| J - ALL FILMS 2003-6/2009 |
| JACK (d. Lee Rose)V. Beautifully written coming of age story of 15 year old boy coming to terms with his father's gayness in 1982. Anton Yelchin is perfect. *** 1/4 |
| JACK SMITH & THE DESTRUCTION OF ATLANTIS (d. Mary Jordan) ** 1/4 |
| JACKET, THE (d. John Maybury) Stylish timebending thriller which overcomes its unlikely premise with some fine acting. Brody is wonderful. *** |
| JAGGED HARMONIES (d. Dominique de Rivaz) Nicely done historical drama: J.S. Bach meets Frederick II. *** |
| JAIL BREAKERS (S. Korea d. Kim Sang-jin) Well made slapstick comedy about two jailbreakers who have to break back into prison. *** |
| JAMES DEAN (d. Mark Rydell)V. + Superior 2001 TV movie biopic with spectacular perf. by James Franco. *** 3/4 |
| JAMES DEAN: FOREVER YOUNG (d. Michael Sheridan) V. ** 1/2 |
| JANE AUSTIN BOOK CLUB, THE (d. Robin Swicord) ** 3/4 |
| JANI GAL (d. Jamil Rostami; Iraq) ** |
| JANIS (d. Howard Ilk) V. + Filled with great footage of Janis Joplin, otherwise ordinary docu bio. ** 3/4 |
| JAPANESE STORY (d. Sue Brooks) Road movie which shifts from romance to some other place in the blink of an eye. Enjoyed ; but not much happens. ** 3/4 |
| JAR CITY (Mýrin)(d. Baltasar Kormákur) *** 1/4 |
| JARHEAD (d. Sam Mendes) *** 1/2 |
| JAY & SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK (d. Kevin Smith) (V) Why? I knew it was crap; but I've seen everything else on tv tonight. 1/2* |
| JE PRÉFČRE Q'ON RESTE AMIS (d. Tolidano & Nakache) Painful to watch buddy comedy about a shy guy & a heel looking for love in today's Paris. ** 1/4 |
| JEALOUSY IS MY MIDDLE NAME (Korea d. Park Chan-Ok) Weird relationship drama about older man and younger man involved with the same women. ** 1/2 |
| JELLYFISH (d. Etgar Keret, Shira Gefen) ** 3/4 |
| JERICHOW (d. Christian Petzold) A German riff on The Postman Always Rings Twice, with a different twist. Good atmosphere & acting. *** |
| JERSEY GIRL (d. Kevin Smith) So kill me, I loved this film. Sure it's sappy & Affleck is supposed to be washed up. But it worked for me. *** |
| JERUSALEMA (d. Ralph Ziman; South Africa) *** 1/4 |
| JESUS CAMP (d. Ewing & Grady) V. Viscerally disturbing docu of kids that religious right are indoctrinating with Jesus. *** 1/4 |
| JET LAG (France d. Daniele Thompson) Overblown romantic comedy about two people meeting frenetically at a closed De Gaulle airport. ** |
| JIMMY OF THE HILL (d. Enrico Pau) ** 1/2 |
| JINDABYNE (d. Ray Lawrence) Intolerance Aussie style. Well directed & acted (esp. Laura Linney per usual). *** 1/4 |
| JOE LOUIS: AMERICA'S HERO BETRAYED (d. Joe Lavine) Excellent & moving docu with a point of view. *** 1/2 |
| JOE STRUMMER: THE FUTURE IS UNWRITTEN (d. Julian Temple) Fabu music docu. I had no idea. *** 1/2 |
| JOHNNY BE GOOD (d. Bud Smith) V. Horrendous '88 teener Anthony Hall football movie. Watched to see early Robert Downey Jr. & Uma Thurman. Ugh. 1/2* |
| JOLENE (d. Dan Ireland) *** |
| JONESTOWN: THE LIFE & DEATH OF THE PEOPLE'S TEMPLE (d. Stanley Nelson) V. Horrendous footage; but I didn't end up with more understanding. ** 3/4 |
| JOSHUA (d. George Ratliff) *** 1/2 |
| JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM (d. Ivan Nichev) Bulgaria AFF. Strong narrative about a gypsy troupe which adopts 2 Jewish refugee kids in 1940. ** 3/4 |
| JOURNEY, THE (Yatra) (d. Goutam Ghosh) * 3/4 |
| JOYEUX NOËL (d. Christian Carion; France) *** |
| JULIE WALKING HOME (Canada/Germany/Poland d. Agnieszka Holland) Riviting & involving film about a housewife & a Russian faith healer. *** 14 |
| JUMPER (d. Doug Liman) Curiously inert and truncated action thriller. Only Jamie Bell has any life. ** |
| JUNEBUG (d. Phil Morrison) Idiosyncratic No. Carolina family & the new in-law wife that visits. Suprisingly good script & great acting. *** 1/4 |
| JUNO (d. Jason Reitman) ** 1/4 |
| JUST A FATHER (Solo un padre) (d. Luca Lucini) *** 1/4 |
| JUST A QUESTION OF LOVE (d. Christian Fauré)V. *** |
| JUST BURIED (d. Chaz Thorne) ** 3/4 |
| JUST LIKE HEAVEN (d. Mark Waters) ** 3/4 |
| JUST LIKE HOME (Hjemve) (d. Lone Scherfig) ** 1/2 |
| JUST MARRIED (d. Shawn Levy) V. Cookiecutter, predictable plot. Kutcher is an amiable comedian/romantic lead. ** |
| JUSTINE (d. George Cukor) V. Nicely mounted large-scale adaptation of the Alexandria Quartet, good cast but a mishmash of a script. ** 3/4 |