Movie criticism (mostly foreign films, documentaries and independents: big Hollywood product hardly needs more marketing), very occasional interviews from James van Maanen, now 80 years old, who began his late-career movie reviewing for GreenCine, then took the big blog step over a decade ago. He covers new movies, video releases, and occasional streaming choices. You can reach him at JamesvanMaanen@gmail.com
Sunday, September 14, 2008
DVDebut Worth Noting -- POPE DREAMS
While many small, seat-of-the-pants movies hope to create characters and a plot that will hold an audience in thrall, few succeed. POPE DREAMS does in most respects because it never pushes its story -- involving death, love, sex, music, family and success -- anywhere that it can't reasonably go. Writer/director Patrick Hogan makes an auspicious debut, with a lovely cast (Julie Hagerty (above) and Stephen Tobolowsky (above right) make up the older generation while Phillip Vaden, Marnette Patterson and Noel Fisher do nicely by the younger). An award-winner at festival such as Atlanta, Stony Brook, Big Bear and Phoenix, the movie is decidedly small but rarely strikes a false note. Devotees of the humane, sweet and decent should queue up.
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