the Grey (2012) Carnahan - Liam Neeson vs. wolves. This could have been a fun man vs. nature story, but there were numerous problems: 1) Really bad dialogue. 2) Not nearly enough wolves. 3) Too much serious God-talk. All of the above could have been remedied if the film didn't take itself so seriously. Up the camp, and I would have been in. 2/5
A Separation (2011) Farhadi - The film opens with an Iranian couple filing for divorce. She wants to move to the West to give her daughter a more free life, while he wants to stay to take care of his elderly father. The clerk will not grant the divorce, so she moves into her parents' house. He is forced to hire an in-home care person to look after his father while he's at work. A series of events happen to trigger even more courthouse drama. This film is great primarily for the way each character seems like a real person, and it is easy to sympathize with just about everyone involved. A taut legal and family drama that also manages to shed a lot of light on class differences in Iran. 4/5
In Home
Miral (2010) Schnabel - Pretty forgettable film that traces Palestinian presence in current-day Israel from before and after the influx of Jews. Initially, we see a lady start a school for orphans and I guess we are supposed to see the inherent good in this culture. (PS - what is Willem Dafoe doing in this movie?) Decades pass and we see one student, Miral, grow up and become involved with a revolutionary movement. A big disappointment from a director who made one of my favorite films of 2007 - the Diving Bell and the Butterfly. 2/5
the Wave (2008) Gansel - A teacher with anarchist leanings gets assigned to teach Autocracy. Through class discussions, the students complain about discussing the Third Reich yet again, because Germany is "way beyond that." Mr. Wenger decides to conduct his own social experiment, with the Autocracy class as his guinea pigs. Unfortunately, the outcome is way too obvious, and predictable, and worst of all, preachy. 2/5
