This week's Movies To See

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Click here for this week’s recommendations.  Scroll down this blog to watch trailers.  My top recommendations are The Secrets in their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos), Iron Man 2 and, of course, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

My top picks on DVD are still Crazy Heart and Broken Embraces (Abrazos Rotos).

Hail! The Conquering Hero, A Man Called Horse,  The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Marty are all on TV.

The Secrets in their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)

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This is one of the year’s best.

I finally got to see The Secrets in their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos), this year’s Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Picture over A Prophet (which I admired).  It is an outstanding film, and  more accessible than A Prophet.

The Secrets in their Eyes is a police procedural set in Argentina with two breathtaking plot twists, original characters, a mature romance and one breathtaking, “how did they do it?” shot.  The story centers on a murder in Argentina’s politically turbulent 1970s, but most of the story takes place twenty years later when a retired cop revisits the murder.

Veteran Argentinian actor Ricardo Darin shines once again in a Joe Mantegna-type role.  Darin leads an excellent cast, including Guillermo Francella, who brings alive the character of Darin’s drunk assistant.

Director Juan Jose Campanella is receiving justifiable praise for the amazing shot of a police search in a filled and frenzied soccer stadium.  It ranks as one of the great single shots, along with the kitchen entrance in Goodfellas and the battle scene in Children of Men.

Touching Home

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Touching Home is a little movie with a big performance by Ed Harris  The film was written and directed by and stars the Miller twins, Logan and Noah, who tell the story of their own alcoholic father.  The authenticity of the writing and Harris’ performance make this an exceptionally realistic depiction of alcoholism.

Touching Home was also shot on location in the Miller’s home turf of western Marin County, California, around Lagunitas and Bodega.  Those familiar with West Marin will recognize many locations.

Iron Man 2

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Iron Man 2 is a superhero movie for people (like me) with no interest in superhero movies.  That’s because it is a roaring comedy clad in the superhero genre.  It’s just very, very funny.  There’s no one better than Robert Downey, Jr., to play a narcissistic brainiac.  Mickey Rourke again proves that he can act by portraying a mad Russian physicist (the physicist part is the stretch).   Director Jon Favreau, Scarlett Johansson, Gary Shandling and Samuel L. Jackson are all hilarious in smaller roles.

Funniest character of the decade

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You just can’t top Fred Melamed as Sy Ableman in A Serious Man. Melamed creates a hilariously pompous and blatantly manipulative character. He is the guy who seduces the protagonist’s wife and then expects the hero to bend over backwards to make everything convenient for them.   I’ve never seen such an earnestly self-entitled character.

And here is Fred Melamed discussing Sy Ableman:

Playing right now in Paris

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I’m in Paris, and the multiplexes here are showing Iron-Man 2, Kick-Ass, Green Zone, Greenberg, Alice in Wonderland and I Love You, New York – all in version originale (v.o.), which means in their original English with French subtitles.

Julie Delpy is directing and starring in La Comtesse, a period drama.   And there are several new French comedies that look interesting.  Unfortunately, my French is only workable enough to order excellent food and wine.

And Russell Crowe is shilling the upcoming Robin Hood on French infotainment TV shows.

DVD Pick of the Week: Broken Embraces (Los Abrazos Rotos)

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This is Pedro Almodovar’s brilliant, operatic romantic drama.  Penelope Cruz is once again Almodovar’s instrument, never more breathtaking.  With movies within the movie, it’s also homage to filmmaking itself.  And, it’s also a cinematic celebration of the color red – look for the color red in each scene.  This was my #4 movie of 2009 and my choice for best foreign language film.

The Secrets in their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos)

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I can’t wait to see The Secrets in their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos), which opens today, but I won’t be able to for a couple weeks.  It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Picture over A Prophet (which I admire) and has a very high Metacritic score of 76.

I have seen one of its stars, Ricardo Darin,  in Nine Queens, an excellent con job flick a la House of Games or The Sting.  Nine Queens is available now on DVD.