"Mapmaker"

I love the way the movie evolves. It starts out with an innocent  surveyor  who is trying to map a county in the north of Ireland. As the story enfolds, he's preyed upon by the suspicious locals. As it turns out, he's heavily involved. I'll say no more, but the plot does indeed, thicken. Interesting movie. Especially if you enjoy all things Irish.
3.5 out of 5 stars

"Pride"

What a fun movie. It's based on a true story. A group of gays and lesbians decide to support a coal miners strike in Wales. They collect money for them and then decide to go to Wales to join the strike. As you'd expect, at first they're rejected by the wary and somewhat bigoted miners. Eventually the two join hands. What a wonderful ride of a film. I'm not sure why this movie wasn't more talked about. Well worth a watch.
4 stars out of 5.

"You're Not You"

I have to admit, I'm a sucker for a well done tearjerker. And this one was extremely well done. It was the usual, someone's dying of a debilitating disease and befriends a caregiver. In this case, Hillary Swank plays a former concert pianist who's married to a rich attorney. When she contracts ALS, she hires a feisty young woman who's down on her luck and just needs a job, played by Emmy Rossum. The two form a bond and the chemistry between them is simply amazing. Both actors give outstanding performance which make this a much better movie than it would have been otherwise. It's pretty formulaic, but I thought it was great nevertheless. Get out your handkerchiefs for this one.
4 out of 5 stars.

"Shun Li and the Poet"

I was attracted to this movie because it was set in Venice. I was looking forward to beautiful scenes of one of my favorite cities in the world. But alas, it takes place in one of the grittier fishing villages in the lagoon. That aside, this is a wonderful yet subtle movie. It centers around a Chinese immigrant who works in a bar to pay off her debt to immigrate to Italy and raise enough money to be reunited with her young son. She befriends an older Yugoslavian immigrant and the story is about their relationship. The movie is slow moving and there isn't much drama except when some of the locals turn on her because they feel she's just a gold-digger. A very moving little film.
4 1/2 stars out of 5.

"The Matchmaker'

Perhaps the best way to describe this film is "A Jewish Fellini" movie. It takes place in the Jewish city of Hebron in the late 60s. A young kid, from a Romanian Jewish family, who survived the Holocaust, is hired by a family friend who is a Matchmaker. It turns out that he's an old acquaintance of his father's. The young kid has the task of being the "spy-guy." Along the way, his best friend's cousin moves in for the summer. She's beautiful and of course he's smitten with her. The movie is an amazing showcase of wonderful characters, plot twists, and great cinematography. It's a movie that you lose yourself in over two hours, but I wish went on forever.
4.5 out of 5

"Copenhagen"

A very subtle gem of an indie movie. At first, I doubted I could make it through the whole movie. The main character was a self-centered. obnoxious asshole. He's on a trip vagabonding around Europe with a childhood friend and his friend's girlfriend, determined to bang every good-looking girl he sets eyes on. They end up in Copenhagen where his grandfather lived, and he attempts to track him down. Along the way, he meets up with a 14-year old Danish girl who wants to help him locate his family. They strike up a friendship, and I'll let it go at that. There's absolutely no sex, but she ends up transforming his outlook on life. It's a charming move and the young actress, Fredrikke Dahl Hansen is truly amazing. Check this one out. And if you don't like it, I'll give you a refund.

4.5 out of 5 stars

"Le Chef"

Three star chef, Alexandre Lagarde is confronted by the corporate owner of his restaurant who has big plans to fire him and completely redo his restaurant. Problem is, he can't do it unless he loses one of his Michelin stars. Lagarde ends up hiring a protege who not only worships him, but knows just about every one of his signature dishes, to devise a new menu. The plot is somewhat predictable but it's a fun ride getting to the conclusion. About the only negative is a scene that's very silly and slapsticky, but what do you expect? It's French. From the folks who worship Jerry Lewis. It's not food porn, but provides just enough to satisfy a foodie like me. If you in the market for an evening of fun, check this one out.
4.5 stars out of 5