The Critical Filmmaker

Film: A Shine of Rainbows Starring: Connie Nielsen, Aidan Quinn, John Bell, Jack Gleeson, Tara Alice Scully, Niamh Shaw Director: Vic Sarin Screenwriters: Vic Sarin, Catherine Spear, Dennis Foon   Adapted from the novel by Lillian Beckwith.   I've always liked Aiden Quinn.  He brings a lot of depth to his characters and always makes them interesting to watch.  This film is no exception.  He plays a gruff, hard working man who doesn't openly show his emotions, except to his wife, played by Connie Nielsen, who charms us with her "colorful" view of life.  There are layers to this man, but it seems only she is able to bring out the best in him.   It is she who brings life to those around her, and happiness to an orphan boy she rescues from the city and brings home to an island off the Irish coast.  The boy, Tomas, who is portrayed by John Bell, is adorable as the shy, stammering ten year-old, struggling to be accepted by his ...

Film: Up in the Air Starring: George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, and Jason Bateman. Director: Jason Reitman Screenwriter: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner   An Oscar nominated film sparks so many thoughts in my mind, including the key one:  "Well, it must be good!"   Was it?   I'm not sure.  When first asked what I thought about the film, I said tentatively that I liked it.  The theme had taken me by surprise a bit,  and I wasn't sure what kind of message it was sending.  But after I thought about it for a few hours I came to realize that while the film was entertaining, the contradictions within it were too perplexing for me to give it a whole-hearted positive response.   Let's take Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), a young woman, fresh out of Harvard, who creates a computer program that promises to save her company money by delivering bad news via the internet rather than in person.  You see...

Film :  Handsome Harry   Starring : Jamey Sheridan, Steve Buscemi, Mariann Mayberry, Aidan Quinn, John Savage, Campbell Scott, Titus Welliver, Karen Young   Director : Bette Gordon   Screenwriter : Nicholas T. Proferes Handsome Harry is in fact very attractive.  So much so that he's managed to become somewhat of an iconic figure in the town where he lives.  The locals at his favorite cafe seem to live vicariously through him.  And women can't seem to get enough of him. But a violent act from his past haunts him and his ex-Navy friends, as he honors the deathbed request of one of them to ask forgiveness from the unfortunate victim of their actions from thirty years ago. And so it begins, and very well, I might add.  I really liked Harry from the beginning and was very interested in his story.  In fact all the characters in this film are played with such depth, I couldn't help but want to know more about all of them. But it is Har...

Film :  The City of Your Final Destination Starring :  Anthony Hopkins, Omar Metwally, Laura Linney, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Hiroyuki Sanada, Norma Aleandro, Alexandra Maria Lara Director : James Ivory Screenwriter : Ruth Prawer Jhabvala Novelist : Peter Cameron Produced and Distributed by : Merchant Ivory Films I watched this film the other night at a preview screening, and I felt like I was watching something I had seen before.  The opening credits looked so familiar to me.  However, once the action started I realized it wasn’t something I had seen, and yet the familiarity remained. The plot is one that’s been played out before.  A stranger intrudes into the lives of a family who in this case have shut themselves away from the outside world.  Other films may depict these people as being trapped only in their own minds, while this one shows them locked away – either by choice or by circumstance – in a remote mansion in Uruguay.  Granted, t...

Hello and welcome to Rice Paper's Film Reviews.  I developed this place because my friends told me I should start a blog to share my reviews with others after reading them in e-mails and message boards. So here I am. I'm not a professional critic, so I don't get any preview screeners.  That said in addition to going to movies like everyone else I attend some screenings at events in my area.  These screenings focus mainly on independent, foreign and/or art films or major studio films that are in limited release. From time to time I might post some reviews on films that have already been out for a while, both major studio releases, as well as independent films.  I might also toss out one that's out on DVD.  This is purely to spark some discussion.  For example, I'm eager to chat with you and get your feedback on Up in the Air, which I saw a few weeks ago. Lurkers and readers who prefer not to comment are welcome as well.  Everyone is invited to r...