All Films Watched in 2010
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
January, 2010
FERMAT'S ROOM (d. Piedrahita & Sopeña) V. Overly
intellectualized Spanish thriller like Intacto: 4
people trapped in a room forced to solve enigmas or die. ** 3/4
RUINS, THE (d. Carter
Smith) V. Even I know better than to wander to a lost Mayan pyramid.
The actors, all attractive, pretty good horror flick. ** 3/4
THAT EVENING SUN (d. Scott
Teems) Fine film, if a downer. Holbrook is wonderful; but I felt
for McKinnon's villain, too, surely not intended. *** 1/4
FACING ALI (d. Pete McKormack)
Quite interesting docu featuring interviews with fighters who fought
Muhammad Ali plus great boxing footage. *** 1/2
BEST OF TIMES (d. Yongyoot
Thongkongtoon; Thailand) **
WINTER IN WARTIME (d. Martin
Koolhoven; The Netherlands) *** 1/2
DRAFT DODGERS (Réfractaire)
(d. Nicolas Steil; Luxembourg)
** 3/4
DON'T BURN IT (d. Dang Nhat
Minh; Vietnam) ** 1/2
FANTASTIC MR. FOX, THE (d. Wes
Anderson) It must just be me; but the whimsey escaped me, the
characters annoyed, it all seemed a little silly. ** 1/4
VORTEX (Duburys) (d. Gytis Luksas;
Lithuania) *** 1/4
KELIN: THE
DAUGHTER-IN-LAW (d. Yermek Zursunov; Kazakhstan) ****
REYKJAVIK-ROTTERDAM (d. Oskar
Jonasson; Iceland) *** 1/4
PAULISTA (d. Roberto Moreira) **
3/4
INSIDE HANNA'S SUITCASE (d. Larry
Weinstein) *** 1/2
BRAND NEW LIFE, A (d. Ounie
Lecomte) ***
BALIBO CONSPIRACY, THE (d. Robert
Connolly) *** 1/4
BIG GAY MUSICAL (d. Andreas &
Caruso) ***
FOR A MOMENT FREEDOM (d. Arash T.
Riahi; Austria) *** 1/2
ZONA SUR (d. Juan Carlos
Valdivia; Bolivia) *** 1/4
NIGHTGUARDS (d. Namik Kabil;
Bosnia-Herzegovina) *
EYES WIDE OPEN (d. Hair
Tabakman) *** 1/4
MIRACLE SELLER (d. Pawica &
Szoda) ** 3/4
1981 (d. Ricardo Trogi) **
1/4
EAMON (d.Margaret Corkery )
*** 1/4
DIFFERENT FROM WHOM (d. Umberto
Carteni) ***
PLAN B (d. Marco Berger) *** 1/4
MEDITERRANEAN FOOD (d. Joaquin
Oristrell) *** 1/2
BIG DREAM, THE (d. Michele
Placido) ** 1/2
FORTAPASC (d. Marco Risi)
** 3/4
PROPHET, A
(Un prophète) (d. Jacques Audiard; France) *** 3/4
ECLIPSE, THE (d. Conor McPherson)
** 1/2
IS IT
JUST ME? (d. J. C. Calciano) *** 1/4
BROTHERHOOD (d. Nicolo
Donato) ** 3/4
SICILIAN GIRL, THE (d. Marco
Amenta) *** 3/4
GLORIOUS 39 (d. Stephen
Poliakoff) ***
QUEEN TO PLAY (d. Caroline
Bottaro) ** 1/2
OVER THE HILL BAND (d. Geoffrey
Enthoven) ** 1/2
ANGEL AT SEA (d. Frédéric Dumont)
*** 1/4
BRIDE FLIGHT (d. Ben
Sombogaart) *** 3/4
HIPSTERS (d. Valery
Todorovsky) *** 1/2
GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, THE
(d. Niels Arden Oplev) *** 1/2
BOOK OF ELI, THE (d. Hughes
Brothers) Another dystopian future post-war road pic. Denzell is really
fine; but Bible thumping message a little much. ** 3/4
February,
2010
FISH TANK
(d. Andrea Arnold) 15 yr.old girl's coming of age in lower class Brit
family. Michael Fassbender impressive as mom's boyfriend who crosses
line. *** 1/4
DEAR JOHN (d. Lasse
Hallström) A little sappy; but Hallström does a good job with
Tatum, nice chemistry between leads & good enough romance, if
barely. ***
AVATAR (d. James Cameron) +
Still amazing 2nd time around. No other film in memory provided me with
such a pleasurable immersive experience. ****
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN
(d. Michael Bay) Nobody ever accused Bay of subtlety & nuance. So
glad Cameron kicked his ass. 1/4*
DISTRICT 13: ULTIMATUM (d.
Patrick Alessandrin) Boy, does Philippe Torreton class up an action
flick? This is a more than worthy sequel with *great* parkour. *** 1/4
PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE
LIGHTNING THIEF (d. Chris Columbus) More fun than Harry Potter 1;
but some plot holes detract. ** 3/4
UP (3D) (d. Pete Docter, Bob
Peterson) Nice concept, great vocal acting (Jordan Nagai is
phenomenal), really fine 3D animation. But mid-section dragged.
*** 1/4
HURT LOCKER, THE (d. Kathryn
Bigelow) + Still amazing, definitive war film 1 1/2 years later; but
now I notice episodic structure & middle drags a little. *** 3/4
AWAKE (d. Joby Harold) V.
Thriller with a truly absurd claptrap plot, but involving, gotta give
it that. I like Hayden Christensen, even if he's remarkably wooden. **
STAR TREK (d. J.J. Abrams) + 2nd
viewing gives more narrative clarity, but f/x look cheap in new Avatar world. But
casting is *outstanding*! By far best Trek film. ***
GEORGIA O'KEEFFE (d. Bob
Balaban) V. Despite convincing perfs by Joan Allen & Jeremy Irons,
sappy Lifetime tv movie is unwatchable. W/O
ORDER OF CHAOS (d. Vince
Vieluf) Strong, snarky, atmospheric thriller. Fine perfs (Coiro and
Ventimiglia). Vieluf is writer/director/composer to watch! *** 1/2
ENDGAME (d. Pete Travis) V.
Fine, if very low key, historical semi-thriller about negotiations
leading to end of Apartheid. Miller & Hurt are especially good. ***
GOOD GUY, THE (d. Julio
DePietro) Corruption & sexual hi-jinks among young Wall Street
traders? Here well done & creepy. Bryan Greenberg rules. *** 1/4
SECRET OF KELLS, THE (d. Tomm
Moore) Pretty watercolor animation; but legendary story of monks,
Vikings & enchanted forest bored me. ** 1/2
PRINCESS AND THE FROG, THE (d.
Clements & Musker) Nicely imagined 2D Disney animation & a
reasonably amusing musical comedy. ** 3/4
PLACE OF EXECUTION (d.
Daniel Percival) V. 1964 murder investigation revisited by present day
docu crew in gripping & surprising policier thriller. *** 1/2
COLLISION (d. Marc Evans) V.
Intriguing, fairly predictable Brit tv serial of a police investigation
into a multi-car hiway accident with twists & turns. ** 3/4
2009 ACADEMY SHORT FILMS (d.
various) 4 serious message films and one comedy in an average year
for this category. ** 3/4
2009 ACADEMY SHORT ANIMATIONS
(d. various) Some clever stuff (esp. Logorama), but a long Wallace & Gromit
shows series is played out. ** 3/4
BLIND SIDE, THE (d. John Lee
Hancock) Not a bad film, but Oscar calibre? Polar opposite of Precious, in any
case, and quite classist. ** 1/2
SHUTTER ISLAND (d. Martin
Scorsese) I got the twist about 5 minutes into the film...well made, of
course, & Leo is fine; but ridiculously overwrought plot. ** 1/2
CRAZIES, THE (d. Breck Eisner)
Convincing bio-eco-disaster flick with one wonderful perf by Joe
Anderson and some effectively directed horror tropes. ***
ANGEL (d. François
Ozon)V. Ozon's English lang. bodice ripper: great cast; despite
Romola Garai's technique in despicable title role film is eye rollingly
ridiculous. ** 1/4
RETURN TO CRANFORD (d. Simon
Curtis) V. Treakly sequel, ows much to Dickens. Pretty & authentic
but too sentimental compared to original. ** 1/2
ENRICO MATTEI: THE MAN WHO LOOKED AT THE FUTURE (d. Giorgio Capitani) ***
MEMORIES OF ANNE FRANK (d. Alberto Negrin) * 1/4
INGLORIOUS BASTARDS (d. Enzo Castellari; 1978) ** 3/4
March, 2010
YOUNGEST SON, THE (Il figlio più) (d. Pupi Avanti) ** 1/2
VICEROYS, THE (I Vicerè) (d. Roberto Faenza) *** 1/2
EIGHTEEN YEARS LATER (18 anni dopo) (d. Edoardo Leo) W/O
AS GOD COMMANDS (Come Dio comanda) (d. Gabriele Salvatores) *** 1/2
QUO VADIS, BABY (d. Gabriele Salvatores) ***
RAISE YOUR HEAD (Alza la testa) (d. Alessandro Angelini) *** 1/4
TEN WINTERS (Dieci inverni) (d. Valerio Mieli) ***
CÉZANNE AFFAIR, THE (L'uomo nero) (d. Sergio Rubini) ** 1/4
HAPPY FAMILY (d. Gabriele Salvatores) *** 1/4
WE ALL GET OUR SHARE (Ce n'è per tutti) (d. Luciano Melchionna) *
I'M NOT SCARED (Io non ho paura) (d. Gabriele Salvatores) + *** 1/4
TRICK IN THE SHEET, THE (L'imbroglio nel lenzuolo) (d. Alfonso Arau) ** 1/2
JUST MARRIED (Oggi sposi) (d. Luca Lucini) ***
I AM LOVE (Io sono l'amore) (d. Luca Guadagnino) *** 1/4
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