Movie Reviews

“Searching for Sugar Man” in Detroit and South Africa

Movie Reviews
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A singer of “Bob Dylanesque” songs, but with a smoother voice. A music celebrity greater than the Rolling Stones or Elvis Presley. Who is this guy? And what the hell was he doing in Detroit and South Africa? Republish This Article

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The Jaguar of “Desire”

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So, when I say “movie” you think “An hour and half to two hour flick,” right? Well, maybe not. How about a movie that tells a story from beginning to end in just a hair under 13 and a half minutes? Could it be done and done well in about half the length of the [...]

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Death and Life: “The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”

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Just over a year ago, the strongest earthquake in its history struck Japan, creating a tsunami that crippled nuclear reactors, washed away towns, and killed and displaced thousands of people. But hope often springs from natural disasters. The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossomdirected by Lucy Walker won the Jury Prize for Short Film Non-Fiction at [...]

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The “Take Over” – Fun Times On Airplanes

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If you were born in the middle of the last century, you may remember when air travel was enjoyable. Here’s a group that proves that its still possible to have fun “on airplanes.” Unlike those involved in the “Harlem Shake in A Plane” incident, these “well-grounded” folks weren’t high enough “up in the air” to [...]

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“Midway” – Garbage, Garbage, Garbage!

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Forty-five years ago I spent a year and half on the island of Okinawa on the other side of the Pacific Ocean from where I grew up in Washington State. I was shocked by the amount of trash—particularly items made of plastic—strewn across what should have been pristine beaches. Little did I know then about [...]

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The “Argo’”effect: How Americans may be viewed abroad

Movie Reviews
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(This story has been made available to Tales Told From The Road by the news syndication service Repost.us.) The 'Argo' effect: Film could stoke suspicions about Americans abroad (via The Christian Science Monitor) Filming in remote locations has never been a cakewalk, but thanks to Oscar’s top choice, “Argo,” it just got a teensy bit [...]

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Best “Travel Movies” Ever

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At the end of this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will hold its annual “Oscars” award ceremonies, and millions of eyes will be glued to millions of TV sets around the world, watching who walks away with the little gold statuettes. For at least some of the nominees for this year’s [...]

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“Birders: The Central Park Effect” Aims to Make Birdwatching “Cool”

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(This story has been made available to Tales Told From The Road by the news syndication service Repost.us.) ‘Birders: The Central Park Effect’ aims to make birdwatching cool (via The Christian Science Monitor) One of the subjects director Jeffrey Kimball speaks with his author Jonathan Franzen, a devoted bird watcher.(Courtesy of Music Box Films) Birders [...]

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What the Oscars Missed: That Other Foreign Film

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(This story has been made available to Tales Told From The Road by the news syndication service Repost.us.) What the Oscars missed: That other foreign film (via GlobalPost) GlobalPost correspondents chime in with their overlooked picks for this year’s Best Foreign Film. News Desk Editor’s note: This year’s Oscars foreign film nominees include: Austria’s “Amour,” [...]

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Maggie Smith Stars in Dustin Hoffman’s “Quartet”

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(This story has been made available to Tales Told From The Road by the news syndication service Repost.us.) Maggie Smith stars in ‘Quartet’ (+video) (via The Christian Science Monitor) Maggie Smith (l.) and Pauline Collins (r.) star in ‘Quartet.’(The Weinstein Company/AP) Dustin Hoffman, at 75, makes his directorial debut with the enjoyably quaint “Quartet,” an [...]

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Movies Set on Trains

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In Europe, train travel is commonplace. But except for commuter trains, in America it’s largely disappeared as a transportation option. In the U.S., long-haul passenger trains tend to operate once a day in each directions. And since 1971, they’ve been run by Amtrak, not private railroads. Fifty-odd years ago, the most significant trips I took [...]

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The Best Films of 2012

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(This story has been made available to Tales Told From The Road by the news syndication service Repost.us.) The best films of 2012 (via The Christian Science Monitor) Every year at this time, despite all the dross and dregs, the franchise-flick folderol, and the misfires, I still feel upbeat about the movies. There was a [...]

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“Landfill Harmonic”: Music Made From Trash

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It’s said that “You can’t make a silk pursue out of a sow’s ear.” But can you make musical instruments from landfill trash, and then create a “Recycled Orchestra” of musicians playing them? Luis Szarán, director of the Asunción City Symphonic Orchestra in the capital city of Paraguay, has done just that. Drive to Cateura, [...]

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Back to New Zealand: “The Hobbit”

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Director Peter Jackson (“Lord of The Rings”) has returned to New Zealand to film J.R.R.Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.” Here’s the movie’s trailer: (The Christian Science Monitor review of the film has been made available to Tales Told From The Road by the news syndication service Repost.us.) 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey': Is it really necessary? (+trailer) [...]

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Extreme Travel: Pole to Pole on “Highway 70 West”

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Photographer Justin Lewis and writer Michelle Stauffer apparently aren’t into “soft adventure travel.” And the two-year trip that they are on is as ambitious as the Lewis & Clark Expedition that explored the western United States in the 19th century. Instead of hanging out at a cushy, high-end ecotourism resort, they are going to resort [...]

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“Argo”and The Art of Illusion

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Ben Affleck’s latest movie, Argo, is a masterpiece of illusion even though it tells a true story. As the tale unfolds on the screen, it recounts a frightening episode familiar to most Americans: The storming of the U.S. Embassy in Iran on November 4, 1979, resulting in 52 American being held hostage for 444 days [...]

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Time Travel: Ken Burns’ “The Dust Bowl”

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Documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns, is a time-traveler who has taken his viewers along with him. In Lewis & Clark, we traveled from Missouri to the mouth of the Columbia River with the Corps of Discovery sent west by President Thomas Jefferson to explore uncharted regions of our young nation. Horatio’s Drive: America’s First Road Trip [...]

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Does Denzel Washington Pilot “Flight” to Cinematic Heights?

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Denzel Washington in ‘Flight’ (+trailer) (via The Christian Science Monitor) Denzel Washington stars in ‘Flight.’(Robert Zuckerman/Paramount Pictures/AP) The people who made “Flight” have done a courageous thing. With all the potential revenue to be had from in-flight movie sales, they have made a movie that is guaranteed to never be shown on an airplane. Denzel [...]

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