REEL TALK

MOVIES RATED BY FESTIVE MASCULINE SOCKS

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK | ARGYLE

Ba-de-da-daaa, ba-de-daa, ba-de-da-daaa, ba-de-da-da-da! Ba-de-da-da, ba-de-daaa! etc., (that’s the best I can do). Good, old-fashioned, alien-free, American-style Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) pitting Dr. Jones against an evil band of Nazis bent on being royal assholes and using the Ark of the Covenant to complete their nefarious plans for world domination. Only Indy can stop them! CGI sucks! [PG | Brattle Theatre, Tue 11.30.10-Wed 12.1.10]

MARWENCOL | UNUSUAL MONOCOLOR

Marwencol is a WWII-era miniature city in Mark Hogancamp’s backyard. He’s driven to create the city (aside from its inherent awesomeness) because he was nearly beaten to death by five teenagers outside of a bar, and lost his memory, motor skills and much of his critical thinking. He tells stories through the town and takes pictures as a therapeutic exercise. For his movie, he created a 1:6-scale press release and had it delivered to Marwencol. This movie is great. [NR | Kendall Square Cinema, 12.3.10]

WHITE MATERIAL | RED AND GREEN STRIPES

Coffee is the most important product I consume before 11am. (That’s right, I’m up by 11am writing movie reviews. Thanklessly toiling before the crack of noon, under the penetrating heat of pre-midday sun. Or inside.) Maria Vial (Isabelle Huppert), a French coffee plantation owner in an unnamed African country, presumably, wakes up at a similarly early time to protect her coffee plantation from the bloody civil and racial wars tearing apart the country. This movie is my life. [NR | Kendall Square Cinema, 11.26.10]

THE NARROW MARGIN | TOE SOCKS, ANY

Mafia wife Mrs. Frankie Neal (Marie Windsor) goes undercover to testify against her husband. To get to the trial, she has to take a train ride through mob country and Detective Sgt. Walter Brown (Charles McGraw) has to protect her. The pair has more-than-low quality snack car sandwiches to worry about because Mr. Frankie would prefer that she not arrive on time. He would prefer that she not arrive at all. He’s going to kill her. [NR | Harvard Film Archive, 11.30.10]

LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS | SILK

A drug rep (Jake Gyllenhaal) falls in love with a girl (Anne Hathaway) with early-onset Parkinson’s. Despite working in a field adjacent to medicine, it doesn’t seem to register with him that this is a life-destroying disease. The audience says “Huh?” Then, months into the relationship, he googles “Parkinson’s.” He then asks his favorite doctor to find a cure for it. The doctor says that he can’t because, obviously, he can’t. Virtually ignoring an inevitably painful future, the movie ends happily. [R | Wide release, 11.24.10]