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This Week at the Movies…

Hi Movie Lovers! The old saying “good things come in small packages” happened this week! I saw 4 very small films that are better than their titles. I honestly didn’t know what to expect so I was surprised how good they were and, of course, they did win at film festivals. All these movies will play well on the small screen so if you want a movie-going experience, choose a big Hollywood tentpole and get lost in the movie magic.

DOPE

The biggest surprise was this really small film with unknowns, but it had a lot of behind the scenes power players pushing it (Forest Whitaker), and it did win at Sundance. This is a great High School Comedy and coming-of-age film about an intellectually gifted “geek” balancing life in a rough neighborhood with preparing for college.

Dope

Infinitely Polar Bear

I hated the title, which deals with mental illness, but not the film. Starring Mark Ruffalo and the beautiful Zoe Saldana, this is drama/comedy about a man with Bipolar Disorder who, after a nervous breakdown, moves into a halfway house, and the must rebuild a relationship with his two daughters and wife. Mark Ruffalo’s performance will not go unnoticed.

Infinitely Polar Bear

THE TRIBE

This is a sign language film and this one was hard for me as it had no dialogue or subtitles, but is very interesting subject matter. A deaf teenager becomes part of a wild organization known as “the tribe”. He falls in love with a concubine which leads to an unnatural break in “the tribe’s” hierarchy. (Just so you’re aware, there is nudity in the trailer.)

The Tribe

THE FACE OF AN ANGEL

The Face Of An Angel… This film was the weakest of the four, which disappointed me because I have interviewed both of the stars, Kate Beckinsale and Daniel Bruhl. The movie is about a journalist and a documentary filmmaker after a story and the prime suspect in a murder. Not the finest example of metacinema I could come up with.

The Face of an Angel