confederate states of america

this film features a great mockumentary ostensibly made for the BBC and inciting protest in the good ol' CSA due to it's unkindly look at the history leading up to the present day, where slavery is still alive and well in America. the show is interrupted periodically by ads for incredibly racist fare - most based on real albeit recently discontinued products. what struck me most about the movie was how, actual slavery aside, it portrayed America fairly accurately, much to the discomfort of its viewers.
on a personal note, life in the caribbean is getting good. although I desperately miss having a good selection of movies, I have now found a health food store and would feel wrong complaining about anything after having spent the day on a gorgeous, empty beach with warm, clear water, drinking coconuts and eating fried yucca treats from roadstands. the beach is only 20 minutes away and I can do this EVERY WEEKEND.

when do we eat?

it's Home for the Holidays for Jews at Passover. the cast of characters includes a druggie son, sex surrogate daughter, quasi-autistic child, recently orthodox and over-sexed prodigal son, lesbian daughter, Holocaust survivor grandfather and secular Israeli. it's a pretty fun movie, not overly weighed down by substance. the most unbelievable thing in it is that any family would end their seder without eating dessert first.

quinceanera

the most surprising thing about this indie film about the trials and tribulations of outcast kids in a close Mexican-American family is that it is brought to you (written and directed) by the two men that also brought you gay classics such as The Fluffer and Grief. the second most surprising thing is that this is a great movie, sad but not too sad, and universally appealing. don't try to find out more, just go see it. also, wednesday night is ladies night in san juan movie theatres - $4 a ticket. beat that!

crank

I just saw my first movie in puerto rico. it was quite an experience. the biggest movie theatre in san juan is in its biggest mall, plaza las americas. the movie was supposed to start at 7:15. the line was very long and full of kids, but when we got in, even though it was 7:25, the theatre wasn't very crowded. soon the lights went down and the commercials started. they went for about 20 minutes, then the previews started. then there were more commercials. a couple more previews. more commercials. 50 minutes of commercials. that will only happen to me once. oh right, the movie. this is a total action flick, very low on plot or character but high on visual style and gross, crazy violence. awesome ending. I was disappointed in Amy Smart's character because I usually love her and she wasn't given much to work with here. also, half the commercials were for fast food. creepy.

she's the man

the first third of this movie was so annoying that I had to stop watching it. oddly enough, I kind of felt like watching the rest tonight, and didn't really despise it, despite all of amanda bynes' mugging and insipid male impersonations. I think my mild affection for the movie can be attributed to my desperate desire not to think about the fact that I am now living on a tropical island, many many miles from home, with no transportation to a movie theatre (that isn't showing anything I want to see anyway), no health food. and none of my friends. if it weren't for the company and support of my very beloved, I think I would be on the next boat out of here. but give it time, I may be raving about the island lifestyle very soon. and there is an excellent video store here in the old, walled city of san juan (an island within an island) that I expect to sustain me while I wait patiently for my netflix DVDs to turn around.

stick it

I'm back! they showed stick it on the plane. the opening scene was awesome even the second time around. the movie grew on me with its cool gymnastics sequences and cute little girls, but it's mostly full of unfunny jokes and cliched characters. for a plane movie, it was pretty decent. I also saw CSI for the first time. frankly, I expected more. but I still watched 3 episodes. unfortunately jet lag is preventing me from seeing a movie here in new york, and the pickings in PR look pretty slim, but I remain optimistic.

italia

the country, not a film. dear loyal and beloved readers. it has been impossible for me to make new blog entries lately due to the extreme paucity of films in italy that are both in english and in any way desirable. Garfield 2 has achieved wide distribution here. so have Lucky Number Slevin and Domino, which aren't bad, just behind the times. they also have Who's the Man with Eugene Levy. and cool art films with no english. so you see my predicament. I apologize profusely and will re-engage as soon as I re-enter the US next week. I look forward to introducing you to the film scene of San Juan, Puerto Rico. until then, ciao!