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Nothing Like Paris 2023
A Filipino artist living and working in Paris meets a woman who is his "mysterious muse" in his paintings and they start dating. At the surface, this is like one of those romantic dramedies that Filipino cinema used to churn out a lot. But as it turns out, there is plenty of warmth and intelligence here. This is due to an above average script and the performances of the two leads. Empoy Marquez and Alessandra de Rossi have this chemistry…
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The Merry Widow 1925
A prince of a fictional Eastern European country falls for an American Broadway dancer but their union is rejected by the king because of her "commoner" statue. She marries a rich banker and when the banker dies, the prince tries to win her back. This is a 1920's silent film that's sort of a romantic comedy and sort of an epic satirical drama. This is from director Erich von Stroheim, known for his ambitious productions, tries smashing them together with…
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Crumb 1994
An endlessly fascinating documentary on controversial cartoonist/comic book artist/satirist Robert Crumb. We get a peek into his life, his work and his family (among his brothers, as it turns out, HE'S the normal one.) You need not be a fan or even be familiar with his work to be fascinated by this remarkable documentary. It gets kind of personal, uncomfortable, shocking and sometimes really funny. Terry Zwigoff creates a fascinating document of a truly remarkable and unique artist. It must be seen by anyone even remotely interested in art.
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Whiplash 2014
Whoah. This is an intense, exhilarating (just like the blurb in the posters say) film. An ambitious young jazz drummer gets tormented both physically, psychologically and emotionally by a brutal teacher who pushes him beyond his limits in order to realize his full potential and achieve greatness. What follows is not an emotional, feel-good inspiring tale (well, not-so-much) but a brutally honest examination of what it means to achieve one's ambitions. The buzz around JK Simmons' performance is well-earned, IMO…
