“Food, Inc.”

A doctor recommended I see this movie. Now I understand why. It'll open your eyes to why there's an obesity epidemic in the United States. Big business has invaded the food chain and is growing more food, faster and cheaper than ever before. While it's good for business, it has unintended consequences on our health and the health of our planet. “Food, Inc.” lays it all —exposing how factory farming is reducing diversity, lowering nutrition, causing environmental damage and encouraging E coli and salmonella outbreaks — without any of the histrionics of a Michael Moore production. Even still, it'll make you look at your food choices in a whole new way. Which led me to tweet: Food, Inc.-If you only knew what you were eating, it would make you sick. 8.5 (out of 10)

Other documentaries you might like: “Super Size Me,” “Who Killed the Electric Car,” “An Inconvenient Truth”

“Food, Inc.”

Released: 2008

Rating: PG

Length: 94 minutes

Cast: Eric Schlosser, Michael Pollan, Joel Salatin, Richard Lobb, Vince Edwards

Director: Robert Kenner

Genre(s): Food Stories, Political Documentaries, Social & Cultural Documentaries

“The Bicycle Thief”

This film is on virtually every critic’s all-time best list. It’s required viewing at film schools around the world. And if that’s not enough, Martin Scorcese himself recommends it his documentary/Italian film history lesson “My Voyage to Italy.” (trailer here) “The Bicycle Thief” is Vittorio De Sica’s landmark film that captures the desperation in Italy following World War II. It’s a simple story, told well: after a long period without work Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) finally lands a job that requires a bicycle. His wife, Maria (Lianella Carell) sells their bed sheets to get Antonio’s bicycle out of hock and on the first day of work, it’s stolen. Antonio spends the rest of the film searching around Rome for the bicycle with his son Bruno (Enzo Staiola). There are some light moments between the two of them, but the tone of the movie turns darker as Antonio realizes that the bicycle, and his hopes for a “normal” life may never be recovered. Which is the source of my Tweet: The Bicycle Thief-Lamberto Maggiorani’s last glimmer of hope vanishes when he learns an important lesson about the value of a bike lock. 10 (out of 10)

Note: For those who shy away from foreign films because of the subtitles, I can still recommend “The Bicycle Thief.” The acting is superb and the film tells its story with the actors’ faces and in their gestures. I bet you could even turn off the sound and captions and still get the story. It’s that good.

“The Bicycle Thief”

Released: 1948

Rating: NR

Length: 90 minutes

Cast: Lamberto Maggiorani, Lianella Carell, Enzo Staiola, Elena Altieri

Director: Vittorio De Sica

Genre(s): Drama, Adaptation

“Word Wars”

Although I never really thought about competitive Scrabble as a career choice, apparently some people have. Including the four players profiled in “Word Wars.” This is a rare group of men who have a talent with the tiles but no visible means of support – and Scrabble isn’t exactly paying the bills. The characters range from the mildly eccentrlc to the downright creepy. One competitor with the unpleasant nickname “G.I. Joel” (G.I. as in gastro-intestinal) swigs Maalox and explains the finer details of his acid reflux. It’s all a bit sad. Hence my tweet: Word Wars-Forget the underdogs. This film about competitive Scrabble makes you feel sorry for the winners. 5.5 (out of 10) If you’re looking for a documentary about someone with an unhealthy obsession, I’d recommend “The King of Kong.” I gave it a 9. Steve Wiebe’s quest to beat the world record on Donkey Kong is a much more exciting and interesting story.

“Word Wars”

Released: 2004

Rating: NR

Length: 77 minutes

Cast: Joe Edley, Matt Graham, Marlon Hill, “G.I.” Joel Sherman

Directors: Julian Petrillo, Eric Chaikin

Genre(s): Documentary

“Stranger than Fiction”

Let me first say that I like Will Ferrell. You might even consider me a fan. “Blades of Glory,” great. “Talladega Nights,” terrific. “Elf,” a delight. But “Stranger than Fiction,” just okay. The difference? As Howard Crick, the main character in “Stranger than Fiction,” Ferrell’s essentially playing himself. And sorry, but he’s not that interesting an actor. It makes me wonder if he can carry a movie when not in character or doing broad comedy. If you don’t agree, rent “Melinda, Melinda.” It’s painful to watch Ferrell do his Woody Allen impersonation. Or look at the dismal box office for “Land of the Lost.” The other thing about “Stranger than Fiction” is that I liked the idea more than the movie itself. It's a pretty standard story about "living like you were dying" but with a high concept twist. I can just imagine the pitch: “The main character realizes he’s the character in the book, a la ‘The Truman Show.’” And “Stranger” tries to get all metaphysical like “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Being John Malkovich” but lacks their wit, charm and inventiveness. So while watching "Stranger" I couldn’t keep from thinking about those other movies and wondering how much better this one could have been. Which earned it this tweet: Stranger than Fiction-This Spike Jonze/Charlie Kaufman-esque movie suffers from not being attached to Spike Jonze or Charlie Kaufman. 6.5 (out of 10)

“Stranger than Fiction”

Released: 2006

Rating: PG-13

Length: 113 minutes

Cast: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Queen Latifah, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman

Director: Marc Forster

Genre(s): Comedy, Fantasy

“Doubt”

Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep) doesn’t like Father Flynn (Philip Seymour Hoffman). She’s an old battleaxe of a nun – all rules and regulations. He is young, charismatic and part of the new, more open church. It’s this dislike that turns into distrust and fuels the accusation at the center of “Doubt.” When Sister Aloysius voices her concern “about matters at Saint Nicholas School” to the other nuns in her charge, young Sister James (Amy Adams) tells of the school’s lone black student (Joseph Foster) being called to the rectory by Father Flynn. From that seed, Sister Aloysius spins her case to take down Father Flynn. She accuses him of an inappropriate relationship with the boy yet has nothing but her certitude, and the tiniest shreds of circumstantial evidence, to back it up. Publicly, Father Flynn has shown nothing but kindness toward a boy who has few friends. And the movie never reveals the truth. Just as is life, you’re left to draw your own conclusions. So is Sister Aloysius in the right? Or is Father Flynn the victim? Do you really expect a clear-cut answer from a film titled “Doubt?” My tweet: Sister Meryl Streep accuses Father Philip Seymour Hoffman of improper conduct with an altar boy. Hilarity does not ensue. 8.5 (out of 10)

“Doubt”

Released: 2008

Rating: PG-13

Length: 104 minutes

Cast: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams

Director: John Patrick Shanley

Genre(s): Drama, Adaptation, Period

“House of Games”

This taut psychological thriller is David Mamet’s directorial debut and tells the story of Margaret Ford (Lindsay Crouse), a psychologist trying to help a patient who’s in over his head with gambling debts. When she approaches the con-man who owns the marker, Mike (Mamet veteran Joe Mantegna), he asks for Margaret’s help in deciphering other card players’ “tells” or body language. As Margaret get drawn deeper and deeper into Mike’s world as part of his con game, what she doesn’t know is that she’s the one being played. It’s a complex, well-crafted puzzle about games inside games with an ending that you’ll never see coming. Or as I wrote on Twitter: House of Games-In this Mamet film, a psychologist learning how con men ply their trade gets sucked into a con herself. You will too. 9 (out of 10)

“House of Games”

Released: 1987

Rating: R

Length: 102 minutes

Cast: Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna, Mike Nussbaum, Lilia Skala

Director: David Mamet

Genre(s): Thriller, Crime, Mystery

Short Take: “Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine”

What I tweeted: Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine-Chess master loses match to a super computer and struggles with the fact that he's only super human. 6.5 (out of 10)

What I thought: I wish this documentary was more insightful. Unfortunately, it’s basically a vehicle for Kaparov’s conspiracy theories. As a result, he comes off as whiney while complaining that he got rooked in a rigged content against IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer. The fact is, if the machine can crunch every possible move and outcome in the blink of an eye, eventually you’re going to get beat. It’s just that Kaparov was arrogant and gullible enough to believe that he was invincible. For a better man versus machine (and conspiracy) documentary, I’d recommend “The King of Kong.”

“Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine”

Released: 2003

Rating: PG

Length: 85 minutes

Cast: Garry Kasparov, Terry Wogan, Anatoli Karpov

Director: Vikram Jayanti

Genre(s): Documentary

The Top 8 DVD Reviews (so far): “Fail Safe”

Article 8 of 8

To celebrate the first 100 TweeterFlix DVD reviews, I was going to do a Top 10 List. But the field got a little crowded after the first eight. Besides, everyone does Top 10 lists. I’ve already written, and hopefully you’ve already read, about the other seven. So here’s number 1 (so far):

Fail-Safe (1964)

This gripping cold-war drama revolves around the same circumstances as Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove.” A nuke is on its way to Moscow and can’t be called back. But while Kubrick played the doomsday scenario for laughs, director Sidney Lumet plays it straight and wrings an incredible amount of suspense from it. As the clock ticks, you’ll wonder how our mutually assured destruction can possibly be avoided. Cautionary tales like this have been sold a lot since then. But this one is still the best. My review from Twitter: When a nuke is accidentally launched at Moscow, President Henry Fonda has a novel way to keep peace. 10 (out of 10)

Number 2: "What's Up, Doc?"

Number 3: "An Inconvenient Truth"

Number 4: "The Fog of War"

Number 5: “Splendor in the Grass”

Number 6: “Thirteen”

Number 7: “The King of Kong”

Number 8: “The Dark Knight”

“Fail Safe”

Released: 1964

Rating: NR

Length: 112 minutes

Cast: Henry Fonda, Dan O'Herlihy, Walter Matthau, Frank Overton

Director: Sidney Lumet

Genre(s): Drama, Adaptation, Thriller

The Top 8 DVD Reviews (so far): “An Inconvenient Truth”

Article 6 of 8

Of the first 100 TweeterFlix DVD reviews, this documentary clocks in at number 3 (so far) in the Top 8 list:

An Inconvenient Truth

Another documentary, this one has Al Gore on tour making his Global Warming presentation. He comes off as human, engaging and apolitical. Everything he wasn’t on the campaign trail. But enough about him. The material itself is seriously scary stuff. Plus, there aren’t many films that have garnered Oscars and Nobel prizes. So it’s definitely worth a look. Here’s what I tweeted about it: Al Gore's global warming campaign. If his run for office was this smart, he would have been the PowerPoint Prez. 9.5 (out of 10)

Number 4: "The Fog of War"

Number 5: “Splendor in the Grass”

Number 6: “Thirteen”

Number 7: “The King of Kong”

Number 8: “The Dark Knight”

Coming up next: "What's Up, Doc?"

“An Inconvenient Truth"

Released: 2006

Rating: PG

Length: 96 minutes

Cast: Al Gore

Director: Davis Guggenheim

Genre(s): Documentary, Political

The Top 8 DVD Reviews (so far): “The Fog of War”

Article 5 of 8

Occupying the number 4 slot (so far) among the first 100 TweeterFlix DVD reviews:

The Fog of War

This Errol Morris documentary features Robert McNamara, who served as Secretary of Defense for Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. In something just short of a confession, he discusses the lessons he’s learned from his experience in Vietnam. It‘s a very simple film, weaving together archival footage, documents and McNamara telling his story. As I mentioned in an earlier commentary, It should be required viewing for anyone in the diplomatic corps. My Twitter review: McNamara says everything W & Co should have wanted to know about invading a foreign country but were too arrogant to ask. 9.5 (out of 10)

Number 5: “Splendor in the Grass”

Number 6: “Thirteen”

Number 7: “The King of Kong”

Number 8: “The Dark Knight”

Coming up next: “An Inconvenient Truth”

“The Fog of War”

Released: 2003

Rating: PG-13

Length: 107 minutes

Cast: Robert S. McNamara

Director: Errol Morris

Genre(s): War, Documentary

Jim Jarmusch & Me: Night on Earth

Continued from “Mystery Train”

Being the mascochist that I am, I took a chance with “Night on Earth.” Roberto Benigni’s vignette is the funniest for its manic energy and outrageousness. But that’s a bit like being the coolest Osmond. This vignette, like all the others, goes on too long and has no conclusion. From Twitter: If I were a cabbie, I’d work a different shift.

Some people might say that’s the point of these Jarmusch films: to capture real life. And that’s all fine and good. But it has to be a life that’s more interesting than mine. Otherwise, I might as well just turn off the DVD player.

“Night On Earth”

Released: 1991

Rating: R

Length: 128 minutes

Cast: Gena Rowlands, Winona Ryder, Lisanne Falk, Alan Randolph Scott

Director: Jim Jarmusch

Genre(s): Comedy

Jim Jarmusch & Me: Coffee and Cigarettes

Some of the people I know personally have been giving me flack about my treatment of Jim Jarmusch’s films. So I’d like to set the record straight. It’s not that I dislike his films. It’s more of an unlike -- they're just not my cup of tea.

Or cup of coffee in the case of “Coffee and Cigarettes.” A friend recommended it and yes, there were a couple of decent vignettes and some amusing bits. But as I said in my review on Twitter: Most were about as interesting as an afternoon at Starbucks. It felt like a collection of SNL skits that they didn’t know how to end.

Continue with “Mystery Train”

"Coffee and Cigarettes"

Released: 2003

Rating: R

Length: 96 minutes

Cast: Roberto Benigni, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits

Director: Jim Jarmusch

Genre(s): Drama, Comedy, Anthology

Surfwise : Chairmen of the Board, Part 4

Continued from “Riding Giants”

“Surfwise” isn’t about so much about surfing as it is about life and family. This documentary tells the story of the Paskowitz’s, the first family of surfing. The patriarch, Doc Paskowitz, was a successful Stanford-educated physician who chucked it all to become a surfer. He marries and raises 9 children in his nomadic, beach-bum style in a motorhome, with as far as I can tell, no visible means of support. To this day, Doc insists he gave his kids the best education they could have ever had, but they beg to differ. They’re ill-prepared for the demands of a modern world, some with no real jobs or options in life. It’s kind of selfish and sad. Doc may have pursued his dreams but he all but dashed those of his kids.

My review on Twitter: Surfwise-Doc Paskowitz follows his dream of a surfer’s life. And the 9 kids he raised in a trailer end up with the nightmares. 7 (out of 10)

“Surfwise”

Released: 2007

Rating: R

Length: 93 minutes

Cast: Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, Juliette Paskowitz, Israel Paskowitz, Jonathan Paskowitz

Director: Doug Pray

Genre(s): Documentary, Biopic

“The Man from Earth”

When a group of college professors come to say goodbye to a departing colleague, he reveals that he is actually a 40,000-year-old caveman. The conversation that follows ponders points big and small. There are also a few surprises along the way. A quiet movie built around a simple, fascinating concept. I wrote on Twitter: What if a cave man were still alive today? No, the answer isn't he'd do Geico commercials. Smart & thought-provoking. 7.5 (out of 10)

"The Man From Earth"

Released: 2007

Rating: NR

Length: 90 minutes

Cast: David Lee Smith, Richard Riehle, John Billingsley, William Katt, Tony Todd

Director: Richard Schenkman

Genre(s): Psychological Sci-Fi

Why “Man on Wire” fell short

My TweeterFlix review on Twitter, This film about Philippe Petite's walk between NY's Twin Towers proves that tightrope walking isn't as riveting as conspiracy. 8 (out of 10), prompted HereComeDots to write, Eight! Man on Wire gets an 8! That's a 10 if there ever was one!

I guess I could have given it an 8.5. But a 10? Never considered it. Don’t get me wrong. “Man on Wire” is a really good documentary, even if the recreated footage makes it feel like an episode of “True Hollywood Stories.” But the main reason: Philippe Petite never seemed like a sympathetic character. In fact, I found him kind of annoying. He was just this curious figure, an odd little performance artist who was obsessed with making this walk. And we knew he was successful so there was very little tension to it. For me, the biggest nail biter of a scene was where they were hiding under the tarps to avoid the security guards. Not too good for a film about a feat where the main character could fall to certain death at any second.

“Man on Wire”

Released: 2008

Rating: PG-13

Length: 94 minutes

Cast: Philippe Petit, Jean-Louis Blondeau, Annie Allix, Mark Lewis, Jean-Francois Heckel

Director: James Marsh

Genre(s): Adaptation, Historical, Documentary