Watching Once I couldn't help but reflect on many of the big movies I've seen lately. The trend in films of late (From Pirates to Oceans 13 and beyond) is to have a embarrassment of riches in terms of plot. The thought is - the more subplots you have the better the film. Of course this is completely wrong, and when a simple and straightforward film like Once comes around you realize that all these films simply have more noise than signal. Once is an exercise in simplicity, it takes the conventional boy meets girl and stops at the first note. Once is a love story, but the affair is over music and it only flirts with the idea that there's anything more.
The film is so lovingly and subtly directed that at times it almost feels like a documentary. The two leads in the film are perfect, both in their underplaying of their roles and the amazing and entrancing chemistry they create with each other. Then there's the music, a sheer delight and a pleasure to listen to.
Beautiful, honest and simply enchanting Once will win its way into your heart and have you running to pick up the soundtrack. Special films like this come around only once in a blue moon so you owe it to yourself to buy this film.
Why do all the great movies get ignored in theaters? If there's a movie to be buzzed about Waitress is it. It's a travesty when films like My Big Fat Greek Wedding get everyone a buzz, but a film like Waitress comes and goes with little notice. Not your average romantic comedy Waitress is a smart, charming and funny film which focuses on the theme of personal power in the face of adversity. Keri Russell shows she can really act in the lead role of Waitress and Nathan Fillion delivers yet again a pitch perfect supporting role.
Waitress has a magical quality to it, it's the view of the world as a wonderful and magical place despite its harsh realities. Parts of the film reminded me of tones that were hit in Amilie. It's put simply a very good film, one which should be seen and enjoyed, But be warned, you'll more than likely eat copious amounts of pie after watching this film.
Kal Penn shakes off the image of a stoner from Harold and Kumar in a subtle but epic sized family drama called The Namesake. Director Mira Nair does a phenomenal job transforming the best selling novel by Jhumpa Lahiri into a film that it so deeply in touch with its characters and their connections with each other. Traditionally family dramas are presented as sweeping epics and their scale often escalated to emphasize their weight. Here we see a very specific point in time of one family and how the little events impact the way in which the family relates to each other.
The Namesake is another film that was tragically overlooked in theaters and it's absolutelyu worth seeking out on DVD.