"Recycle" Directed by Mahmoud al Massad World Cinema Documentary Competition Two-and-a-half out of four stars
It's never a good sign when you exit a theater and wonder whether you've fallen asleep. I'm all for ambiguity, implication, connotation and the like, but never should these three bleed into opaque obscurity.
Such is "Recycle," a doc that follows the du jour workings of a theologian-philosopher living in Zarqa, Jordan (yes, the birthplace of al-Qaida in Mesopotamia leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi), as he drives through Zarqa collecting cardboard waste to recycle.
No, I didn't fall asleep during "Recycle:" the ending only makes it feel like I did.
"The Wackness" Directed by Jonathan Levine Dramatic Competition One-and-a-half out of four stars
So if we take one part "Garden State" coming-of-age drama, mix in another half "American Beauty" middle-aged-crisis drama, add a decent amount of Christmas-ham performances (helmed by the exceptionally succulent Ben Kingsley), a peppering of lackluster gestures toward hip-hop culture circa 1994 (stewed alongside New York police state Giuliani hatred), and you have "The Wackness."
Enjoy alongside a bottle of low expectations to fully appreciate this.
"Blind Date" Directed by Stanley Tucci Spectrum Three out of four stars
Much like last year's "Interview" (starring and directed by Steve Buscemi), "Blind Date" is a remake of a film by the late Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, starring two principal leads (in this instance Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson) in a predominately static setting.
Tucci and Clarkson portray a husband and wife -- disconnected by a tragic event some time prior to the opening of "Blind Date" -- who attempt to reconnect by staging a variety of "blind dates" as complete strangers. Using the distance provided from these facades, the couple attempts to discover where things went wrong.
There's a lot to like about "Blind Date," including the apt performances by Tucci and Clarkson. The biggest distraction (and for me, the buzzkill) remains the series of voice-over narrations by Tucci and Clarkson's daughter, establishing in some cases motive, setting and exposition for the characters' actions.
d.letz@chronicle.utah.edu
