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Reviews
Groove (2000)
A simple film that will get you in the mood...
...to party, that is. Following the course of planning and putting together a rave in San Francisco, "Groove" definitely succeeds in capturing the atmosphere at such and event with humor and style.
There are a few storylines, the two principal ones being David's first venture into drugtaking at his first rave, and his brother Colin's night with and without his girlfriend Harmony. Hamish Linklater ("David") does a fine job of portraying the naive party-goer, and his reactions to the drug he takes are presented with comedy and precision.
The smaller storylines succeed as well, adding more comedy to the story. A few of them don't seem as necessary as others, but their inclusion balances the film.
At points, this film seems a bit contrived, as if it has been edited to fit that "teen-film" mold,(some of the conversations and scenarios are too "Dawson's Creek" for their own good) but all in all, by the end of it, I noticed myself leaning forward in my seat, tapping my feet, enjoying the music (which is excellent)and the mood. And any film that leaves me with a huge smile on my face as I leave the theater has my seal of approval.
This film is definitely worth seeing!
La Ciudad (The City) (1998)
I highly recommend this film!
This film was very beautiful and quite moving. While watching it, I noticed how wonderfully the cinematographer (Harlan Bosmajian) had captured the light throughout the four vignettes of the film. He created an intimacy between he characters and the viewer that many attempt to do these days but just spoil by giving the viewer too much "eye candy." The director, David Riker has done such a good job with this film, I highly recommend it and urge everyone to see it as soon as possible. Riker not only shows us how many immigrants live and work in this country, but he shows it in a way that we can all relate to it. I thought of my parents and wondered how their own immigration process was. Visually, emotionally, and intellectually, this is definitely a film to experience. Go see it!