I saw the film American Buffalo on IFC - it was one I have wanted to see, but never got around to it. I had time to kill while a wedding video was rendering so I turned it on.

It was a very good movie. Much like Glengarry Glen Ross, this David Mamet piece is a showcase of great writing and character development. Few writers can stick you in such a limited number of locations and not only keep your interest, but build drama throughout. Dennis Franz and Dustin Hoffman showcased their skills as actors in this strong character-driven movie. It was a great example of the a writing dominated film and the actors and director merely doing the bidding of said writer.

A fine film that you should see when you have time to sit down and pay attention.

RATING 8 out of 10

Bend It Like Beckham was a fun little film - as I don't find soccer all that interesting, the deck was stacked against it from the start. It is an English film though - I always like English films because I enjoy the dialects. They are like a poor-man's period piece. This one was entertaining - at times it seemed more like just a good television show, but it did manage to keep you interested in what was happening. And having Keira Knightley run around for over an hour in a sports bra didn't encourage me to turn the show off either.



An entertaining diversion...

RATING 6 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 11:31 AM