young English boy (Frankie McLaren) who seeks to reconnect with his recently dead twin brother. Peter Morgan’s (“The Queen”) screenplay observes the politicized controversy behind the Western world’s reluctance to accept the potential for an afterlife to a thoughtful conclusion. B
In Howl, James Franco (“127 Hours”) stars as the young Allen Ginsberg and recounts the thought process on his ground-breaking eponymous poem. At the same time, the poem’s publisher faces obscenity trial charges after publishing the book. Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s film doesn’t fall into the narrative of documentary formats, but somehow glides between them (somewhat successfully) in chronicling the beginnings of the Beat Generation. B
Using his own vivid recollections to bring us inside an Israeli tank during the first 24 hours of the invasion, writer/director Samuel Maoz’s, Lebanon restricts the film’s action entirely to the tank’s interior and shows us the outside world only—as the four young soldiers themselves see it—through the lens of a periscopic gun sight. This heart wrenching and shocking movie examines the grotesqueries of any and all war. A
In writer/director Tanya Hamilton’s Night Catches Us the aftermath of the Black Power movement is told in elegiac fashion in 1976 Philadelphia. After years mysteriously disappearing, Marcus (Anthony Mackie, “The Hurt Locker”) returns to his hometown amid suspicion, but finds acceptance from his old friend Patricia (Kerry Washington, “Ray”) and her daughter. This haunting story reflects upon the heartbreaking choices made in life. B+
Paranormal Activity 2 is by all rights is an exploitation of the original film and deserves to fail. Surprisingly, the film is an interesting continuation of the story put forward by the first movie and though the filmmakers don’t change much in the tone or structure of the original, continues to shock and scare. As is true with most horror films, the least said about the plot, the better. B
New on Blu-ray/DVD
Rust, the faith-based DVD premiere starring, written and directed by Corbin Bernsen (TV’s “Psych”), is a trite mystery in which Bernsen rediscovers his own ties to God after tragedy. The interesting aspect of the film is the film’s location, Kipling, Canada, which as a population financed and produced the movie, which is fleshed out by revealing featurettes and other bonus materials. C+
Nicole Holofcener’s latest quirky comedic tale of human foibles, Please Give, follows an upscale New York couple portrayed by Catherine Keener (“Capote”) and Oliver Platt (Frost/Nixon) as they plan on purchasing their elderly neighbor’s apartment when she eventually passes, which leads to unpredictable events. This acerbic comedy might not be for all audiences but candidly examines middle aged, upwardly-mobile ennui. The bonus features are minimal. B+
Lake Placid 3, the latest chapter in the monster croc saga, continues the downhill trajectory this series has taken. The story once again is recycled from the first part, which involves the giant crocodiles terrorize a secluded lake. Luckily there aren’t bonus features justifying the thought going into making this production. D
Ari Silber is a Loyola MBA student. Before graduate school, he worked for nine years in the Los Angeles film industry, focusing on marketing, publicity and distribution.
Ari Silber can be reached at
