HUMP DAY MISCELLANEOUS MISCELLANY: MOVIE NOTES TO SEE AND BE SEEN

Rather than sit here stewing as to how to respond to the variety of topics bouncing around my brain this morning, I figured a brief purging would prove helpful … at least to me! So:

• I mentioned it last Friday, but now I’m demanding it: Get thee to Film Forum to see Le Doulos, the brilliant noir from French master Jean-Pierre Melville. Its run ends tomorrow (Jul 19) and it really is not-to-miss.

• While you’re at , you might consider sticking around for a screening of Live-In Maid, an Argentinian film just now getting its first U.S. release, although it won a Special Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. It’s a really interesting film depicting a very particular social interaction between classes with both humor and empathy. Filmmaker Jorge Gaggero will be at the 8:10 PM showings tonight through Friday. A fuller review will come later today.

• Jim Browne is a fellow Associate Programmer of mine at Tribeca, but he also runs a small distribution company, Argot Pictures. Opening today at the IFC Center for a one-week run is the documentary Summercamp!. I’ve yet to see it, but plan to this weekend. And hey look, I’m creating unintentional post thematic consistency by having a summer camp element here to follow yesterday’s mention of This American Life “Notes on Camp.” Good blogger.

• I finally made it to Knocked Up last night. I hadn’t been avoiding it by any means, but for one reason or another — start time was inconvenient; didn’t fit in with a schedule of other movies; not playing at the theater complex I’m going to — until I left work yesterday determined to get to this movie, I hadn’t made it. I understand what all the hype is about: it’s an at-times-hysterical and very relatable film. And yet, maybe some of my friends had hyped it too much. I remember laughing harder more consistently during The 40-Year-Old Virgin. More importantly, the film runs over two hours, and there is really no reason for this. It definitely starts to drag here-and-there in the last 40 minutes (if not sooner). I may write more later, and it’s still a definite thumbs-up, but I certainly don’t find it to be the second coming of comedy films. However, I may adapt Ben’s brilliant line as he and Alison are drunkenly getting naked: “You’re prettier than me.” Sheer genius.