January eMusic downloads:

1. Frightened Rabbit - The Midnight Organ Fight
2. Beach House - Devotion
3. Son Lux - At War With Walls And Mazes
4. The Fireman - Electric Arguments

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas

Movies about WWII and the holocaust are about as rare as fresh air and sunshine. You begin to wonder if anything new can really be said about them. I know we need to never forget, but do we need to be hit over the head with the same story over and over? Show me something I haven't seen!

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas, fortunately, is very original. The movie is subtle, and uses what we already know about the horrors of concentration camps to great dramatic effect. Everything is played off screen, shown in glimpses through the eyes of a young German boy who has no idea what terrible things are happening almost literally in his back yard.

It's an interesting twist on things to see the holocaust's decaying effects not only on the victims, but on the souls of those who were responsible for it. It's very well done. It's difficult to watch these movies, and sometimes it may seem easier to just skip it and watch something lighter. But this one is excellent, and deserves to be watched not just because it is important, but because it is so damn good.

Man On Wire

This is a great story about a guy who wire walked between the top of the World Trade Center towers. It's told partly through home movies, reenactments, and interviews with those involved. There is some odd footage at the beginning of the towers being built, with pieces slowly being crane lifted into the air. It's like watching them fall in reverse.

But the movie never even touches on 9/11. Instead, it's an amazing and whimsical story involving the buildings, that seems completely impossible except for the fact that it's so well documented. Phillipe Petit (the wire walker) is a charismatic storyteller, and some of the images are stunning. This is one of the best documentaries I've seen in a while.

Doubt

Saw a few movies over the weekend. This was the first. Doubt is a simply excellent little drama. Phillip Seymour Hoffman has never been better. He can do more with less than anybody I can think of. Amy Adams was great. Meryl Streep is a little over the top. Her lack of subtlety next to Hoffman is a bit much. But she is otherwise excellent.

The script is very good, and has you flip flopping through the whole thing, ultimately leaving you with an appropriately ambiguous ending. Definitely one of the best movies of the year.

Happy 2009!