Movie Monday - 11/7/2011

...and we're back!

In Queen to Play, Sandrine Bonnaire plays Helene, a housekeeper, who takes up the game of chess after watching two hotel guests play a romantic game.  Her mentor is one of her employers, Dr. Kroger (played by Kevin Kline).  He is a widower, but we don’t find out too much more about him, including what he is doing in Corsica.  The movie is in French with English subtitles.  The acting is superb, the scenery is beautiful and the story is good.  I liked it.

Forks Over Knives is a documentary whose premise is that one should eat a vegetarian diet based on whole foods in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle that prevents chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease.  It features the works of T. Colin Campbell and Caldwell Esselstyn.  I found much of the information good and interesting, but I am of the school that extremes are not always the right path to take. I think one can benefit from eating more fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes and curbing the intake of animal products, but I like my red meat too much to totally go without.  It was a thought-provoking film and certainly one worth seeing.

Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Wright is based on a true story about the Oakland Athletics baseball team.  In the 2002 season, general manager Billy Beane (Pitt), with the help of nerdy statistician Peter Brand (Hill), put together a low-cost baseball team that had everything it needed to win the World Series.  It was very entertaining, especially if you like baseball.  I liked it.

In Around a Small Mountain, Jane Birkin plays a woman who returns to the circus that her family owned after years away.  Sergio Castellitto plays Vittorio, a man that she meets when he stops to help her by the side of the road when her vehicle stalls.  Ghosts of the past resurface. The two characters become close.  He helps her put things into perspective.  The film is in French with English subtitles.  It was subtle, as many French movies are, but good.

MK out.