"F" 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

FACING ALI (2010, d. Pete McKormack) Quite interesting docu featuring interviews with fighters who fought Muhammad Ali plus great boxing footage. *** 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

FAMILY TREE, THE (2010, d. Vivi Friedman) ***

FAMILY, A (2010, d. Pernille Fischer Christensen) *** 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 MR. FOX, THE (2010, d. Wes Anderson) It must just be me; but the whimsey escaped me, the characters annoyed, it all seemed a little silly. ** 1/4

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. **

FAREWELL (L'Affaire Farewell) (2010, d. Christian Carion) *** 1/4

FAREWELL BAGHDAD (2010, d. Mehdi Naderi; Iran) *

FARSAN (2010, d. Josef Fares) ***

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. ***

FATHER OF MY CHILDREN, THE (2010, d. Mia Hansen-Løve) ** 3/4

FATHER, A SON, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, A (2004, d. Lee Grant) V. Insider docu about Kirk and Michael Douglas, interesting but not great. ** 3/4

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

FERMAT'S ROOM (2010, d. Piedrahita & Sopeña) V. Overly intellectualized Spanish thriller like Intacto: 4 people trapped in a room forced to solve enigmas or die. ** 3/4

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

FEW DAYS IN SEPTEMBER, A (2010, d. Santiago Amigorena) V. Subtle French conspiracy thriller based around 9/11. Food for thought, but thin gruel. ** 3/4

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

FIGHTER, THE (2010, d. David O. Russell) Perfect ensemble acting (Bale, Leo, Adams spectacular) combined with a script which built slowly but powerfully. *** 1/2

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

FILM UNFINISHED, A (2010, d. Yael Hersonski) V. No end to vital & important Holocaust films with something new: here German docu footage of '42 Warsaw Ghetto. *** 3/4

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 BEAUTIFUL THING, THE (2010, d. Paolo Virzi; Italy) *** 3/4

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

FISH TANK (2010, 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

FIT (2010, d. Rikke Beadle-Blair) *** 1/4

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

FLIPPED (2010, d. Rob Reiner) For once omnipresent narration works. Loved the films dual POV structure. Emotionally satisfying and fun whitebread kiddie romcom. *** 1/4

FLOOD (2007, d. Tony Mitchell) V. Tacky, convincing British disaster drama about 1,000 year flood of London. ** 1/4

FLOWER OF EVIL, THE (2003, d. Claude Chabrol) Skewering the haut bourgeoisie, a winner. Magimel is sexiest actor alive and Suzanne Flon magnificent! *** 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 A MOMENT FREEDOM (2010, d. Arash T. Riahi; Austria) *** 1/2

FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO (2007, d. Daniel Karslake) *** 3/4

FOR THE GOOD OF OTHERS (2010, d. Oskar Santos) *** 1/4

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. ****

FORTAPASC (2010, d. Marco Risi) ** 3/4

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

FRANKIE AND ALICE (2010, d. Geoffrey Sax) Split personality story told much better before. Halle Berry's acting seemed calculated as Oscar bait. * 3/4

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

FREEBIE, THE (2010, d. Katie Aselton) ** 3/4

FREEDOM RIDERS (2010, d. Stanley Nelson) V. Ultimately involving, uplifting docu about '61 bus riders to South who broke Jim Crow. Why wasn't I one?! *** 1/4

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

FRENCH KISSERS, THE (Les beaux gosses) (2010, d. Riad Sattour) ** 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 BEGINNING TO END (d. Aluizio Abranches) + 2nd time (with horrible DVD temp.mix print) not quite as good; but still startlingly controversial & sexy. ***

FROM BEGINNING TO END (2010, d. Aluizio Abranches) *** 1/4

FROM HELL (2001, d. The Hughes Brothers) * 1/4

FROM THE EDGE OF THE CITY (2000, d. Constantine Giannaris) ** 1/2

FROM TIME TO TIME (2010, d. Julian Fellowes) *** 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