Arusi Persian Wedding- This documentary about the filmmaker Marjan Tehrani’s Iranian-born brother and American-born wife returning to Iran for a traditional wedding was itself nicely shot and structured. As a travelogue, it even had me wanting to travel to Iran. The brother and groom, Alex, left me a little cold though. He seemed to relish in the exotic nature of Iran, as if it were little more than a nice locale for a gritty photo shoot. While there was justified criticism of Bush and American foreign policy, there was little criticism of the misogynistic government and Islamic religion (of which the bride is forced to convert in order to travel). On the topic of head scarves, the bride Heather at least sheepishly insinuates that the garment is oppressive. All her new husband can say is that she looks sexy in it. Eck. Both Alex and his filmmaker sister seemed complicit in the misogyny and oppression through their jaw-gaped admiration of Iran. At least, Marjan Tehrani could hide behind a well-placed camera.

Crimes & Misdemeanors – Another Woody Allen film and another for a potential Atheist Film Festival. It asks questions of both morality and the absence of morality. It does beg the question of how far one would go to maintain comfort and happiness. Watching it, I thought of the most convincing reason not to cheat on your spouse–realizing what lengths you might have to go to in order to keep it a secret and keep your spouse from getting hurt. That’s more convincing to me than “You shall not commit adultery.”

Cadillac Records- As the father of Chicago blues, Muddy Waters electric sound influenced all kinds of bands from The Beatles all the way to (presumably) Blues Hammer. This musical biopic (in regular musical biopic fashion) tells his and Chess Records’ stories in a fractured and incomplete manner. The music is great (Muddy, Willie Dixon, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James), so in the end it’s worth it. A factual account might be better suited for a, uh, book. But of course a book wouldn’t come with Jeffrey Wright or Beyonce Knowles (“At Last” has wormed its way into my brain, dangit).

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead- Basically a heist movie with all the expected ineptitudes, twists, and non-linearness. But instead of any law enforcement threatening to bring the perpetrators down, it’s familial dysfunction that seeks to destroy flimsily laid plans. On the surface, it’s a really solid movie. P.S. Hoffman is great. And, I’ve always had a fondness for Ethan Hawke. But I couldn’t stand the performances from Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei. I know Finney is a legend. But the scowl he occasionally wore couldn’t keep me from fearing that he might be suffering from a stroke throughout many of his scenes. And Tomei is a fine actress. But (dare I say) I’m getting a little bored with her breasts. Of course she looks good at 40. Of course, of course, of course. But, put a shirt on next time, okay? And, I know it becomes problematic to pin the misogyny pin on any one particular film, but this film didn’t do women many favors. Sure, the women in the film arguably fare better than their male counterparts (who aren’t shown any particular favors either). But all female characters don’t have to fall into one of the following archetypes: dead, stupid, weak, or bitch.