AAR

[Susan/DC]

I took today off work and, among other things, saw "Let the Right One In", a Scandinavian vampire film. It's lovely, scary, mysterious, and emotionally engaging. The two main characters are 12 year olds or, as Eli says "12, more or less". She later admits that she's been 12 "for a very long time". I wound up caring about her and about Oskar, a beautiful but lonely boy who finds a soul mate in Eli. It's not a romance film and it definitely won't be in wide release (unlike the other vampire film opening soon) but I definitely recommend it. While it sounds like an odd thing to say about a vampire movie, I think it's far more realistic than "Twilight", and so Oskar and Eli's situation is more touching. I liked the Meyer books, but I'm discovering a world of vampires out there that I like better.

[Gwen G]

Susan, I always appreciate your recs for independant, interesting movies. My question is - Where do you find them? Do you read about them somewhere or is there a movie house near you that still shows these kind of films?

For those of us who love movies - the state of the movie business today is heartbreaking. They seem totally incapable of making any kind of entertaining film - action, romantic, thriller, comedy, women's picture, any genre. They can't write a decent, coherent script or use the screen imaginatively. Today's filmakers don't seem to have studied movie history, otherwise they would have learned how to be cinematically creative or even competent. Am I the only one who thinks its a dying Art?

We all wait for the one or two intelligent, mature films they produce a couple of times a year and it is almost always a big disappointment.
They don't even know how to make a good action film anymore!! I would love to see one. For me, "The Dark Knight" was unwatchable.

Maybe I'm an old fogey but they churn out tons of awful comedies for young people that I find unfunny and sad. Every once in awhile an amusing one will show up - like "Knocked Up" but the themes are always the same. Rant Over.

[Susan/DC]

I find movies through various sources. My oldest son recommends some; that's how I found "Caramel". I find some through a wonderful, nonprofit theatre that plays both independent and studio films called the Avalon near my house, so I discover movies through their e-mail list. They have a French film series one Wednesday a month and an ongoing Czech film festival. It's interesting to note that one advantage of being in Washington is that while the Avalon gets most of its movies through regular distributors, some come directly from the embassies through the ambassadorial mail pouch. And Landmark Theatres, a national movie chain, has venues in both downtown DC and Bethesda, Maryland, a close in suburb, so I also discover movies when they're reviewed in the Washington Post. That's how I found "Let the Right One In" -- the Post reviewer loved it. I imagine any big city has similar sources of movies, and nowadays Netflix puts just about any movie at people's fingertips. The only question would be to know what to put on one's wishlist if you'd never read a review because it didn't play in your local area.

[Diana]

[Gwen G]

All my favorite movie houses in New York that played old and independant films have closed (the Thalia, the Regency etc.). Those kind of vibrant, creative theatres were run by people who truly loved movies. They are all gone and one more just closed the other day ( I forgot the name). Independant bookstores and movie houses just can't survive the NY Real Estate Market. Nowadays, I get most of my DVDs from the Public Library which kind of limits my viewing. But I still have TCM, IFC and the Sundance channel!

[Kass]

[Susan/DC]

[Kass]