Trouble the Water

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A Documentary about one couple's struggle to survive Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Kimberly Rivers Roberts and Scott Roberts, with their friends, family, and neighbors from the Ninth Ward of New Orleans.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. While the strength and courage of the protagonists inspires a renewed faith in human resilience, this social interest story relies too much on the infamous Hurricane for its emotional pull, causing the scope to feel more like a piece for 60 minutes, and less like a theatrical release.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Michael Brown, the head of FEMA at the time, has a pretty funny expression on his face when a newscaster calls him out for doing nothing.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Is it even possible to make a film about Hurricane Katrina without a few deeply moving moments?

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, which I can't help but think was a pity award for having to go through that whole deadly Hurricane thing. But as far as awards they do deserve, Kimberly Rivers Roberts' original rap songs are the highlight of the film, and I would love to see her follow in the footsteps of Three 6 Mafia at the Oscars.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Despite the devastating circumstances, Kimberly and Scott Roberts always seem to keep smiles on their faces-- which is at once the thing that makes them so likeable, and the thing that makes the film less dramatic than it should be.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The majority of the footage is shot by the primary subject, Kimberly, on a camera she bought for $20, and the production quality suffers severely from this choice. But if you can get past the shaky-cam, you'll get a first hand point of view look at what it was like, from someone who was actually there, rolling tape.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: There are so many interesting stories that came out of this National Disaster, that it's a shame to focus only on this small one. But if you are going to hone in on one couple's (albeit fascinating) experience, you have to delve deeper into their personal relationships with each other, and those around them, as they weather the storm. You have to find some personal conflict that comes out of it. But in this doc, the only true conflict comes from the struggle of Man against Nature... And, of course, Man against the U.S. Goverment-- but everybody's struggling with that.

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Be Kind Rewind

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: When Jerry (Jack Black) tries to pull a prank on a local power plant, he gets severely electrocuted, and his body becomes magnetized. Subsequently, this causes him to accidentally erase all of the information on the VHS tapes at his friend's (Mos Def) video store. Now, in an effort to save the video store, the two of them must re-enact all the movies that customers want to rent.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover, Melonie Diaz, Mia Farrow, Sigourney Weaver, Marcus Carl Franklin, Chandler Parker

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. If the description sounds weird, it's because it is. While the technique in this film is astounding, and there are fleeting moments of genius amidst the boring parts, it's virtually impossible not to spend the majority of the film thinking, "This has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever seen..." And that's why I've concluded that this is sure to become a cult classic. Welcome to crazytown!

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Yes, although it's hard to know for sure if you're laughing with it or at it.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Real emotions in this film are hard to come by. Everyone in the town is just crazy enough not to realize that everyone else in the town is completely insane.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: The artistry in all design departments is also insane... insanely good.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: Purposely bad in some places-- which is done quite well. And Melonie Diaz stands out as having a greater range than she was able to display in some of her earlier work, as well as stronger than expected comic timing.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: Michel Gondry continues to be the most original voice of his generation. He can do things with the camera, that most people can't even do with their imaginations. If I were to give any reason to see this film, it would be so that you could be blown away by the visuals he thinks up. And in this film, he pulls back the curtain a little, since his characters use some of his wacky techniques to film their remakes.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: It's the source of the majority of the problems in this movie. If you want us to buy into a fantastical world, it has to be set up in the beginning of the story and in the tone. Here, we are told that we're in a normal town, in modern day New Jersey, where it seems that some of the people are very strange. Gradually, we realize that all of the people are very strange, that none of them seems to own a DVD player, and finally we figure out that it's supposed to be other worldly in some way. But by that point, it's too late to sell us a new reality, because our confusion about time and place has pretty much been cemented.

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