CINEMANIA:

Darwin's Nightmare (2006, USA, Hubert Sauper)

Wherein Ben flies solo and I give the library a buzz

Ben sed:

have struggled to find my opening sentence and this lame offering is it. This is a must-see film, a great cinematic essay. Against the decontextualization of everything on behalf of postmodernism's reduction of reality to a virtual shoping spree, this film delivers a chunk of our actually existing world with ramifications that register off the chart.

We are so long past bullshit about objectivity in documentary film-making. Like I said, this is an essay. And the concrete is placed in just enough context to give the critical "big picture," the local case is shown to have global systemic causes.

Half Nelson (2006, USA, Ryan Fleck)

Wherein Ben and I arrive at a mutuality of, if not admiration, at least respect for this film.

Ben Begins:

Jacob: "A gritty Rushmore." I think this is more wrong than it is right but it is not absolutely off base and besides, proud poppa always likes to share his kid's ability to come up with a tag line.

Since I have begun by being purely personal, I may as well continue along this path, deal out my consumer's disclaimer up front.

The Prestige (2006, USA, Christopher Nolan)

Wherein the de(con)struction begins...

And So Begin the Beguine of Ben:

Monica has brought home The Prestige for us to watch. It would appear that mine is falling when it comes to selecting viewing matter. David Bowie? Does not his participation in a movie mean it is junk, second only to Mike Jagger (and perhaps Sting) on this score?

And Dan:

Don't worry, The Prestige is okay--Bowie has a small part, and doesn't butcher it.