Quick Reviews

Alexa's out of town, so I've watched movies! Which I will now review oh so quickly!

Godfather 1/2 - 10.0/9.5 - I've flipflopped and decided the first one is better. So there.

Man Push Cart/Chop Shop - 8.5/8 - Ramin Bahrani's movies about the lives of immigrants in America are quietly brilliant films. Beautifully shot, they're sad, poignant, funny and in the end, I think, hopeful. They deserve a longer, more thoughtful review than this, which Ebert has kindly provided here. Highly recommended.

The Visitor - 7 - To continue my movies about immigrants spree, I watched this one. Richard Jenkins (the dead 6 Feet Under dad) deserved the Oscar nomination, but a win would've been a major stretch. I liked the movie, but it pales a bit in comparison to the aforementioned Bahrani movies (not to mention the Godfather). Also, I thought the last half hour was just a tad off.

King of Kong - 5.5 - King of Kong is about 2 dudes who play waaaaaay too much Donkey Kong. And a bunch of other dudes who care way too much about 2 dudes who play way too much Donkey Kong. It's officially filmed in America, but the video game culture portrayed certainly seems like a foriegn country (even to a huge dork like me), so I am comforatable lumping it in with my immigration review clearing house. It's an interesting story, told in standard (read: boring) documentary fashion. At 79 minutes, it still felt like it was at least 20 minutes too long.