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Movie Minis

MOVIE MINIS
June 14, 2007

OPENING
    • Bamako (2006) (No MPAA rating: Adult subject matter). The capital city of Mali, Bamako is the setting for this polemical drama with musical interludes. Written and directed by Abderrahmane Sissako, the film links a rocky marriage with pervasive social instability, ascribed to the policies of international monetary institutions. Exclusively at the Landmark E Street Cinema.
    • Brand Upon the Brain! (2007) (No MPAA rating: Adult subject matter). The latest whimsical brainstorm from the inimitable Winnipeg humorist Guy Maddin. Recurrent leading lady Isabella Rosselini is recruited to narrate this romantic suspense-and-horror farce about teenage sleuths who grew up on an island reserved for orphans. Exclusively at the Landmark E Street Cinema.
    • DOA: Dead or Alive (2007) (PG-13). Not another remake of the vintage suspense thriller that starred Edmond O'Brien as a poisoning victim. Aimed at the PlayStation public, this "DOA" is a feature-length spinoff of a popular video game that pits martial arts champions against each other on a desert island. Directed by Corey Yuen with Devon Aoki, Derek Boyer and Sarah Carter in the leads.
    • Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) (PG). A sequel to the science-fiction adventure melodrama of 2005, playing catch-up with the venerable Marvel comic book series. Jessica Alba and Ioan Gruffudd are now Fantastic newlyweds, obliged to join marginally eligible sidekicks Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis in a struggle against a supernatural handful called the Silver Surfer. A computerized "motion-capture" role for Doug Jones, the Surfer may or may not be in league with archvillian Dr. Doom (Julian McMahon).
    • The Golden Door (2007) (PG-13). An exceptional evocation of Sicilian peasants in transit from a craggy, superstitious homeland to Ellis Island — the most impressive movie of its kind since Jan Troell's "The Emigrants" 35 years ago. With Vincenzo Amato as Salvatore, a young widower who heads the principal family group, and Charlotte Gainsbourg as an improbable but invaluable love match, an elegant, bilingual Englishwoman traveling steerage class. Written and directed by Emanuele Crialese, whose flair for depiction ranges from historical realism to astonishing fantasy. In Italian with English subtitles.
    • La vie en rose (2007) (PG-13). A flamboyant, warts-and-all biographical chronicle of the life and career of French singer Edith Piaf, portrayed from street waif to tenacious wreck by Marion Cotillard, in what should prove a durably stirring performance. Written and directed by Olivier Dahan, the movie interweaves time frames and ignores certain chapters of the Piaf saga entirely. Most conspicuous omission: World War II. Despite the lapses, Mr. Dahan's passion for the subject is undeniable, and the musical and histrionic highlights are formidable. With Gerard Depardieu, Sylvie Testud, Emmanuelle Seigner, Catherine Allegret and, as boxer Marcel Cerdan, Jean-Pierre Martins. In French with English subtitles.
    • Nancy Drew (2007) (PG). Another attempt to revive Carolyn Keene's intrepid girl sleuth for a movie series, now riding on the appeal of Julia Roberts' 16-year-old niece, Emma Roberts. The filmmakers discard the heroine's smalltown setting and transpose her to their own turf: Nancy arrives in Hollywood on a trip with her father (Tate Donovan) and becomes promptly intrigued by a mystery house and an unsolved murder case.
    • Paprika (2007) (R). A Japanese animated thriller by Satoshi Kon about an insidious form of psychotherapy.
    
    NOW SHOWING
    • Away From Her (2007) (PG-13: Some sexual references) — ***1/2. A deeply intelligent film about the burdens of marriage and memory. Julie Christie, in a bravura performance, stars as Fiona, who moves into a nursing home and seemingly forgets her husband after she's diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Her husband Grant (Gordon Pinsent) has to watch his wife form an attachment to another man. Actress Sarah Polley directed and adapted the screenplay from an Alice Munro short story in a stunningly accomplished debut. — Kelly Jane Torrance

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