MattyG

Franco's performance is believable and respectable. The natural limitations of the set and cast-of-characters meant that Boyle took some liberties to stretch the film into a feature length. Given the subject matter I'm not sure a better film could have been made but it is still not a great film, merely great for what it is.

Restrepo is worth watching if you want a glimpse into the modern soldier and the warfare they are involved in. Being a documentary, it is necessarily low on closure and plot. What you see are real humans and their experiences, thoughts, and emotions during a 15 month deployment in a difficult place. It is not an exciting film, but it is an important one.

"Tokyo Sonata" is microcosm of Japan's "Lost Decade" that uses an average middle-class family to tell a story that challenges tradition and extols renewal and discovery. I admit that when I received the DVD in the mail I thought the title was "Tokyo Santa" so maybe anything would have been a pleasant surprise, but I genuinely feel this film is excellent. The acting was more-than-believable, even with two youth actors. What I enjoyed most, perhaps what I like about foreign films in general, is the words unsaid were more profound than the dialogue. This isn't a date movie, but if you want to take a look at the human condition for a few hours, I highly recommend it.