| Alphabetical
List of All Films Watched 2000-2009 |
|
| In
the decade of 2000-2009 I watched approximately 4193 films. |
|
| All
films are rated on a scale of **** (A+), *** 3/4 (A), *** 1/2 (A-), *** 1/4
(B+), *** (B), ** 3/4 (B-), ** 1/2 (C+), ** 1/4 ( C), ** (C-) , * 3/4 (D+), *
1/2 (D), * 1/4 (D-), * (F) |
|
| Links are to longer reviews
on site. A film defined as 70 min.+ visual event. |
| The year included with the
film is the year I watched each film. |
| (V) = TV, Video or DVD (
+) = repeat viewing (W/O)= walked out |
|
| [500] DAYS OF
SUMMER (2009, d. Marc Webb) *** 1/2 |
| [UNTITLED]
(2009, d. Jonathan Parker) *** |
| 06/05
THE SIXTH OF MAY (2005, d. Theo Van Gogh) ** 3/4 |
| 1:1 (2006, d.
Annette K. Olesen) *** |
| 10 (2003, d. Abbas Kiarostami) Ten vignettes of
lady cab driver & her passengers (including her son). Static
camera, droning voices. I snoozed. * 1/2 |
| 10 ITEMS OR
LESS (2006, d. Brad Silberling) ** 1/2 |
| 10.5 (2004, d. John Lafia)
V. The most epically ridiculous, scientifically absurd, horribly written
& acted mini-series in tv history. But the f/x were pretty
awesome. * |
| 100
MILE RULE (2003, d. Brent Huff) Caper film about a
salesman at a conference who is entrapped into an illicit affair. ***
1/4 |
| 101 REYKJAVIK (2000, d. Baltasar Kormákur) *** 1/4 |
| 101 REYKJAVIK (2001, d. Baltasar Kormákur) +
*** |
| 10th
DISTRICT COURT (2005, d. Raymond Depardon) Docu of the
quotidien goings on in a local Parisian court. Illuminating...better than
Judge Judy. *** |
| 11'9''01 (2003, France doc. d. various) 11 short films by
various directors based on 9/11. Mostly a waste of celluloid. **
1/2 |
| 12 HOURS
(2001, d. Raul Marchand Sanchez) * 1/2 |
| 12 (2008,
d. Nikita Mikhalkov; Russia) *** |
| 12:08
EAST OF BUCHAREST (2006, d. Camelia Porumboiu) ** |
| 13
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING (2002, d. Jill
Sprecher) *** 1/2 |
| 13
GOING ON 30 (2004,
d. Gary Winick) Another ridiculous kid in a grownup's body fantasy, though
Mark Ruffalo is always worth watching. * 1/2 |
| 13 MOONS (2002,
d. Alexandre Rockwell) 0* |
| 13 TZAMETI
(2008, d. Géla Babluani) V. Fr./Georgian variation on Intacto. Suspenseful +Giorgi
Babluani is a find! *** 1/4 |
| 1408 (2007, d. Mikael
Hafström) ** 3/4 |
| 17 AGAIN
(2009, d. Burr Steers) Absurd wish fullfilment fantasy revisiting hi-school
with hints of incest. Strangely enjoyable since Zac Efron pulls it off;
** 3/4 |
| 2 DAYS IN PARIS
(2007, d. Julie Delpy) *** |
| 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS (2003, d. John Stockman) Great action & sound; but
the longest 65 minutes of repetitive testosterone tweaking ever.
* 3/4 |
| 2 MINUTES LATER (2007, d. Robert Gaston) * 1/2 |
| 2:37
(2006, d. Murali K. Thalluri) *** 1/2 |
| 20
CENTIMETERS (2006, d. Ramón Salazar) *** |
| 20
FINGERS (2004, d. Mania Akbari) Tight close-ups of a
couple in motion, arguing shrilly, incessantly, boringly. Like recent
Kiarostami, only feminist. * 3/4 |
| 20:30:40 (2004, d. Sylvia Chang)
Interwoven, soapy comedy about 3 varied aged women neighbors in modern
Taipei. Somewhat superficial and overly long. * 3/4 |
| 2046 (2005,
d. Wong Kar-Wei) Ravishingly beautiful romantic film, Tony Leung beds several
women and androids, and as usual I lost the narrative thread. *** |
| 21 GRAMS (2003, d. Alejandro
Gonzálas Iñárritu) Art film about love & dying with a choppy non-linear
narrative & some great acting by all involved. *** 1/2 |
| 21
(2008, d. Robert Luketic) A slam dunk for me both in subject & Jim
Sturgess; but so logically flawed it's a shame. ** 3/4 |
| 23 (2003, Germany d. Hans-Christian Schmid)
True life story of youg German hackers who provide crucial passwords to the
Russians. *** |
| 24 HOUR PARTY
PEOPLE (2002, d. Michael Winterbottom) *** 1/2 |
| 24TH
DAY, THE (2004, d.
Tony Piccirillo) Excellent 2-person gay-themed drama with incredibly good
acting by Scott Speedman & James Marsden. *** 1/2 |
| 25 CENT PREVIEW (2007, d. Cyrus Amini) ** |
| 25
DEGREES IN WINTER (2004, d. Stéphane Vuillet) Fun comedy about
a Spanish family who has an adventure helping a Ukranian illegal immigrée in
Brussels. ** 3/4 |
| 25th HOUR (2002, d. Spike Lee) ***
1/2 |
| 27 CLUB, THE
(2008, d. Erica Dunton) ** 1/4 |
| 28 DAYS LATER (2003, d. Danny Boyle)
DV looked terrible, but story gripped and terrific visuals. Cillian Murphy,
so great in Disco Pigs, is hot! *** |
| 28 DAYS
(2000, d. Betty Thomas) ** 1/2 |
| 28 WEEKS LATER (2007, d. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo) Spare, horrifying,
pessamistic...Michael Haneke would be proud. *** |
| 3 LITTLE PIGS, THE (Les 3
p'tits cochons) (2007, d. Patrick Huard) Fr.
Canadian sex comedy which somehow works. *** |
| 3
NEEDLES (2006, d. Thom Fitzgerald) *** 1/4 |
| 3:30 TO YUMA (2007, d. James Mangold) A perfect Western, until
unmotivated ending spoiled it. *** 1/4 |
| 300 (2007,
d. Zack Snyder) Spectacular design, coherent narrative, even good dialog well
presented. Comic book gore, but wow. *** 1/4 |
| 32A (2008, d. Marian
Quinn) ** 1/2 |
| 36 QUAI DES ORFÈVRES (2005, d. Olivier
Marchal) Auteuil & Depardieu in a French noir that could have been a
Michael Mann film, dark & violent. *** |
| 39 POUNDS OF LOVE (2005, d. Dani
Menkin)V. *** |
| 3-IRON (2005, d. Kim Ki-Duk) Fascinating, but weird
Korean thriller about a silent young guy who breaks into houses. Very filmic
and mysterious. *** 1/4 |
| 4 MONTHS,
3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS (2007, d. Cristian Mungiu; Romania) *** 1/4 |
| 4 (2005, d.
Ilya Khzhanovsky) Allegorical Russian film, lots of symbolism of items of 4;
but stupefyingly repetative, overlong and obscure. * |
| 4: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER (2007, d. Tim May) ** |
| 40 DAYS AND 40
NIGHTS (2002, d. Michael
Lehmann) *** |
| 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, THE (2005, d. Judd
Apatow) * 1/4 |
| 4400,
THE (2004, d.
various)V. "Limited" tv sf series about returned alien abductees
with strange powers. Compelling serial tv and I hope it continues. *** |
| 49 UP
(2006, d. Michael Apted) *** 1/2 |
| 50 FIRST DATES (2005, d. Peter Segal) V. Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore
bring out the best of each other. This film mines gold out of a weird
concept. *** |
| 54
(2006, d. Mark Christopher) V. Finally caught this interesting film. Ryan
Phillippe never hotter; Mike Myers never better. *** |
| 5x2 (2005, d.
François Ozon) Unsparing, fascinating film about a dissolving marriage told
in 5 reverse vignettes. Ozon's best in years. *** 3/4 |
| 6IXTYNIN9 (Ruang talok 69) (2000, d.Pen-Ek Ratanaruang) ** |
| 6TH DAY, THE (2000, d. Roger Spottiswoode)
** |
| 7
VIRGINS (2005, d. Alberto Rodríguez) *** 1/4 |
| 7 YEARS
(2007, d. Jean-Pascal Hattu) *** 1/4 |
| 8 1/2 WOMEN
(2000, d. Peter Greenaway) * 3/4 |
| 8 MILE (2002, d. Curtis Hanson)
*** |
| 8
WOMEN (2002, d. François Ozon) **
1/2 |
| 800
BULLETS (2003, d.
Alex de la Iglesia) Comedy moden day homage to spaghetti Westerns &
their genre. Funny, poignant. *** 1/2 |
| 881
(2007, d. Royston Tan; Singapore) W/O |
| 9 SONGS
(2005, d. Michael Winterbottom) Video verité about a couple, she American, he
English, into Sex, Antarctica, and Rock & Roll. *** 1/4 |
| 9
SOULS (2004, d.
Toshiaki Toyota) A comedy about escaped convicts rampaging. I was bored and
unamused and walked after an hour. W/O |
| 9 (2003, d. Umit Unal) Turkey AFF. Docudrama.
Videotaped interrogation of 6 suspects in murder rape. ** 1/2 |
| 99
FRANCS (2008, d. Jan Kounen) *** |
| 9TH
COMPANY (2006, d. Fyodor Bondarchuk; Russia) *** 1/2 |
| A
DIOS MOMO (2005, d. Leonardo Ricagni) W/O |
| A
FATHER, A SON, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD
(2004, d. Lee Grant) V. Insider docu about Kirk
and Michael Douglas, interesting but not great. ** 3/4 |
| A SIDE, B SIDE,
SEA SIDE (2006, d. Wing-Chiu Chan) ** 1/4 |
| À TOUT DE SUITE (2007, d. Benoît Jacquot) V. Jacquot doing 60's Godard
pretty darn well. *** |
| A WOMAN IN BERLIN,
A (Anonyma - Eine Frau in Berlin) (2009, d. Max Färberböck) *** |
| AACHI & SSIPAK
(2007, d. Joe Bum-jin) 1/2* |
| ABANDON (2002, d. Stephen Gaghan)
*** |
| ABANDONED
(2001, d. Arpad Sopsits) *** 1/4 |
| ABBUFFATA
L' (2008, d. Mimmo Colopresti) *** |
| ABOUNA (2003, d. Mahamet Saleh Haroun) Chad AFF. Two
young brothers and their trials finding their father. ** |
| ABOUT A BOY (2002, d. Chris & Paul Weitz) *** |
| ABOUT ELLY
(2009, d. Asghar Farhadi) *** |
| ABOUT SCHMIDT (2002, d. Alexander Payne) *** 1/4 |
| ABOUT
THE LIVING (2002, d. Jorge Aquilera) ** |
| ABSOLUT
(2005, d. Romed Wyder) Fascinating, complex thriller about 2 computer hacker
political terrorists & memory restoration. *** 1/4 |
| ACCEPTED (2007, d.
Steve Pink) V. ** 1/2 |
| ACCORDING TO
SPENCER (2001, d. Shane Edelman) *** |
| ACNÉ (2008, d.
Federico Veiroj) *** |
| ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (2007, d. Julie Taymor) The '60s film I've been waiting
40 years for. **** |
| ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (2008, d. Julie Taymore) + Even on 2nd view, this is my
fave film of decade so far. **** |
| ADAM &
STEVE (2005, d. Craig Chester) Silly at times, but also funny &
touching romantic comedy about 2 quirky, mature gay men. ** 3/4 |
| ADAM (2009, d. Max
Mayer) *** 1/4 |
| ADAM'S
APPLES (2005, d. Anders Thomas Jensen) *** |
| ADAPTATION (2002, d. Spike Jonze) ***
1/2 |
| ADDICTION
(2005, d. Minna Virtanen) ** 3/4 |
| ADMIRAL, THE
(2009, d. Andrei Kravchuck) *** 1/2 |
| ADORATION
(2008, d. Atom Egoyan) *** 1/2 |
| ADORATION
(2009, d. Atom Egoyan) + Not quite as stunning the 2nd time around...but
worse: 2nd time this week I went to a film I didn't realize I'd seen before!
*** 1/4 |
| ADVENTURELAND (2009, d. Greg Mottola) Jesse Eisenberg, like Michael
Cera is the ideal pomo hero. Pleasant, if subdued, rom-com. **
3/4 |
| ADVENTURES OF FELIX,
THE (2001, d. Olivier Ducastel & Jacques
Martineau) *** 3/4 |
| ADVENTURES OF SEBASTIAN COLE,
THE (2003, d. Tod Williams) V. Coming of
age/disfunctional family story nicely, if eliptically realized. Adrian
Grenier! ** 3/4 |
| AE FOND KISS (2005, d. Ken Loach)
Ill fated love of a young 2nd generation Paki for a white woman in today's
Scotland. Subtle & affecting. *** |
| AFFAIR OF LOVE, AN (2000, d. Frédéric Fonteyne)
*** |
| AFFAIR OF THE NECKLACE, THE (2001, d. Charles Shyer) ** 3/4
|
| AFGHAN STAR
(2009, d. Havana Marking) *** |
| AFTER INNOCENCE (2005, d. Jessica
Sanders; docu) V. *** 1/4 |
| AFTER
MIDNIGHT (2005, d. Davide Ferrario) Whimsical paean to film à la Amélie
without the irony, a charmingly cockeyed love triangle. *** 1/4 |
| AFTER
THE WEDDING (2006, d. Susanne Bier; Denmark) *** 1/2 |
| AFTERLIFE
(2003, d. Alison
Peebles) Affecting drama: ambitious man forced to care for Down's Syndrome
sister. Tear jerker, never goes over the top. *** 1/4 |
| AFTERMATH
(2004, d. Paprika
Steen) Emotionally shattering, beautifully acted chamber drama about the
affects of grief on a couple & the people around them. *** 1/2 |
| AFTERSCHOOL
(2008, d. Antonio Campos) *** 1/4 |
| AFTERWARDS
(2008, d. Gilles Bourdos) ** 1/4 |
| AGAINST THE
CURRENT (2009, d. Peter Callahan) *** 1/2 |
| AGENT
CODY BANKS 2 (2004, d. Kevin Allen) Silly, but coherent
kids film. At least miles better than Inspector Gadget, which is saying
something. ** 1/4 |
| AGITATOR
(2002, d. Miike Takashi) ** 3/4 |
| AGRONOMIST,
THE (2004, d. Jonathan Demme) V. Doc. about Haitian radio
radical good guy Jean Dominique. Interesting, but slow mid-section
disappoints. ** 3/4 |
| AGUA (2007, d.
Verónica Chen) *** |
| AHEAD
OF TIME (2005, d. Ágúst Güdmundsson; Iceland) * 3/4 |
| AHIMSA STOP
TO RUN (2006, d. Leo Kittikorn; Thailand) * |
| AI
(2001, d. Steven Spielberg) **** |
| AIME
TON PERE (2003, d.
Jacob Berger) Swiss AFF. High gloss road picture about Literature Nobelist
and his estranged son. *** 1/4 |
| AIMÉE & JAGUAR (2000, d. Max Färberböck) ** 3/4
|
| AIMÉE,
L' (2008, d. Arnaud Desplechin) ** 1/4 |
| AIN'T SCARED
(2008, d. Audrey Estrougo) ** |
| AIRES
DIFICILES, LOS (2006, d. Gerardo Herrera) ** 3/4 |
| AJAMI (2009, d.Scandar Copti & Yaron Shani; Israel) *** 3/4 |
| AKA (2004, d. Duncan
Roy)V.+ Complete re-edit from multi-screen festival version 2 years ago. Well
done British lower class gay imposter story. ** 3/4 |
| AKEELAH AND THE BEE (2006, d. Doug Acheson) Predictable, manipulative,
moving film about an 11 yr. old black girl spelling genius. ** 1/2 |
| AL FRANKEN:
GOD SPOKE (2006, d. Nick Doob, Chris Hegedus) *** 1/4 |
| ALAMO,
THE (2004, d. John
Lee Hancock) Mediocre script with too many levels of flashbacks; but
otherwise fairly well made historical pic. ** 1/2 |
| ALATRISTE
(2006, d. Augustin Diaz Yanes) ** 3/4 |
| ALBINO ALLEGATOR (2005, d. Kevin
Spacey)V. Hostage film in a bar with some good perfs, but pretty average
script and direction. ** 1/2 |
| ALCATRAZ AVE. (2000, d. Tom Edgar) *** |
| ALEGRE
MA NON TROPPO
(2004, d. Fernando Colomo) Slick, high gloss '94 Spanish sex farce on
confused sexuality with clever plot and some fine acting. *** |
| ALEX & EMMA (2003, d. Rob Reiner) Romantic comedy. A novelist & a
steno who are writing and acting out a novel. A real turkey, both novel and
script. * |
| ALEXANDER
(2004, d. Oliver
Stone) Epic with a confusingly constructed script but some great battle
scenes. Jolie's accent inexplicable; but Farrell is pretty good. ** 3/4 |
| ALEXANDRA
(2008, d. Alexander Sokurov) *** |
| ALFIE (2004, d. Charles
Shyer) Jude Law is an attractive star playing a cad in this somewhat boring,
mediocre comedy. Shyer is a hack director; but his casting works. **
1/4 |
| ALI ZAOUA, PRINCE DE LA RUE (2000, d. Nabil Ayouch) *** |
| ALI
(2001, d. Michael Mann) *** 1/2 |
| ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL (2003, d. W.R. Fassbinder) V. Indictment of conformest,
xenophobic German character; old woman marries nice young Moroccan. *** |
| ALIAS BETTY (2002, d. Claude Miller)
*** |
| ALICE AND MARTIN (2000, d. André Téchiné) *** |
| ALICE UPSIDE DOWN
(2008, d. Sandy Tung) ** 3/4 |
| ALICE
(2006, d. Marco Martins; Portugal) ** 3/4 |
| ALIVE (Zhivoy)
(2007, d. Alexander Veledinsky) ** 3/4 |
| ALIVE! (2009, d. Artan
Minarolli; Albania) ** 3/4 |
| ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU
CHOU (2002, d. Shunji Iwai) ** |
| ALL HAT (2007, d.
Leonard Farlinger) ** 3/4 |
| ALL IN
(2008, d. Nick Vallelonga) V. I usually like poker movies; but this barely
watchable drama was terrible. * |
| ALL OR NOTHING (2002, d. Mike Leigh) ** 3/4 |
| ALL OR
NOTHING (2004, d. Mike Leigh) V. Finally caught Leigh's
miserabilist version of Life is Sour. As usual, fine filmmaking; but
depressing. *** |
| ALL
OVER THE GUY (2003, d. Julie Davis)+ V. One of the better
gay films...bittersweet romantic comedy which has the ring of truth and
originality. *** 1/4 |
| ALL OVER THE
GUY (2001, d. Julie Davis) *** 1/4 |
| ALL THE KING'S MEN (2006, d. Steven Zaillian) Why was this film critically
savaged? Maybe a little over-ripe; but fantastic drama. *** 1/2 |
| ALL THE PRETTY HORSES (2000, d. Billy Bob Thornton) **
1/2 |
| ALL THE REAL GIRLS (2003, d. David Gordon Green) Appalachian love story; poetry of
the ordinary. Schneider & Deschanel are great. *** 1/2 |
| ALL WILL BE
WELL (Wszystko Bedzie Dobrze) (2008, d. Tomasz Wiszniewski) *** 1/2 |
| ALLEGRO
(2006, d. Christoffer Boe) ** |
| ALMOST ADULT
(2007, d. Yousaf Ali Khan) ** 1/2 |
| ALMOST
BROTHERS (2005, d. Lúcia Murat) Confusingly structured Brazilian story
mixing City of God with Carandiru and inferior to both. ** |
| ALMOST FAMOUS (2000, d. Cameron Crowe) *** 1/4
|
| ALMOST
ORDINARY STORY, AN (2003, d. Milos Petricic)
Romantic comedy about a couple who may or may not be fated to marry. **
3/4 |
| ALMOST PEACEFUL (2003, d. Michael
Deville) Post WWII Jews trying to return to normal life in Paris dressmaking
atelier. Gentle, pastoral, slow. ** 3/4 |
| ALONE
IN FOUR WALLS (Allein in vier wanden) (2008, d. Alexandra Westmeier)
*** 1/4 |
| ALONE
(2005, d. Thomas Durschschlag) 2nd film in a row about a wounded girl: this
one a German who cuts herself from psychotic low self esteem. ** 3/4 |
| ALONG
CAME POLLY (2004, d. John Hamburg) Big stars, but a
terribly tasteless script...even Philip Hoffman overdid his slob
schtick. * 1/2 |
| ALONG
THE RIDGE (2007, d. Kim Rossi Stuart) *** 1/2 |
| ALPHA DOG
(2007, d. Nick Cassavetes) Better than expected. Timberlake & especially
a game Ben Foster outstanding. *** |
| ALQUIMISTA
IMPACIENTE, EL (2003, d. Patricia Ferreira)
Thriller/policier...lurid murder of a nuclear plant worker. ** 3/4 |
| ALZHEIMER
CASE, THE (2005, d. Erik Van Looy) Polished thriller about a French
mafia assassin whose Alzheimers is affecting his contract hit in
Antwerp. *** |
| AMANDLA! A REVOLUTION
IN FOUR-PART HARMONY (2001, d. Lee
Hirsch) ** 3/4 |
| AMATEURS, THE (2007, d. Michael Traegar) A silly comedy with a fine
cast, mostly wasted. * 3/4 |
| AMATI GIRLS, THE (2001, d. Anne DeSalvo)
** |
| AMAZING GRACE (2007, d. Michael Apted) Earnest, but sort of boring
film with great perf by Ioan Gruffuid. ** 3/4 |
| AMAZING MRS. PRITCHARD, THE (2007, d. var.) V. Involving, realistic British
political what-if fantasy miniseries. *** |
| AMELIA
(2009, d. Mira Nair) Straightforward romantic biopic which informs rather
than involves. Borderline boring for a Hollywood pic. ** 1/2 |
| AMÉLIE (2001,
d. Jean-Pierre Jeunet) *** 1/4 |
| AMEN (2003, d. Costa-Gavras) Shattering Holocaust
drama from pov of conscientious SS Lt. and an Italian priest with the ear of
the pope. *** 1/2 |
| AMERICAN
COUSINS (2003, d.
Don Coutts) The mob (Ukraine and New Jersey versions) come to Glasgow.
** |
| AMERICAN
FORK (2007, d. Chris Bowman) ** |
| AMERICAN GANGSTER (2007, d. Ridley Scott) A classic gangster flick,
reminiscent of Heat.
*** 1/2 |
| AMERICAN
GUN (2002, d. Alan Jacobs) ** 3/4 |
| AMERICAN
HAUNTING, AN (2005, d. Courtney Solomon) * 3/4 |
| AMERICAN
JOBS (2004, d. Greg Spotts) V. Informative, reasoned docu
about the effect of NAFTA etc. on the American worker. Good polemics and
filmmaking. *** |
| AMERICAN OUTLAWS (2001, d. Les Mayfield)
* |
| AMERICAN PIE 2 (2001, d. J.B. Rogers) *
3/4 |
| AMERICAN
PRIMITIVE (2009, d. Gwen Wynne) ** 1/2 |
| AMERICAN RHAPSODY, AN (2003, d. Éva Gárdos) V. Maladjustment of child of Hungarian
emigres. Well acted, subtle, true to '50s & a little stolid. ** 3/4 |
| AMERICAN RULING CLASS, THE (2005, d. John Kirby) V.
*** 1/2 |
| AMERICAN
SHOPPER (2007, d. Tamas Bojtor & Sybil Dessau) *** 3/4 |
| AMERICAN SON
(2008, d. Neil Abramson) *** 1/2 |
| AMERICAN
SPLENDOR (2003, US d. Shari Springer Berman,
Robert Pulcini) Clever biopic/documentary about Harvey Pekar, comix
writer. *** 3/4 |
| AMERICAN
TEEN (2008, d. Nanette Burstein) *** 1/4 |
| AMERICAN VIOLET (2009, d. Tim Disney) Prdictable "based on
true" story of ACLU victory over Texas racial injustices. Good
intentions & acting; but so so. ** 3/4 |
| AMERICAN
VISA (2006, d. Juan Carlos Valdivia; Bolivia) ** 3/4 |
| AMERICAN
WEDDING (2004, d.
Jesse Dylan) V. A new scatological nadir for this series; but I have to admit
that I laughed at some situations despite myself. * 1/4 |
| AMERICANESE
(2006, d. Eric Byler) ** 3/4 |
| AMERICANO
(2005, d. Kevin Nolan) Contrived travelog with little plot (young Americans
in Spain finding themselves) and some poor acting. * 1/2 |
| AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS (2001, d. Joe Roth)
** |
| AMNESIA - THE JAMES BRIGHTON
ENIGMA (2006, d. Denis Langlois) Dusan Dukic
shines, based on true story. ** 3/4 |
| AMNESIA ( 2004, d. Nicholas Laughland) V. BBC mystery-thriller about
an amnesiac cop on the trail of a possible wife murderer. Nice script, but
too pat. ** 3/4 |
| AMORES PERROS (aka "Love's a Bitch") (2000, d. Alejandro González Iñárritu) ***
1/2 |
| AMREEKA (2009, d.
Cherien Dabis) *** 1/2 |
| AMY'S
ORGASM (2001, d. Julie Davis) *** 1/4 |
| ANALYZE THAT (2002, d. Harold Rntwamis)
** |
| ANARCHIST COOKBOOK,
THE (2002, d. Jorday Susman) *** |
| ANARCHIST'S WIFE,
THE (2009, d. Marie Noelle, Peter Sehr) *** |
| ANATOMY
OF HELL (2004, d. Catherine Breillat) Opaque
narrative about a girl who hires a "gay" man to ravage her.
Squickily sexually explicit. ** |
| ANCHORMAN:
THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY (2004, d. Adam McKay) Totally unfunny (for me) silly, even
stupid comedy take on '70s newscasters. * |
| AND ALONG CAME
TOURISTS (Am Ende Kommen Touristen) (2007, d. Robert Thalheim) *** |
| AND
NOW...LADIES AND GENTLEMEN (2003, France d.
Claude Lelouch) Fine, lush melodrama about a jewel thief & a
chanteuse each with memory blackouts. *** |
| ANDER
(2009, d. Roberto Caston) Closeted Basque farmer tenderly falls for Peruvian
immigrant. Slow, but well observed & touching. *** 1/4 |
| ANGEL EXIT
(2001, d. Vladimir Michalek) ** 1/4 |
| ANGELA
(2003, Italy
d. Roberta Torre) Slow, impressionistic drama based on the true story of a
drug running family in Sicily-a torrid love triangle. ** 3/4 |
| ANGELS IN AMERICA: MILLENIUM
APPROACHES (2003,
d. Mike Nichols) V. Superb adaptation, utterly absorbing, fabulous
acting. Great tv. **** |
| ANGELS IN AMERICA:
PARESTROIKA (2003, d. Mike Nichols) V. Uneven...some
parts superlative, some long political speeches I phased out. I'm in lust
with Patrick Wilson. *** 1/2 |
| ANGELS OF THE UNIVERSE (2000, d. Fridrik Thor Fridriksson) *** 1/2 |
| ANGER MANAGEMENT (2003, d. Peter Segal)
Star power. Nicholson mugs & Sandler is quite fine. Embarrassingly bad
script & even worse direction! * 1/4 |
| ANGST (2003, d. Oskar
Roehler) Drama about a failing marriage, he has sex problems, she's an
hysteric. Well acted, if over-the-top, hard to watch. ** 1/2 |
| ANIMAL FACTORY (2000, d. Steve Buscemi) **
1/2 |
| ANIMATRIX (2003, US/JAPAN d. Various) 9 animated
shorts from the Matrix universe. Some better than others. ** 3/4 |
| ANITA TAKES A CHANCE (2001, d. Ventura Pons) *** |
| ANNAPOLIS
(2006, d. Justin Lin) An average, predictable film with another charismatic
perf by James Franco as a boxer-plebe. A guilty pleasure. ** 1/4 |
| ANNIVERSARY
PARTY, THE (2004,
d. Leigh & Cumming) V. An almost perfect video film of today's Hollywood
creative types & their screwed-up fabulous lives. *** 1/2 |
| ANNIVERSARY PARTY, THE (2001, d. Jennifer Jason Leigh & Alan
Cumming) *** 1/2 |
| ANONYMOUS (2004, d. Todd Verow)
Verow tries arty French porn (a la Porn Theater). He's not up to it as
director or actor. Degrading, despicable disaster. 1/2* |
| ANOTHER
GAY MOVIE (2006, d. Todd Stephens) * 1/2 |
| ANOTHER
LIFE (Ovunque Sei)
(2008, d. Michele Placido) *** |
| ANOTHER
LIFE (2005, d. Michele Placido) Stephano Accorsi's makes it worth
sitting through this strange, eerie romantic film. ** 3/4 |
| ANSWER MAN,
THE (2009, d. John Hindman) *** |
| ANTARCTICA
(2008, d. Yair Hochner) Multi-character Israeli gay story of hot men &
their sex lives. Well acted, somewhat involving. *** |
| ANTARES
(2005, d. Götz Spielmann) Circularly constructed, sexually explicit slice of
life drama about denizens of a Vienna housing development. *** |
| ANTIBODIES
(2005, d. Christian Alvart) *** 1/2 |
| ANTITRUST
(2001, d. Peter Howitt) * 1/2 |
| ANTWONE FISHER (2002, d. Denzel Washington) ** 3/4
|
| ANVIL! THE STORY OF ANVIL (2009, d. Sasha Gervasi) V. Real life version of Spinal Tap, sort of sad, sort of
involving; but by the end I was unaccountably moved. *** |
| ANYTHING ELSE (2003, d. Woody Allen)
A failure. Occasionally funny romantic comedy; but Allen's dialog seems false
coming from 20-somethings. ** 1/4 |
| ANYTOWN
(2009, d. Dave Rodriguez) ** 3/4 |
| APARTMENT, THE (2008,
d. Billy Wilder) + Holds up remarkably, still Lemmon's
and MacLaine's triumph; but also a fine original script. *** 1/4 |
| APOCALYPTO
(2006, d. Mel Gibson) Gotta hand it to him, an art film with stretches of
boredom; but overall it worked as an action film. ** 3/4 |
| APPALOOSA
(2008, d. Ed Harris) I like westerns; but despite a fine cast this one seems
derivative (e.g. 3:10 to Yuma) & lacking convincing motivations. ** 1/4 |
| APRÈS
VOUS (2004, d.
Pierre Salvadore) Annoying and contrived French farce. * 3/4 |
| ARARAT (2002, d. Atom Egoyan)
*** |
| ARCHANGEL
(2008, d. Jon Jones) V. TV thriller from Robert Harris book with a dead
fish Daniel Craig perf. pre-Bond, but quite authentic Soviet feeling.
*** |
| ARCHANGEL'S
FEATHER, THE
(2003, d. Louis Manzo) Venezuela AFF. Allegory, maybe about
Archangel Gabriel vs. Big Brother.. ** 3/4 |
| ARDILLA
ROJA, LA (2003, d.
Julio Medem 1993) Romantic thriller about a man's fascination with an
amnesiac woman. *** |
| ARISTOCRATS,
THE (2005, d. Paul Provenza) 100 great standup comedians do
history's worst dirty in-joke. 90 minutes of constant wracking
laughter. *** 3/4 |
| ARMIN (2007, d.
Ognjen Svilicic) ** 3/4 |
| ARMY OF SILENCE (2009, d. Jean-Pierre Melville) Eerily austere depiction of
French resistance cell in Lyon, fascinating and strangely moving. *** 1/2 |
| ARO
TOLBUKHIN, EN LA MENTE DEL ASESINO (2003, d. Agusti
Villaronga etc.) Faux documentary about mass murderer in Guatemala. ** |
| AROUND
THE BEND (2004, d.
Jordan Roberts) 4 generation of a family's secrets made into a road picture,
similar to Last Orders, but rather pedestrian. ** 1/4 |
| AROUND
THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (2004, d. Frank Coraci) A ridiculously overblown remake of a
movie which didn't need to be remade. * 1/4 |
| ARSÈNE LUPIN (2005, d. Jean-Paul
Salomé) Big film, bigger mess. Anachronistic narrative, a lead actor without
enough gravitas, but gorgeous production design. * 1/2 |
| ART AND COPY
(2009, d. Doug Pray) *** |
| ART
OF CRYING, THE (Kunsten at Graede I Kor) (2006, d. Peter Fog) *** 1/4 |
| ART OF NEGATIVE
THINKING, THE (Kunsten A Tenke Negativt) (2008, d. Bard Breien) *** |
| ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL (2006, d. Terry Zwigoff) Amusing black comedy satire.
Broadbent is great; but this is no Ghost World. *** |
| ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES (2006, d. Luc Besson) Luc should stick to live action;
predictable, badly acted & animated. * 1/2 |
| ARYAN
COUPLE, THE (2004,
d. John Daly) Sometimes cheesy melodramas just work, as this well-cast,
politically incorrect Holocaust story does for me. Judy Parfitt is
wonderful. *** |
| AS IT IS IN HEAVEN (2005, d. Kay Pollack)+
Watched again; some of the plot manipulations more obvious a 2nd time; but
still fine, affecting film. *** 1/4 |
| AS
IT IS IN HEAVEN (2004, d. Kay Pollak) Uplifting
& emotionally satisfying drama about an artist who brings enlightenment
to his backwater Swedish home town. *** 1/2 |
| ASH WEDNESDAY (2002, d. Edward Burns) ** 3/4 |
| ASOKA (2002,
d. Santosh Sivan) *** |
| ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES (2007, d. Andrew Dominik) Great looking; but the
narrator on downers annoyed. ** 3/4 |
| ASSASSINATION
OF RICHARD NIXON, THE
(2004, d. Niels Mueller) Sean Penn is remarkable as a '70s loser who
becomes a plane hi-jacker. *** |
| ASSASSINATION TANGO (2003, d. Robert
Duvall) Thriller on valium. Duvall is a fine actor; but lousy
writer/director from this film. * 3/4 |
| ASTRONAUT FARMER, THE (2008, d. Michael Polish)V. Subdued Thornton in gentle
mode; pretty, feel-good fantasy not typical of Polish Bros. ** 1/2 |
| ASTRONAUTS (2004, d. Santi Amodeo)
Slight, wry romantic comedy about an ex-junky and a 16 yr girl. Not as
cute as it tries to be. ** |
| ASYLUM (2005, d. David Mackenzie) ** 3/4 |
| AT THE DEATH HOUSE DOOR (2008, d. Gilbert & James) Low key docu about
former Texas death row chaplin, esp. his remorse over past injustices &
the penalty itself. ** 3/4 |
| AT WEST OF
PLUTO (2009, d. Myriam Verreault & Henry Bernadet) *** |
| ATANARJUAT: THE FAST
RUNNER (2001, d. Zacharias Kunuk) *** 1/2 |
| ATONEMENT
(2007, d. Joe Wright) Wright's direction & McAvoy's acting make this a
special tearjerker. Oscar? Maybe. *** 1/2 |
| AUBERGE
ESPAGNOLE, L' (2003, France-Spain d. Cedfric
Klapisch) Crowd pleasing comedy about a young Frenchman's defining school
year in Barcelona. *** |
| AUDITION
(2001, d. Takashi Miike) * |
| AUGUST RUSH (2007, d. Kirsten Sheridan) As delirious &
affecting as Sheridan's Disco Pigs, but too many plot holes. *** |
| AUGUST (2008, d.
Austin Chick) *** 1/4 |
| AURA,
EL (2005, d. Fabián Bielinsky; Argentina) *** 1/4 |
| AURORA
(2007, d. Oxana Bayrak; Ukraine) ** 1/2 |
| AUSTRALIA (2008, d. Bazz Luhrmann) Reminiscent of Giant, a gigantic, yet intimate
epic focusing on ranching & a country's ethos. Ambitions almost
fulfilled. *** |
| AUTISM: THE MUSICAL (2007, d. Tricia Regan) Moving, heart-rending
docu...nice editing & photog. *** 3/4 |
| AUTO FOCUS (2002, d. Paul Schrader) * 1/2 |
| AUTUMN
BALL (2007, d. Veiko Ounpuu ) * 1/2 |
| AUTUMN IN NEW YORK (2000, d. Joan Chen)
** |
| AUTUMN OF THE MAGICIAN (2009, d. Vaheh & Reuben Gevorkyants;
Armenia) Fascinating docu about artist screenwriter Tonino Guerra who should
be world famous. *** |
| AUTUMN
SPRING (2003, d. Vladimir Michátek) Czech
comedy/drama about an old couple. Academy bait...so why did
Czechoslavakia nominate another film? *** |
| AVATAR (2009, d. James
Cameron: 3D) The most sense-of-wonder instilling film since 2001:Space
Odyssey; a visual triumph with story to match. Bravo! Cameron. **** |
| AVELLANEDA'S
MOON (2005, d. Juan José Campanella) Long, high-gloss social comedy
about an Argentine social club & its member's struggles to survive. **
1/2 |
| AVENUE
MONTAIGNE (Fauteuils d'orchestra) (2006, d. Daniele Thompson;
France) + *** 1/2 |
| AVIATOR,
THE (2004, d.
Martin Scorsese) Powerful biopic, visually splendid with great perfs by Di
Caprio and Blanchett. Too sprawling, but it worked magic for me. ***
1/2 |
| AWAY FROM HER (2007, d. Sarah Polley) Julie Christie is aging
gorgeously. And her Alzheimer's is totally convincing. *** 1/2 |
| AWAY WE GO (2009, d. Sam Mendes) Wildly variable road flick, social
satire. John Krasinski is becoming a major star. ** 3/4 |
| BAADER
MEINHOF COMPLEX, THE (2008, d. Uli Edel; Germany) *** 1/4 |
| BAARIA
(2009, d. Giuseppi Tornatori; Italy) *** 1/2 |
| BABEL
(2006, d. Alejandro González Iñárritu) Circular script like Before the Rain. Fabulous direction.
Gut wrenching tension. Great film. *** 1/2 |
| BABY BOY
(2001, d. John Singleton) *** |
| BABY
LOVE (2009, d. Vincent Garenq) *** |
| BACK SOON
(2007, d. Rob Williams) ** 3/4 |
| BACKSTAGE
(2006, d. Emmanuelle Bercot) ** 3/4 |
| BACKYARD
(2009, d. Carlos Carrera; Mexico) *** 1/4 |
| BAD BOYS II (2003, d. Michael Bay) A
new morally reprehensible low for the Hollywood mega-violent film. Only
Jordi Molla, a kick-ass baddy is worth it. 0* |
| BAD DAY FOR FISHING (2009, d. Alvaro BrechnerUruguay) *** |
| BAD
EDUCATION (2004,
d. Pedro Almodovar) Pedro's gayest film since Law of Desire. Silly noirish
plot; but total fun with an extraordinary Gaël Bernal. *** |
| BAD FAITH (Mauvaise
foi) (2007, d. Roschdy Zem) *** |
| BAD
GUY (2003, S.
Korea d. Kim Ki-duk) Circular, confusing story: ruthless pimp subjugates a
college girl & makes her into a cooperative prostitute. ** 3/4 |
| BAD SANTA (2003, d. Terry Zwigoff) Funny, profane, wonderfully perverse
comedy about group of innately bad losers. Kid who could see no evil was
great! *** |
| BAD SPELLING (2005, d. Jean-Jacques
Zilbermann) Fun, homoerotic black comedy, a French boys school where students
rebel led by the weird son of the headmasters. *** |
| BADLAND
(2007, d. Francesco Lucente) Except for the overamped score a fine film with
a searing perf by Jamie Draven. *** 1/4 |
| BAGHDAD,
TX (2009, d. David H. Hickey) * 1/2 |
| BAJARSE
AL MORO (2004, d.
Fernando Colomo) A low-budget '88 comedy about Madrid druggies. Even a young
Antonio Bandares couldn't elevate it. ** |
| BALL IN THE HOUSE (2005, d. Tanya Wexler)
V. *** |
| BALLAST (2008, d.
Lance Hammer) ** 1/2 |
| BALSEROS
(2004, d. Bosch
and Doménech) V. Absorbing doc. which explores the lives of several Cuban
raft people who eventually come to the U.S. over 9 years. *** 1/4 |
| BANDE À PART (2003, d. Jean-Luc
Goddard) V. A '60s version of the gang who couldn't shoot straight, a
cockeyed noir which holds up well. *** |
| BANDITS
(2001, d. Barry Levinson) ** |
| BAND'S VISIT, THE (2007, d. Eran Kolirin) **
3/4 |
| BANDSLAM
(2009, d. Todd Graff) Sweet, fun coming of age/forming a rock band film.
Gaelan Connell is LaBeouf lite...very likable. GREAT rock score. Predictable
plot. *** 1/4 |
| BANG BANG YOU'RE
DEAD (2002, d. Guy Ferland) *** 3/4 |
| BANGER SISTERS,
THE (2002, d. Bob Dolman)
** 1/2 |
| BANISHMENT
(Izgnamie) (2007, d. Andrey Zvyagintsev) *** 1/4
|
| BANK JOB, THE (2008, d. Roger Donaldson) Surprisingly predictable,
I've seen this heist film several times before. ** 1/4 |
| BANLIEU
13 (2005, d. Pierre Morel) Fast paced, superior martial arts action
film set in a lawless 2010 Paris. Vivid, realistic characters. *** 1/4 |
| BANQUET AT
TETLAPAYAC, A (2001, d. Olivier Debroise) * |
| BANQUET,
THE (2007, d. Feng Xiaogang; Hong Kong) ** 1/4 |
| BARAN
(2001, d. Majid Majidi) *** |
| BARBARIAN
INVASIONS, THE (2003, d. Denys Arcand) Art film about love
and dying, literate script, excellent ensemble acting, enormously
moving *** 1/2 |
| BARBARIAN
INVASIONS, THE (2003, d. Denys Arcand) + Worth a
2nd viewing, just for the philosophy. *** 3/4 |
| BARBERSHOP (2002, d. Tim Story) ** 1/2 |
| BARS
IN THE MEMORY (2005, d. Manuel Palacios) Dry Spanish docu about the
concentration camps and privations during the Franco years. ** 1/2 |
| BARTLEBY
(2001, d. Jonathan Parker) ** 1/2 |
| BASAIN
(2007, d. Subash Prasad Gajural; Nepal) W/O |
| BASED ON A TRUE STORY (2005, d. Walter
Stokman) Partially successful doc about the "real" story behind Dog
Day Afternoon. ** 1/2 |
| BATMAN BEGINNINGS (2005, d. Christopher
Nolan) Noisy comic entertainment with a narratively cohesive plot & great
design. *** |
| BATTLE FOR TERRA (2009, d. Aristomenis Tsirbas) Excellent 3D animation plus
superior SF script with subtle issues of loyalties & humanity. ***
1/4 |
| BATTLE IN
SEATTLE (2008, d. Stuart Townsend) ** 1/2 |
| BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS (2003, d. Potelle &
Rankin) Indispensible companion to Proj Greenlight. Shia Lebeuf incredible,
movie better than expected. ** 3/4 |
| BATTLE OF
WITS (2007, d. Jacob Cheung) *** |
| BE CALM AND COUNT TO
SEVEN (2009, d. Ramtin Lavafipour) ** 1/2 |
| BE COOL (2005, d. F. Gary Gray) Hipper than thou
spoof of gangsta music biz and Hollywood. Enjoyed the settings (around the
corner from my apartment). ** 1/4 |
| BE KIND REWIND (2008, d. Michel Gondrey) Gondrey's silly creativity
works here. Mos Def surprised me. *** |
| BE LIKE
OTHERS (2009, d. Tanaz Eshaghian) *** 1/4 |
| BE
WITH ME (2005, d. Eric Khoo; Singapore) ** 3/4 |
| BEACH, THE (2000, d. Danny Boyle) **
1/2 |
| BEACHES OF AGNES, THE (2009, d. Agnès Varda) What treasures Agnes Varda's mementos
are. Her docus are moving & strangely beautiful. Et j'adore Jacques Demi.
*** 1/2 |
| BEAR
CUB (2004, d. Luis
Miguel Albaladejo) An honest, moving, straightforward Spanish film about a
gay man thrust into caring for his 9 yr old nephew. *** |
| BEAST STALKER,
THE (2009, d. Dante Lam) *** |
| BEAT
THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, THE (2005, d. Jacques Audiard) Frenetic
drama based on Fingers with a magnetic perf by Romain Duris. *** |
| BEAU TRAVAIL (2000, d. Claire Denis)
*** |
| BEAUFORT
(2008, d. Joseph Cedar; Isreal) *** 1/2 |
| BEAUTIES AT WAR
(La Guerre des miss) (2009, d. Patrice Leconte) ** |
| BEAUTIFUL
COUNTRY, THE (2005, d. Hans Petter Moland) Involving, well acted
adventure of a half-American Vietnamese boy's emigration to the US. *** |
| BEAUTIFUL
MEMORIES (Se souvenir des belles choses) (2009, d. Zabou Breitman) ***
1/2 |
| BEAUTIFUL MIND, A (2001, d. Ron Howard) *** 1/4 |
| BEAUTIFUL
OHIO (2006, d. Chad Lowe) ** 3/4 |
| BEAUTIFUL
(2000, d. Sally Field) ** |
| BEAUTY IN
TROUBLE (Kraska V Nesnazich) (2007, d. Jan Hrebejk) *** 1/4 |
| BEAUTY
REMAINS (2006, d. Ann Hu) ** 1/2 |
| BECOMING JANE (2007, d. Julian Jarrold)
** 3/4 |
| BEDAZZLED
(2000, d. Harold Ramis) ** |
| BEE SEASON
(2007, d. McGehee and Siegel) V. Involving, well acted family drama with not
well defined spiritual mysteries. *** |
| BEESWAX
(2009, d. Andrew Bujalski) Mumblecore madness right up to very (startlingly
unsatisfying) ending. Successful character study, in any case. *** |
| BEFORE
FLYING BACK TO EARTH (2006, d. Arunas Matelis; Lithuania) *** |
| BEFORE I FORGET
(Avant que j'oublie) (2008, d. Jacques Nolot) ** 3/4 |
| BEFORE NIGHT FALLS (2000, d. Julian Schnabel) ** 1/4 |
| BEFORE
SUNSET (2004, d.
Richard Linklater) Talky sequel to one of my all-time fave films. Satisfying
in context; but not as good a film. *** |
| BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE
DEAD (2007, d. Sidney Lumet) Tight thriller- 2
brothers and the "perfect" robbery. *** 1/2 |
| BEFORE THE
RAINS (2008, d. Santosh Sivan) ** 3/4 |
| BEFORE THE STORM (Före stormen) (2000, d. Reza
Parsa) *** 1/2 |
| BEHIND ENEMY LINES (2001, d. John Moore) **
1/2 |
| BEHIND THE RED DOOR (2003, d. Matia Karrell)
(V) Showtime Aids drama. Kyra and Kiefer are 2 of my least
favorite actors. * 1/2 |
| BEHIND THE SUN
(2001, d. Walter Salles) ** 3/4 |
| BEING
JULIA (2004, d.
Istvan Szabo) Overwrought, entertaining period melodrama about a monster
actress in 1938 London. Benning's performance: Oscar bait tour de force. *** |
| BELIEVER,
THE (2004, d.
Henry Bean) V.+ I appreciated the quality of the filmmaking more the 2nd time
around. One hell of a script, well executed. *** 1/2 |
| BELIEVER,
THE (2002, d. Henry
Bean) *** 1/2 |
| BELLA (2006, d.
Alejandro Monteverde) ** |
| BELLE
PERSONNE, LA (2009, d. Chrisophe Honoré) *** 1/4 |
| BELLE
TOUJOURS (2007, d. Manoel de Oliveira; Portugal) ** |
| BELOVED/FRIEND (2000, d. Ventura Pons) **
1/2 |
| BEN X
(2007, d. Nic Balthazar; Belgium) *** 1/2 |
| BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (2003, d. Gurinder
Chadha) Feel good Indian girl's soccer story set in Britain. Predictable
script saved by fine direction. *** |
| BENEATH
HER WINDOW (2004,
d. Metod Pevec) Screwball Slovenian comedy about a 30ish woman's romantic
entanglements whose evident charms escaped me. ** 1/4 |
| BENEDICT ARNOLD: QUESTION OF
HONOR (2003,
d. Mikael Salomon) (V) A&E historical movie.
Unwatchably bad. WO |
| BEOWULF
& GRENDEL (2006, d. Sturla Gunnarsson) ** 1/4
|
| BEREFT (2004, d. Tim Daly,
Clark Mathis) + Oops! I forgot I'd seen this grief drama at SIFF and was
unimpressed. Here the beauty of the images made up somewhat. ** 3/4 |
| BEREFT
(2004, d. Tim
Daly, Clark Mathis) Overwrought drama about a young woman driven crazy with
grief by the auto accident death of her husband. ** 1/2 |
| BERGA: SOLDIERS OF
ANOTHER WAR (2003,
d. Charles Guggenheim) (V) docu. on valium about American WWII
POWs. ** 1/4 |
| BERLIN IS IN
GERMANY (2001, d. Hannes Stohr) *** 1/4 |
| BERNARD AND DORIS (2008, d. Bob Balaban) V. Exquisitely acted (Finnes
& Sarandon) but sorta boring biopic. ** 3/4 |
| BERTIE AND ELIZABETH (2005, d. Giles Foster)
Masterpiece Theater schlock. Fine acting, good script. ** 3/4 |
| BEST
DAY OF MY LIFE (2004, d. Cristina Comencini) Splendid and
moving, complex Italian disfunctional family saga, 2 sisters and gay son
& their lives and loves. *** 1/4 |
| BEST IN SHOW (2000, d. Christopher Guest)
*** |
| BEST MAN, WORST FRIEND (2006, d. Stefan Schwartz) V. Guilty pleasure romantic
comedy; Stuart Townsend & Seth Green fine. ** 3/4 |
| BEST
OF TIMES, THE (2003, d. Chang Tso-Chi) Taiwan AFF.
Family drama, kitchen sink style. *** 1/2 |
| BEST
OF YOUTH #1 (2004, d. Marco Giordana) Part one of
this sprawling family saga propulsively sets up the drama &
characters. *** |
| BEST
OF YOUTH #2 (2004, d. Marco Giordana) In part two
the emotional rewards so carefully plotted are huge. A totally
satisfying 6 hour epic of late 20th Century Italy. **** |
| BEST OF
YOUTH, THE 1 & 2 (2005, d. Marco Tullio Giordana) + Liked part 1
better than originally, and part 2 dragged a little. Still, overall
fabulous film. **** |
| BEST OF YOUTH, THE (2008, d. Marco Giordano) V.+++ Still the most
emotionally resonant film I've ever watched. **** |
| BET
COLLECTOR, THE (2007, d. Jeffrey Jeturian) ** |
| BETRAYAL, THE (Nerakhoon) (2008, d. Kuras & Phrasavath) Docu of Laotian
family uprooted to U.S. after "secret" war. Moving, but confusingly
cut with overdone music. ** 1/2 |
| BETRAYAL, THE (2006, d. Philippe Faucon) ** 1/2 |
| BETTER LUCK TOMORROW (2003, d. Justin Lin)
Well directed, but confusing, Asian-American teenage gang film...only the
actors looked too old. ** 1/2 |
| BETTER THAN
SEX (2001, d. Jonathan Teplitzky)
*** |
| BETTER
THINGS (2008, d. Duane Hopkins) ** 1/2 |
| BETWEEN
LAND AND SKY
(2003, d. Guiseppe Feruto ) Italian political satire about media
overkill. ** 1/2 |
| BETWEEN LOVE AND GOODBYE (2009, d. Casper Andreas) Gay relationship drama;
mediocre direction & acting...but vital, sexy & powerfully realistic.
** 1/2 |
| BEYOND
HATRED (2006, d. Olivier Meyrou) ** 1/4 |
| BEYOND OUR KEN (2005, d. Pang
Ho-Cheung) Frothy, insubstantial girl buddy and revenge (against common
boyfriend) comedy from Hong Kong. * 3/4 |
| BEYOND THE CIRCLE
(2009, d. Golam Rabbani Biplob; Bangladesh) ** |
| BEYOND THE MAT (2000, d. Barry W. Blaustein)
*** |
| BEYOND
THE SEA (2004, d.
Kevin Spacey) The most off the wall musical biopic since Delovely. Spacey
makes a better lounge singer than director! ** 1/4 |
| BHAJI ON THE BEACH (2003, d. Gurinder
Chadha) V. Chadha handles ensembles well; but this Indian woman's lib story
was clichéd and obvious. ** |
| B-HAPPY
(2004, d. Gonzalo
Justiniano) Another periled latina teen girl film, this time a poor girl
whose father is in prison. Simple, effective filmmaking. *** |
| BICKFORD
SHMECKLER'S COOL IDEAS (2006, d. Scott Lew) ** 1/2 |
| BIG ANIMAL, THE (2000, d. Jerzy Stuhr) * 1/2 |
| BIG BANG LOVE,
JUVENILE A (2006, d. Takashi Miike) *** |
| BIG
DREAMS, LITTLE TOKYO (2006, d. David Boyle) *** |
| BIG EDEN
(2001, d. Thomas Bezucha) ** 3/4 |
| BIG
EMPTY, THE (2003, d. Steve Anderson) Mixed
genre. Is it a noir? Alien abduction flick? Black comedy? An honorable
failure at all three. ** |
| BIG FISH (2003, d. Tim Burton)
Story of fabulist (convincingly played by Ewan McGregor & Albert Finney).
Burton's most appealing and "normal" film. *** |
| BIG KAHUNA, THE (2000, d. John Swanbeck)
** |
| BIG RIG (2007, d.
Doug Pray) ** 1/2 |
| BIGGIE AND TUPAC
(2002, d. Nick Broomfield) *** |
| BILINGUAL
LOVER, THE (El Amante Bilingue) (2007, d. Vicente Aranda) ** |
| BILL (2007, d.
Melisa Wallack, Bernie Goldmann) ** |
| BILLY ELLIOT (2000, d. Stephen Daldry) *** 3/4
|
| BIRTH (2004, d. Jonathan
Glazer) Heavy duty, eerie psychological drama. Nicole Kiddman fine here,
script has a nicely satisfying ambiguity & interesting direction.
*** 1/4 |
| BIRTHDAY GIRL (2002, d. Jez Butterworth) **
1/2 |
| BIRTHDAY,
THE (2006, d. Diane Kurys) *** 1/4 |
| BLACK AND WHITE (2000, d. James Toback) ** 1/2 |
| BLACK BALLOON, THE (2008, d. Elissa Down) Australian family with autistic
son from pov of younger brother. Well observed, tough, truthful. *** 1/4 |
| BLACK
BOOK (2007, d. Paul Verhoeven; Netherlands) *** |
| BLACK DAHLIA, THE (2006, d. Brian de Palma) Fine cast, terrible
script, fake noir. How can such a promising film go so wrong. ** |
| BLACK DOG BARKING (2009, d. Mehmet Bahadir Er & Maryna Gorbach) * 1/2 |
| BLACK HAWK DOWN (2001, d. Ridley Scott) ***
1/2 |
| BLACK
ICE (2003, d. Mikhail Brashinsky) Incoherent film
about something or other. Jittery camera and unengaging plot were too
much to stick around. W/O |
| BLACK
IRISH (2007, d. Brad Gann) *** 1/4 |
| BLACK IRISH
(2007, d. Brad Gunn) + *** 1/2 |
| BLACK
ROBE (2004, d.
Bruce Beresford) V. Gut-wrenching '91 film with Lothar Bluteau playing a
jesuit priest in New France pre-revolution. *** |
| BLACK SNAKE MOAN (2008, d. Craig Brewer)V. Ricci's perf is brave,
Jackson is fine, Timberlake less so. Film: clichéd
mishmash. ** 3/4 |
| BLACK SUN
(2006, d. Gary Tarn) V. Expressionistic docu about a man (writer &
narrator) blinded in the '70s. *** |
| BLACK WHITE +
GRAY (2007, d. James Crump) *** 1/4 |
| BLACKBOARDS
(2000, d. Samira Makhmalbaf) ** |
| BLACKMAIL BOY (Oxygono) (2006, d. Papathanasiou & Rappas)
Over-the-top melodrama about money corrupting a family with a beautiful
bisexual scion. * 3/4 |
| BLACKWATER
LIGHTSHIP (2004,
d. John Erman) V. An Early Frost, updated...but still a little out of date.
I'm too emotionally fragile for AIDS stories like this. *** 1/2 |
| BLADERUNNER (Final Cut) (2007, d. Ridley Scott) I had forgotten how fabu the
production design was! New ending: eh!? *** 1/4 |
| BLADES OF GLORY (2008, d. Gordon & Speck)V. Heder is fine, Ferrell barely
ok in this surprisingly funny comedy. Dumb but trenchant. ** 3/4 |
| BLEAK HOUSE
(2007, d. various; w. Andrew Davis) Superb adaptation of complex Victorian
novel. The Brits do it again. *** 1/2 |
| BLESSED
BY FIRE (2006, d. Tristan Bauer) *** 3/4 |
| BLESSED IS THE MATCH: The
Life & Death of Hannah Senesh (2008, d. Roberta
Grossman) Enormously moving docu re: Hungarian/Palistinian WWII heroine. ***
3/4 |
| BLESSING
BELL, THE (2003, Japan d. Sabu) A
formally beautiful, but boring, slow paced day in the life. *** |
| BLIND
LOVES (2008, d. Juraj Lehotsky; Slovakia) *** 1/4 |
| BLIND
MOUNTAIN (2007, d. Li Yang) *** |
| BLIND
SUNFLOWERS, THE (Los girasoles ciegos) (2008, d. Joeé Luis
Cuerda; Spain) *** |
| BLIND (2007,
d. Tamar van den Dop) *** 1/4
|
| BLINDNESS
(2008, d. Fernando Meirelles) Unrealistic, but strong catastrophe film (like 28 Days Later) about mystery
blindness illness & society throwing victims away. ** 1/2 |
| BLINDSIGHT
(2006, d. Lucy Walker) V. Blind children overcoming peril, gorgeous mountain
photography, uplift...admirable docu. *** 1/2 |
| BLISS (2008, d.
Abdullah Oguz) *** 1/4 |
| BLOOD
AND BONES (2005, d. Yoichi Sai) ** 1/2 |
| BLOOD
APPEARS (La Sangre Brota) (2008, d. Pablo Fendik) ** 1/2 |
| BLOOD BROTHERS
(Tiantang Kou) (2008, d. Alexi Tan) * 1/2 |
| BLOOD DIAMOND (2006, d. Edward Zwick) Despite overlength, this is a
winner. Prediction: multiple Oscars. *** 1/2 |
| BLOOD OF
THE LOSERS (Il sangue de vinti) (2008, d. Michele Soavi) *** 1/2 |
| BLOOD
RAIN (2006, d. Kim Dae-seung, LeeWon-jae) ** 1/2 |
| BLOOD WORK (2002, d. Clint Eastwood) ** 3/4 |
| BLOODY SUNDAY (2002, d. Paul Greengrass)
*** |
| BLOOM (2004, d. Sean Walsh)
Earnest adaptation of the unadaptable Ulysses, using lots of voiceovers for
interior monologue. Well made; but not my cuppa. ** 1/2 |
| BLOSSOMING
OF MAXIMO OLIVEROS, THE (2006, d. Aureas Solito) ** 1/4 |
| BLOW DRY (2005, d. Paddy
Breathnach) V. + Funny slice of life (e.g. Full Monty) British comedy about
hair contest. Note Bill Nighy & Josh Hartnett as cockney. ** 3/4 |
| BLOW DRY
(2001, d. Paddy Breathnach) *** |
| BLOW
(2001, d. Ted Demme) ** 1/2 |
| BLUE CAR (2003, d. Karen Moncrieff) Viscerally
disturbing story-troubled teenage girl and troubled broken family.
Understated, with subtle acting. *** 1/2 |
| BLUE
CHA CHA (2006, d. Cheng Wen- tang) *** 1/4 |
| BLUE CRUSH (2002, d. John Stockwell)
*** |
| BLUE DINER,
THE (2001, d. Jan Egleson) ** |
| BLUE GATE
CROSSING (2002, d. Chih-yen Yi) ** 1/2 |
| BLUE
MOON (2003, Austria d. Andrea Maria
Dusi) Road picture about a man on a quest to re-find a woman he meets
by chance. ** 1/4 |
| BLUE TOOTH
VIRGIN, THE (2009, d. Russell Brown) + *** 1/2 |
| BLUEBERRY (2004, d. Jan Kounen )
A psychedelic westen which, though overlong and undiciplined, delivers the
goods with fabulous f/x & a superb Vincent Cassell. *** |
| BLUEBIRD
(2005, d. Mijke de Jong) Emotionally shattering, excellent drama about a 12
year old girl who is the brunt of bullies in her jr. high class. ***
1/2 |
| BLUES,
THE (2003, d. various) PBS series edited down to 5
ahortened sequences about the blues music. Some sequences worked, some
didn't. ** 3/4 |
| BLUETOOTH
VIRGIN, THE (2008, d. Russell Brown) *** 1/2 |
| BOATS
OUT OF WATERMELON RINDS (2005, d. Ahmet Uluçay) A Turkish Cinema
Paradiso, terrible digital photography, but the 2 boys were charming.
** 1/4 |
| BOBBY
(2006, d. Emelio Estevez) *** |
| BODY OF LIES (2008, d. Ridley Scott) Entertaining star driven CIA
vs. terrorist contempo thriller. Scott is a director in control of the
medium. *** 1/4 |
| BODY OF WAR (2007, d. Ellen Spiro & Phil Donahue) Another
successful docu: Robert Byrd, such a hero. *** 1/2 |
| BODYSONG
(2004, d. Simon
Pummell) V. Hypno-docu, sort of a Family of Man of found film clips to music
(cf Koyaanisqatsi). Fascinating and a little boring. ** 1/2 |
| BOILER ROOM
(2000, d. Ben Younger) *** |
| BOLT
(2009, d. Howard & Williams) OK if predictable script. Good vocal
acting. But ultimately mediocre. Lousy year for Academy animated
features. ** 1/2 |
| BOMB THE SYSTEM (2005, d. Adam Lough)
Mark Webber is outstanding in this arty, nicely made indy about radical
grafitti artists in NYC. *** |
| BOMBÓN,
EL PERO (2005, d. Carlos Sorin) Like director's Historias Minimas, a
fun film without irony about a poor man who is given a show dog. *** |
| BON
VOYAGE (2003, d. Jean-Paul Rappeneau) Big French
WWII melodrama, hugely entertaining & wellmade throwback to old-fashioned
classic French cinema. *** 1/4 |
| BONAERENSE,
EL (2003, Argentina/Chile d. Pablo
Trapero) Naive country bumpkin makes good in the big city police
department. ** 3/4 |
| BONJOUR
M. SHLOMI (2004,
d. Shemi Zarhin) A superbly observed film about a 16 year old boy whose
specialness has been hidden in his disfunctional family. *** 3/4 |
| BOOK OF LOVE (2006, d. Alan Brown) V. Younger man (Gregory Smith).
Older married woman. Clichés; but very nicely acted. ** 3/4 |
| BOOK
OF REVELATION, THE (2007, d. Ana Kokkinos) *** |
| BOOKIES (2005, d. Mark Illsley) V. ** 3/4 |
| BOOTMAN
(2000, d. Dien Perry) ** |
| BORAT
(2006, d. Larry Charles) Cohen is impressive in
creating consistent character; funny in a wildly tasteless way. *** |
| BORDER WAR: THE BATTLE OVER
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION (2006, d. Kevin Knoblock)
V. Docu looks great, too polemic. ** 3/4 |
| BORED
IN BRNO (2004, d.
Vladimir Moravek) An earthy Czech multi-character sex comedy which got better
as it went along. Too bread for my tastes. ** 1/4 |
| BORN AND BRED (2006, d. Pablo Trapero) ** 1/2 |
| BORN IN
68 (2009, d. Olivier Duscastel, Jacques Martineau) *** 1/2 |
| BORN INTO BROTHELS (2005, d. Kaufmann &
Briski) Kids born in Calcutta brothels get a chance for a life through
photography. Interesting & well edited. *** |
| BORN RICH (2003, d. Jamie Johnson) V. Doc by
millionaire heir about his wealthy contemporaries. Mostly talk; but
inherently interesting & well made. *** 1/4 |
| BORN
ROMANTIC (2001, d. David Kane) ** 1/2 |
| BORSTAL
BOY (2001, d. Peter Sheridan) *** |
| BOSS OF IT ALL,
THE (2007, d. Lars von Trier) *** |
| BOSSA NOVA
(2000, d. Bruno Barreto) * |
| BOSTA
(2006, d. Philippe Aractingi; Lebanon) * 1/2 |
| BOTHERSOME
MAN, THE (Den Brysomme Mannen) (2006, d. Per Schreiner) *** 1/4 |
| BOTTLE SHOCK (2008, d. Randall Miller) Napa vintage 1976 & wine
growing. Looks good; but terrible on the palate. Terrible script. * 1/2 |
| BOUNCE
(2000, d. Don Roos) *** |
| BOURNE IDENTITY,
THE (2002, d. Doug
Liman) *** |
| BOURNE
SUPREMACY, THE (2004, d. Paul Greengrass) Superior
thriller, greatest auto chase scene since Ronin. Some plot holes; but editing
pace hides them. *** 1/4 |
| BOURNE ULTIMATUM, THE (2007, d. Paul Greengrass) *** 1/2 |
| BOW,
THE (2006, d. Kim Ki-duk) *** |
| BOWLING FOR
COLUMBINE (2002, d. Michael
Moore) *** 1/2 |
| BOX, THE (2009, d. Richard Kelly) Don't ask me to explain it...but I
liked the mood and look of Kelly's film, this one murkier than either of his
others. ** 3/4 |
| BOY A (2007, d.
John Crowley) *** 3/4 |
| BOY A (2008, d.
John Crowley) *** 3/4 |
| BOY
CULTURE (2006, d. Q. Allen Brocka) ** 3/4 |
| BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS,
THE (2008, d. Mark Herman) Emotionally affecting,
well acted (Farmiga and the two boys especially). Too pat. *** |
| BOY INTERRUPTED (2009, d. Dana Perry) V. Filmmaking parents make
exhaustive study of their depressed, 15 year old suicide son. Moving &
insightful. *** 1/2 |
| BOY (2009, d. Aureaus
Solito) *** |
| BOYFRIEND
FOR MY WIFE, A (Un novio para mi mujer) (2008, d. Juan Taratuto) ** 3/4 |
| BOYNTON
BEACH BEREAVEMENT CLUB (2006, d. Susan Seidelman) ** 3/4
|
| BOYS (2004, d. Stacy
Cochran)V. A TiVo loser. Mysterious Winona Ryder ends up in a boys boarding
school dorm tempting rebellious Lucas Haas. No chemistry. * 1/2 |
| BOYS AND GIRLS (2000, d. Robert Iscove)
*** |
| BOYS ARE BACK, THE (2009, d. Scott Hicks) Clive Owens is remarkable as a
lost father (of 2 boys) after his wife dies. Predictable plot, but
emotionally powerful. *** 1/4 |
| BOYS
FROM COUNTY CLARE (2004, d. John Irvin) Predictable, clichéd
Irish trifle about dueling traditional Irish bands. * 3/4 |
| BOYS LIFE 3
(2000, d. David Fourier/Bradley Rust Gray/Jason Gould/Lane Janger/Gregory
Cooke) ** |
| BOYS OF BARAKA, THE (2005, d. Heidi Ewing,
Rachel Grady; docu) V. *** 3/4 |
| BOYSTOWN (2008,
d. Juan Flahn) ** 3/4 |
| BRAVE ONE,
THE (2007, d. Neil Jordan) *** 1/4 |
| BREACH
(2007, d. Billy Ray) Well acted (esp. Chris Cooper) true story of bringing
down a spy. Also Ryan Phillippe's best work in ages. *** |
| BREAD &
TULIPS (2001, d. Silvio Soldini) *** 1/4 |
| BREAD AND ROSES (2001, d. Ken Loach) *** 1/4 |
| BREAKFAST ON PLUTO (2005, d. Neil
Jordan) *** |
| BREAKFAST
WITH SCOT (2007, d. Laurie Lynd) ** 3/4 |
| BREAKING AND ENTERING (2006, d. Anthony Minghella) I loved this film despite
flaws, became emotionally involved with characters. *** |
| BREAKING THE SILENCE (2000, d. Zhou Sun) *** |
| BREAK-UP, THE (2006, d. Peyton Reed) Fairly clever by-the-numbers
romantic dramady. No chemistry between leads. ** 1/2 |
| BREATHLESS
(2009, d. Yang Ik-june) ** 1/4 |
| BRICK LANE
(2008, d. Sarah Gavron) *** |
| BRICK
(2006, d. Rian Johnson) Overly complex, familiar noirish plot; but topflight
young cast and zingy script really work. *** |
| BRIDE
AND PREJUDICE (2004, d. Gurinder Chadha) Hollywood meets
Bollywood, and I suspect becomes a surprising hit. It works after a
fashion. *** |
| BRIDE OF THE WIND (2001, d. Bruce Beresford) ** 3/4
|
| BRIDESHEAD REVISITED (2008, d. Julian Jarrold) Over-amped but curiously
passionless & unnecessary redo of a definitive miniseries. ** 1/4 |
| BRIDGE BETWEEN TWO
SHORES, A (Un pont entre deux rives) (2000, d. Gerard Dépardieu & Frédéric
Auburtin) *** 3/4 |
| BRIDGE TO TARABITHIA (2007, d. Gabor Csupo) Xtian propaganda in a
totally wonderful disguise. Moving, grounded fantasy. Hurrah! *** 1/2
|
| BRIDGET
JONES: EDGE OF REASON (2004, d. Beeban Kidron) Dreadful film. Poor Renée Zellweger
wasted all that weighty effort. Horrendous script, no romantic
chemistry. ** |
| BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY (2001, d. Sharon Maguire) ***
1/4 |
| BRIGHT
FUTURE (2004, d.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa) A straightforward (for this director) slacker story about
disaffected youths in Japan. ** 1/4 |
| BRIGHT
LEAVES (2004, d.
Ross McElwee) V. Personal docu about McElwee's family connection to tobacco.
Slowly paced, but interesting & beautifully shot. *** |
| BRIGHT STAR (2009, d. Jane Campion) Weepy, authentic costume
romance with an amazingly affecting perf by Ben Winshaw as John Keats.
*** 1/4 |
| BRIGHT
YOUNG THINGS
(2004, d. Stephen Fry) Fast paced story of the mad upperclass in
England just pre-WWII. Gorgeous period stuff, well played. *** |
| BRING IT ON
(2000, d. Peyton Reed) *** |
| BRITNEY BABY, ONE
MORE TIME! (2002, d. Ludi Boeken) ** 3/4 |
| BRITZ
(2008, d. Peter Kominsky) V. Shattering, scary story of Pakistani/Brit
brother & sister caught up in modern terrorism on opposite sides.
*** 1/2 |
| BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005, d. Ang Lee)
*** 1/2 |
| BROKEN EMBRACES (2009, d. Pedro Almodovar) Typical Almodovar. Over plotted,
gorgeous, a little long. Some breathtakingly original shots, but ultimately
disappointing ** 3/4 |
| BROKEN
ENGLISH (2007, d. Zoe Cassavetes) *** 1/2 |
| BROKEN FLOWERS (2005, d. Jim Jarmusch)
*** 1/2 |
| BROKEN HEARTS CLUB,
THE: A ROMANTIC COMEDY (2000, d. Greg
Berlanti) ** 1/4 |
| BROKEN PROMISE (2009,
d. Jill Chlumský; Slovakia) *** 1/2 |
| BROKEN SKY (El Cielo
Dividido) (2006, d. Julián Hernández) Gorgeously
photographed and scored gay art film of gestures. *** 1/4 |
| BROKEN
WINGS (2003, d. Nir Bergman) Israel AFF.
Drama about family riven by grief after father's death. *** 1/4 |
| BROKEN
(2006, d. Alan White) ** 1/4 |
| BRONSON (2009, d.
Nicolas Winding Refn) *** |
| BRONZE SCREEN,
THE (2001, d. Alberto Dominguez, Nancy de los Angeles) ** 1/4 |
| BROTHER BEAR (2003, d. Blaise, Walker) Traditional Disney animation with
overly simplistic amerind legend theme. Still, I was move. Good kid
film. ** 3/4 |
| BROTHER (2001,
d. Takeshi Kitano) ** 3/4 |
| BROTHER
(2002, d. Yan Yan Mak) |
| BROTHERS AT WAR (2009, d. Jake Rademacher) V. Affecting and
illuminating documentary by one filmmaker brother embedded in Iraq while 2
other brothers are serving. *** 1/4 |
| BROTHERS BLOOM, THE (2008, d. Rian Johnson) Silly, slapsticky,
anachronistic fantasy which wastes a good cast. A strange comedown for
the director of Brick.
* 1/4 |
| BROTHERS GRIMM, THE (2005, d. Terry Gilliam)
* 3/4 |
| BROTHERS OF THE HEAD (2006, d. Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe) ***1/4 |
| BROTHERS
(2005, d. Susanne Bier) Shattering drama about a good man who commits an act
beyond redemption. Incredible acting and fine direction. *** 3/4 |
| BROTHERS (2009, d. Jim Sheridan) Superb adaptation to a truthful
American war story, changing emphasis of original, maybe for the
better. Maguire is great! *** 1/2 |
| BRUNO (2003, d. Shirley MacLaine) V. Limp,
soppy comedy - 8 year old spelling genius boy (phenom kid actor Alex Linz)
who needs to compete in a dress. * 3/4 |
| BRÜNO
(2009, d. Larry Charles) Über confrontationalist Cohen manages ütter
tastelessness. Funny in a transgressive way, but sort of a mess.
* 3/4 |
| BUBBA
HO-TEP (2003, d.
Don Coscarelli) Horror comedy in an old-folks home: Elvis & JFK
take on an Egyptian mummy. Silly fun. ** 3/4 |
| BUBBLE BOY
(2001, d. Blair Hayes) * 3/4 |
| BUBBLE,
THE (2006, d. Eytan Fox) *** 1/4 |
| BUCKET LIST, THE (2007, d. Rob Reiner)V. Only for old folks; but a
great travelogue. ** 3/4 |
| BUDDENBROOKS
(2009, d. Heinrich Breloer) *** 1/4 |
| BUDDHA COLLAPSED OUT OF
SHAME (2008, d. Hana Makmalbaf) *** 1/4 |
| BUDDY (2003, d. Marten
Tyldum) Young guy turns his & 2 eccentric roommates liver into a
commercially successful video journal. Touching, fun comedy. *** |
| BUFFALO
BOY (2005, d. Minh Nguyen-Vo; Vietnam) *** |
| BUFFALO
SOLDIERS (2004, US
d. Gregor Jordan) Glossy, high-budget, somewhat over-the-top satire about
army corruption in German occupation in '89. *** 1/2 |
| BUKOWSKI:
BORN INTO THIS (2004, d. John Dullighan) V. I've never much
been into Bukowski; but this compelling docu presents him well. ** 3/4 |
| BULGARIAN LOVERS (2003, d. Eloy de la
Iglesia) Tongue in cheek drama about a straight Bulgarian expat in Madrid
taking advantage of a gay Spaniard. ** 1/4 |
| BULLY
(2001, d. Larry Clark) *** 1/2 |
| BUM'S NAME,
THE (Civico 0) (2008, d. Citto Maselli) *** |
| BUNGALOW (2002, d.
Ulrich Kohler) *** |
| BURLESK KING (2000, d. Mel Chionglo)
* |
| BURMA VJ: REPORTING FROM A
CLOSED COUNTRY (2009, d. Anders Ostergaard) V.
Astonishing docu footage of government repression of populace. *** 1/2 |
| BURN AFTER READING (2008, d. Joel & Ethan Coen) Silly, but quite
entertaining farce about CIA snafu involving a computer disk & some
greedy Washingtonians. *** |
| BURNING
IN THE WIND (2003, d. Silvio Soldini) Bleak
but well acted story of East Euro life transported into France along with
ill-fated love ***. |
| BURNING PLAIN,
THE (2009, d. Guillermo Arriaga) *** 1/4 |
| BURNT
MONEY (2001, d. Marcelo Piñeyro) *** 1/2 |
| BURNT
OUT (2006, d. Fabienne Godet) *** |
| BUS
174 (2004, d. José
Padilha) V. Brazilian doc which examines thoroughly the background of a
publically televised bus hijacking and relives the tragic events. *** |
| BUSINESS OF STRANGERS, THE (2001, d. Patrick Stettner)
*** |
| BUT FOREVER ON MY
MIND (Come te nessuno mai) (2000, d. Gabriele
Muccino) *** 1/2 |
| BUT FOREVER ON MY
MIND (2005, d. Gabriele Muccino) V. Finally this 1999 coming of age
masterpiece about youthful exhuberance is out on DVD! *** 3/4 |
| BUTTERFLY (Lea legua
de las mariposas) (2000, d. Jose Luis Cuerda) ** 1/2 |
| BUTTERFLY
SMILE (2002, d. He Jianjun) * 1/2 |
| BUTTERFLY,
THE (2004, France d. Philippe Muyl)
Sappy, Kolya type drama about old butterfly collector & the little girl
who runs away with him. ** 1/2 |
| BÜYÜK ADAM KÚÇÜK
ASK (2001, d. Handan Ipekçi) ** 3/4 |
| BYRON (2005, d. Julian Farino) V. ** 3/4 |
| C.R.A.Z.Y.
(2005, d. Jean-Marc Vallée; Canada) *** 3/4 |
| C.R.A.Z.Y.
(2006, d. Jean-Marc Vallée) V. ++ 2nd time around this time on video.
Why is this masterpiece not getting released in the U.S.? *** 3/4 |
| C.R.A.Z.Y.
(2007, d. Jean-Marc Vallée) V.+++ Still one of the best coming-of-age gay
films ever made. *** 3/4 |
| CAB FOR THREE,
A (2001, d. Orlando Lübbert) ** |
| CABALLERO
DON QUIXOTE, EL (2003, d. Manuel Gutierrez Aragon)
Boring sequel to Don Quixote. * 3/4 |
| CA-BAU-KAN (2003, d. Nia Dinata)
Indonesia AFF. Historical drama about a beautiful pleasure girl who
marries a shady businessman. * 1/2 |
| CABBIE, THE
(2001, d. Yiwen Chen and Huakun Zhang) ** 1/2 |
| CADILLAC RECORDS (2008, d. Darnell Martin) Interesting biopic of Chess
recording artists. Nice musical numbers, esp. Beyoncé's Etta James. ** 3/4 |
| CAESAR (2005, d. Uli Edel) V.
** 3/4 |
| CAJA
507, LA (2003, d.
Enrique Urbizu) Thriller about a meek bank director who gets involved
in a huge Mafia inspired international conspiracy. ** 3/4 |
| CAKE EATERS, THE (2009, d. Mary Stuart Masterson) Quirky, realistic
contemporary heart tugger with some really wonderful perfs & assured
direction. *** 1/4 |
| CALENDAR
GIRLS (2004, d. Nigel Cole) Mediocre female version of
The Full Monty. ** |
| CALIFORNIA
DREAMIN' (ENDLESS) (2008, d. Cristian Nemescu) *** 1/4 |
| CALL ME TROY (2008,
d. Scott Bloom) *** |
| CAMARATE
(2001, d. Luis Filipe Rocha) *** 1/4 |
| CAMILLE (2008, d.
Gregory Mackenzie) * 3/4 |
| CAMP HOLLYWOOD (2005, d. Steve
Markle)V. Superb personal DV docu about a nearby hotel & its denizens,
many trying to make it in Hollywood. *** 1/2 |
| CAMP (2003, d. Todd Graff) + Just hits me squarely in my
wheelhouse. 2nd viewing confirms its cleverness & skills of the cast
despite inherent clichés. *** |
| CAMP (2003, US d. Todd Graff) Aimiable, but predictable
(we've seen it before), musical comedy about a summer camp for budding
entertainers. ** 1/2 |
| CAMP
(2007, d. Todd Graff) V.++ Still more entertaining than American Idol!
Guilty pleasure; but very much a pleasure. *** |
| CAMPFIRE
(2004, d. Joseph
Cedar) Involving family drama about a woman with 2 daughters coping with
social and relational problems. Nicely acted. *** |
| CAN GO THROUGH
SKIN (2009, d. Esther Rots) ** 1/2 |
| CAN MR. SMITH GET TO
WASHINGTON ANY MORE? (2006, d. Frank Popper) V.
Absorbing docu of empassioned run for Congress. *** 1/2 |
| CANONE INVERSO
("Making Love") (2001, d. Ricky Tognazzi) ** 1/4 |
| CAPE NO.
7 (2008, d. Te-Sheng Wei; Taiwan) ** |
| CAPE
OF GOOD HOPE (2005, d. Mark Bamford) Harmless S.African
ecuminical romantic comedy, sort of predictable. ** 1/2 |
| CAPITALISM: A LOVE
STORY (2009, d. Michael Moore) In your face docu,
always interesting even though Moore's opinions often rankle this time
around. ** 3/4 |
| CAPITOL CRIMES (2006, d. Bill Moyers) V. Surgical dissection of the Jack
Abramoff/Tom de Lay scandals. Great tv journalism. *** 1/4 |
| CAPONE (2004, d. Jean Marc
Brandolo) Buddy road trip film...two lost souls taking a race horse from
Paris to Finland. Good film, but I dozed. ** 3/4 |
| CAPOTE (2005, d. Bennett Miller) *** 1/4 |
| CAPTAIN ABU
RAED (2008, d. Amin Matalqa) *** |
| CAPTAIN AHAB (Captaine Achab) (2008, d. Philippe Ramos) ** 1/4 |
| CAPTAIN'S DAUGHTER,
THE (2001, d. Alexander Proshkin) *** |
| CAPTIVE (2004, d. Gastón
Biraben) Moving & beautifully acted film about an Argentine teenage girl
who discovers her parents are not her real parents. *** 1/4 |
| CAPTIVE
(2009, d. Aleksei Uchitel) ** 3/4 |
| CAPTURE OF THE GREEN RIVER
KILLER, THE (2008, d. Norma Bailey) V. Zodiac lite. Very well made &
acted. *** |
| CAPTURING
THE FRIEDMANS (2003, US doc. d. Andrew
Jarecki) A great documentary which peels the layers off of a family's
secrets & justice mislaid. **** |
| CARAMEL
(2007, d. Nadine Labaki; Lebanon) ** 1/2 |
| CARANDIRU (2004, d. Hector
Babenco) A Brazilian prison worse than Oz, from doctor's pov. Involving,
occasionally wrenching, well acted, nicely put together. *** 1/4 |
| CARD
PLAYER, THE (2004,
d. Dario Argento) Ludicrous, but well directed Italian policier about a
maniac serial woman killer using the internet to play games with police. *
1/2 |
| CARMEN
IN KHAYELITSHA (2006, d. Mark Dornford-May) ** 1/2 |
| CARMO HIT THE
ROAD (2009, d. Murillo Pasta) ** 1/4 |
| CARNAGE
(2004, d. Delphine Gleize) V. Visually stunning film
about, well, bull. And how all is connected in the world. Or
something. *** |
| CARS
(2007, d. John Lassiter) Inventive animation, got better as it went along,
but just not up to its rep. ** 3/4 |
| CASA DE LOS BABYS (2003, d. John Sayles) Intermittently interesting Mexican baby
mill story, unexpectedly flawed by a poorly structured script. ** |
| CASANEGRA (2009, d.
Nour Eddine Lakhmari; Morocco) ** 1/4 |
| CASANOVA (2005, d. Lasse
Hallström) *** |
| CASH
TRUCK (2004, d. Nicolas Boukhrief) Effective,
beautifully shot film noir, violent and unpredictable. *** |
| CASHBACK
(2006, d. Sean Ellis) *** |
| CASINO ROYALE (2006, d. Martin Campbell) Nice new Bond; nice physical
action stunts. But the film is as ridiculous as ever. ** 1/4 |
| CASSANDRA'S DREAM (2007, d. Woody Allen) Hitchcockian film with a little Purple Noon thrown in. **
3/4 |
| CAST AWAY
(2000, d. Robert Zemeckis) *** ri |
| CATCH A FIRE (2006, d. Phillip Noyce) Excellent "making of a
terrorist/freedom fighter" film from So. Africa. Derek Luke fine.
*** 1/4 |
| CATCH AND RELEASE (2007, d. Susannah Grant) Predictable but well acted
chick flick which involved me. ** 3/4 |
| CATCH ME IF YOU CAN
(2002, d. Steven
Spielberg) *** |
| CAUCASIA
(2008, d. Farid Gumbatov; Azerbaijan) * 1/4 |
| CAVE
OF THE YELLOW DOG, THE (2006, d. Byambasuren Davaa; Mongolia) |
| CAVEDWELLER
(2004, d. Lisa
Cholodenko) Sometimes annoying but satisfying drama about woman who ran away
with a rock band returning home to Georgia. ** 3/4 |
| CAYO
(2006, d. Vincente Juarbe; Puerto Rico) * 3/4 |
| CECIL B. DEMENTED (2000, d. John Waters) **
1/4 |
| CECILIE
(2007, d. Hans Fabian Wullenweber) ** 3/4 |
| CELESTE
IN THE CITY (2004, d. Larry Shaw) V. Queer Eye for
Straight Girl makeover ABC Family film abounding with simplistic stereotypes.
Another great Ethan Embry role. ** |
| CELL, THE
(2000, d. Tarsem Singh) ** 1/2 |
| CELLULAR (2004, d. David Ellis)
More plot holes than Swiss cheese in this silly variant on Phone Booth; but
Chris Evans is going to be a star. * 3/4 |
| CENTER STAGE (2000, d. Nicholas Hytner) ** 3/4
|
| CHACUN SA
NUIT (2006, d. Jean-Marc Barr, Pascal Arnold) *** 1/4 |
| CHAMELEON
(Kaméleon)
(2009, d. Kristzina Goda; Hungary) *** 1/4 |
| CHAMPAGNE SPY,
THE (2007, d. Nadav Schirman) *** |
| CHANGE
OF ADDRESS (Changement d'adresse) (2007, d. Emmanuel Mouret) ** 1/2 |
| CHANGELING, THE (2008, d. Clint Eastwood) Schocking true story
resonates emotionally. Jolie's over-the-top perf. is Oscar bait; but
Eastwood's clear vision holds. *** |
| CHANGING DESTINY (2005, d. Daniele
Gaglianone) Jagged, cutty, edgy story of 3 teenage northern Italian boys who
drop out and get into various kinds of trouble. *** |
| CHANGING LANES (2002, d. Roger Michell) **
1/2 |
| CHANGING
TIMES (Les Temps qui changent) (2006, d. André Téchiné) *** 1/4 |
| CHAOS
AND DESIRE (2002, d. Manon Briand) ** 3/4 |
| CHAOTIC ANA
(Caótica Ana) (2007, d. Julio Medem) *** 3/4
|
| CHARITON'S
CHOIR (2007, d. Grigoris Karantinakis; Greece) * 3/4 |
| CHARLEY AND THE CHOCOLATE
FACTORY (2006, d. Tim Burton) V. Amusing with
impressive effects. *** |
| CHARLIE BARTLETT (2007, d. Jon Poll) Anton Yelchin great as a preppy
Ferris Bueller type undermining public school authority. *** |
| CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (2007, d. Mike Nichols) Simplistic demonizing of enemy
turned me off. ** 3/4 |
| CHARLIE:
THE LIFE & ART OF CHARLES CHAPLIN (2004, d. Richard Schickel) V. Fascinating, if facile doc about
the great film artist. *** 1/4 |
| CHARLIE'S ANGELS FULL
THROTTLE (2003, d.
McG) Some inventive stuff, though the CGI was cheesy; but ultimately
tedius and familiar action thriller. ** 1/4 |
| CHARLIE'S ANGELS (2000, d. McG)
* |
| CHARLOTTE GRAY (2001, d. Gillian Armstrong)
*** |
| CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES (2003, d. Eric Byler) 4
Asian-American characters and their tangled relationships. Haunting,
eliptical, subtle, well played. *** 1/4 |
| CHARLOTTE'S WEB (2006, d. Gary Winick) Nice voice acting, good f/x and a
moving story make for a pleasant film. *** |
| CHASER,
THE (2008, d. Na Hong-jin) *** 1/2 |
| CHÂTEAU, THE (2002, d. Jesse Peretz) **
|
| CHE Part 1
(2008, d. Steven Soderbergh) Light on exposition, too many characters to keep
straight, still interesting as docudrama. ** 3/4 |
| CHE Part 2
(2008, d. Steven Soderbergh) Same problesm; but it just works better as
futility and defeat is just more interesting than victory. *** |
| CHEAPER
BY THE DOZEN (2004,
d. Shawn Levy) I expected to hate it; but instead I was enchanted by the
story & actors. Funny and emotionally satisfying. *** |
| CHEF'S
SPECIAL (2009, d. Nacho Velilla) ** 1/4 |
| CHELSEA WALLS (2002, d. Ethan Hawke) ** |
| CHÉRI
(2009, d. Stephen Frears) Outstanding, lavish evocation of Belle Epoque;
Pfeiffer is radient, Rupert Friend fabulously epicene. Literate script.
*** 1/2 |
| CHERISH (2002, d.
Finn Taylor) ** 1/2 |
| CHERRY BLOSSOMS
- HANAMI (2008, d. Dorris Dorrie) *** 1/4 |
| CHIAVI
DI CASA, LE (2007, d. Gianni Amelio) V.+ Wonderful, moving film with
sublime performances by Rampling, Stuart & Rossi. *** 1/2 |
| CHICAGO hicago (2002, d. Rob Marshall) *** 3/4 |
| CHICKEN RUN
(2000, d. Peter Lord & Nick Park) **
1/2 |
| CHICKEN UNDERGROUND (2001, d. Edet Belzberg) **
1/2 |
| CHIHWASEON
(2002, d. Im Kwon-taek) *** 1/4 |
| CHILD,
THE (L'enfant) (2005,
d. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) *** 1/4 |
| CHILDHOOD
OF MAXIM GORKY (2005, d. Mark Donskoy) Classic Russian film from
the writer's memoire of his peasant Volga family. *** |
| CHILDREN
OF HUANG SHI, THE (2008, d. Roger Spottswoode) ** 3/4 |
| CHILDREN OF MEN (2006, d. Alfonso Cuaron) Masterpiece of Gazaian
dystopia, Nativity allegory & Time of the Wolf rolled into one. *** 1/2 |
| CHILDREN OF THE
CENTURY (2002, d. Diane Kurys)
[1999] *** |
| CHILDREN OF
WAR (2007, d. Alexandre Fuchs) ** 1/4 |
| CHILDREN
(2007, d. Ragnar Bragason; Iceland) *** 1/2 |
| CHILDSTAR
(2005, d. Don McKellar) Funny, trenchant and occasionally silly satire about
a 12 yr. old movie star & his kooky mom. *** |
| CHILL
OUT (2001, d. Andreas Struk) ** 1/2 |
| CHIMP, THE
(2001, d. Aktan Abdykalykov) ** 1/4 |
| CHINAMAN (Kinamand) (2006, d. Henruk Ruben Genz) Wry Danish comedy. Plumber
divorced by wife marries younger Chinese woman. *** |
| CHINESE
ODYSSEY: 2002 (2003, Hong Kong d. Jeff
Lau) Funny and assured satire of a martial arts, Chinese Emperor's
court film. *** 1/4 |
| CHOCOLAT
(2000, d. Lasse Hallström) *** |
| CHOK-DEE (2005, d. Xavier
Durrenger) The French Rocky, a French street criminal becomes a world champ
Thai boxer...written & acted by the guy himself. ** 1/2 |
| CHOKE (2008, d.
Clark Gregg) * 1/2 |
| CHOP
SHOP (2007, d. Ramin Bahrani) *** |
| CHOP SUEY
(2001, d. Bruce Weber) ** 3/4 |
| CHOPPER (2001,
d. Andrew Dominik) *** |
| CHORISTES,
LES (2004, d.
Christophe Barratier) Franch AFF: moving drama of a teacher who tames the
boys in a reform school through music. *** 1/2 |
| CHRIS &
DON: A LOVE STORY (2008, d. Guido Sante) *** 1/2 |
| CHRISTMAS TALE,
A (Un conte de Noël) (2008, d. Arnaud Desplechin) *** 1/4 |
| CHRISTMAS TREE
UPSIDE DOWN (2007, d. Ivan Cherkelov and Vassil Jivkov) *** |
| CHRISTMAS
WITH THE KRANKS (2004, d. Joe Roth) Horrendous,
embarrassing, utterly offensive (to this Jewish observer), silly,
unfunny. Did I love it? 1/2* |
| CHRONICAL
OF AN ESCAPE (2006, d. Israel Adrián Cactano) ** 3/4 |
| CHRONICALLY
UNFEASIBLE (2001, d. Sergio Bianchi) W/O |
| CHRONICALS
(2004, d.
Sebastian Cordero) Equador's Acad. entry is a superb psychological thriller
about a child serial killer's manipulation of tv pop news. *** 1/4 |
| CHRONICALS OF NARNIA (2005, d. Andrew
Adamson) ** |
| CHRYSALIS
(2007, d. Julien Leclercq) ** 1/2 |
| CHRYSTAL (2004, d. Ray McKinnon) Southern gothic story of the effects
of an auto accident on a couple after 20 years of the husband in
prison. ** 3/4 |
| CHUCK AND BUCK
(2000, d. Miguel Arteta) *** |
| CHUMSCRUBBER, THE (2005, d. Arie Posin)
Wonderful suburban satire cult-type film in Donnie Darko mode. Jamie Bell: #1
actor of his generation. *** 1/2 |
| CHUNHYANG
(2000, d. Im Kwon-taek) *** 1/2 |
| CIAO
(2008, d. Yen Tan) Touching, arty (in a good way) American indie gay
film...Italian man meets friend on net. *** |
| CINDERELLA MAN (2005, d. Ron Howard)
Moving story of James Braddock with a searingly honest portrayal by Russell
Crowe. *** 1/2 |
| CINEMA,
ASPIRIN & VULTURES (Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus) (2006, d. Marcelo
Gomes) ** 1/4 |
| CIRCLE ROUGE, LE (2003, d. Jean-Pierre Melville) 1970 noir, typical Melville
which means lean and taut. Montand & Delon great. *** 1/4 |
| CIRCLE, THE
(2001, d. Jafar Panahi) *** 1/2 |
| CIRCUIT (2002, d. Dirk Shafer) ** |
| CIRCUIT
(2001, d. Dirk Shafer) * 1/2 |
| CITIZEN
DUANE (2006, d. Michael Mabbott) ** 3/4 |
| CITY BY THE SEA (2002, d. Michael Caton-Jones)
*** 1/2 |
| CITY OF
BORDERS (2009, d. Yun Suh) *** |
| CITY OF EMBER (2008, d. Gil Kenan) Superb dystopian heroic fantasy, a
live action Wall*E
with the visual panache of Brazil. *** 1/2 |
| CITY OF GHOSTS (2003, d. Matt Dillon)
Pseudo Graham Greene. Stifling atmosphere well done, as were
characterizations. Story falls down. Good try. ** 1/4 |
| CITY
OF GOD (2002, d. Fernando Meirelles) *** |
| CITY OF
LIFE AND DEATH (2009, d.Lu Chuan) *** 1/4 |
| CITY OF MEN (2008, d. Paolo Morelli) Much better than City of God, imho.
Emotionally affecting, driving narrative. *** 1/4 |
| CITY
OF NO LIMITS (2002, d. Antonio Hernandez) *** 1/4 |
| CITY
OF THE SUN, THE (Slunecný Stát)
(2006, d. Martin Sulík; Slovak Republic) ** |
| CLAIM, THE
(2001, d. Michael Winterbottom) ***
1/2 |
| CLAPHAM JUNCTION (2008, d. Adrian Shergold) Terrific British TV movie
about contrasts in modern society (marriage & bashing). *** 1/2 |
| CLASS, THE (Entre les murs) (2008, d.
Laurent Cantet; France) *** 3/4 |
| CLASS,
THE (2008, d. Ilmar Raag; Estonia) *** 1/2 |
| CLASSE TOUS RISQUE (2006, d. Claude Sautet) A terrific classic noir with a
star-making Belmondo perf (if Breathless hadn't hit first). *** 1/2 |
| CLAY
BIRD, THE (2003,
d. Tareque Masud) Bangladesh AFF. A family uprooted by political
upheaval in '68. ** 3/4 |
| CLEAN
(2005, d. Olivier Assayas) Maggie Chung is superb as a junkie trying to go
clean to reclaim her son from her inlaws in this wonderful drama. ***
1/2 |
| CLEARING,
THE (2004, d.
Pieter Jan Brugge) Hi-gloss kidnap film, Redford victim, Mirren the suffering
wife. "Without a Trace" does it better. ** |
| CLICK
(2006, d. Frank Coraci) Good F/X, lousy script, sort of an It Might Have Been a Wonderful Life.
Not Sandler's finest. * 3/4 |
| CLOCKSTOPPERS (2002, d. Jonathan Frakes) **
3/4 |
| CLOSER
(2004, d. Mike
Nichols) Four loathsome characters well acted and beautifully photographed
(cf similar Carnal Knowledge!) Portman & Owen never better.
** 3/4 |
| CLOSET, THE (Le Placard) (2001, d.
Francis Veber) ** 1/2 |
| CLOUD 9
(2009, d. Andreas Dresan) German septuagenarians screw like rabbits in an
attack on filmic taboo against showing wizened bods. VERY true to life,
though. ** 3/4 |
| CLOUD, THE
(2007, d. Gregor Schnitzler) ** 3/4 |
| COAL COUNTRY (2009, d. Mari-Lynn Evans & Phylis Geller) V. Alarming and
reasonably even-handed docu about dangers & destruction of coal industry
In Appalachia. ** 3/4 |
| COAST
GUARD, THE (2003, d. Kim Ki-duk) Overwrought drama
about the soldiers who guard the Korean coastline from spy incursions.
Way over the top. * 3/4 |
| COAST
TO COAST (2004, d.
Paul Mazursky) V. Judy Davis & Richard Dreyfuss are excellent in this
moving, adult drama about a couple devastated by their son's death. *** 1/2 |
| COCHOCHI (2008,
d. Israel Cárdenas & Laura Amelia Guzmán) *** 1/4 |
| COCK COLLEGE
(short films) (2009, d. various) |
| COCKETTES, THE
(2002, d. Bill Weber and David Weissman) ** 3/4 |
| COCO BEFORE CHANEL (2009, d. Anne Fontaine) Tatou has matured into a
superb actress. Great costumes & sets; but a tad overlong and just
didn't involve me. *** |
| CODE
46 (2004, d.
Michael Winterbottom) One, of the greatest examples of cyberpunk ever
put on film. Winterbottom's future imagery is amazing. *** 3/4 |
| CODE UNKNOWN (2001, d. Michael Haneke) **
3/4 |
| COFFEE DATE (2006, d. Stewart Wade) Amusing comedy about sexual
confusions, really well written script. *** |
| COLD
LIGHT (2004, d.
Hilmar Oddsson) Iceland's AFF is a dour tragedy about a 40ish man finally
facing a tragedy of his youth. *** |
| COLD MOUNTAIN (2003, d. Anthony
Minghella) Fine production, good acting, but the "well made" story
was too predictable. Jude Law is a bonafide star. *** |
| COLD
SHOWERS (Douches froides) (2006, d. Antony Cordier) *** |
| COLD SOULS
(2009, d. Sophie Barthes) ** 1/2 |
| COLDEST
DAY, THE (2004, d.
Xie Dong) A somewhat boring film about mutual infidelity in a modern Chinese
marriage. ** |
| COLLATERAL
(2004, d. Michael
Mann) L.A. is the star here; and Mann doesn't cheat the geography. Mann's
best film in a while. *** |
| COLLECTOR,
THE (Komornik) (2005,
d. Feliks Falk; Poland) ** 1/4 |
| COLMA: THE MUSICAL (2006, d. Richard Wong) Strictly amateurville musical,
but charming, simple story. ** 1/2 |
| COLOR
OF FAME, THE (2008, d.Alesandro Bellame Palacios; Venezuela) *** |
| COLOR OF PARADISE, THE (2000, d. Majid Majidi) ***
1/4 |
| COMANCHE MOON (2008, d. Simon Wincer) V. Nicely played, if
choppy, miniseries. Val Kilmer? weird. ** 3/4 |
| COMBAT
(2006, d. Patrick Carpentier) * |
| COME
EARLY MORNING (2006, d. Joey Lauren Adams) *** |
| COME
INTO THE LIGHT (Alla Luce Del Sol) (2005, d. Roberto Faenza) ** 1/2 |
| COME UNDONE (Presque rien)
(2001, d. Sébastien Lifshitz) ** |
| COMEDY
OF POWER, A (2006, d. Claud Chabrol) ** 3/4 |
| COMIC
EVANGELISTS (2006, d. Daniel Jones, Dann Sytsma) *** |
| COMMITTED
(2000, d. Lisa Krueger) ** |
| COMPANY, THE (2003, d. Robert Altman) Little narrative, lots of good dancing.
Neve impresses, and James Franco underplays to splendid effect. *** 1/4 |
| COMPANY, THE (2007, d. Mikael Salomon) V. *** 1/2 |
| CONDOR:
AXIS OF EVIL (2003, d. Rodrigo Vasquez) A doc linking the
U.S. to South American dictators and disappearances of the '70s. Too
unstructured. ** 1/4 |
| CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS
MIND (2002, d. George Clooney)
*** |
| CONFESSIONS
OF PAIN (2007, d. Andrew Lau & Alan Mak) *** 1/4 |
| CONFIDENCE (2003, d. James Foley) Foley has style to
burn. Too bad he didn't burn this derivative script. Why I like Ed
Burns is the question. ** 1/2 |
| CONFUSION DES
GENRES, LA (2001, d. Ilan Duran Cohen) *** |
| CONGORAMA
(2006, d. Philippe Falardeau) ** 3/4 |
| CONNIE
AND CARLA (2004,
d. Michael Lembeck) Silly, if intermittantly funny, script. I liked the
music; but the film is excessivly clichéd. * 3/4 |
| CONSPIRACY
OF SILENCE (2003,
d. John Deery) Ernest, polemic drama: celebacy and the Catholic church. Nice
production, but too on-point for good drama. ** |
| CONSTANT GARDNER, THE (2005, d. Fernando
Meirelles) *** |
| CONSTANTINE (2006, d. Francis Lawrence) V. Looks good with graphic novel
feel, nice f/x, absurd plot. ** 1/4 |
| CONTAINER
(2006, d. Lukas Moodysson) * 3/4 |
| CONTENDER, THE (2000, d. Rod Lurie)
*** |
| CONTINENTAL, A FILM
WITHOUT GUNS (2008, d. Stéphane Lafleur) ** 1/2 |
| CONTROL ALT DELETE (2008, d. Cameron Labine) ** 3/4 |
| CONTROL
ROOM (2004, d.
Jehane Noujaim) Doc. about Al-Jezeera's coverage of the current Iraq War.
Good footage, though repetitive. ** 3/4 |
| CONTROL (2007, d.
Anton Corbijn) *** |
| CONVERSATIONS
WITH OTHER WOMEN (2006, d. Hans Canosa) *** 1/4 |
| COOL MONEY (2005, d. Gary Burns )
V. Modestly involving TV caper film about some losers knocking off N.Y.
hotels. ** 1/2 |
| COOLER, THE (2003, d. Wayne Kramer) The acting's pretty good, especially
Alec Baldwin; but the plot, direction & cinematography pretty well
suck. ** |
| COPYING BEETHOVEN (2006, d. Agnieszka Holland) Overwrought, overacted.
Sublime music (though weirdly edited). ** |
| CORALINE
(2009, d. Henry Selick) Incredible 3D animation. Fantasmagorical plot not my
cuppa; but the imagery is superb & expands the art of cinema. ***
1/4 |
| CORE, THE (2003, d. Jon Amiel) F/x end-of-world flick
fun enough to overcome implausibilities. First hour great & then
film degrades to clichés. ** 3/4 |
| CORONATION
(2000, d. Silvio Caiozzi) *** |
| CORPORATION,
THE (2004, d.
Achbar & Abbott) Overlong but fascinating Canadian documentary about
"corporations" as psychotic people. *** 1/2 |
| CORRECTION
(Diorthosi) (2008, d. Thanos Anastopoulos, Greece) ** 1/4 |
| CORTEX
(2008, d. Nicolas Boukhrief) *** |
| COST
OF LIVING (2004, d. Phillippe Le Guay) Vivid,
beautifully realized multi-character story connected by the theme money for
love. *** 1/4 |
| COTE
D'AZURE (2005, d. Ducastel & Martineau) Entertaining French farce
about an family on vacation whose sexuality is mutable & evolving.
** 3/4 |
| COUDY WITH A CHANCE OF
MEATBALLS (2009, d. Lord & Miller) Clever, fun
3-D animated kids film with enough in-humor to amuse adults. *** |
| COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO,
THE (2002, d. Kevin
Reynolds) *** |
| COUNTER
INVESTIGATION (Contre-enquête) (2007, d. Franck Mancusco) *** 1/2 |
| COUNTERFEITERS,
THE (Die Falscher) (2007, d. Stefan Ruzowitzky; Austria) *** 1/2 |
| COUNTRY
TEACHER, THE (2008, d. Bohdan Sláma) *** 3/4 |
| COUNTRY
WEDDING (2009, d. Vladis Öskarsdóttir) *** |
| COUPERET, LE (2005, d. Costa-Gavras)
More black comedy than the usual Costa-Gavras, entertaining film which takes
Time Out to a higher level. *** |
| COVE, THE (2009, d.
Louie Psihoyos) ** 3/4 |
| COVERBOY
(2009, d. Carmine Amoroso) *** |
| COWBOYS
AND ANGELS (2004,
d. David Gleeson) Beautifully written & acted Irish coming-of-age
gay/straight romantic comedy. Michael Legge is wonderful. *** 1/4 |
| COWBOYS AND ANGELS (2005, d. David
Gleeson)V.+ *** |
| COYOTE UNLY (2000, d. David McNally) *
3/4 |
| CQ (2002, d. Roman
Coppola) * |
| CRACKER: A NEW TERROR (2006, d. Antonia Bird) V. Excellent tv film about
a killer British cop driven crazy in the "troubles". *** |
| CRANE
WORLD (2005, d. Pablo Trapero) Slow, Argentine neo-realist B&W film
about a 49 yr. old construction worker ex-rock guitarist. ** 1/2 |
| CRANFORD
(2008, d. Simon Curtis) V. Superb British early Victorian mini-series which
just got better & better. The final part blew me away. *** 1/2 |
| CRASH (2005, d. Paul Haggis)
Superb Short Cuts type multi-character, roundabout drama...modern day L.A. as
racial dystopia. I need to leave L.A.! *** 1/2 |
| CRAZY HEART (2009, d. Scott Cooper) Almost makes me love country
music. Bridges is great, iconic. Nicely realized love story plus the
music...winning como. *** 1/4 |
| CRAZY LOVE
(2007, d. Dan Klores & Fisher Stevens) *** 1/4 |
| CRAZY
(2001, d. Hans-Christian Schmid) *** 1/4 |
| crazy/beautiful (2001, d. John Stockwell) *** 1/4
|
| CREATION
(2009, d. Jon Amiel) Earnest, boring costumer biofilm...Bettany is good as
Darwin; but I never believed the film was true to the real characters.
** 1/2 |
| CREATIVE
NATURE (2008, d. John Andres) ** 1/4 |
| CREW, THE (2000, d. Michael Dinner) **
1/2 |
| CRIME + PUNISHMENT IN
SUBERBIA (2000, d. Rob Schmidt)
** 1/2 |
| CRIME
NOVEL (2006, d. Michele Placido) *** 1/4 |
| CRIMEN
DEL PADRE AMARO, EL (2003, d. Carlos Carrera)
Mexico AFF. Anti-clerical satiric melodrama in small Mexican
parish. *** 1/4 |
| CRIMINAL
(2004, d. Gregory
Jacobs) A faithful remake of Nine Queens, which means a good, if familiar
script. A sympathetic cast, still this one doesn't quite jell. ** 1/2 |
| CRIMINAL LOVERS (2000, d. Francois Ozon) ***
1/2 |
| CRIMSON
RIVERS (2001, d. Mathieu Kassowitz) *** |
| CROOKED E, THE (2003, d. Penelope Spheeris) V. CBS film docudrama about
fall of Enron. Predictable script, Christian Kane actor to watch.
** |
| CROSSING
A SHADOW (2007, d. Augusto Tamayo; Peru) ** 1/2 |
| CROSSING BORDERS (2008, d. Arnd Wächter) Hopeful, moving docu feels like
"Real World Morocco", 4 American & 4 Moroccan students live
together for a week and keep it real. *** 1/4 |
| CROSSING OVER (2009, d. Wayne Kramer) Like Crash, only better, this is an involving ensemble drama about
distressed immigrants in L.A. *** 1/4 |
| CROSSING
THE BORDER (Un Franco 14 Pesetas) (2007, d. Carlos Iglesias) *** |
| CROSSING
THE BRIDGE: THE SOUND OF ISTANBUL (2006, d.
Fatih Aiken) V. Music docu, sporadically good music, nice photog. ** 1/2 |
| CROSSING
(2009, d. Kim Tae-kyun; Republic of Korea) ** 3/4 |
| CROSSING, THE (Bocu
no ojison) (2000, d. Yoichi Higashi) ** |
| CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN
DRAGON (2000, d. Ang Lee)
*** 3/4 |
| CROUPIER
(2000, d. Mike Hodges) *** 1/4 |
| CRUDE (2003, Turkey d. Paxton Winters) Road film
about 2 young American guys and their travels through Turkey looking for fame
& fortune. ** 3/4 |
| CRUEL
BUT NECESSARY (2005, d. Saul Rubinek) Innovative video about a woman
secretly recording her life for 2 years on a hidden camera. ** 3/4 |
| CRUEL
JOYS (2003, d. Juraj Nvota) Slovakia AFF.
Relationship drama in pre-war small Slovak town. ** 3/4 |
| CRUSH (2002, d. John McKay)
** |
| CRYING
LADIES (2005, d. Mark Meily) Three Philippine women hired as cryers for
a Chinese funeral. I was uninvolved; but the film wasn't that bad. W/O |
| CSI: GRAVE DANGER 1
& 2 (2005, d.
Quentin Tarantino) V. ** 3/4 |
| CUBA
LIBRA (2004, d.
Juan Gerard) Nostalgic, but too pat, reminiscence of an 11 yr. old boy coming
of age in '58 small town Cuba prior to revolution. ** |
| CUCKOO,
THE (2002, d. Alexander Rogozhkin) *** |
| CUP, THE (2000, d. Khyentse Norbu)
*** |
| CURE (2001, d.
Kiyoshi Kurosawa) [1997] *** |
| CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN
BUTTON, THE (2008, d. David Fincher) Moving, epic
filmmaking which works at all levels. Nearly a masterpiece. *** 1/2 |
| CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN
BUTTON, THE (2009, d. David Fincher) + Even more
moving 2nd time around. Epic, emotional, great film. *** 3/4 |
| CURSE
OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER (2007, d. Zhang Yimou; China) *** |
| CURSE OF THE JADE SCORPION,
THE (2001, d. Woody Allen)
** |
| CURSED
(2009, d. Wes Craven) V. Campy parody of werewolf stories with a great cast
(Jesse Eisenberg & Milo Ventimiglia are wonderful). Ridiculous; but
clever & fun. *** |
| CUT SLEEVE BOYS (2007, d. Ray Yeung) ** 3/4 |
| CUTTING EDGE 3, THE (2008, d. Stuart Gillard) V. Surprisingly not
bad, although predictable. Matt Lanter is good! ** 1/2 |
| CUTTING EDGE, THE (2008, d. Paul Michael Glaser) V. Moira Kelly &
D.B. Sweeney have good chemistry. Otherwise clichéd. ** 1/2 |
| CYCLES
(2009, d. Cyril Gelblat) *** 1/2 |
| DA VINCI CODE, THE (2006, d. Ron Howard) The con of film. Turgid,
overlong...nice historical f/x, though. ** 1/4 |
| DADDY &
PAPA (2002, d. Johnny Symons) *** 1/2 |
| DALECARLIANS,
THE (2005, d. Maria Blom) Involving family drama about 3 sisters
and the small Swedish town that the youngest returns to. *** |
| DAMNED UNITED, THE (2009, d. Tom Hooper) Good script & fine
perfs (especially Michael Sheen) in a sports biopic more about people than
sports. *** 1/4 |
| DAN IN REAL LIFE (2007, d. Peter Hedges) Emotionally satisfying,
breakthru film for Hedges (and for me, Carell). *** 1/4 |
| DANCER AND THE THIEF,
THE (2009, d. Fernando Trueba; Spain *** 1/4 |
| DANCER IN THE DARK (2000, d. Lars von Trier) ***
1/2 |
| DANCER
UPSTAIRS, THE (2002, d. John Malkovich) ** 3/4 |
| DANCERS
(2009, d. Pemille Fischer Christensen) ** 1/2 |
| DANCING ACROSS
BORDERS (2009, d. Anne H. Bass) *** |
| DANDELION (2004, d. Mark Milgard)
Well acted, somewhat pointless coming of age story of boy who sacrifices much
for his dysfunctional family. ** 3/4 |
| DANGEROUS LIVES
OF ALTAR BOYS, THE (2002, d. Peter Care)
** |
| DANIKA
(2006, d. Ariel Vromen) * 1/2 |
| DANS PARIS
(2007, d. Christophe Honoré) ** 1/2 |
| DARE (2009, d. Adam Salky) High school sexual angst film which
nails situation & characterizations (though actors are too old). Zach
Gilford has genuine star qualities. *** 1/4 |
| DAREDEVIL (2003, d. Mark Steven Johnson) Better
stunts than Spiderman; but rather wan story. I enjoyed it, especially
Affleck. ** 3/4 |
| DARJEELING LIMITED, THE (2007, d. Wes Anderson) Better than his last one; but I
need more than a train & exotica. ** 3/4 |
| DARK AGES, THE (2007, d. Chris Cassel) V. Standard issue History
channel docu. Lots of info well presented. ** 3/4 |
| DARK BLUE
WORLD (2001, d. Jan Sverak) *** 1/4 |
| DARK HARBOR
(2009, d. Naito Takasugu) *** |
| DARK
HORSE (Voksne Mennesker)
(2005, d. Dagur Kári) ** |
| DARK KNIGHT, THE (2008, d. Christopher Nolan) Surprisingly dark and dense, some
narrative glitches, but Ledger is as good as the hype. *** 1/4 |
| DARK STREETS (2008, d. Rachel Samuels) Rarely has so much stylishness
been put in aid of such a lame story. Only singers & prod. designers come
out ok. ** |
| DARK
WATER (2002, d. Hideo Nakata) *** |
| DARKBLUEALMOSTBLACK
(2006, d. Daniel Sánchez Arévalo) *** 1/2 |
| DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE (2005, d. Hubert Sauper;
docu) V. *** |
| DASEPO NAUGHTY GIRLS
(Dasepo Sonyo) (2007, d. E J-yong) * |
| DAUGHTER FROM DANANG (2003, d. Dolgen and
Franco) (V) docu. Mixed race Viet Nam war child sent to US at 7 meets
her mom. *** 1/4 |
| DAVID COPPERFIELD (2009, d. Simon Curtis) V. The first half, Daniel
Radcliffe as young Copperfield, is fine. Then it all turns to treacle and
sentiment. ** 1/2 |
| DAWSON, ISLA 10 (2009, d. Miguel Littin; Chile) *** |
| DAY
A PIG FELL INTO THE WELL, THE (2003, S. Korea
d. Hong Sang-soo) Muddled story of multiple affairs going nowhere. Film
does too. 1/2* |
| DAY
AFTER TOMORROW, THE (2004,
d. Roland Emmerich) Cliché story (though involving & well done),
fantastically realistic special f/x. ** 3/4 |
| DAY AT
THE MUSEUM, A (Musée haut, musée bas) (2009, d. Jean-Michel
Ribes) ** 1/4 |
| DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL,
THE (2008, d. Scott Derrickson) Good f/x; but
sappy, incredulous script a million times inferior to original.* 1/2 |
| DAY WATCH
(2007, d. Timur Bekmambetov) *** |
| DAYBREAK (2004, d. Bjorn Runge)
Three cleverly interwoven stories of strange relationship angst in Sweden. I
couldn't relate to the stories. ** 3/4 |
| DAYS AND
CLOUDS (2008, d. Silvio Soldini) *** |
| DAYS
AND HOURS (2005, d. Ademir Kenovic) Talky, slow paced slice of life
story about family coping with consequences of Bosnian war 7 years earlier. *
3/4 |
| DAYS
OF BEING WILD (2004,
d. Wong Kar-wei) I was carried away by the plot, actors & especially the
cinematography. Now I must reassess In The Mood For Love. *** 1/2 |
| DAYS
OF DARKNESS (2007, d. Denys Arcand; Canada) *** |
| DAYS
OF GLORY (2006, d. Rachid Bouchareb; Algeria) *** |
| DEAD
GIRL, THE (2006, d. Karen Moncrieff) *** 1/4 |
| DEAD
MAN'S HAND (2003,
d. Boon & Brandenbourger) Luxembourg AFF. High gloss consumerist
satire. ** 3/4 |
| DEAD
MAN'S SHOES (2005, d. Shane Meadows) Paddy Considine is the nemesis of
group of guys who tortured his brother. Violent and bloody. ** 1/2 |
| DEAD SILENCE (2008, d. James Wan)V. Stylish horror flick with
ridiculous seen-before "dummy" plot. Looks great, less
filling. ** 1/4 |
| DEADGIRL (2009, d.
Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel) ** 1/2 |
| DEAL
(2008, d. Gil Cates, Jr.) Predictable, but the poker was realistic & Bret
Harrison is a winning actor. ** 3/4 |
| DEAL,
THE (2004, d.
Harvey Kahn) Wall Street shenanigans in the oil patch in the near future.
Slickly made, good cast, but probably straight to video. ** 1/2 |
| DEAL, THE
(2007, d. Stephen Frears) V. British political true story, Labour deal to
share power. Too parochial for U.S. ** 1/2 |
| DEAR
FRANKIE (2004, d.
Shona Aurbach) Tender and moving drama of deaf boy's bonding with a surrogate
father. *** 1/4 |
| DEAR WENDY (2005, d. Thomas Vinterberg) *** |
| DEATH
AND TEXAS (2004,
d. Kevin DiNovis) Satiric, pointed but understated mockumentary about a famed
football player on death row in Texas. *** 1/4 |
| DEATH AT A
FUNERAL (2007, d. Frank Oz) *** |
| DEATH DEFYING ACTS (2008, d. Gillian Armstrong) Excellent period piece;
strong acting by Guy Pierce & Zeta-Jones! *** 1/4 |
| DEATH IN LOVE (2009, d. Boaz Yakin) Good cast mostly wasted on
incoherent effects-of-Holocaust-on-2nd-generation-family sexually explicit
melodrama. ** 1/4 |
| DEATH
IN VENICE (2007, d. Luchino Visconti) ** 3/4 |
| DEATH OF A
PRESIDENT (2006, d. Gabriel Range) *** 1/2 |
| DEATH
OF MR. LAZARESCU, THE (Moartea domului Lazarescu) (2005, d. Cristi Puiu; Romania) *** 1/2 |
| DEATH SENTENCE (2007,
d. James Wan) ** |
| DEATH TO SMOOCHY (2002, d. Danny De Vito) **
1/2 |
| DEBUTANTES,
LOS (2004, d.
Andres Waissbluth) Strong, multi-POV, sexy drama about 2 naive brothers who
become involved with a porn boss and his mistress. *** |
| DECEMBER BOYS (2007, d. Rod Hardy) Good performances, but a
predictable clichéd script. ** 1/2 |
| DECEMBER HEAT (Detsembrikuumus) (2009, d. Asko Kase; Estonia) *** |
| DEEP
BREATH (2004, d.
Parviz Shahbazi) Iran's AFF is a road picture about disaffected college
students, amazingly secular for an official submission. ** 1/2 |
| DEEP END, THE (2001, d. Scott McGehee & David
Siegel) ** 1/2 |
| DEEP WATER
(2007, d. Osmond & Rothwell) Disquieting, excellent docu: 1969 around
world boat race. *** 1/2 |
| DEEPWATER
(2005, d. David Marfield) A superior psychological thriller disguised as a
gothic noir. Great performance by Lucas Black. *** 1/4 |
| DEFENDERS
OF RIGA (Rigas Sargi) (2008, d. Algars Grauba; Latvia) ** 1/2 |
| DEFIANCE
(2008, d. Edward Zwick) Involving, well directed...but somewhat clichéd and
old fashioned. *** |
| DÉFICIT (2007, d.
Gael García Bernal) *** 1/4 |
| DEFINITELY, MAYBE (2009, d. Adam Brooks) V. Fine romcom with intriguing
premise & a remarkable perf by Ryan Reynolds, whom I am coming to
appreciate! *** 1/4 |
| DEGRASSI GOES HOLLYWOOD (2009, d. Stefen Brogren) V. The nextgen Degrassi kids
grown up & unrealistically placed in a Jason Mews directed film.
Bizarrely fun. ** 1/2 |
| DÉJÀ VU
(2006, d. Tony Scott) A superior, timebending thriller which, while totally
absurd, amazingly almost holds together! *** 1/4 |
| DEKADA
'70 (2004, d.
Chito Rono) Melodramatic saga of 15 years of a Philippine family, 5 boys
& Ozzie & Harriet parents. Too long and overamped. ** |
| DELIRIOUS
(2007, d. Tom Dicillo) *** |
| DELIVER US FROM EVIL (2006, d. Amy Berg) V. Gripping docu about Catholic
church coverup of pederast priest. *** 1/2 |
| DE-LOVELY (2004, d. Irwin
Winkler) Massively over-written Cole Porter biopic. Good music and singer
cameos; but otherwise bloated and pretentious. ** 1/4 |
| DEMONLOVER (2003, France d. Olivier Assayas) Stylish,
mysterious business scullduggery among the rich and successful international
cyber-crowd. *** 1/4 |
| DENIAS,
SINGING ON THE CLOUD (2007, d. John de Rantau; Indonesia) ** 1/2 |
| DEPARTED, THE (2006, d. Martin Scorsese) Fabulously cast, but script
too eliptical...Infernal Affaires made more sense. *** 1/4 |
| DEPARTURES
(Okuribito) (2008, d. Yojiro Takita; Japan) *** 3/4 |
| DEPENDENCIA
SEXUAL (2003, d. Rodrigo Bellott) Sexual adventures
of youths in Bolivia & U.S. done in split screen. Wildlly uneven, but
also a turn-on. *** |
| DESTINÉES,
LES (2001, d. Olivier Assayas) *** 1/2 |
| DEUCES WILD (2002, d. Scott Kalvert) ** |
| DEVDAS (2003, d. Sanjay Leela
Bhansali) India AFF. Bollywood musical: overblown tragic love
story. * 3/4 |
| DEVDAS (2002, d. Sanjay Leela Bhansali)
** |
| DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON,
THE (2005, d. Jeff
Feuerzeig) V. *** |
| DEVIL WEARS PRADA, THE (2006, d. David Frankel) Well acted (Hathaway finally
grows up, Streep perfect), funny. *** |
| DEVIL'S BACKBONE, THE (2001, d. Guillermo Del Toro)
*** 1/4 |
| DEVOTEE
(2008, d. Rémi Lange) French drama about a thalidomide 40-ish gay man (no
limbs) used as a fetish object. ** 1/2 |
| DEXTER: Season 1 (2006, d. various) V. Sympathetic serial killer
sociopath...stylish, Michael C. Hall is simply amazing. *** 3/4 |
| DHAMMA BROTHERS, THE (2008, d. Jenny Phillips) Hopeful, thoughtful docu of
Alabaman prisoners who find peace thru Buddhist meditation. *** |
| DIABLES, LES (2003, d. Christophe Ruggia) Harrowing story of 2 abandoned
children, incredible acting. Hard to do this one justice in a
line. *** 1/2 |
| DIAMOND MEN (2001, d. Daniel M. Cohen) ***
1/2 |
| DIAMONDS
(2009, d. Andy Wilson) V. Sprawling TV mini-series melodrama of world of
diamonds, wastes Judy Davis and a scowling James Purefoy. ** 1/4 |
| DIARY OF A
CHAMBERMAID (2001, d. Luis Buñiel) ** 3/4 |
| DIAS
DE SANTIAGO (2006, d. Josué Méndez; Peru) ** 1/4 |
| DICKIE ROBERTS: FORMER
CHILD STAR (2003,
d. Sam Weisman) Infantile, arrested-development story, occasionally
funny, very meta, embarrassing to watch. * |
| DIE, MOMMIE, DIE (2003, d. Mark Rucker)
Camp take-off on Mommy Dearest, a showcase for tranny Charles Busch, which
just didn't cut it. ** 1/4 |
| DIG! (2004, d. Ondi Timoner) Extraordinary video documentary
about two current retro 60's underground bands. Fabulous footage well
edited. *** 1/4 |
| DIGGERS (2006, d.
Katherine Dieckmann) ** 1/2 |
| DINOSAUR
(2000, d. Ralph Zondag & Eric Leighton) **
1/2 |
| DIRT BOY
(2001, d. Jay Frasco) * 3/4 |
| DIRT (2003, US d. Nancy Savoca) Entertaining
humanist drama about an undocumented Salvadorian family...mother a cleaning
woman. *** 1/4 |
| DIRTY
DANCING: HAVANA NIGHTS (2004, d. Guy Ferland) Pretty much cookie cutter plot, but
fun. Diego Luna: Latin lover for the 2000's. ** 1/4 |
| DIRTY DEEDS
(2006, d. David Kendall) V. Stupid high school caper film. Watched for Milo
Ventimiglia, who is worth watching. * |
| DIRTY
PRETTY THINGS (2003, Great Britain d. Stephen
Frears) Excellent romantic drama about refugees living and being
exploited in London. *** 1/4 |
| DIRTY
SHAME, A (2004, d.
John Waters) Utterly transgressive sex farce which takes Waters' anarchic
style to its untoppable culmination. Still, never boring. ** 3/4 |
| DIRTY WAR (2005, d. Daniel
Percival) V. Dirty bomb terrorist attack on central London. BBC film, a good
suspenser and scary as hell, though nothing special filmwise. ** 3/4. |
| DISAPPEARANCES
(2006, d. Jay Craven) ** 1/4 |
| DISCO
PIGS (2001, d. Kirsten Sheridan) *** 1/4 |
| DISNEY'S A CHRISTMAS
CAROL (2009, d. Robert Zemeckis) The 3D f/x &
motion capture wonderful, seminal. Story too familiar & over ripe. Best
as a theme park ride. ** 1/2 |
| DISNEY'S THE KID (2000, d. Jon Turteltaub)
** |
| DISTANT (2003, d. Nuri Bilge
Ceylan) Arty Turkish film about alienating effects of big city on two men,
one older & established, other new to town. *** 1/4 |
| DISTANT
LIGHTS (2003, Germany d. Hans-Christian
Schmidt) Hand held, documentary feel: about refugees trying to get to
Germany. *** 1/4 |
| DISTRICT 9
(2009, d. Neill Blomkamp) Smart, inventive alien invasion actioner, subtly
moving & lacking Hollywood bombast. *** 1/4 |
| DISTURBIA
(2007, d. D.J. Caruso) Despite a star making turn by Shia LaBeouf this Rear
Window update is ridiculously over the top. ** 1/4 |
| DISTURBING
BEHAVIOR (2004, d.
David Nutter) V. Mind control '98 horror flick, a teenage Stepford High, good
cast, well directed, but way over the top. ** |
| DIVIDED WE FALL (2000, d. Jan Hrebejk) *** 1/2 |
| DIVINE
INTERVENTION (2003, d. Elia Suleiman) Palestine's AFF
nomination is an unfunny absurdist comedy which didn't work for me. ** |
| DIVING BELL AND THE
BUTTERFLY, THE (2007, d. Julian Schnabel) Most
expressive eye in film history. Amalric amazing! *** 3/4 |
| DIVING SECRETS OF THE YA-YA
SISTERHOOD (2002, d. Callie
Khouri) ** |
| DIVORCE, LE (2003, d. James Ivory) Something between glowing romantic
comedy and lame farce re: culture clash between France & America. Guilty
pleasure. *** |
| DO NOT GO
GENTLE (2001, d. Emlyn Williams) *** |
| DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (2005, d. Giacomo
Campiotti) V. Why the David Lean film needed a remake is questionable; but
this one is well made, intimate & emotional. ** 3/4 |
| DODGEBALL
(2004, d. Rawson
M. Thurber) Silly, amiable entertainment. I didn't find it funny; but
it sure tries hard enough. Stiller still has "it". ** 1/2 |
| DOG
EAT DOG (2009, d. Carlos Moreno; Columbia) * 3/4 |
| DOG POUND
(2006, d. Manuel Nieto Zas) W/O |
| DOGHEAD (2007, d.
Santi Amodeo) *** 1/4 |
| DOGHEAD (2007, d. Santi
Amodeo) + *** 1/4 |
| DOGTOWN AND
Z-BOYS (2001, d. Stacy Peralta) *** 1/2 |
| DOGVILLE
(2004, d. Lars von
Trier) A malevolent Our Town, more tv throwback than film, Kidman and Bettany
are really good. *** |
| DOING TIME ON MAPLE DR. (2005, d. Ken Olen)
V. *** 1/4 |
| DOING
TIME (2003, Japan d. Sai Yoichi)
Intelligent comedy about regimented life in a modern Japanese prison. *** |
| DOL (2007, d. Hiner
Saleem) ** 3/4 |
| DOLLS (2003, d. Takeshi Kitano) Gorgeously photographed,
metaphorically opaque. Three stories of regret that I regret that went
over my head. ** |
| DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE (2001, d. Harold Becker) **
1/2 |
| DONAU,
DUNA, DUNAJ, DUNAV, DUNAREA (2004, d. Goren Rebic) Beautiful;y done
story of a "ship of fools" and romantics heading down the
Danube. *** |
| DONKEY
SKIN (2004, d. Jacques Demy) A gentle fairy tale.
Demy has style to spare; but other than the costumes I wasn't blown
away. ** 1/2 |
| DONKEY
(2009, d. Antonia Nuic; Croatia) ** 1/2 |
| DONNIE DARKO (2001, d. Richard Kelly) + Worth a 2nd
watch. *** 1/2 |
| DONNIE DARKO (2001, d. Richard Kelly) *** 1/4 |
| DONNIE
DARKO: DIRECTOR'S CUT
(2004, d. Richard Kelly) Improved comprehensibility; but I really
missed some scenes. Still a fantastic film. *** 1/2 |
| DON'S PLUM (2005, d. R.D. Robb) V. B&W indie near
masterpiece, a 20-something My Dinner With André with a hard edge. Why is it
banned? *** 1/2 |
| DONSOL
(2007, d. Adolfo Alix, Jr.; Philippines) ** 1/2 |
| DON'T LET ME
DOWN (2009, d. Cruz Angeles) *** |
| DON'T MOVE (2005, d. Sergio Castellitto) Obsessive
adultry-romance with a superb perf by Penelope Cruz. Involving and
interestingly structured. *** |
| DON'T SAY A WORD (2001, d. Gary Fleder) * 3/4
|
| DON'T
TELL (La bestia nel cuore) (2006, d. Cristina Comencini; Italy) *** 1/2 |
| DOOMED LOVE (2009, d.
Mário Baroso; Portugal) *** |
| DOOR
IN THE FLOOR, THE (2004,
d. Tod Williams) Superbly acted drama of a family's corrosive grief & a
boy's (the promising Jon Foster) coming of age. *** 1/2 |
| DOOR TO
DOOR (2002, d. Stephen Schachter) *** |
| DOPAMINE (2003, d. Mark Decina) Indie romantic
comedy; 3geeky programmers in S.F. Genuine characters, well written, actors
have real chemistry. *** 1/4 |
| DORA-HEITA
(2001, d. Kon Ichikawa) ** 1/4 |
| DORIAN
BLUES (2004, d.
Tennyson Bardwell) A genuinely funny coming out comedy, a crowd pleaser with
a brilliant script and assured acting & direction. *** 1/4 |
| DOS
TIPOS DUROS (2004,
d. Juan Moreno) A Guy Richie type bloody, gang-who-couldn't-shoot-straight
comedy, only totally diverting. Jordi Vilches wonderful. *** |
| DOT THE I (2005, d. Matthew
Parkhill) Clever script with double & triple crosses galore a la Nine
Queens. Bernal is a star in English, too. *** 1/4 |
| DOUBT (2008, d. John Patrick Shanley) Major acting kudos (esp. Viola
Davis), but film's ambiguity and murky central thesis a problem for me.
** 3/4 |
| DOWN BY LOVE (2003, d. Tomás Sas)
Weird, annoying one-actor monologue of effects of child sexual abuse.
Ultimately pays off. Patricia Kovács amazing. ** 3/4 |
| DOWN IN THE VALLEY (2006, d. David Jacobson) Weird, wonderful; Ed Norton
his usual amazing. E.R.Wood more beautiful than ever. *** 1/4 |
| DOWN
TO THE BONE (2004,
d. Debra Granik) Bare bones video verité of a woman drug addict that spares
nothing. Some incredible acting here. *** |
| DOWN TO YOU (2000, d. Kris Isacsson) ** |
| DOWN WITH LOVE (2003, d. Peyton
Reed) Retro, ironic '60s sex comedy, gorgeous production design, often
ridiculous script but fun and truly hip. *** 1/4 |
| DOWNFALL
(2005, d. Oliver Herschbiegel) Well made drama of last days of 3rd Reich in
Hitler's bunker. Bruno Ganz is amazing. Authentic, gripping. *** 1/4 |
| DR. BRONNER'S MAGIC
SOAPBOX (2007, d. Sara Lamm) V. ** 1/4 |
| DR. T AND THE WOMEN (2000, d. Robert Altman)
*** |
| DRAMA/MEX (2007,
d. Gerardo Naranjo) *** 1/2 |
| DREAM BOY
(2008, d. James Bolton) ** 1/2 |
| DREAM
WEAVERS (2009, d. Jun Gu; China) ** 1/2 |
| DREAMCATCHER (2003, d. Lawrence
Kasdan) Absurd Stephen King story, 4 boys/men against familiar movie
aliens. Scary, funny, overwrought. ** 1/4 |
| DREAMERS,
THE (2004, d.
Bernardo Bertolucci) I just about lived this movie 5 years earlier...and this
excellent film couldn't be more true to life. *** 3/4 |
| DREAMGIRLS
(2006, d. Bill Condon) Better than average musical with fantastic casting.
*** |
| DREAMING
OF SPACE (2006, d. Alexei Uchitel) ** 3/4 |
| DREAMLAND
(2006, d. Jason Matzner) *** |
| DRIFTERS (2004, d. Wang
Xiaoshuai) Slow drama about a Chinese guy who had a kid as an illegal in the
U.S. and then is kept from his son when he's deported. ** |
| DRIVING LESSONS (2006, d. Jeremy Brock) Bad coming-of-age film with
over-the-top Julie Walters & a pretty good Rupert Grint. * 3/4 |
| DRUMLINE (2002, d. Charles Stone III) *** 1/4 |
| DRUMMER,
THE (2009, d. Kenneth Bi) *** 1/4 |
| DUCHESS OF LANGEAIS,
THE (Ne toucher pas la hache) (2007, d. Jacques Rivette) ** 1/2 |
| DUCHESS, THE (2008, d. Saul Dibb) Excellently made, authentic
seeming, gorgeous and even moving historical epic with great perfs by Keira
and Ralph. *** 1/2 |
| DUCK
SEASON (2004, d.
Fernando Eimbcke) Two 14 year old boys left alone in an apartment on a Sunday
get into trouble. Wonderfully observent and affecting. *** 1/4 |
| DUETS
(2000, d. Bruce Paltrow) ** 1/4 |
| DUMA
(2006, d. Carroll Ballard) V. Predictably beautiful but predictable. ** 3/4 |
| DUMMY (2003, U.S. d. Greg Pritikin 90 min.) Adrien Brody
is incredible as a shy ventriloquist in this touching, truly funny romantic
comedy. *** 1/2 |
| DUNYA &
DESIE (2008, d.Dana Nechushtan; Netherlands) ** 3/4 |
| DUPLICITY
(2009, d. Tony Gilroy) Script double crosses itself once too many times, but
stars have chemistry & it's slick. ** 3/4 |
| DUSKA
(2007, d. Jos Stelling) The Netherlands foreign film submission. * 3/4 |
| DUST TO GLORY (2005, d. Dana Brown
)V. ** 1/2 |
| DYING
GAUL, THE (2005, d. Craig Lucas) Until a very unsatisfying ending this
was an extraordinary noir with fabulous acting (Sarsgaard! Scott! Clarkson!)
*** 1/4 |
| EAGER
BODIES (2004, d. Xavier Giannoli) Love Story with a
particularly French twist. Great acting. *** 1/2 |
| EAGLE EYE
(2008, d. D.J. Caruso) Absurd script well executed. Raises paranoia
quotient and chase sequence destruction derby games to new, ridiculous
high. Shia is fine. ** 1/2 |
| EAGLE VS.
SHARK (2007, d. Taika Waititi) ** 3/4 |
| EARLY
IN THE MORNING (2006, d. Gahité Fofana) * 3/4 |
| EARTH
AND ASHES (2005, d. Atiq Rahimi) Wide screen Afghanistan AFF plays like
a despairing Irani film: old man & young boy war victims wandering
desert. *** |
| EARTHLING
(2005, d. Tristan & Wolfgang Bayer) Stunning, fascinating docu about
family of nature photogs on a 7 year adventure journey. *** 3/4 |
| EARTHLINGS
(2006, d. Shaun Monson) V. Hard to watch docu about human speciesism: abuse
of animals for food, clothing, science etc.. *** 3/4 |
| EARTHSEA
(2004, d. Robert
Lieberman) V. Surprisingly together, if hokey, sf miniseries, mediocre
acting...but the f/x are fine and the project works. ** 1/2 |
| EASIER
WITH PRACTICE (2009, d. Kyle Patrick Alvarez) *** |
| EAST IS EAST (2000, d. Damien O'Donnell) **
1/2 |
| EAST/WEST (L'est/ouest) (2000, d. Régis Wargnier) *** 1/2 |
| EASTERN PROMISES (2007, d. David Cronenberg) Stylized
violence...best Mortensen tattoos since Indian Runner. *** 1/4 |
| EASY VIRTUE
(2008, d. Stephan Elliott) *** |
| EAT
THIS NEW YORK (2004, d. Novack and Rossi) V. Pre-The
Restaurant docu about building a neighborhood bistro in Brooklyn & the
viscissitudes of the big NYC chefs. *** |
| EATING
OUT (2004, d. Q.
Allan Brocka) Sparkling, well cast lo-budget gay/straight sex farce. Emily
Stiles' clever faghag steals the movie from some good looking guys. ** 3/4 |
| EATING OUT 2: SLOPPY SECONDS (2006, d. Phillip Bartell) Funny gay farce, well acted
with a fairly novel script. ** 3/4 |
| EATING OUT: ALL YOU CAN EAT (2009, d. Glenn Gaylord) Clichéd gay romantic comedy;
but sweet and sexy, albeit with mediocre, if attractive, actors. ** 1/2 |
| EBAN AND CHARLIE (2002, d. James Bolton) ** 3/4 |
| EDEN IS
WEST (Eden à l'ouest) (2009, d. Costa-Gavras) ** 3/4 |
| EDEN
(2008, d. Declan Recks) Intimate, disturbing, well played drama of a marriage
troubled by the 10 year itch. *** |
| EDEN'S CURVE (2005, d. Anne Misawa)
V. 1/2* |
| EDGE OF HEAVEN, THE (2007, d. Fatih Akin; Germany) *** 3/4 |
| EDGE OF LOVE, THE (2009, d. John Maybury) Fine cast, nice evocation
of blitz England and arty circle doings; but turgid drama doesn't
spark. ** 1/2 |
| EDI (2003, d. Piotr
Trzaskalski) Poland AFF Drama about a down and outer in present
day Poland. *** |
| EDUART
(2007, d. Angeliki Antoniou; Greece) *** 1/4 |
| EDUCATION OF CHARLIE BANKS,
THE (2009, d. Fred Durst) Fascinating character
study of nerd vs. charismatic sociopath (and Jason Ritter is amazing.) ***
1/4 |
| EDUCATION
OF GORE VIDAL, THE (2003, US doc. d. Deborah
Dickson) Fine, intelligent documentary about Vidal through his words
& work. *** 1/2 |
| EDUCATION, AN (2009, d. Lone Scherfig) Superb '60s character study of
a 16 yr. old English girl & her family who are seduced by an older,
romantic roué. *** 3/4 |
| EDUKATORS,
THE (2005, d. Hans Weingartner) Gripping drama of 3 foolish young
German revolutionaries & their caper gone wrong. *** 1/2 |
| EDY
(2006, d. Stephan Guérin-Tillié) Cool, noirish film about killer insurance
scammers. ** 3/4 |
| EFECTO
IGUAZÚ, EL (2004,
d. Pere Joan Ventura) Doc. about 1800 striking Spaniards who camped out in a
Madrid shanty town for 6 months in 2001. *** 1/4 |
| EGOISTE: LOTTI LATROUS (2007, d. Stephan Anspichler) Harrowing docu: Swiss
nurse's AIDS hospice in Ivory Coast. ** 3/4 |
| EIGHT BELOW
(2006, d. Frank Marshall) Deserted dogs in the Antarctic winter do their
thing. Pretty (Paul Walker especially), but vapid. ** 1/4 |
| EKLAVYA
(2007, d. Vidhu Vinod Chopra; India) *** |
| EL
ALAMEIN (2004, d. Enzo Monteleone) Spare and
powerful story of Italian platoon on the losing side at the battle of El
Alamein. *** |
| EL BENNY (2007,
d. Jorge Luis Sanchez) ** 3/4 |
| EL BOLA (2002, d. Achero Mañas) *** 1/2 |
| EL CANTANTE
(2007, d. Leon Ichaso) ** 3/4 |
| ELDORADO
(2009, d. Bouli Lanners; Belgium) ** 3/4 |
| ELDRA
(2003, d. Tim Lyn)
UK AFF. Charming story about a young gypsy girl's coming of age.
*** |
| ELECTION 2
(2006, d. Johnny To) *** |
| ELECTION (2006,
d. Johnny To) *** |
| ELEGY (2008, d. Isabel Coixet) Superb acting by entire company,
lovely, moving adult plot. Cruz should win actress Oscar. *** 3/4 |
| ELEPHANT (2003, d. Gus Van Sant) I'm still reeling
from the cumulative effect of this ephebiphile's dream. Shot amazingly like
Le Fils, stomach churning *** |
| ELEPHANT AND THE SEA,
THE (2007, d. Woo Ming Jin) * 1/2 |
| ELEVEN MEN OUT (2006, d. Róbert Douglas) Predictable troubles for
Iceland gay soccer team. ** 1/4 |
| ELINA (2004, d. Klaus Haro)
Like Evil, a story of schooling in Sweden in the '50's, only this time a
stubborn little girl vs. a stubborn teacher. Academy bait left me cold. **
3/4 |
| ELITE SQUAD
(2008, d. José Padhila) *** 3/4 |
| ELIZABETH I
(2006, d. Tom Hooper) V. Historical epic, good but histrionic perf by Helen
Mirren. Drama over historicity. *** |
| ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE (2007, d. Shekhar Kapur) Bombastic, overdone,
disappointing bodice ripper. ** 1/4 |
| ELIZABETHTOWN (2005, d. Cameron
Crowe) ** 3/4 |
| ELLE S'APPELLE
SABINE (2008, d. Sandrine Bonnaire) *** |
| ELLIE
PARKER (2005, d. Scott Coffey) Home movie quality video with a
stupendous performance by Naomi Watts which lifts the film to
watchability. *** |
| ELLING (2001,
d. Petter Næss) *** 1/2 |
| ELSA &
FRED (2006, d. Marcos Carnevale) *** 3/4 |
| EM (2008, d. Tony
Barbieri) ** 3/4 |
| EMBRUJO
DE SHANGHAI, EL
(2003, d. Fernando Trueba) Drama of post-WWII in Barcelona from a
teenage boy's pov. Pretty but confusing. ** |
| EMMA (2009, d. Diamuid Lawrence, 1996) V. The Kate Beckinsale/BBC
version. Not my favorite Austin story, but Andrew Davies' scenario
quite good. *** |
| EMMANUEL
JAL: WAR CHILD (2008, d. C. Karim Chrobog) *** |
| EMMA'S BLISS
(2007, d. Sven Taddicken) *** 1/4 |
| EMPEROR'S CLUB,
THE (2002, d. Michael
Hoffman) ** 1/2 |
| EMPEROR'S NEW CLOTHES,
THE (2002, d. Alan Taylor) ** 1/4 |
| EMPEROR'S NEW GROOVE,
THE (2000, d. Mark Dindal)
** |
| EMPEROR'S
WIFE, THE (2004,
d. Julian Vrebos) Stylized modern dress story of court intrigue. Jonathan
Rhys-Meyers charismatic as chancellor to Max Beesley's emperor. ** 1/2 |
| EMPIRE (2002, d. Franc Reyes) **
1/2 |
| EMPIRE FALLS (2005, d. Fred
Schepisi) V. HBO family saga of small town New England doings. Fine cast,
sprawling, unfocused script. ** 3/4 |
| EMPTIES (2008, d.
Jan Sverak) *** |
| EMPTY NEST (El Nido
Vacio) (2008, d. Daniel Burman) *** |
| EN LA
CAMA (2006, d. Matías Bize; Chile) *** 1/4 |
| ENCARNATION
(2008, d. Anahi Berneri) ** 1/4 |
| ENCHANTED
(2007, d. Kevin Lima) Fun script, flaccid direction. Too bad Julie
Taymore didn't get a chance with this script. ** 3/4 |
| ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE
WORLD (2008, d. Werner Herzog) Fascinating footage
of Antarctica & modern scientific explorers. *** 1/2 |
| ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE
WORLD (2009, d. Werner Herzog) + Fascinating docu
footage of Antarctica & modern scientific explorers. *** 1/2 |
| END OF LOVE, THE (2009, d. Simon Chung; Hong Kong) Mediocre digital
film: story of young gay hustler/druggie involved with Christian sect. Nicely
acted. ** 1/2 |
| END OF
THE CENTURY (2004,
d. Fields & Gramaglia) V. The Ramone's were never my cuppa musicwise; but
this informative, of uninspired docu about group digs deep. *** |
| ENDURING
LOVE (2004, d.
Roger Michell) Dynamite, kinetic opening leads to a story of divinely
inspired romantic obsession. Daniel Craig is wonderful. *** 1/4 |
| ENEMY AT THE GATES (2001, d. Jean-Jacques Annaud) ** 3/4 |
| ENGLAND!
(2001, d. Achem Von Borries) *** |
| ENIGMA (2002, d. Michael
Apted) ** 3/4 |
| ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN
THE ROOM (2006, d. Alex Gibney) V.Well made docu
about complexity, maybe not as informative as it might have been.*** 1/4 |
| ENVY (2004, d. Barry
Levinson) It started ok, clever with some good yuks. Black & Stiller are
a great comedy team & Walken rules; but the film totally falls apart in
3rd act. ** |
| EPITAFIOS
(2006, d. Alberto Lecchi & Jorge Nisco) V. HBO miniseries à la SE7EN from
Argentina. Literally the best tv series I've ever seen. **** |
| ERAGON
(2006, d. Stefen Fangmeier) It's supposed to be bad; but try as I might I
couldn't fail to enjoy it...nicely paced, good f/x. *** |
| ERES
MI HEROE (2004, d.
Antonio Cuadri) Excellent coming of age story of 13 year old boy during the
death of Franco era. Manuel Lozano is great as the kid. *** 1/2 |
| ERIN BROKOVICH (2000, d. Steven Soderbergh)
*** 1/4 |
| ESCAPE, THE
(2009, d. Kathrine Windfeld) *** |
| ESTHER KAHN (2002, d. Arnaud Desplechin) ***
1/2 |
| ÉTÉ SANS POINT
NI COUP SUR, UN (A No-hit, No-run Summer) (2008, d. Francis
Leclerc) ** 3/4 |
| ETERNAL
SUMMER (2007, d. Leste Chen and Patrick Mao Huang) * 3/4 |
| ETERNAL
SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004, d. Michel Gondry) Writing, acting,
directing, f/x tour de force; also an affecting love story. **** |
| ETHAN
MAO (2004, d.
Quentin Lee) Involving drama in the Araki mode of a Gay Asian boy kicked out
of home into life of street hustler. ** 3/4 |
| EUGENE
(2009, d.Jake Barsha) * 3/4 |
| EULOGY (2004, d. Michael
Clancy) A screwball family comedy with an outstanding cast, entertaining, but
a ridiculous script and only intermittently funny. ** 1/4 |
| EUPHORIA
(Ejfroija) (2007, d. Ivan Vyrypaev) ** 1/2 |
| EUREKA
(2001, d. Shinji Aoyama) *** 1/4 |
| EVAN ALMIGHTY (2007, d. Tom Shadyac) Good f/x money shot; but that's
about it for this bloated, unfunny "comedy". ** |
| EVELYN (2002, d. Bruce Beresford) ** 3/4
|
| EVENING (2007, d.
Lajos Koltai) *** 1/2 |
| EVENT,
THE (2003, Canada d. Thom Fitzgerald)
Emotionally shattering AIDS drama about a sick man whose friends throw an
assisted suicide party *** 1/4 |
| EVERGREEN
(2004, d. Edid
Zentelis) A low-budget Seattle HD video/film about a lower class girl who is
ahamed of her family. Good acting. ** 1/4 |
| EVERLASTING
MOMENTS (2008, d. Jan Troell; Sweden) *** |
| EVERY LITTLE STEP (2009, d. James Stern & Adam Del Deo) Superb
meta-docu (film about trying out for a musical about trying out). Riveting
& emotional. *** 3/4 |
| EVERY
OTHER WEEK (2006, d. various) ** 3/4 |
| EVERY
STEWARDESS GOES TO HEAVEN (2002, d. Daniel Burman) ** 3/4 |
| EVERYBODY'S FAMOUS (2000, d. Dominique Deruddere) *** 1/4 |
| EVERYBODY'S FINE (2009, d. Kirk Jones) I'm not a father; but DeNiro's
situation is one that hit me with particular emotional wallop. Fine script,
rings true, engrossing. *** 1/2 |
| EVERYDAY
PEOPLE (2004, d. Jim McKay) Pleasant enought HBO tv
movie about a Brooklyn deli and the consequences of its closing. ** 3/4 |
| EVERYONE
ELSE (2009, d. Maren Ade) *** 1/4 |
| EVERYTHING
IS FINE (2008, d. Yves Fournier) *** |
| EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED (2005, d. Liev
Schreiber) ** 1/2 |
| EVERYTHING
STRANGE AND NEW (2009, d. Frazer Bradshaw) *** |
| EVERYTHING'S
GONE GREEN (2006, d. Paul Fox) ** 3/4 |
| EVIL (2004, d. Maiael Hafström) A 50's Swedish boarding school's
sadistic system and its affect on a rebellious kid. A cross of If and Rebel
Without a Cause. *** 1/2 |
| EVIL (Ondskan) (2008, d. Mikael Håfström) V. + One of the best
depictions of boarding school sadism ever filmed. *** 1/2 |
| EX DRUMMER
(2007, d. Koen Mortier) * 1/4
|
| EX, THE (aka
"Fast Track") (2006, d. Jesse Peretz)
Unfunny comedy. Braff and Bateman are worth admission; but the plot has holes
& doesn't hold together. ** |
| EXILED (2007, d.
Johnny To) ** 1/4 |
| EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE,
THE (2005, d.
Scott Derrickson) ** 3/4 |
| EXPERIMENT,
DAS (2001, d. Oliver Hirshbiegel) *** 1/2 |
| EXPIRATION
DATE (2006, d. Rick Stevenson) *** |
| EXPIRED (2007, d.
Cecilia Miniucchi) ** 1/2 |
| EXPLICIT ILLS (2009, d. Mark Webber) Somewhat muddled continuity, but
a quite moving anti-poverty drama with some memorable perfs. *** |
| EXPLODING GIRL,
THE (2009, d. Bradley Rust Gray) *** 1/4 |
| EXTRACT
(2009, d. Mike Judge) Often funny comedy with iconic Jason Bateman perf.
Judge replaces biting edge satire with more traditional farce structure. ***
1/4 |
| EXTREME
OPS (2004, d.
Christian Duguay)V. Silly, unlikely action film: extreme sports vs.Serbian
terrorists. Good cast (Devon Sawa, Rupert Graves, Rufus Sewell) wasted.
** 1/4 |
| EXTREME OPS (2002, d. Christian Duguay) **
1/2 |
| EYE,
THE (2003, Thailand d. Danny & Oxide
Pang) Horror film, not especially scary, blind woman cured with a corneal
transplant who sees dead people. ** 1/2 |
| FACING
WINDOWS (2004, d.
Ferzan Ozpetek) Resonant, multilevel story of a modern day couple who become
involved with a Holocaust survivor. *** 1/4 |
| FACTOTUM
(2006, d. Bent Hamer) ** 3/4 |
| FAHRENHEIT
9/11 (2004, d.
Michael Moore) Slam dunk politically; but doc could be structured better for
my taste. *** 1/4 |
| FAILURE TO LAUNCH (2006, d. Tom Dey) Reasonably original romantic
comedy...Justin Bartha should be given a leading role! ** 3/4 |
| FAIR
PLAY (2007, d. Lionel Bailliu) *** 1/4 |
| FAIRY TALE OF
KATHMANDU (2008, d. Neasa Ni Chianain) ** |
| FALKENBERG
FAREWELL (2006, d. Jesper Ganslandt; Sweden) ** |
| FALL, THE (2008, d.
Tarsem Singh) ** 3/4 |
| FALLEN GODS (2009, d. Ernesto Daranas; Cuba) * 3/4 |
| FALLEN
(2006, d. Mikael Salomon) V. Good TV movie with series possibilities.
** 3/4 |
| FAME
(2009, d. Kevin Tanchardoen) The cast is attractive and talented, the singing
& dancing well done. Too bad there was no real story. Greatly
inferior to the original. ** 3/4 |
| FAMILY
FRIEND (L'Amico di Famiglia) (2007, d. Paolo Sorrentino) W/O |
| FAMILY HERO
(Le héros de la famille) (2007, d. Thierry Klifa) ** 3/4 |
| FAMILY
LAW (2006, d. Daniel Burman; Argentina) *** 1/2 |
| FAMILY MAN, THE (2000, d. Brett Ratner)
** |
| FAMILY STONE, THE (2005, d. Thomas
Bezucha) ** 1/2 |
| FAMILY
TIES (2006, d. Kim Tae-yang) ** 1/2 |
| FANTASIA/2000 (2000, d. Committee)
*** |
| FANTASTIC FOUR (2005, d. Tim Story)
Fun, if silly super-character comic story. Chris Evans is a star. **
3/4 |
| FANTASTIC
PARASUICIDES (Fantastic Ja-sal-so-dong) (2008, d. Kim, Park & Jo)
** 3/4 |
| FANTASTICKS, THE (2000, d. Michael Ritchie) [1995] **
1/4 |
| FAQS
(2006, d. Everett Lewis) Militantly gay romance. Fine performance by perky
newcomer Joe Lia. Oddly, I enjoyed this terribly written & shot digital
film. * 3/4 |
| FAR FROM
HEAVEN (2002, d. Todd Haynes) *** 1/2 |
| FAR
SIDE OF THE MOON (2005, d. Robert Lepage) Quirky comedy based on 1-man
play. Lepage plays 2 leading roles & he must be an acquired taste that I
don't share. ** |
| FASHION VICTIMS (2008, d. Ingo Rasper) Intermittently funny &
clever German farce: two dress salesmen battle. ** 3/4 |
| FAST AND FURIOUS (2009, d. Justin Lin) Testosterone soaked film with
some nicely edited & conceived auto stunts; but ridiculous and
predictable script. ** 1/2 |
| FAST AND THE FURIOUS, THE (2001, d. Rob Cohen) ***
1/2 |
| FAST FOOD NATION (2008, d. Richard Linklater) Exploited Mexicans,
slaughtered cattle, great cast, tough sell! *** |
| FAT GIRL (À
ma soeur)
(2001, d. Catherine Breillat) *** 1/2 |
| FAT GIRLS
(2006, d. Ash Christian) Inventive if juvenile gay comedy by a talented
writer/director. ** 1/2 |
| FATE AS A
RAT (2001, d. Ivan Pavlov) * 1/2 |
| FATELESS
(Sorstalanság) (2005,
d. Lajos Koltai; Hugary) *** 3/4 |
| FATHER
& SONS (2004,
d. Michael Boujenah) A feel good, amusing French comedy road picture about a
father and his squabbling sons. Beautifully acted. *** |
| FATHERS AND SONS (2005, d. various) V. **
3/4 |
| FAUBOURG 36
(2008, d. Christophe Barratier) ** 3/4 |
| FAVELA RISING (2005, d. Mattt
Mochary, Jeff Zimbalest; docu) V. *** |
| FAVOR, THE
(2008, d. Eva Eridjis) Fine lost indie film with interesting perfs by Frank
Woods & Ryan Donowho *** |
| FAY GRIM
(2007, d. Hal Hartley) Wildly uneven comedy/thriller. Posey is fine,
but writing not up to former Hartley films. ** 3/4 |
| FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS
VEGAS (2003, d.
Terry Gilliam) V. Like watching a lurid train wreck & almost needing to
turn away. Depp & del Toro are amazing. ** |
| FEAR
AND TREMBLING
(2004, d. Alain Corneau) A fascinating French office film set in a
Japanese office. Sylvie Testud is wonderful. *** 1/4 |
| FEAR ME
NOT (2009, d. Kristian Levring) ** 3/4 |
| FEAST OF LOVE (2007, d. Robert Benton) Emotionally affecting; but I
need to read the book, which is obviously richer. *** |
| FEATHERS
IN MY HEAD (2004, d. Thomas de Thier) Compelling,
beautifully shot film about a family torn by the consequences of a missing
child. *** |
| FEELING FACTORY, THE (La Fabrique des sentiments)
(2008, d. Jean-Marc Moutout) V. ** 1/2 |
| FEELING
MINNESOTA (2004,
d. Steven Baigelman)V. '96 Keanu Reeves/Cameron Diaz screwball dumb
guy/bad girl comedy. Watchable, but ridiculous plot. ** |
| FELIX AND LOLA
(2001, d. Patrice Leconte) ** |
| FEMALE
AGENTS (Les Femmes de l'ombre) (2008, d. Jean-Paul Salomé) ** 1/2 |
| FEMME DE GILLES, LA (2005, d. Frédéric
Fonteyne) Formally terrific, if slow, drama about a laborer obsessed by his
plain wife's beautiful sister. Emmanuel Devos rules. *** |
| FEMME FATALE (2002, d. Brian De Palma) *** 1/4 |
| FERPECT
CRIME (2004, d.
Alex de la Iglesia) Another zany film by Iglesia, high gloss comedy about a
Lothario salesman's comeuppence. Good fun, but a trifle obvious. ** 3/4 |
| FESTIVAL
EXPRESS (2004, d.
Bob Smeaton) Wonderful footage of 1970 rock festival train across Canada.
Great The Band & Janis performances. *** 1/2 |
| FEVER OF '57 (2007, d. David Hoffman) *** 1/4 |
| FEVER PITCH (2005, d. Farrelli
Bros.) Gets everything right in a delightful romantic comedy. Fallon is a
star in the Hanks mode. *** 1/4 |
| FEVER, THE (La Febbre) (2008, d.
Alessandro d'Alatri) *** 1/4 |
| FIDEL (2004, d. David
Attwood)V. TV mini-series biopic of the Cuban revolution...diffuse
script, but good performances by Victor Martin and, of course, Gael Bernal as
Che. ** 1/4 |
| FIELDS OF
FUEL (2008, d. Josh Tickell) *** 3/4 |
| FIFTEEN MINUTES (2001, d. John Herzfeld)
*** |
| FIFTY DEAD MEN
WALKING (2008, d. Kari Skogland) *** |
| FIFTY PILLS (2008, d. Theo Avgerinos) V. Monumentally stupid film;
but Lou Pucci is my type of leading man. * 1/4 |
| FIG TREES
(2009, d. John Greyson) ** 3/4 |
| FIGHT TO THE FINISH: STORIES
OF POLIO, A (2001, d. Ken Mandel)
** 1/2 |
| FIGHTER PILOT:
OPERATION RED FLAG (2005, d. Stephen Low) V. ** 3/4 |
| FIGHTING
(2009, d. Dito Montiel) Clichés abound & Montiel's mis-en-scène just
seems confused. Tatum isn't a convincing actor; but he sure looks the part.
** 1/4 |
| FILME
FALADO, UM (2003, d. Manoel de Oliveira) Travelogue
cum philosophical meditation on feminism and language. Interesting, if
unsatisfying. ** 1/2 |
| FINAL
ARRANGEMENTS (Bouquet final) (2009, d. Michel Delgado) ** 3/4 |
| FINAL
CUT, THE (2004, d.
Omar Nïam) Unsatisfying, psychological sci-fi melodrama about saving
memories. Poor Robin Williams comes a cropper again. ** |
| FINAL DESTINATION 3 (2007, d. James Wong) V. Surprisingly stylish horror
thriller; but when Jesse Moss was killed off I bailed. W/O |
| FINAL DESTINATION (2000, d. James Wong) * 1/2 |
| FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS
WITHIN (2001, d. Hironobu
Sakaguchi) ** |
| FINAL
(2001, d. Campbell Scott) *** |
| FINDERS
FEE (2001, d. Jeff Probst) *** |
| FINDING AMANDA (2008, d. Peter Tolan) Faintly amusing dramady...witty
about the tv game, but the rest not so good. ** 1/4 |
| FINDING
BLISS (2009, d. Julia Davis) ** 1/2 |
| FINDING FORRESTER (2000, d. Gus Van Sant) *** |
| FINDING NEMO (2003, d. Andrew Stanton) Another engaging Pixar/Disney
film with superb 3-D animation but a fairly simplistic plot. ** 3/4
(REV. *** 1/4) |
| FINDING
NEVERLAND (2004,
d. Marc Forster) Emotionally powerful, unlikely romantic film based on J.M.
Barrie's life. Depp is outstanding in a muted perf. *** |
| FINE
DEAD GIRLS (2002, d. Dalibor Matanic) *** 1/2 |
| FIREDANCER
(2002, d. Jawed Wassel) 1/2* |
| FIREFLY
DREAMS (2002, d. John Williams) ** |
| FIRM LAND, THE
(2009, d. Chapour Haghighat) * 1/4 |
| FIRST $20 MILLION IS ALWAYS
THE HARDEST, THE (2002, d. Mick
Jackson) *** |
| FIRST
DAUGHTER (2004, d.
Forest Whitaker) Utterly predictable, slick romantic comedy. I like Marc
Blucas; but Katie Holms is awfully plastic. * 1/2 |
| FIRST DAY
OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE (Le premier jour du reste de ta vie)
(2009, d. Rémi Bezançon) *** 3/4 |
| FIRST
NIGHT, THE (2004,
d. Luis Restrepo) Columbian AFF about the uprooting effects of a local
rebellion on a rural family. Somewhat overamped, but moving. ** 1/2 |
| FIRST SNOW
(2007, d. Mark Fergus) Pedestrian, twisty Amer. Indy with a great Guy
Pearce perf.** 3/4 |
| FIRST TIME I WAS TWENTY,
THE (2005, d.
Lorraine Lévy) Enormously entertaining coming of age in mid '60s of a portly
girl jazz musician. *** 1/2 |
| FISH DREAMS
(2007, d. Kiril Mikhanovsky) ** 1/2 |
| FIVE
DAYS IN SEPTEMBER (2006, d. Barbara Sweete) **** |
| FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN (2009, d. Oliver Hirschbiegel) Moral Dilemmas 'R
Us. Reconciliation in N. Ireland with 2 great performances, esp. James
Nesbitt. *** 1/4 |
| FIVE
OBSTRUCTIONS, THE
(2004, d. Lars von Trier, Jorgen Leth) Von Trier as tyrant making Leth
redo his seminal short 5 times. Both boring & interesting. ** 1/2 |
| FIVE SENSES, THE (2000, d. Jeremy Podeswa) ** 3/4
|
| FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (2006, d. Clint Eastwood) Overly complex; but moving
despite. Spectacular action direction. *** 1/4 |
| FLAME & CITRON
(Flammen & Citronen) (2008, d. Ole Christian Madsen) *** |
| FLAQUEZA
DEL BOLCHEVIQUE, LA (2004, d. Manuel Cuenca) Luis Tosar shines
again as conflicted man who gets involved with teenage girl. ** 3/4 |
| FLATS, THE
(2002, d. Kelly and Tyler Requa) *** 1/4 |
| FLEEING BY
NIGHT (2001, d. Hsu Li-kong & Yin Chi) ***
1/4 |
| FLEUR DU MAL, LA (2007, d. Claude Chabrol)V.+ Incestuous hijinx among the
French bourgeoisie. Cool & intriguing. *** |
| FLICK
(2000, d. Fintan Connolly) *** |
| FLICKERING LIGHTS (2003, d. Anders T.
Jensen) Clever Danish caper film about gang who can't shoot straight trying
to go straight. *** |
| FLIGHT
TO FREEDOM (Fuga per la libertà) (2009, d. Carlo Carlei) ** 1/2 |
| FLIGHTPLAN (2005, d. Robert Schwentke) ** 3/4 |
| FLOOD (2007, d. Tony Mitchell) V. Tacky, convincing British disaster
drama about 1,000 year flood of London. ** 1/4 |
| FLUFFER, THE (2001, d. Richard Glatzer & Wash
West) *** |
| FLYBOYS
(2006, d. Tony Bill) Astoundingly good aerial f/x. Utterly predictable, lame
script. James Franco fine, as usual. ** 1/2 |
| FLYING SCOTSMAN, THE (2007, d. Douglas Mackinnon) Jonny Lee Miller &
Billy Boyd are good; but film predictable sports bio. ** 1/4 |
| FOCUS
(2001, d. Neal Slavin) ** 1/2 |
| FOG OF
WAR, THE (2004, d.
Errol Moris) More than a talking head doc, the film is a valuable primer on
the responsibilities of leadership and frailty of human nature. *** 1/2 |
| FOOD INC (2009,
d. Robert Kenner) ** 1/2 |
| FOOD OF LOVE (2002, d. Ventura Pons) ***
|
| FOR
THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO (2007, d. Daniel Karslake) *** 3/4 |
| FORASTERS
(2009, d. Ventura Pons) ** 3/4 |
| FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, THE (2008, d. Rob Minkoff) Angarino is good, action
direction ok; but too predictible. ** 1/2 |
| FOREST (2003, d. Benedek
Fliegauf) Boring, pretentious ordeal of a film...7 droning vignettes vaguely
connected by people's proximity in a shopping mall. * |
| FOREVER
ENTHRALLED (2009, d. Chen Kaige) ** 1/2 |
| FOREVER
FLOWS (2007, d. Abu Sayeed; Bangladesh) ** |
| FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL (2008, d. Nicholas Stollar) Sweet & surprisingly
smart comedy . *** 1/4 |
| FORGIVEN
(2006, d. Paul Fitzgerald) *** |
| FORGOTTEN WOMAN, THE (2008, d. Dilip Mehta) Docu based on plight of widows
in India (non-fiction version of Water). Intrinsically horrifying; but film meanders. *** |
| FORGOTTEN,
THE (2004, d.
Joseph Rubin) Eerie, scary psychological sci-fi melodrama about losing
memories, very effectively filmmaking. Julianne Morre simply great. ***
1/4 |
| FORMULA
17 (2004, d. D.J.
& Yin-Jung Cheng) V. Silly gay Taiwanese comedy with lavish photography,
but dreadful acting and line readings. * 3/4 |
| FORSYTE
SAGA, THE: TO LET (2004, d. Andy Wilson) V. Incredibly
involving 5 hour followup to original. Glorious production, superb
acting. **** |
| FORTRESS
(2008, d.Shamil Nacafzada; Azerbaijan) * 1/2 |
| FORTRESS, THE
(2009, d. Fernand Melgar) ** 1/2 |
| FORTY SHADE OF BLUE (2005, d. Ira
Sachs) *** |
| FOSTER CHILD
(2008, d. Brilliante Mendoza) ** 3/4 |
| FOUNTAIN, THE (2006, d. Darren Aronofsky) Pretentious & arty.
Jackman & Weisz and f/x are great, but script annoyingly obscure.
** 1/4 |
| FOUR BOXES
(2009, d. Wyatt McDill) *** |
| FOUR BROTHERS (2005, d. John
Singleton) * 1/2 |
| FOUR DOGS PLAYING
POKER (2000, d. Paul Rachman) 1/2* |
| FOUR FEATHERS,
THE (2002, d. Shekhar
Kapur) ** |
| FOUR
MINUTES (2006, d. Chris Kraus) *** 1/4 |
| FOUR
STARS (2006, d. Christian Vincent) ** 1/4 |
| FRACTURE
(2007, d. Gregory Hoblit) Clever story, acting tour de force. Gosling is a
star. *** 1/4 |
| FRAILTY (2002, d. Bill Paxton) *** |
| FRAMED (2003, d. Daniel Petrie, Jr.) (V.) TNT
tv movie about NYC cop (Rob Lowe) vs. classy mob squealer (Sam Neill).
Predictable. * 1/2 |
| FRANCE
BOUTIQUE (2004, d.
Tonie Marshall) Fast paced but empty comedy about the people doing a French
cable tv shopping channel. ** |
| FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY (2005, d. Robert
Rodriguez) Super stylish pop-art graphic novel the way it should be filmed.
But I was bored. ** 1/2 |
| FRANK THE
RAT (2009, d. Jim Cozza) *** 1/4 |
| FREAKY FRIDAY (2003, d. Mark Waters)
Enjoyable, but empty change-of-identity comedy with some nice acting by Jamie
Lee Curtis & Lindsay Lohan. ** 1/2 |
| FREDDY GOT FINGERED (2001, d. Tom Green)
* |
| FREE
RADICALS (2003, d.
Barbara Albert) Interconneced year-in-the-life story of capricious fate.
Confusingly written and edited, but nicely directed. ** 3/4 |
| FREEDOM WRITERS (2008, d. Richard LaGravenese) V. Surprisingly moving
true story of teacher vs. gangs. *** 1/4 |
| FRENCH FOR BEGINNERS (Französisch für
Anfänger) (2007,
d. Christian Ditter) *** |
| FRENCH
GIGOLO, A (Cliente) (2009, d. Josiane Balasko) *** 1/4 |
| FREQUENCY
(2000, d. Gregory Hoblit) ** 1/2 |
| FRESH AIR (Friss
levegö) (2007, d. Agnes Kocis and Andrea Roberti) *** |
| FRIDA (2002, d. Julie
Taymor) *** 1/4 |
| FRIDAY
NIGHT LIGHTS (2004, d. Peter Berg) One of the all-time
great sports films, wonderfully directed and edited (great music, too).
Thornton & Lucas Black shine. *** 1/2 |
| FRIDAY
NIGHT LIGHTS (2004,
d. Peter Berg) V.+ Even more impressive on video, certainly the best sports
film I've ever seen and the best edited film of the year. *** 3/4 |
| FRIEND OF MINE,
A (2007, d. Sebastian Schipper) *** 1/4 |
| FRIEND, THE
(Der Freund) (2008, d. Micha Lewinsky, Switzerland) *** 1/4 |
| FRIENDS AND
FAMILY (2001, d. Kristen Coury) ** |
| FRIENDS WITH MONEY (2006, d. Nicole Holofcener) Ensemble film, well
observed, nicely acted...ending left me wanting more. *** |
| FROM HELL
(2001, d. The Hughes Brothers) * 1/4 |
| FROM THE EDGE OF THE CITY (2000, d. Constantine Giannaris) **
1/2 |
| FROST/NIXON
(2008, d. Ron Howard) Surprisingly fascinating middlebrow film, with a career
perf. by Longella. *** 1/2 |
| FROZEN CITY
(2007, d. Aku Louhimies) ** 1/4 |
| FROZEN
DAYS (Yamin Kfuim) (2006, d. Danny Lerner) ** 3/4 |
| FROZEN RIVER
(2008, d. Courtney Hunt) *** 1/2 |
| FROZEN
(2005, d. Juliet McKoen) Mysterious, sort of pointless English film with
Shirley Henderson as a woman mourning her lost, presumed dead sister.
** 1/2 |
| FUGITIVAS
(2001, d. Miguel Hermoso) *** |
| FUGITIVE
PIECES (2007, d. Jeremy Podeswa) *** |
| FULL FRONTAL (2002, d. Steven Soderbergh)
*** |
| FULLTIME
KILLER (2001, d. Johnnie To and Wie Ka-Fai) * 3/4 |
| FUNNY PEOPLE (2009, d. Judd Apatow) Well written & acted dramedy;
could have benefited from tightening, but much genius is on display
here. *** 1/2 |
| FUSE (2004, d. Pjer Zalica)
A confusing, but effective satire about post-war reconciliation in
Bosnia. ** 3/4 |
| G.I. JOE: RISE OF COBRA (2009, d. Stephen Sommers) Truly dreadful,
bombastic, empty-headed actioner which wastes every actor, tho the f/x are
pretty good. * 1/2 |
| GABRIELLE
(2006, d. Patrice Chéreau) Edwardian film of manners; pretty, talky and
boring with good perfs by Isabelle Huppert & Pascal Greggory. ** |
| GAGARIN'S GRANDSON (2007, d. Andrey Panin) ** 1/2 |
| GAMBLER
(2006, d. Phie Ambo) ** 1/2 |
| GAMER
(2009, d. Neveldine & Taylor) F/x galore can't save this future death
game film from its ridiculous over-the-top (but predictable) premise.
** |
| GAMES OF
LOVE & CHANCE (2005, d. Abdellatalfi Kechiche) Teenagers in
the projects in Paris, variation of Romeo & Juliet...talkiy but
fun. ** 3/4 |
| GANGS OF NEW YORK
(2002, d. Martin Scorsese) *** 1/2 |
| GANGSTER NO. 1 (2000, d. Paul McGuigan)
*** |
| GARAGE
DAYS (2003, d.
Alex Proyas) Familiar rock film about a garage band trying to get established
in Australia. Sometimes clever direction, clichéd. ** 1/4 |
| GARAGE
(2007, d. Lenny Abrahamson) *** |
| GARBAGE
DREAMS (2009, d. Mai Iskander) ** 3/4 |
| GARÇON STUPIDE (2005, d. Lionel Baier)
** 1/2 |
| GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS,
THE (2003, d. Vittorio De Sica) V. Gorgeous,
subtle, inscrutable. Jews in facist Italy, more thwarted love than
political. *** |
| GARDEN PARTY
(2008, d. Jason Freeland) *** |
| GARDEN
STATE (2004, d.
Zach Braff) Likable young man comes home to N.J. when his mother dies and
finds himself. Inventive details, I just like this film. *** |
| GARDEN, THE
(2008, d. Scott Hamilton Kennedy) Infuriating docu about a disputed S.
Central L.A. parcel of land which is political dynamite. *** 1/2 |
| GARPASTUM
(2006, d. Alexey Guerman) *** |
| GAUDI
AFTERNOON (2001, d. Susan Seidelman) ** 3/4 |
| GAY HOLLYWOOD (2003, d. Jeremy Simmons) V. Doc. notable since I'm acquainted
with 2 of the subjects. Dustin Lance Black is a personal fave. ** 3/4 |
| GAY LIVES (2008,
short program, various directors) (average: ** 1/2) |
| GAY
SHORTS (2005, d. various) 6 quite ordinary to poor gay short
films. Only "Postmortem" and "Just Pray" were worth
watching. ** |
| GEBIRTIG (2003, d. Lukas
Stepanik, Robert Schindel) Austria AFF. Drama about present day
Holocaust participants. ** 1/2 |
| GEMINIS
(2005, d. Albertina Carri) ** 3/4 |
| GENERAL, EL
(2009, d. Natalia Almada) * 3/4 |
| GENOVA (2008, d.
Michael Winterbottom) *** |
| GEORGE
MICHAEL - A DIFFERENT STORY (2006, d. Southan Morris) *** 1/4 |
| GEORGE WASHINGTON (2000, d. David Gordon Green) **
3/4 |
| GERRY (2003, d. Gus Van Sant) Boring existential
drama about 2 dumb guys metaphysically lost in the desert. Great
steady-cam. ** |
| GET OVER IT
(2001, d. Tommy O'Haver) ** 1/4 |
| GETTING HOME (Luo
ye gui gen) (2007, d. Zhang Yang) *** 1/4 |
| GETTING MY
BROTHER LAID (2002, d. Sven Taddicken) * 1/2 |
| GHOST DOG: THE WAY OF
THE SAMURAI (2000, d. Jim
Jarmusch) *** |
| GHOST
WORLD (2001, d. Terry Zwigoff) *** 1/2 |
| GHOSTS OF CITÉ SOLEIL (2006, d. Leth & Loncarivic) V. Scattered docu; a
Haitian City of God.
Rappers in the slums get screwed. *** |
| GIE
(2005, d. Rira Riza) ** 3/4 |
| GIFT TO
STALIN, THE (2009, d. Rustem Abdrashev) *** 1/2 |
| GIFT,
THE (2003, US doc. d. Louise Hogarth)
Important documentary about some gays, especially the young, who purposely
contract HIV. *** 1/2 |
| GIFT, THE
(2001, d. Sam Raimi) ** |
| GIGLI
(2003, d. Martin Brest) An embarrassing film for all, especially Affleck and
Brest. Tacky, squicky, homophobic; but Justin Bartha a find. 1/2* |
| GIGOLOS,
THE (2005, d. Richard Bracewell) ** 1/2 |
| GIRL BY THE LAKE,
THE (La Ragazza del Lago) (2008, d. Andrea Molaioli) ** 1/2 |
| GIRL CUT IN
TWO, A (La fille coupée en deux) (2007, d. Claude Chabrol) *** |
| GIRL FROM
MONACO, THE (La fille de Monaco) (2008, d. Anne Fontaine) ** 1/4 |
| GIRL
FROM PARIS, THE (2003, France d. Christian Carion)
+ Lovely movie about a woman who forsakes the city and buys and runs a
mountain farm. *** 1/2 |
| GIRL IN THE CAFÉ, THE (2005, d. David Yates)
V. Bill Nighy is great as a financial dweeb. But simplistic politics sink
this Richard Curtis written romance. ** 1/4 |
| GIRL IN THE
PARK, THE (2007, d. David Auburn) *** 1/4 |
| GIRL
IS MINE, THE (2007, d. Virginie Wagon) *** |
| GIRL
NEXT DOOR, THE (2004, d. Luke Greenfield) I expect to like
it; but instead I was offended by the ridiculous plot, though Olyphant and
Hirsch were good. * 3/4 |
| GIRL ON THE BRIDGE (La fille sur la ponte)
(2000, d. Patrice Leconte) ** 1/2 |
| GIRL ON
THE TRAIN, THE (La fille du RER) (2009, d. André Téchiné) *** 1/4 |
| GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING (2003, d. Peter Webber)
Cinematography worthy of Vermeer; but the film's story was like watching
paint dry. ** |
| GIRLFIGHT
(2000, d. Karyn Kusama) *** 1/2 |
| GIRLS CAN'T SWIM
(2002, d. Anne-Sophie Birot) ** |
| GITS,
THE (2005, d. Kerri O'Kane) Compelling counterpoint to Malfunkshun, a
docu about a Seattle punker lead singer who was raped & murdered. *** |
| GIVE ME YOUR
HAND (2009, d. Pascal-Alex Vincent) *** |
| GIVING IT
UP (2009, d. Frank Ruy) *** |
| GLADIATOR (2000, d. Ridley Scott) *** 1/4 |
| GLAMOUR
(2000, d. Frigyes Gödrös) ** 3/4 |
| GLASS HOUSE, THE (2001, d. Daniel Sackheim)
** |
| GLASS: A Portrait of Philip
in Twelve Parts (2008, d. Scott Hicks) Inherently
intersting if overlong docu about composer. *** |
| GLEANERS AND I, THE (2001, d. Agnès Varda) ***
1/2 |
| GLI INDESIDERABILI (2003, d. Pasquale
Scimeca) Confusing gangster film. Desires to be Once Upon a Time in America
and fails utterly. Vincent Gallo OK * 1/4 |
| GLORY ROAD
(2006, d. James Gartner) Solid, typical sport docudrama with great Josh Lucas
perf, raised 1/4 star by the real-life end credit interviews. *** 1/4 |
| GLUE (2006, d.
Alexis Dos Santos) ** 1/2 |
| GO
FURTHER (2004, d.
Ron Mann) Entertaining doc. about Woody Harrelson emulating Kesey's Prankster
bus in a trip & bike ride for the environment. ** 3/4 |
| GO
TIGERS! (2001, d. Kenneth Carlson) **** |
| GO WEST
(2006, d. Ahmed Imamovic) *** |
| GO
(2001, d. Isao Yukisada) *** 1/4 |
| GOAL II: LIVING THE
DREAM (2008, d. Jaume Collet-Serra) I'm not into
soccer; but this is one sports film which satisfies. Kuno Becker!, Nivola,
Hauer, Dillane, great f/x. *** |
| GOAL! THE DREAM BEGINS (2006, d. Danny Cannon) Totally clichéd, predictable
script; but damn, this film rocked my world. Kuno Becker! ** 3/4 |
| GOD IS GREAT, AND
I'M NOT (2002, d. Pascale Bailly) ** 3/4 |
| GODS AND GENERALS (2003, d. Ronald
Maxwell) Civil War epic, centered on Stonewall Jackson. Well made; but
not as good as Gettysburg.. ** 3/4 |
| GODSEND (2004, d. Nick Hamm)
Almost a good film, sort of a secular Omen, effectively and darkly shot,
directed & acted. But can't surmount its ridiculous premise. ** |
| GO-GETTER, THE (2009, d. Martin Hynes) V. Typical indie road
flick, but a good vehicle for Lou Taylor Pucci. ** 1/2 |
| GOING
THRU SPLAT: STEWART STERN (2005, d. Jon Ward) Conventional docu about
embittered ex-film screenwriter, only occasionally interesting. ** 1/4 |
| GOLDEN BOWL, THE (2001, d. James Ivory)
*** |
| GOLDEN COMPASS, THE (2007, d. Chris Weitz) Great f/x, muddled script.
** |
| GOLDEN
DOOR, THE (2006, d. Emanuele Crialese; Italy) *** |
| GOMORRA
(2008, d. Matteo Garrone; Italy) ** 3/4 |
| GONE BABY GONE (2007, d. Ben Affleck) Nicely directed. Story
too far-fetched; but Casey Affleck especially fine. *** 1/4 |
| GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS (2000, d. Dominic Sena) **
1/2 |
| GONE
WITH THE WOMAN (2007, d. Peter Naess) Norway Academy foreign film
submission *** |
| GONZO: THE LIFE AND
WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON (2008, d. Alex Gibney) *** 1/2 |
| GOOD BOY! (2003, d. John Robert Hoffman) A sweet and
inoccuous kids film, with some tacky effects, but mostly successful on the
level it was intended. *** |
| GOOD BOYS (2005, d. Yair Hochner) * 3/4 |
| GOOD
BYE, LENIN! (2004,
d. Wolfgang Becker) A political satire about the Wall and German unification
which is amusing and affecting. *** 1/4 |
| GOOD FOOD
(2008, d. Melissa Young & Mark Dworkin) ** |
| GOOD GERMAN, THE (2006, d. Steven Soderbergh) Glorious B&W
cinematography doesn't disguise ambiguous plot & lack of involvement. **
1/2 |
| GOOD GIRL,
THE (2002, d. Miguel
Arteta) *** |
| GOOD
HANDS (2002, d. Peeter Simm) *** |
| GOOD
LAWYER’S WIFE, A
(2004, d. Im Sang-soo) Very sexy drama about the corrosive effects of
marital infidelity by a lawyer & his wife. *** |
| GOOD MORNING, NIGHT (2006, d. Marco Bellocchio) Impressionist docudrama of
Aldo Moro kidnapping. Talky & political. ** 3/4\ |
| GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK (2005, d. George
Clooney) *** 1/2 |
| GOOD
NIGHT TO DIE, A
(2003, d. Craig Singer) Arty, ironic thriller about 2 hit men
and their destiny. Good cast, but pretentious. * 3/4 |
| GOOD NIGHT, THE (2007, d. Jake Paltrow) Totally forgettable story about
a shlub who lives a vivid dream life. ** |
| GOOD SHEPHERD, THE (2006, d. Robert De Niro) Absorbing, well achieved CIA
story, but Matt Damon seems too young & callow for role. *** |
| GOOD SON, THE (2007, d. Joseph Rubin)V. Elija Wood, great kid
actor...Culkin ok. Convincing film, except for unlikely ending.
** 3/4 |
| GOOD THIEF, THE (2003, d. Neil Jordan) Based on Bob le flambeur which was
infinitely better. Atmospheric caper film with large holes. * 3/4 |
| GOOD YEAR, A (2006, d. Ridley Scott) The French do this sort of
romantic comedy of terroir much better (e.g. Rohmer's Autumn Tale). ** 1/2 |
| GOOD YEAR, A (2008, d. Ridley Scott) V.+ Minor Scott film; but
Provence and Russell Crowe are lovely. ** 3/4 |
| GOOD (2008,
d. Vicente Amorim) A misguided but fairly involving Holocaust film about a
"good" German SS man & his Jewish buddy. ** 1/2 |
| GOOD, THE BAD AND THE
UGLY (2008, d. Sergio Leone) 195 min. extended
version is *long*, but visual feast; Eli Wallach steals the film. *** 1/2 |
| GOODBYE
DRAGON INN (2003,
d. Tsai Ming-Liang) Weirdly paced allegory? ghost story? shaggy dog story?
Tsai's most formal exercise in boredom as style. *** |
| GOODBYE
MOTHERS (2008, d. Mohammed Ismail; Morocco) ** 3/4 |
| GOOSE
FEATHER (2005, d. Ljubisa Samardzic; Serbia) Psychologically iffy,
soapy melodrama about a peasant who loves one woman but marries another rich
one. ** 1/4 |
| GOSFORD PARK (2001, d. Robert Altman) *** 3/4
|
| GOTHIKA (2003, d. Mathieu Kassovitz) Kassovitz
stories tend towards supernatural claptrap. Excellent acting & direction
overcome ridiculous plot. *** |
| GOYA IN BORDEAUX (2000, d. Carlos Saura) * 1/4 |
| GOYA'S GHOST
(2007, d. Milos Forman) *** |
| GRACE IS GONE (2007, d. James Strause) Subtle, well crafted &
acted (especially the girls): mom killed in war. *** 1/4 |
| GRAFFITI
ARTIST, THE (2004,
d. James Bolton) Slow, hypnotic digital video about a young, gay
graffiti artist who befriends another boy & tags the NW. *** |
| GRAN
GATO, EL (2004, d.
Ventura Pons) Doc. about songwriter in vein of Shadow of Motown & Buena
Vista Club. Good music. *** |
| GRAN TORINO
(2008, d. Clint Eastwood) The gran curmudgeon as sassy as ever. Neatly
plotted if a tad obvious. *** |
| GRAND
VOYAGE, LE (2005, d. Ismael Ferroukhi) Involving, picturesque road pic
of father & son driving Paris to Mecca. *** |
| GRANDE ÉCOLE (2005, d. Robert Salis)
V. Empassioned film about young people's sexual obsessions. Arty bi-sexual
frontal nudity a plus. ** 3/4 |
| GRANDPA IS DEAD (2009, d. Soxie H. Topacio; Philippines) * |
| GRAVE
DECISIONS (2007, d. Marcus H. Rosenmüller) ** 1/2 |
| GRAVEHOPPING
(2006, d. Jan Cvitkovic) ** |
| GRBAVICA
(2006, d. Jasmila Zbanic; Bosnia & Herzegovina) *** 1/4 |
| GREAT BUCK HOWARD,
THE (2008, d. Sean McGinly) ** 3/4 |
| GREAT DEBATERS, THE (2007, d. Denzel Washington) Better than I expected.
Predictable, but moving. *** |
| GREAT NEW WONDERFUL, THE (2006, d. Danny Leiner) 5 post-9/11 NY stories of
ordinary people in search of meaning. ** 1/2 |
| GREAT RAID, THE (2005, d. John Dahl)
*** |
| GREAT
WATER (2005, d. Ivo Trajkov) Nicely directed and acted drama about a
dying Macedonian politician recalling his youth. *** |
| GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED,
THE (2005, d. Bill
Paxton) *** |
| GREEN
BUTCHERS, THE (2004,
d. Anders Jensen) Dutch black comedy about a couple of losers who make
a macabre go of a new butcher shop. ** 3/4 |
| GREEN
DRAGON (2002, d. Timothy Linh Bui) ** 3/4
|
| GREEN
HAT (2005, d. Liu Fendou) Quirky dramedy about 3 inep bankrobbers &
a cuckolded cop with marital impotence. Amusing, but confusing, script.
* 3/4 |
| GREENFINGERS (2001, d. Joel Hershman) **
1/2 |
| GREY ZONE,
THE (2002, d. Tim Blake Nelson) **** |
| GRID,
THE (2004, d.
Mikael Salomon)V. Mini-series about a multi-national war on terrorism
involving the CIA, NSC, FBI, MI-5 & MI-6. Gripping, with some fine
performances. *** |
| GRIFFIN AND
PHOENIX (2006, d. Ed Stone) ** |
| GRILL
POINT (2002, d. Andreas Dresen) ** |
| GRIMM LOVE
(2007, d. Martin Weisz) ** 1/2 |
| GRIZZLY MAN (2005, d. Warner Herzog)
*** 1/2 |
| GROCER'S
SON, THE (Le Fils de l'épicier) (2008, d. Eric Guirado) *** 1/4 |
| GRÖNHOLM
METHOD, THE (El Metodo Grönholm) (2005, d. Marcelo Piñero) *** |
| GROOMSMAN,
THE (2006, d. Edward Burns) *** 1/4 |
| GROWN UPS
(Les grandes personnes) (2009, d. Anna Novion) ** 1/4 |
| GUARDIAN, THE (2006, d. Andrew Davis) Nicely scripted action flick;
both Costner & Kutcher are fine. Storm f/x top of line. *** |
| GUARDIAN'S
SON (2007, d. Dimitis Koutsiabassakos) ** 3/4 |
| GUESS WHO (2005, d. Kevin
Sullivan) Unfunny, borderline offensive...but Ashton Kucher actually desplays
some talent for timing & star quality. ** 1/2 |
| GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR
SAINTS, A (2006, d. Dito Montiel) Truish life Mean Streets. Great cast,
indie at its best. *** 1/2 |
| GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR
SAINTS, A (2008, d. Dito Monteil) V.+ Great cast,
life as art. *** 1/4 |
| GUILTY,
THE (2004, d.
Anthony Waller)V. Totally contrived murder mystery thriller with a good cast,
Bill Pullman and Devon Sawa especially. ** 1/2 |
| GUY
AND MADELINE ON A PARK BENCH (2009, d. Damien Chazelle) ** |
| GUYS,
THE (2004, d. Jim
Simpson) An emotional, talky film about FDNY coping with 9/11. Anthony
LaPaglia great, Sigorney Weaver also pretty good. ** 1/2 |
| GYPSY
CARAVAN (2007, d. Jasmine Dellal) *** |
| H (2003, S. Korea d.
Lee Jeong-hyuk) Serial killer melodrama with the creepiest villains since
Hannibal Lector. Very much in the same vein as Cure. *** |
| HABITANTE INCIERTO, EL (The
Uninvited Guest) (2007, d. Guillem Morales) V. *** |
| HACHIKO: A DOG'S
STORY (2009, d. Lasse Hallstrom) ** 3/4 |
| HAIKU
TUNNEL (2001, d. Jacob & Joshua Kornbluth)
*** |
| HAIRSPRAY (2007, d. Adam Shankman) *** 1/2 |
| HALF LIFE OF
TIMOFEY BEREZIN, THE (2006, d. Scott Z. Burns) *** 1/4 |
| HALF
NELSON (2006, d. Ron Fleck) *** 1/4 |
| HALF-LIFE
(2008, d. Jennifer Phang) ** |
| HAMLET
(2000, d. Michael Almereyda) ** 1/2 |
| HANA &
ALICE (2005, d. Shunji Iwai) Intermittantly clever & interesting,
quirky film about two teenage girls & their crush on a reserved
boy. ** 1/2 |
| HANA (2006, d.
Hirokazu Kore-eda) ** 3/4 |
| HANCOCK
(2008, d. Peter Berg) Ridiculous premise, reasonably good f/x. Superhero with
a human face; but I strongly disliked script. * 1/2 |
| HANGING
OFFENSE (2004, d.
Guillame Nicloux) Atmospheric, puzzling thriller about possible murders and
the woman Colombo-like detective on the case. *** |
| HANGOVER, THE (2009, d. Todd Phillips) One of those great bad
comedies: earned laughs, surprising plot development, fresh acting by 4 comic actors.
*** 1/4 |
| HANNIBAL RISING (2007, d. Peter Webber) Now just an ordinary
slasher/revenge genre pic, though Gaspard Ulliel is a very interesting
actor. ** |
| HANNIBAL
(2001, d. Ridley Scott) ** 1/4 |
| HANSEL AND
GRETEL (2009, d. Yim Phil-sung) W/O |
| HAPPENING, THE (2008, d. M. Night Shyamalan) Good acting (Betty Buckley's
classic camp), ridiculous script (plot holes to spare). ** |
| HAPPILY
EVER AFTER (2005, d. Yvan Attal) Ironically titled, interesting enough
film about 2 married guy & single friend and their failing relationships.
** 3/4 |
| HAPPINESS OF THE
KATAKURIS, THE (2002, d. Takashi Miike) * 1/2 |
| HAPPY ACCIDENTS (2001, d. Brad Anderson)
*** |
| HAPPY AS
ONE (2006, d. Vanessa Jopp) *** |
| HAPPY ENDINGS (2005, d. Don Roos)
Somewhat sprawling, well observed black comedy of 21st century families with
a brilliant perf by Maggie Gyllenhaal *** 1/2 |
| HAPPY FEET
(2006, d. George Miller) Simply wonderful 3-D animation combined with a
timeless, appealing story. A triumph. *** 3/4 |
| HAPPY
HOUR (2003, d.
Mike Bencivenga) Anthony LaPaglia doing a Leaving Las Vegas dramatic turn,
well acted but ultimately derivative. ** 1/2 |
| HAPPY
TIMES (2002, d. Zhang Yimou) **
1/2 |
| HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (2008, d. Mike Leigh) Formless, well acted character
study centered around a happy-go-lucky young woman and her angst ridden
driving teacher. ** 3/4 |
| HARD
CANDY (2006, d. David Slade) *** |
| HARD
GOODBYES: MY FATHER (2003,
Greece/Germany d. Penny Panayotopoulou) Slight story about young
boy in denial about his father's death. ** 1/4 |
| HARD PILL (2005, d. John
Baumgartner) *** |
| HARD
WORD, THE (2003, Australia/Great Britain d.
Scott Roberts) Delightful caper film. *** |
| HARDBALL
(2001, d. Brian Robbins) ** 1/2 |
| HARI OM
(2005, d. Bharatbala Ganapathy) Another travelog, this one better,
though also contrived: French girl roving thru India with a rickshaw
driver. ** 1/2 |
| HAROLD
& KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE (2004, d. Danny Leiner) Silly teen farce with too many stupid
bathroom & fag bashing jokes...but fun anyway. ** 1/4 |
| HARRY
AND MAX (2004, d.
Chris Munch) Brutally honest, well written story of 2 boy-band brothers with
incest overtones. Bryce Johnson is a major find! *** 1/4 |
| HARRY
AND MAX (2004, d.
Christopher Munch) + Still one of the most truthful & insightful films
about boybands and gay life in general. Better the 2nd time. *** 1/2 |
| HARRY
POTTER #3 (2004,
d. Alfonso Cuarón) Darker, better directed; but still relatively uninvolving.
Maybe I should read the books. ** 1/2 |
| HARRY POTTER 5 (2007, d. David Yates) *** 1/4 |
| HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER
OF SECRETS (2002, d. Chris
Columbus) *** |
| HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET
OF FIRE (2005, d.
Mike Newell) *** |
| HARRY POTTER AND THE
HALF-BLOOD PRINCE (2009, d. David Yates) Series
marking time; but excellent script and f/x make it worthwhile. *** 1/4 |
| HARRY POTTER AND THE
SORCERER'S STONE (2001, d. Chris
Columbus) ** 3/4 |
| HARSH TIMES (2006, d. David Ayer) Tough action film with
scintillating acting and superreal dialog. Bale is a phenom. *** |
| HART'S WAR (2002, d. Gregory Hoblit) **
1/2 |
| HARVARD MAN (2002, d. James Toback) ** 1/4 |
| HATE CRIME (2005, d. Tommy Stovall) * |
| HAVEN
(2006, d. Frank E. Flowers) Good actors in a mess of a film about Cayman
Island life and dire financial schemes. ** |
| HAWAII,
OSLO (2004, d.
Erik Poppe) Norway AFF: slick, complex multi-strand drama of a group of Oslo
residents as they play out one character's portentious dream. *** |
| HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT (2005, d. Tom Vaughan)
Psychologically modern Trollope novel of 4 Victorian relationships given
average Masterpiece Theater treatment. ** 1/2 |
| HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME
NOT (2003, d.
Laetetia Columbani) Clever thriller about a woman literally crazy about a
cardiologist. *** |
| HEAD
IN THE CLOUDS (2004,
d. John Duigan) Old fashioned big WWII romance, a tear jerker that didn't
jerk but never bored. Theron fine; but Townsend too callow for role. ** 3/4 |
| HEAD OVER HEELS (2001, d. Mark Waters) ** |
| HEADLESS WOMAN,
THE (2009, d. Lucrecia Martel) ** 1/2 |
| HEAD-ON
(2004, d. Fatih
Akin) Off center love story about troubled German Turkish couple. Good
film, but not as good as rep. *** 1/4 |
| HEART
IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, THE (2004, d. Asia Argento) Mind blowing
adaptation from life of a young boy being raised by his disaster of a
mother. *** 1/2 |
| HEART
OF ME, THE (2003, Great
Britain/Germany d. Thaddeus O'Sullivan) Unabashed weepy romance
about 2 sisters in love with the same man. *** |
| HEART OF THE BEAR,
THE (2001, d. Arvo Iho) *** 1/4 |
| HEARTBEAT
DETECTOR (2008, d. Nicolas Klotz) ** 1/4 |
| HEARTS IN ATLANTIS (2001, d. Scott Hicks)
** |
| HEAVEN (2002, d. Tom Tykwer) ***
1/2 |
| HEAVENS
BLUE (Tengri) (2008, d. Marie Jaoul de Poncheville; Kyrgyzstan) *** 1/4 |
| HEAVEN'S BURNING (2005, d. Craig
Lahiff)V. Russell Crowe & Japanese chick in a corkingly over-the-top (a
la Robert Rodriguez) violent road pic from Oz. *** |
| HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY
INCH (2001, d. John Cameron Mitchell) *** |
| HEIGHTS
(2005, d. Chris Terrio) + Second time to watch this one. Superbly well done.
Another great Glenn Close role. My kinda film! *** 1/2 |
| HEIGHTS
(2005, d. Chris Terrio) Multi-character 24 hours in the lives of N.Y. arty
types. Superbly well done. My kinda film! *** 1/2 |
| HEIR TO AN EXECUTION (2003, d. Ivy Meeropol)V. Doc. Rosenberg's grandaughter
searches for the truths of family's past. Moving, well made, informative.
***1/2 |
| HEIST
(2001, d. David Mamet) ** 3/4 |
| HELL HOUSE (2002, d. George Ratliff)
*** |
| HELL (2006,
d. Danis Tanovic) *** 1/2 |
| HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (2009, d. Guillermo del Toro) Bombastic fantasy with del
Toro's nightmarish imagery, but a soporific, predictable plot. ** |
| HELLO
GOODBYE (2009, d. Graham Guit) ** 1/2 |
| HENRY POOLE IS HERE (2008, d. Mark Pellington) Luke Wilson in a film
totally without irony doesn't compute. * 1/4 |
| HENRY
VIII (2004, d.
Pete Travis) V. Abridged PBS version of British series with an interesting
Ray Winstone perf. Pop history, but too short to be meaningful. ** 1/4 |
| HER
MAJESTY (2002, d. Mark J. Gordon) * 1/2 |
| HER
MINOR THING (2005, d. Charles Matthau) Silly romantic comedy with a
trite, predictable story but nice production values. * 1/2 |
| HERE ON EARTH (2000, d. Mark Piznarski) **
1/2 |
| HERENCIA
(2002, d. Paula Hernandez) *** |
| HERO (2003, d. Zhang Yimou)
China AFF. Huge marshall arts epic in Crouching Tiger vein.
Gorgeous & well made; but cold. *** |
| HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU (2009, d. Ken Kwapis) Attractive cast, but clichés
abound in this all too clever rom-com about coupling. ** 1/2 |
| HEY, HAPPY!
(2001, d. Noam Gonick) 0* |
| HI,
TERESKA (2002, d. Robert Glinski) *** |
| HIDALGO (2004, d. Joe Johnston)
Entertaining western variant, true (if transparently enhanced) story of a
mustang competing with thoroughbred Arabians. ** 3/4 |
| HIDDEN
(Caché) (2005, d.
Michael Haneke) *** 1/2 |
| HIDDEN
BLADE, THE (2006, d. Yoji Yamada) *** 1/2 |
| HIDDEN FACE
(2008, d. Bernard Campan) * 1/4 |
| HIDDEN LOVE
(L'amour caché) (2007, d. Alessandro Capone) * 3/4 |
| HIDING
AND SEEKING (2004,
d. Menachem Daum) V. Enormously moving docu about a family of Holocaust
survivors and their reconciliation with the past. *** 3/4 |
| HIGH CRIMES (2002, d. Carl Franklin)
** |
| HIGH FIDELITY (2000, d. Stephen Frears) ***
1/2 |
| HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 (2008, d. Kenny Ortega) Surprisingly good, fun and
frothy. High energy, ok score, great choriography make for a diverting
experience. *** |
| HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL (2006, d. Kenny Ortega) V. By far the best musical of
the last year is a Disney TV film. Zac Ephron can move & even lip sync.
*** |
| HIGH
TENSION (2004, d. Alexandre Aja) Vividly graphic
and gory mass-murder horror thriller, well made, but based on a cheat which
compromises it. *** |
| HIGHER FORCE, THE (2008, d. Olaf de Fleur Johannesson) Silly Iceland
comedy which went nowhere for 45 minutes so I walked. W/O |
| HIGHER FORCE,
THE (2009, d. Olaf de Fleur Johannesson) * 3/4 |
| HIGHWAY (2005, d. James Cox) V. Messy, faintly
homoerotic '02 road movie with stoned out Jake Gyllenhaal & Jared Leto
looking fine. * 3/4 |
| HIMALAYA
(2001, d. Eric Valli) *** |
| HINDENBERG, THE (2006, d. Robert Wise) V. Fairly good old fashioned
disaster flick. F/x sort of lame. ** 1/4 |
| HIS SECRET LIFE
("Ignorant Fairies") (2001, d. Ferzan Ozpetek)
*** 1/2 |
| HISTORY BOYS, THE (2006, d. Nicholas Hytner) Yorkshire Dead Poets Society with a fine,
literate script. Totally absorbing. *** 3/4 |
| HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, A (2005, d. David
Cronenberg) *** 1/2 |
| HIT AND RUNWAY
(2001, d. Christopher Livingston) *** 1/4 |
| HIT, THE (2003, d. Stephen Frears) V. 1984 noir with superb
performances. Wonderfully nihlistic & typical of later Frears. ***
1/4 |
| HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE
GALAXY (2005, d.
Garth Jennings) Banal, arch as only the Brits can. I was incredibly bored,
even with the great f/x. * 1/2 |
| HOAX, THE
(2007, d. Lasse Hallstrom) Competent, but predictable and not
involving. ** 1/2 |
| HOLD
MY HEART (2003, d. Trygve Allister Diesen) Norway
AFF. Drama about father who kidnaps estranged young daughter. ***
1/4 |
| HOLDING TREVOR (2007, d. Rosser Goodman) *** 1/2 |
| HOLES (2003, d. Andrew Davis)
It's sort of churlish to complain about a bad script with such a feel-good
movie. Shia LaBeouf is great. ** 3/4 |
| HOLIDAY, THE (2006, d. Nancy Meyers) I loved every minute of
this chick flick despite its flaws. *** 1/4 |
| HOLLOW MAN (2000, d. Paul Verhoeven) * 3/4 |
| HOLLYWOOD ENDING (2002, d. Woody Allen)
*** |
| HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE (2003, d. Ron Shelton)
Cop flick where quirky cops are more interesting than the case. Shelton
better director here than writer. ** 1/2 |
| HOLLYWOODLAND (2006, d. Allen Coulter) TV director's style more
suited to noir. Fine cast (esp. Brody & Affleck) good script! *** |
| HOLY
GIRL, THE (2005, d. Lucrecia Martel) Turgid and pointless drama about
the effect on a teen girl of an almost molestation by a married older
man. * 1/2 |
| HOLY LOLA (2005, d. Bertrand Tavernier) Just about the
same movie as John Sayles' Casa de los babys except in Cambodia. Too
protracted and long. ** 1/2 |
| HOME
AT THE END OF THE WORLD, A (2004, d. Michael Mayer) Extraordinarily
well made, literate gay film which nails its '60s-'80s eras. Great
acting. *** 3/4 |
| HOME OF
DARK BUTTERFLYS, THE (2008, d. Dome Karukoski; Finland) ** 3/4 |
| HOME
OF THE BRAVE
(2004, d. Paola di Florio) V. Well made docu, informative &
emotionally powerful about civil rights martyr Viola Liuzzo & her
surviving family. *** 1/2 |
| HOME OF THE BRAVE (2006, d. Irwin Winkler) Powerful affects-of-war film
about current Iraq soldiers. Too on point, but well acted. ** 3/4 |
| HOME
SONG STORIES, THE (2008, d. Tony Ayres; Australia) *** 1/4 |
| HOME (2009, d.
Ursula Meier) *** |
| HOMEGROWN (2004, d. Stephen
Gyllenhaal) V. Authentic '98 pot growing paranoia movie thriller/comedy with
good cast (Ryan Phillippe is fine). ** 3/4 |
| HOMELESS TO HARVARD (2003, d. Peter Levin)
(V) Lifetime tv movie (Thora Birch) about girl who surmounts incredible odds
to get an education. ** 3/4 |
| HOMESICK
(Koti-ikävä) (2006, d. Petri Kotwica) Superb, raw Finnish film about a
teenage boy committed to a mental institution, similar plot to Manic. *** 1/4 |
| HOMME DE SA
VIE, L' (2006, d. Zabou Breitman) *** 3/4 |
| HONEY (2003, d. Bille Woodruff) Is there a
cookie-cutter factory for recycled plots like this? Ok music & dancing
don't make up for terrible direction. * 1/4 |
| HONEYDRIPPER (2007, d. John Sayles) Good music, but very
predictable. ** 3/4 |
| HOOKED (2009, d.
Adrian Sitaru) ** 1/2 |
| HOOT
(2006, d. Wil Shriner) Ernest flick from teen book. Interesting young actors,
but lacking directoral spark. * 3/4 |
| HOPE
ETERNAL (2008, d. Karl Francis; United Kingdom) ** 1/2 |
| HORAS
DEL DIA, LAS (2004, d. Jaime Rosales) Boring (cf. Bruno
Dumont) film about the boring quotidien life of a boring shopowner with one
little quirk. ** |
| HORIZON
OF EVENTS, THE (2006, d. Daniele Vicari) ** 3/4 |
| HORNBLOWER: DUTY (2003, d. Andrew
Grieve)V. #8, not quite up to #7. Still, this series is best thing ever to
happen on high seas, despite Russell Crowe. *** |
| HORNBLOWER: LOYALTY |