“Unknown White Male”: pretty amazing documentary about Doug, a handsome, charming 30something Brit living in NYC who suddenly experiences amnesia one day and complete forgets who he is. He can still function, i.e. walk, talk, but has no memory whatsoever of who he was or what his life was like. His friend begins filming him, and the documentary covers the two years after the amnesia begins. Well, a riveting story. To see him change and also experience things for the first time all over again is enchanting. Also somehow scary. It’s only the fact that IT’S REAL that prevents it from feeling totally contrived; I mean, it sounds like the plot of a terrible movie right? But it isn’t (or at least not yet, since no doubt Hollywood will try and option the story). It’s fascinating, and the Q & A after the film with the director afterwards was too. Absolutely recommended. This is definitely a film that will have no trouble finding an audience. Though, to be a bit grumpy, I thought it was a bit too flashy at times, and there were aspects of his amnesia that I would have liked to learn more about. Still a great film. Rating: 4/5

“In Memory of My Father”: saw this today with a free pass. THIS MOVIE WAS TERRIBLE. A has-been film producer is dying, and his three annoying sons and their equally annoying friends/lovers gather around to talk, talk, talk endlessly without being interesting (oh, and they’re all played by lame actors who are doing really poor improv). Plus it’s all shot on video, so it looks like crap. To see a film like this is realize what geniuses Cassavetes and Altman can be. This has to be the worst sort of film in this genre I have seen since “Timecode” … and at least that movie has Kyle Maclachlan and Julian Sands in it. Ugh, I thought this movie would never end. I wanted to get up and smack every character at least once. Pretty much the whole movie is whining or screaming. The director was there for for Q & A, but I left as quickly as I could once the credits came up. Rating: 2/5 (I laughed twice).