I have been trying to make up for a long movie-less period.  With the campaign and teaching I just haven’t had time for movies and I’ve been feeling the void.  So in the last two weeks I have seen-

            Valley of Elah- EXCELLENT.  I expected it to be more politicized and it wasn’t.  Tommy Lee Jones is amazing as both a father and a military man.  It left me thinking for a long time afterward.

            Things We Lost in the Fire is also very well done.  I cried several times.  What I really liked was that there were no good people and no bad people.  Everyone was simply human and they all did amazing loving things and truly tragic things in their lives.  The characters are very real and very lovable.  I am not sure how it ended.  I really was never sure what the final outcome was.  If you’ve seen it, I’d love your thoughts.

            Ten Canoes is one of those strange art films that I like so much.  It is the story of an Australian tribesman telling a story about his ancestors.  The story is happening on three levels at once.  It is funny and sad and very poignant.  It is a great example of the power of story to teach, to hurt and to heal.

            The Man in the Chair was part of the Heartland Film Festival.  If you are too busy in your life and don’t have time to tend to your aging parents, I would not recommend this film.  It will make you feel awful.  But if you think older folks can be fun and funny and challenging, this is a great movie.  Christopher Plummer plays an aging film crew guy helping a young kid with his school film project.  It gets a little preachy in a few spots (not that preachy is bad mind you) but in general it is an excellent movie.

            Michael Clayton is a good escape movie.  George Clooney is as cute as ever and the story moves well.  It is an action movie without the action.

The Heartland Film Festival has had some great shows in town this past week.  I wish I could have seen them all.  next year I think I will take a week of vacation and do just that.