If the summer movie season is a mix of hell fire and flatulence for film buffs, there are always a few small independent movies that come out of nowhere and remind you that intelligence and originality still exists in a land of mediocrity. Sometimes it's better not to know anything about a film and just go watch it. Directed By newcomer Duncan Jones- David Bowie's son- and starring a never better Sam Rockwell, Moon is exactly that. A film made for a chump sum of money -5 million dollars- and a film creating more energy and excitement than any scene involving Megan Fox in Transformers 2. The plot is simple yet there is layer after layer of intrigue in here. An Astronaut is nearly done his 3 year stint at the moon and about to leave in just a few days- then things start to get weird and he meets a man that is his exact twin. I need not say more, just go watch it. It's the kind of film that will get more and more popular as word of mouth spreads around cities screening it- Don't pay attention to the trailers or IMDB, just don't find out a thing.
I'm not a porn connoisseur but supposedly Sasha Grey is very big in the business, in fact she's huge. So much so that Steven Soderbergh (Traffic & Erin Brokovich) hired her for his new film, The Girlfriend Experience. It's definitely something different but its originality is pure Soderbergh. There is no typical narrative, the story is basically told in 5 different times but it blends well and kept me interested. Grey surprised me, she's rarely naked and when she does have sex on screen, it is not graphic- in other words this is not a movie for her fans. It's sophisticated and very pronounced. Basically what Moon and The Girlfriend Experience offer is something mature and something very different- an alternative of sorts to the firecracker fest populated in these dog days of summer. They offer up hard questions and stylish cinematography that lures you into their intriguing and fascinating webs. These films leap into the wild blue and dare you to leap with them. Go for it.