| "C"
Films Watched 2000-2009 |
|
| In the decade of 2000-2009 I
watched approximately 280 films starting with "C". |
|
| 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 |
| 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 |
|