Culture

Hey baby, take a look at this Nobel Prize I've got here.Like a root canal, the best thing you can say about the new Alan
Rickman movie, Nobel Son, is try to endure the first 30 minutes, it
does get better, but only slightly. But like that popular dental
procedure, it also lingers for the rest of your day causing you intense
moments of nausea and disquietude.

The same gang that gave us that
clumsy but charming wine movie, Bottle Shock, got together lock, stock,
and (ouch!) barrel and decided to make what the PR folks call a
psychological thriller. You and I, however, might call this new genre
cinema terrible. At least Bottle Shock had at its core a reasonable
(and largely true) story held thinly together by two good actors who
appear in Nobel Son as well. But the supporting cast included actors so
far over their heads and drowning you left the theater gasping for air.

They had tire swings in those days?Let's cut to the chase here: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is hardly
uplifting. Based on the book by John Boyne, this movie tells the
haunting story of the atrocities of the Holocaust as seen through the
eyes of a child. Opening with a quote that a child experiences sight
and sounds before reasoning takes over, the movie begins with symbolic
scenes of kids harmlessly playing war, setting up the innocence that is
to be shattered.

Smoke on the water. Winner of the Sundance Audience Choice Award and now being considered for an Academy Award nomination, Fuel is an amazing resource for those wishing to know more about the hottest issue of our time, energy independence. Not as sensational as a Michael Moore production (there is no equivalent to standing on a boat outside of Guantánamo Bay with a bullhorn demanding healthcare), it is far more practical and the main themes are knowledge and action.
Fuel is a comprehensive look at energy in America. A history of where we have been, our present predicament and a solution to our dependence on foreign oil, given an effort by the American people and our government. The film flows seamlessly through scientific data, facts, history and personal narrative and is never dull or overwhelming. Quite the opposite in fact, there is intrigue, conspiracy, murder, and greed, which is made all the more infuriating because this is not fiction.

Been waitin' for the bus all day. Knowing writer Charlie Kaufman's (Being John Malkovich/Adaptation) warped sense of humor, I figured the misspelling of Schenectady, New York was a setup for a cool in-joke. Turns out "synecdoche" is a real word, which according to Webster's means, "a figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole (as society for high society).

And Synecdoche New York is set in Schenectady. This movie is a surreal mess, mesmerizing in its complexities, perfectly depicting depressing beauty with stunning diatribes of madness, loneliness and despair. It's also a hilariously dark comedy.
Directing for the first time, Kaufman delivers what seems a straightforward story, but after a few minutes things start to twist. The first few hints involve the misinterpretation and mispronunciation of words. Kaufman then begins to fill the screen with images and ideas at a rapid pace. Soon we figure out that it's not going to do us any good to try and make sense of this journey. Just sit back and enjoy the circus.