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Release Date: January 22, 1999
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Roberta is a fascinating personal odyssey of one man's internal search for significance, enacted by a superb cast and highlighted by very conscious art direction. Gray-toned, minimally constructed sets provide the backdrop for a penetrating central performance by Kevin Corrigan, intricately portraying the character's obsession to find meaning in a seemingly complete life. Jonathan Fishman (Corrigan), a young professional, seems to have everything one needs to be happy: a good job, money in the bank, and a caring girlfriend. Yet he still longs for more. While on a job in an industrial district, he encounters a streetwalker, Roberta (Daisy Rojas). To the dismay of his friends, his business partner, and his lover, he decides to help Roberta off the streets by moving her into his apartment and teaching her the skills necessary to find a job in his professional world. As he selfishly enlists his friends in his quest, his altruism soon reveals itself as something more, and his life slowly and dangerously unravels. A finely envisioned work that is cold in the best sense, Roberta is more than a standard search for meaning. Within this central construct lie fleshed-out characters. Roberta is far more than the manifestation of Jonathan's desperate attempt to find salvation; she is a complex character who is struggling with her own choices as well. It is writer/director Eric Mandelbaum's ability to humanize these potentially two-dimensional symbols through precise performances that makes Roberta a stunning and notable directing debut that should not be missed.
Starring:
Kevin Corrigan, Daisy Rojas, Amy Ryan, Bill Sage, Brian Taratino
Directed by:
Eric Mandelbaum
Rating: No Rating
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 85 min
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Let Me In
A young boy has troubles at home and at school. Fortunately for him a little girl who has moved in next door just might be the friend he’s been looking for. Unfortunately for him, that little girl happens to be a vampire. This one’s a remake of a Swedish film – which was based on the Swedish novel “Let the Right One In.” Chloe Grace Moretz (she played the girl in “Kick Ass”) and Richard Jenkins star.
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February 1st, 2011
Conviction
This film is based on the real life case in which Betty Anne Walters, here played by Hilary Swank, put herself through law school to take on the case of her brother Kenny, played by Sam Rockwell, who was convicted of murder. Great performances by these two skilled actors are backed up by a terrific supporting cast that includes Juliette Lewis, Minnie Driver and – Melissa Leo, who just won Golden Globe and SAG trophies for her work in “The Fighter.” In this movie she plays the hard-nosed cop who made it her mission to convict a man of a crime that, as it turns out, he never committed.
Never Let Me Go
This is different kind of movie that takes place in sort of an alternate universe of the late 1970s and 1980s. Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley and Andrew Garfield are best friends who grow up together during this time at an English boarding school. However, the school has a chilling secret - and they find out how it is that people in general have an average lifespan that has now passed 100 years of age. And how they factor into that equation.
1 Disc DVD: Purchase
Welcome To The Rileys
Here is a quirky film about a dark subject. James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo (again!) are two people in a marriage that has been crumbling since the death of their 15-year-old daughter in a car crash. On a business trip to New Orleans, Gandolfini’s character wanders into a strip club and meets a hooker named Malory, played by Kristen Stewart. His intentions, however, are different then she at first guesses. He wants nothing carnal from her – but he does want a daughter! Soon he sells his business and moves into her apartment, paying her 100 dollars a day for the privilege!
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