All great things

Even though I grew up a serious dilettante (clarinet, Alto sax, dance, musical theater, track and field, piano, poetry, painting, photography, blah blah blah), I am pretty sure that film is it for me. In thinking about this, I recall two specific things that lead me to this conclusion. The first is this show during the eighties called "Lights, Camera, Action" narrated by Leonard Nimoy that used to air on Nickelodeon. You couldn't have told me this show didn't have a thousand episodes after watching the making of the Dark Crystal. It was like constant music in my ears after that, I didn't know what to do with myself. The second is "At the Movies" with Siskel and Ebert. First of all, to an introverted, movie obssessed 8 year old on a rainy day, the cheesy intro music and movie theater set is the greatest thing ever. And the movie clips! The arguing! And even though it took me a while to warm up to Richard Roeper, I feel a little something knowing that everything I once knew about the show is going away, no more thumbs up, thumbs down. I wish Roger Ebert the best, I owe that show a lot. The new hosts will probably be acceptable and entertaining. There's just no replacing the original. If more people had that kind of passion for movies, maybe so many crappy movies wouldn't get made. Just a thought.

GO SEE WALL-E GO SEE WALL-E GO SEE WALL-E....

I was armed with all the cynicism in my 30-year old body and sadly, it melted away in less than five minutes. I must preface this by saying that I am a die-hard fan of traditional hand drawn animation and have not been sucked into the Pixar wave, no matter how creative or groundbreaking their films are. I like Finding Nemo alot, everything else for me is just ok. Until last night. Where do I begin? The eerie post apocalyptic New York set to sadly beautiful big band music? The breathtaking space scenes, the commentary on the future of this world if it is run into the ground by corporations, or simply the fact that the little robot had only one real line and every time he said it, I couldn't help but smile. Aw shucks, I LOVED this movie! (And yes, he does look like Johnny 5 but honestly, I always thought Johnny 5 was kind of creepy. This little bastard was just unimaginably cute...and yes, there is an entire website devoted to fans of Short Circuits 1 & 2...I don't judge.) But back to the subject at hand. GO SEE WALL- E! It's that good.

Chop Shop

Chop Shop is a surprisingly sweet and sadly realistic portrayal of a young boy who hustles everyday working in a garage in Queens. Shot like a documentary, the camera follows Alejandro, (played excellently by 12 year old Alejandro Polanco) as he lifts and carries car parts that are bigger than him, haggles with customers and witnesses things that most children would or should not see. The story begins with Ale finding his sister Isamar (played by Isamar Gonzales) who has presumably, been living in a group home. She moves in with him in a cramped room above the chop shop where they earn their keep.
Director Rahmin Baharani chose to tell the story of the loss of innocence with an unapologetic eye, never going into extreme detail about the circumstances of these children's lives but what they do to maneuver their way through it. The center of the story is Ale's relationship with his sister, which becomes strained by Ale uncovering a secret about Isamar that devastates him. Dealing with what he has discovered while at the same time trying to fulfill his goal of owning a food truck is fascinating to watch. Polanco's performance as a kid wise beyond his years, tough but still very vulnerable is what carries this film from beginning to end.

Chop Shop is playing at the Film Forum until March 11.

link via IMDB