Before Midnight

2013

USA

Director: Richard Linklater 
Writers: Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke, Kim Krizan
Stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick 

My Thoughts:

They drive. They talk. They walk. They fight. They say hurtful things to each other. They apologize. They make up. All against a gorgeous Grecian backdrop.

Nine years after we last saw Jesse and Celine, and almost two decades after they first met on that fateful train to Vienna, we catch up with them in Greece. They've been together all this time, although still not married. They have twin daughters, Jesse has a fourteen-year-old son from his first marriage. At one point I think they say something about an older daughter of Celine's too, but I didn't really get that. Actually, a lot of this film went by before it could really register with me. It's a lot like eavesdropping on a conversation at the next table in a restaurant -- some of it is fascinating, some is not so much, and some of it you just don't really grock. But I  believe that's the feeling Linklater and his crew are trying to achieve.

OK, I know it's not fashionable or hip to say this, but I've been mostly bored by this whole series of films, and I think this latest one has the least to offer. I do appreciate what Linklater is doing, and I'm gratified that there's someone out there making films for adults, with real actors and settings, and not just turning out CGI schlock. I just wish there was a little more to the films -- more than just two fairly ordinary people talking and talking and talking. And talking some more. At least in this third film, there are a few other people doing some of the talking.

Also, the two stars seem much less natural in this one, more like actors trying to be natural. Especially Julie Delpy -- she even seems to have lost all that French charm that kept her from being totally unbearable in the earlier films.

But if you've loved the other two "Before" movies, you should love this one too -- it's more of the same.

My IMDb Rating: I'm giving this one 4 stars out of a possible 10, mainly because the scenery was so attractive.

Acacia

2003

Korea

Written and Directed by Ki-hyeong Park
MPAA Rating: R for violence and language

Synopsis from SundanceChannel.com:

"Korean filmmaker Ki-Hyung Park (Whispering Corridors) serves up an unsettling tale of muted dread about a childless couple's attempts to forge a family. Despite her mother's disapproval, Mi-sook (Hye-jin Shim) and her husband (Jin-geun Kim) adopt Jin-seong (Oh-bin Mun), a quiet, artistic six-year-old boy. Soon Jin-seong evinces an obsessive attraction to a dying acacia tree in the backyard, which he associates with his birth mother. Yet even more unsettling events are in store when Mi-sook unexpectedly becomes pregnant."

My Thoughts:
Strange and definitely "unsettling" film with two adorably spooky kids who looked a little too much like the wraiths in The Grudge for my taste. Pretty good psychological suspense drama with a supernatural touch. One of those films that make the viewer work a little to figure things out. Kept me guessing about what was actually going on, and it delivered surprises right up to the end. Gorgeous cinematography and nice spare settings; even though the film was in color, it almost comes across as black-and-white so that the violent splashes of red in the final scenes are all the more shocking. If you're contemplating adoption, you'll probably want to stay away from this one.

This film kept me watching all the way through, even with its unpleasant subject matter and some pretty graphic violence (including, it should be noted, one rape scene). Probably not one I'd advise anyone to seek out, but I found it pretty entertaining.

My IMDb Rating: 4 stars out of a possible 10