Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

"I think he has a dark side. A sad side. A veiled side. Given his childhood, he has a relationship to life and death he can't talk about. He has a strong vision of sadness and death inside him, but since he has such energy, such working power, such desire to do extraordinary things, he prevails."
Pierre-Andre Doutang, Polanksi's friend

So what is this one about?
Netflix tell us,

Director Roman Polanski is the focus of this documentary that explores the tumultuous events of his personal life, including the murder of his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate, and the sex scandal that prompted him to flee the United States for France. Interviews with Polanski's victim, Samantha Geimer, Chinatown screenwriter Robert Towne, actress Mia Farrow and others help to reveal the many sides of this controversial figure.

And how much did I pay to watch?
Nothing. We had DVRed this one when it premiered on HBO. I had been waiting to watch it, but events have decreed that I watch it and discuss it today.

And what did I think?
When I woke up at 9am and saw "Swiss arrest Polanski on US request in sex case" on the front page of the Washington Post website I honestly though I would throw up. I hauled my sorry, pajama clad self out of bed and marched downstairs to my Roman Polanski loving parents--the ones who instilled the same love for him in me--and glared at my mom. I said, "I just saw on the Washington Post..." and she said, "I know. We saw it." I probably let out an explicative or two and marched back upstairs to fume and feel sick.

Just. leave. him. alone!!!!!!!

He only escaped the Polish ghetto in World War II, had his mother die in Auschwitz, then had his beautiful, movie-star, pregnant wife--who he was amazingly in love with--be murdered at the hands of the Charles Manson family. So, I say again, what is the point of all of this LA County District Attorney? This happened over 30 years ago. Flipping ridiculous.

In fact, this new article on the Post website essentially say as much! Lets break it down, shall we?
"Polanski, 76, was arrested at the Zurich airport Saturday night by Swiss authorities acting at the request of the Los Angeles district attorney's office. Prosecutors there had learned of the Oscar-winning director's plans to attend a film festival in his honor, and passed a request through the U.S. Justice Department." Are you really telling me that the Justice Department has nothing better to do with their time?

"The arrest outraged the government of France, which has declined to extradite Polanski since he fled to his native land in 1978" understandable. Good for France for looking out for one of it's talented citizens! "Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand issued a statement saying he "profoundly regrets that a new ordeal is being inflicted on someone who has already known so many during his life."" Merci, Monsieur Mitterand! C'est vrai!

"Polanski also received support from Poland, where he moved as a toddler and avoided capture by the Nazis, who put his mother to death in a concentration camp. "I am considering approaching the American authorities over the possibility of the U.S. president proclaiming an act of clemency, which would settle the matter once and for all," said Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, according to the PAP news agency." I hope that does happen. If his justice department can do something so retarded, surely Obama can take the ten seconds to tell them to back down and apologize.

"The arrest baffled some in Hollywood. "I think it's absolutely ridiculous," said Bill Flicker, a film editor who once worked with Polanski in France. "It's stupid and a waste of resources. I don't understand why they are doing it."" Yes, it is ridiculous. Why are they doing it?

Even the girl he had sex with has said to let it go, "I don't carry any feelings of anger towards Polanski," she told People magazine in 1997. "I even have some sympathy for him, what with his mother dying in a concentration camp and then his wife Sharon Tate being murdered by Charles Manson's people and spending the last 20 years as a fugitive. Life was hard for him, just like it was for me. He did something really gross to me, but it was the media that ruined my life." jerks.

As I am sure you can tell, I am just simply horrified that this has even come up. He is clearly not a sex offender who poses a threat to anyone else. Just. Let. It. Go!
_______________
Moving back onto topic, the film was incredibly interesting. It painted a detailed and nuanced portrait of the media attention hungry judge who presided over the case and the county of Los Angeles who was not really interested in putting Polanski in prison for the rest of his life--most of the people in the film thought that he had truly already suffered enough and that considering the facts of the case that all the recommendations the judge received were fair and reasonable. And it did this while not really passing judgement on any of the characters involved in the story.

I would say if you don't know anything about Roman Polanski and haven't seen any of his films--shame on you--this would be a good introduction to him. Through the archival reels you can see why he was so appealing. In the clips of his films you can see the contained elegance of his filmmaking style. And in the news reels from 30 -40 years ago you can see the hard life he had. And you'll understand, like I do, that we should just leave him be.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
I give it a 10. I'm sad I waited so long to watch it, but I'm glad I did, because if I hadn't watched it today it wouldn't have had the immediate, emotional effect it had.

And if you haven't seen Knife in the Water (Nóz w Wodzie), just go rent it. If only for the beautiful Polish language. Then rent the Pianist...because, be serious.

Very Young Girls

So what is this one about?
Netflix has a much better description of this movie than wikipedia does. In fact, it was Netflix's excellent description and recommendation of this movie that made me rent it. It says,

David Schisgall's startling documentary captures the heartbreaking stories of underage girls -- many as young as 13 -- who've been forced into prostitution in New York, exposing how pimps use isolation, violence and drugs to keep girls dependent. Many of the girls interviewed take part in GEMS, a shelter and mentoring program founded by activist Rachel Lloyd -- once a prostitute herself -- that helps them transition out of "the life."

And how much did I pay to watch?
I got it on the 'flix. I think my movie watching has been doing better... lets calculate the per disc amount. I have returned 10 movies in a month (and I watched on on the interweb on the 'flix site) So, 11 movies divided by the monthly rate of $16.99 is $1.54/movie. HUZZAH! Back down to a reasonable price!

And what did I think?
Ok, this one was sad. But uplifting as well. In my review for Orphan I referenced the saddest and best documentary ever--Children Underground. Very Young Girls was sad, but the girls---or a lot of them, were really trying to do better. I suppose that is thanks to Rachel Lloyd. Dude, RL's accent was SO mental! It reminded me of the chick from The Streets, she sounded like she was British. But she had a trashy accent like she was from New York. So the next day at work, you know, that is where I do a lot of movie researching, I looked her up on the internets. I found this article which told me

"Lloyd was just 13 when she dropped out of school to support an alcoholic mother. She slipped into a life of drugs and sexual abuse. She tried three times to kill herself. But even in the United Kingdom, with its network of social workers, lawyers and psychiatrists, Lloyd “continued to slip through the cracks of a system that would eventually give up.” Prostitution in Germany was what awaited her at age 17."

Yikes. So that explains the accent.

I think one of the awesome things she says in the movie was so true. She said, to paraphrase, "In America, people worry about child prostitution in Thailand or Ukraine, but when it happens in their own backyard they turn a blind eye." I feel like that is probably true. How often do you hear about child exploitation or human trafficking all over the world, but never in the US? I am sure it happens, and it happened to these girls in this documentary.

The thing that is even better about this documentary, is that it shows women who are really trying to make a difference in the lives of these girls and bring light to a situation that doesn't get enough coverage in the US. Rachel Lloyd and GEMS seems like they are slowly but surely building awareness about child prostitution in the US.

I don't want to see preachy, because this sort of social or crime issue isn't really the type I learn about...but you should really see this movie.

It really is very illuminating.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
Solid, solid, solid, solid documentary. 9.

This is Not A Joke

But it is where I tell you about all the movie stubs I just found...
I am doing a nice thorough cleaning of my room and I found some old ass movie stubs from who knows where they were hiding. I was getting ready to throw them all away but I thought it might be funny/fun to share

Once 7/11/07 (with Jared--E Street)
Sicko 7/6 (no year--Cinema Arts)
Vacancy 5/11/07
Evening 7/1 (no year--Cinema Arts)
Bourne Supremacy 7/30/04 (jeeeez)
Zodiac 3/3/07 (Toronto--with Ylber)
Evan Almighty 7/10/07
Hot Fuzz 5/7/07 (AMC)
Hairspray 7/20/07 (AMC)
28 Weeks Later 5/13/07 (AMC)
Spiderman 2 7/2/04
The Village 8/1/04 (Cinema DeLux)
Garden State 9/5 (no year--Cinema Arts)
Napoleon Dynamite 8/2 (no year--Cinema Arts)
License to Wed 7/5/07 (Cinema DeLux)
Shaun of the Dead 10/6/04 (with Joe--Cinema DeLux)
Hostel 2 6/8/07
Fahrenheit 9/11 6/27 (no year--Cinema Arts)
Bobby 11/26/06 (with Joe--AMC)
Waitress 5/24 (no year--Cinema Arts)
Pirates of the Caribbean 5/25 (no year--Cinema Arts)
Knocked Up 6/5/07 (AMC)
Talladega Nights 8/8/06
Pulse 8/15/06 (AMC)
The Night Listener 8/7/06 (Cinema DeLux)
A Scanner Darkly 7/16 (no year--Cinema Arts)
Who Killed the Electric Car 7/23 (no year--Cinema Arts)
The Devil Wears Prada 7/27/06
John Tucker Must Die 7/30/06 (Cinema DeLux)
Paris, Je T'aime 6/3 (no year--Cinema Arts)
Pirates of the Caribbean 2 7/8/06

What have we learned from this activity?
1) I clearly don't throw things out. Gross. (I bet I have a fair amount of tickets in my purse currently)
2) Summer is a big movie time for me. Especially in the summer before I went to Ukraine.
3) Cinema Arts Theatre doesn't put dates on their tickets. Sad.
4) I am very consistent with the theatres I choose. But, I guess most people probably are.

That's all for now. District 9 coming very soon!

Degrassi Goes Hollywood

*thats sort of blurry...isn't it?

So what is this one about?
Well, since this isn't classy enough to be on Netflix (though, I'm pretty sure it will be at one point, because it is just. that. good!) so I had to get the description from the 'The N' website (did you know, like I do, that The N is changing to the new Teen Nick on September 28? Well, it is!). So, here it is

In Degrassi's first-ever feature-length movie, Manny's determined to become a real actress, and Paige will do anything to become a star. They've always been rivals, but now they're fighting for the ultimate prize -- a starring role in Jason Mewes' next film. Meanwhile, is Craig still keeping secrets from Ellie? Are the Studz headed for their big break? And why is Jay driving a school bus across the country? When Degrassi goes Hollywood, the only thing bigger than their dreams is their drama.

Because, don't forget, "Degrassi, it goes there"

And how much did I pay to watch?
Nurfin' because I watched this classic on the tv.

And what did I think?
Well, I thought it was amazing!!!

My mom has been on my back lately (within the past few months or so) about how I have "regressed" and turned back into a "teenager". She has come to this conclusion because "of the choice of shows you have been watching." What shows are those? Easy. Degrassi (awesome!), Saved by the Bell (awesome), The Secret Life of the American Teenager (awesome, but insanely ridiculous), Gossip Girl (my newfound, fun as hell, teenage related obsession), and Radio Free Roscoe (a show that should have had way, way more seasons, why else? because it is awesome! and shows on The N at 7 and 7:30am!!). The fact that I used awesome as a description for everything maybe shows that my mom is correct in my regression to teenager. (UPDATE: as I was sitting here updating and eating a cookie sized scoop of cookie dough my mom said "are you eating frozen cookie dough again?" and I said "yeah" and she said "thats another reason why you have regressed." Then I said, "I'm telling the internet on you!!!")

Ok, so I love Degrassi. It takes me back in Canaduh every time. I see those pretty red streetcars clanking down the street and I recognize that it is the King St car, or the Spadina car (HOLLER!) or the Union car (the prettiest trip, by far) and I miss good ol' Toronto. Thankfully I can watch this anytime... or sing it.

Anyway...that was certainly a lot of tangentially related backstory... So, what did I think of Degrassi Goes Hollywood?? I thought there needed to be much more Craig. I was also very glad that there was some love between Manny and Jay (I almost forgot his name, sad). But really, I was so glad to see Craig. Craig, played by Jake Epstein (I saw Jake in Spring Awakening at the Kennedy Center. He is a fabulous singer!) So I was floored that he sang in the movie! In fact, the song he sang, called "Rescue You", was so good that I had to buy it on itunes before the movie was even over. It was soooo Spring Awakening... see...Then I downloaded two other songs by him. And it was awesome.

Actually, the whole movie was quite awesome considering what it was. For a CTV show it was actually pretty well developed. Well, the characters were well developed. I liked that they all brought their backstory into the movie. Poor alcoholic Ellie and sad Marco and lame Paige and sincere Jay. It was really great.

Are you into Degrassi? You should be. In fact, watching the original Degrassi (Degrassi Junior High) was what I rented when I first got Netflix like over four years ago.

So what is the rating? (out of 10)
Man, this has gone way off the rails. Degrassi goes Hollywood was awesome, funny and heartfelt and totally teenagefabulous. It gets a 10.

Geez, I am ridiculous.

Orphan

So what is this one about?
Netflix tells us,

Picking up the pieces after their baby's tragic death, the Colemans -- Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) -- adopt 9-year-old Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) from an orphanage, but it doesn't take long for Kate to see through Esther's angelic façade. When John brushes aside Kate's paranoid suspicions, Esther wreaks havoc on the world around her in this chilling tale from director Jaume Collet-Serra.

Now, if you've seen the preview, you know that crazy, angelic little Esther is like the demon spawn and tries to kill like everyone in the house. AWESOME! I'm buying it... aren't you?

And how much did I pay to watch?
Well, this is another one I saw at good ol' Cinema DeLux, so something like 10 bucks. But you wanna know the better part?? Oh, I will tell you.

I invited Steven to see this with me. Now, Steven knows that I like rather, um, esoteric(?) movies. So, in the vein of the Children Underground (which is one of the most amazing documentaries I've ever seen, btw) Steven assumed that a movie called Orphan was prolly just another documentary about orphans. Well, as you can see, it wasn't.

But Steven didn't know this, because he'd just gotten back from Europe and hadn't heard of it. And when we were sitting in the theatre, after we'd already paid and all that, and I said I was excited about the sweet horror movie we were about to see. And Steven was like "Um, this is a horror movie?!?!" and I was like "yeah" and he started to look really nervous. Turns out that he doesn't watch horror movies at all and clearly had no idea that this was a horror movie. So I felt both really bad that he didn't know and guilty that I had taken him and wildly amused to see him cower in fear about a crazy movie that I knew the spoiler/twist for. I knew the plot was hilarious, but he was still scurred.

Sorry Steven!!

And what did I think?
"There's something wrong with Esther"

You ain't wrong about that.

Ok, so Christine and I saw a preview for this one back in who knows when. I thought it looked pretty cool, and Mel said every scary movie takes place in Connecticut. I mean, I guess it wasn't "pretty cool" but it looked cool enough. I like shitty horror movies enough to see them all the time.

Then I stumbled upon the Videogum Search for the Worst Movie of All Time blog-dealy when I was "working" at work. And then I looked at the rest of the videogum website and I found this entry...which said

P.S. There is a possible real SPOILER ALERT here of what the wrong thing about Esther is that you need to keep secret, and DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THIS POSSIBLY REAL SPOILER ALERT IS HILARIOUS. OK, if you're still reading: it is hilarious.

And if I wasn't so damned curious I wouldn't have looked. But the spoiler made me want to see the movie even more than when I had just seen the preview! So, because of my excitement about the SPOILER, I don't feel bad telling you the spoiler. Which is...

27. Jaycee Banks - July 6, 2009 8:43 PM

I know what's wrong with Esther.
SPOILER ALERT! DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANNA KNOW!
She is really a 33-year-old woman who was born with proportional dwarfism which causes her to have the appearance of a child. She also happens to be a former prostitute, who had wealthy paedophiles for clients. The reason why she has her neck covered is because she was once in asylum and she struggled so much in her straitjacket that it left with her deep scars on her neck.

Are you for effing REAL!???!?! Oh, let me tell you, they weren't kidding!

This "twist" might make this horror movie one of the most surprisingly best ones I have ever seen!

The rest of the movie, other than the twist, was fairly predictable. And poor, poor, Peter Sarsgaard. You are a good actor!! How did this end up happening to you?!

So what is the rating? (out of 10)

Ok, so as I've babbled on and on about how amazingly innovative and fresh the twist was, this movie gets serious points for having something new as a horror movie twist.

Add to that, the hotness of Peter Sarsgaard and the serious hilarity of sitting next to Steven who looked like he was going to jump out of his skin the entire time and you have a super fun movie going experience!

This gets a 7 for its fun, hilariousness.

PS. No seriously, aren't you impressed with that spoiler?! Seriously. Be serious.