"A"     All Films Watched 2000-2010
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
A DIOS MOMO  (2005, d. Leonardo Ricagni) W/O
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.  ***
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
ACCOMPLICES (Complices) (2010, d. Frédéric Mermoud) . *** 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. ****
ACTRESSES, THE  (2010, d.  E. J-Yong)  ** 1/2
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 (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
ADORATION  (2008, d. Atom Egoyan) *** 1/2
ADULTS IN THE ROOM, THE (2010, d. Andy Blubaugh) ***
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 LAST ROUND (2010, d. Ryan Pettey) V. Docu about boxing & brain damage. Definite point of view; but a tad too obviously heart tugging.  ***
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
AFTERSHOCK (2010, d. Feng Xiaogang; China)  *** 3/4
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
AGORA  (2010, d. Alejandro Amenábar)  ** 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
AHEAD OF TIME  (2010, d. Bob Richman)  ***
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) **
AIR DOLL  (2010, d. Hirokazu Kore-eda)  **
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 IN WONDERLAND (2010, d. Tim Burton) Visually inventive, story deficient.  ** 1/2
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 THAT I LOVE (2010, d. Jacek Borcuch; Poland) +  ***
ALL THAT I LOVE  (2010, d. Jasek Borcuch)  ***
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
ALTIPLANO  (2010, d. Peter Brosens &  Jessica Woodworth)  *** 1/4
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
AMER  (2010, d. Hélène Cattet)  *
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
AMERICAN, THE (2010, d.  Anton Corbijn) Art film disguised as thriller. Also a Sergio Leone film in modern drag, only lacking Morricone's score. Slow, but Clooney shines. ***
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 (2010, 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
ANGEL AT SEA (2010, d. Frédéric Dumont) *** 1/4
ANGEL EXIT  (2001, d. Vladimir Michalek)  ** 1/4
ANGEL, THE (2010, d. Margreth Olin;  Norway)  ***
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  
ANIMAL KINGDOM (2010, d. David Michôd) V.  Watched again.  This time slight downgrade for some plot problems.  *** 1/4
ANIMAL KINGDOM  (2010, d. David Michôd)  *** 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
ANOTHER YEAR (2010, d. Mike Leigh) Wonder of wonders, a sensitive, slice-of-life film purely about my age contemporaries.  Ending left much unresolved.  *** 1/4
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
ARMORED (2010, d.  Nimrod Antal) V.  Nicely mounted caper film, but clichéd, predictable script spoils some good action direction.  ** 1/2
ARMY OF CRIME, THE  (2010, d. Robert Guédiguian)  *** 3/4
ARMY OF SHADOWS (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 OF THE STEAL, THE (2010, d. Don Argott) V. Docu about public violating the Barnes Found.trust, looting $25B of art. Fascinating, if one-sided & confrontational. *** 1/4
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 GOD COMMANDS (Come Dio comanda)  (2010, d. Gabriele Salvatores)  *** 1/2
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
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
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
ATHLETE, THE  (2010, d. Danny Frankel and Rasselas Lakew)  ** 3/4
ATONEMENT  (2007, d. Joe Wright) Wright's direction & McAvoy's acting make this a special tearjerker.   Oscar?  Maybe.  *** 1/2
AU REVOIR TAIPEI  (2010, d. Arvin Chen)  *** 1/4
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.  ****
AVATAR (2010, d.  James Cameron) +++ Extra 9 min. seamlessly integrated. 1st time in IMAX (not much different). Still amazing, unparalleled experience.  ****
AVATAR (2010, d. James Cameron) + Still amazing 2nd time around. No other film in memory provided me with such a pleasurable immersive experience. ****
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
AWAKE (2010, 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. **
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