| "C" 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 |
| 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 |
| CAIRO TIME (2010, d. Ruba Nadda) ** 1/2 |
| 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 (p. 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 |
| CARANCHO (2010, d. Pablo Trapero; Argentina) ** 1/4 |
| 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 |
| CARGO (2010, d. Ivan Engler) *** |
| CARLOS (2010, d. Olivier Assayas) V. 3-part miniseries, so complex, lucid & excitingly written & directed. Ramirez also excellent. Very impressive achievement. *** 3/4 |
| 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 JACK AND THE UNTIED STATES OF MONEY (2010, d. Alex Gibney) Fast paced, scattered & unfocused docu about Jack Abramoff & govt. corruption. ** 1/4 |
| CASINO JACK (2010, d. George Hickenlooper) Spacey is convincing as out-of-control real-life lobbyist; but fiction, even imaginatively structured doesn't match fact. ** 3/4 |
| 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) *** |
| CATFISH (2010, d. Schulman & Joost) Somewhat overhyped docu. Interesting and sad human nature vs. internet account - but nothing remarkable. *** |
| 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 211 (2010, d. Daniel Monzón) *** 1/2 |
| 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 |
| CENTURION (2010, d. Neil Marshall) ** 3/4 |
| CÉZANNE AFFAIR, THE (L'uomo nero) (2010, d. Sergio Rubini) ** 1/4 |
| 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 |
| CHANGE OF PLANS (2010, d. Danièle Thompson) Uninvolving French dinner party/relationship film about events a year apart. Talky script not saved by good cast. ** 1/4 |
| 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 ST. CLOUD (2010, d. Burr Steers) Ludicrous plot, predictable & insulting; but Zac can act and has film magnitism. Where is the Burr Steers of Igby?! * 1/2 |
| 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 OF SOUTH POLAR, THE (2010, d. Shuichi Okita) *** 1/4 |
| 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 |
| CHERRY (2010, d. Jeffrey Fine) *** 1/2 |
| 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 DIYARBAKIR, THE (2010, d. Miraz Bezar) *** |
| 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 |
| CHLOE (2010, d. Atom Egoyan) Julianne Moore better than ever in.remake of Nathalie with more psychologically sound script. Lesbionics not my thing; but Max Thieriot is! *** |
| 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 OF NARNIA (2005, d. Andrew Adamson) ** |
| 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 |
| CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, THE: VOYAGE (2010, d. Michael Apted) Often annoying, but better than similar Last Airbender, which is damning with faint praise. ** 1/2 |
| 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 |
| CIRKUS COLUMBIA (2010, d. Danis Tanovic; Bosnia) *** 1/2 |
| CITIZEN DUANE (2006, d. Michael Mabbott) ** 3/4 |
| CITY BY THE SEA (2002, d. Michael Caton-Jones) *** 1/2 |
| CITY ISLAND (2010, d. Raymond De Felitta) Family dramedy where everybody lies. Original idea, great script, wonderful acting ensemble. *** 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) ** |
| CITY OF YOUR FINAL DESTINATION, THE (2010, d. James Ivory) Well made & acted, if old fashioned romantic melodrama; but plot just meanders & doesn't resolve. ** 3/4 |
| 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 |
| CLASH OF THE TITANS (2010, d. Louis Leterrier) Post-prod. 3D better than expected. Film even worse: repetitive turgid battle scenes, wooden acting. Ugh. * 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 |
| CLIENT 9 - RISE & FALL OF ELIOT SPITZER (2010, d. Alex Gibney) V. Informative docu about hubris, almost a whitewash; but Spitzer's cooperation telling. *** |
| 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 (2001, d. 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 |
| COLLISION (2010, 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 |
| 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) ** |
| COME UNDONE (2010, d. Silvio Soldini) *** |
| COMEDY OF POWER, A (2006, d. Claud Chabrol) ** 3/4 |
| COMIC EVANGELISTS (2006, d. Daniel Jones, Dann Sytsma) *** |
| COMMITTED (2000, d. Lisa Krueger) ** |
| COMPANY MEN, THE (2010, d. John Wells) Leave it to Wells to make the first truthful, if predictable, film about Depression II. Superbly cast and timely. *** 1/4 |
| 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 |
| CONCERT, THE (2010, d. Radu Mihaileanu) *** 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 (2010, d. Tetsuya Nakashima; Japan) *** 1/2 |
| 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 |
| CONVICTION (2010, d. Tony Goldwyn) Totally predictable (even more obviously than Secretariat), earnest bleeding heart flick. Rockwell & Juliette Lewis esp. fine. ** 1/2 |
| 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) *** |
| COUNTDOWN TO ZERO (2010, d. Lucy Walker) *** |
| 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) * |
| CRAB TRAP (2010, d. Oscar Ruiz Navia; Columbia) * 3/4 |
| 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 |
| CRAYFISH (2010, d. Ivan Cherkelov) * 1/4 |
| CRAZIES, THE (2010, d. Breck Eisner) Convincing bio-eco-disaster flick with one wonderful perf by Joe Anderson and some effectively directed horror tropes. *** |
| 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 LOVERS (2000, d. Francois Ozon) *** 1/2 |
| 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 |
| 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 HENNESSY (2010, d. Ivy Ho) ** 1/2 |
| 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 (2009, d. David Fincher) + Even more moving 2nd time around. Epic, emotional, great film. *** 3/4 |
| CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, THE (2008, d. David Fincher) Moving, epic filmmaking which works at all levels. Nearly a masterpiece. *** 1/2 |
| 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 |
| CYRUS (2010, d. Jay Duplass & Mark Duplass) ** 3/4 |