Movies

Earlier this week I watched the documentary China Blue from PBS' Independent Lens series. From Wikipedia:

China Blue is a 2005 documentary film directed by Micha Peled. It follows the life of Jasmine, a young worker in a Chinese jeans factory, hence the title. The documentary discusses both alleged sweatshop conditions in factories in China and the growing importance of China as an exporting country on a global scale.

I thought it was really interesting. The poor living conditions, the ridiculously long working hours, the contrast betwen the workers and the boss, etc. It reminds me that the extremely cheap price we pay, for a pair of jeans for example, necessarily comes at the expense of someone making them for next to nothing. I give it 5 out of 5.

Tonight we finished watching The Devil Wears Prada (2006,PG-13) (ScreenIt! Review). From Wikipedia:

The Devil Wears Prada is an Academy Award-nominated 2006 comedy-drama film, a loose screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same name. It stars Anne Hathaway as Andrea "Andy" Sachs, a recent college graduate who comes to New York City and gets a job as a co-assistant to powerful and demanding fashion magazine editor Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep.

My wife seemed to enjoy it, but I didn't like it at all. Of course, I'm not exactly in to fashion. And though I realize there probably are people who act like Streep's character and employees that fawn over them, but I don't want to watch it. The whole thing just didn't seem genuine to me. I give it 2 out of 5. I'm also not thrilled that it may turn into a TV series.

Tonight I watched the last episode of the "City of Men" series that has been airing over the last few years on the Sundance Channel. From Wikipedia:

City of Men...was a Brazilian television programme from Kátia Lund and Fernando Meirelles, the directors of the film City of God....It is often cited as a 'spin-off' of the film; in fact, Douglas Silva who plays Acerola in City of Men also plays Lil' Dice (as a boy) in City of God. City of Men is less violent and more light-hearted affair. However, the two do share some common aspects: the directors, some of the actors, and the setting of the Brazilian favela (slum) with its background of gangsters and poverty. The programme tells the stories of Luis Claudío and Wallace, better known by their nicknames Acerola (Douglas Silva) and Laranjinha (Darlan Cunha), respectively, who are two best friends who live in a notorious Rio slum, in a community of drug-dealers, hustlers, and teenagers struggling to fulfill their dreams.

It's an interesting peak into life in Rio's slums and the tensions between rich and poor, black and white, honesty and crime. Though I thought it kinda jumped the shark in the series' last two episodes, it was certainly an enjoyable 4 seasons that I'd recommend folks check out. I was also pleased to see that there is a feature-length film in the works for this year.

Tonight we watched Over the Hedge (2006,PG) (ScreenIt! Review). From the ScreenIt! review:

A rascally raccoon cons a group of animals to help him collect human snack food that he needs to repay to a bear from which he earlier stole the same.

It was kinda cute. I give it 3 out of 5.

Last Tuesday evening we went to see Ratatouille (2007,G) (ScreenIt! Review). We enjoyed it. Finn said it was the funniest movie he has ever seen. It was pretty good. We happened to be going to see it with some friends from France, so that made the film's Paris setting a bit more interesting. From Wikipedia:

Ratatouille is a 2007 animated feature film produced by Pixar. It tells the story of Rémy (voiced by Patton Oswalt), a rat living in Paris who wants to be a chef.

I give it 4 out of 5.