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David-W-Warfield
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Reviews
Women and Meds (2014)
Compasionate exploration of ethics and medicine for families
Dina Fiasconaro's "Moms & Meds" gets high marks for courage and frankness about this delicate topic. She is able to draw out the most intimate fears and travails from a number of compelling interview subjects. Even more compelling is that Fiasconaro participates as a subject in her own documentary. She offers a frank glimpse into her own life and the anxiety that arises when parents with mental illnesses agonize over the question of having children. Medical experts weigh in on the difficulty therapists and physicians have in dealing with the combination of pregnancy and depression, and other disorders. For those that truly need medications, but are legitimately concerned about the possible effects of the meds on the unborn child, this doc will shed much needed and compassionate light on this most difficult dilemma.
Earthrise (2014)
The expectations game
Earthrise has that quality, I think, of throwing viewers off who go in expecting star wars or alien or gravity etc, and don't know how to react when they see a piece of indie cinema/ art. It's what some call understanding the film's "level of ambition." That is to say, we don't judge "Snakes on a Plane" by the same criteria we judge, say, "Schindler's List." I liked the film, and also appreciated that a low-budget indie would even attempt a space movie! The resourcefulness and off-center narrative I find refreshing, compared to the overblown and dumbed-down mainstream fare. I suspect the negative reviewers wold feel the same way about Solaris (original or re-make) because it is "slow," etc. I also find that films with ambiguous narrative - where cause and effect, linear story, and by-the-numbers clear explanations of everything are not offered, tend to put off some viewers -- resulting in those trite one-word reviews like "slow," "boring," "bad," etc. Earthrise is not for everyone, nor should it be. Less receptive viewers who can't sit still for more than 5 minutes at a time will have a problem with it, perhaps. Personally, I prefer to think, and figure out or interpret for myself, and I don't need fireworks every minute to be interested in a story. The only real sin a film can commit is to be boring - but boring means different things to different people. I was not bored, and I liked the film. I can tell what does bore me: Transformers, Fantastic Four, and other noisy disaster/ apocalyptic junk films from Hollywood.
We Are Kings (2014)
Love of Blues and the Road
We are Kings doesn't always click, but when it does, it really does! Great music enhances this road trip thru blues country - and with a twist that is better left unmentioned here. Personally I am intrigued by sort of mythical deep south stories, and into road movies, and into blues, and into underdog stories -- so this is like a combination of elements that has a lot of pull for this viewer (and it is funny). The romanticism inherent in the idea of traveling into the deep south in a big motor-home with a bless "Yoda" -- and the perspective of aspiring musicians exploring this rich heritage and everything, and working against what are huge odds to connect with the music and an audience (stardom and fame???) -- well it's a pretty magnetic movie recipe. Performances by mainly "unknown" cast are surprisingly endearing and effective - again, my personal preference is often for non-movie star actors because they seem to carry so much extra baggage -- there can be a great feeling of discovery and realness in stories that use non- famous people.