@ the Cinema

Paris, Texas
Paris, TX is a slow-moving story about a lost, distraught man reconnecting with his kid. I didn’t know west Texas could be so beautiful. Wim Wenders directs and his shots are framed so well it may not feel as if you’re in the 80s. Paris, TX drags on a little too long and there’s not much dialogue. But if you can stick it out, you’ll be rewarded. The lost father finds his son, estranged brother and wife and himself and begins to blossom near the end. Try topping the lost soul seeker speaking eloquently in the peep show room to his former lover.

A Scanner Darkly
Another off-beat animated gem by director Richard Linklater astounds the eye and mind. After viewing this drug induced “art” I was left wondering; yearning for more information and another viewing, I had to figure it out. But with most these films there is no answer. You are left to an endless search. The agony! Keanu Reeves stars with Woody Harrelson, RDJ2 (Downey Jr.) and Wynona Ryder, as an undercover narc who begins to rat on himself (it’s a split personality thing, confusing, right?). He’s also using his friends and love interest to crack the case. But he’s hit the drug hard too and can’t get out of it. By the way, Reeves has never looked better (I think it’s the animation). Timely, thoughtful dialogue leaks every so often, but is taken over by the hilarious tripped out trio of Woody, Reeves and RDJ2. Uncovering a secret never seemed so hard. The irony does exist. Privacy is an asset we take for granted. Assumptions and conclusions based on eavesdropping cannot find someone’s true nature. A Scanner Darkly provides more than you bargained for.