L - ALL FILMS 2003-6/2009

L.A. PLAYS ITSELF (d. Thom Anderson) V. Fascinating docu of clips from movies about L.A. Anderson's droning, but brilliant narration is key. *** 1/2

LADDER 49 (d. Jay Russell) Straightforward feelgood drama about firefighters with a fine perf by Joaquim Phoenix and some great fire f/x. ***

LADIES IN LAVENDER (d. Charles Dance) Well acted (Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Daniel Brüel!) film about 2 old maids & the boy who drops in. ** 3/4

LADY CHATTERLEY (d. Pascale Ferran) A very French take of smoldering love in upper class Britain, a heterosexual Maurice. *** 1/4

LADY EVE, THE (d. Preston Sturges)V. Romantic comedy old style. The abrupt ending breaks the spell of a good Stanwyck-Fonda pairing. ** 3/4

LADY IN THE WATER (d. M. Night Shyamalan) Boring, simplistic "bedtime story". Giamatti excellent. **

LADY JANE (d. Robert Guédiguian) ***

LAILA'S BIRTHDAY (d. Rashid Masharawi) ** 1/2

LAKAWANNA BLUES (d. George Wolfe) Epatha Merkerson should win an Emmy for this marvellous HBO tv movie of life among blacks in a small NY town. *** 1/4

LAKE HOUSE, THE (d. Alejandro Agresti) Unabashed timebinding romance with too many paradoxes. Keanu Reeves surprises. ***

LAKE OF FIRE (d. Tony Kaye) Long, fascinating, apparently neutral docu re abortion. Some hard to take shots! *** 1/4

LAKE TAHOE (d. Fernando Eimbcke) ** 3/4

LAKEVIEW TERRACE (d. Neil LaBute) Crash like dystopian view of L.A., Overwrought & unsettling, if effective filmmaking. Hit too close to home. ** 3/4

LAKSHMI AND ME (d. Nishtha Jain) ** 1/4

LAND HAS EYES, THE (d. Vilsoni Hereniko; Fiji) ** 1/2

LAND OF PLENTY (d. Wim Wenders) John Diehl is outstanding as a Viet vet obsessed by a mission to save the U.S. from terrorists. ***

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL (d. Craig Gillespie) *** 1/4

LAST CHANCE HARVEY (Joel Hopkins) Predictable, adult romantic comedy with fine acting. London has rarely looked better. ** 3/4

LAST DANCE (d. Mirra Bank) (V) Docu. Pilobolus dance troupe collaborates with Maurice Sendak on Holocaust ballet. ***

LAST DAY, THE (d. Rodolphe Marconi) Very French, very dreamlike film about a teenage boy's coming to understand the mystery of his family. *** 1/2

LAST DAYS (d. Gus Van Sant) Slow meditative film about Kurt Cobain wandering to his death. Michael Pitt is fine; film is pretty. ***

LAST GREAT WILDERNESS, THE (Great Britain d. David Mackenzie) Weird combo of road movie & horror show house. ** 1/4

LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, THE (d. Kevin Macdonald) Whitaker is superbly over the top; McAvoy is my boy. Strong film. *** 1/4

LAST KING, THE (d. Joe Wright) Excellent tv mini-series about Charles II and his court. Rufus Sewel was splendid, as was the production. ***

LAST KISS, THE (d. Tony Goldwyn) Dispite iffy casting of leads, great adapted script - better than original Italian film! *** 1/2

LAST LEGION, THE (d. Doug Lefler) ** 1/2

LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE (d. Pen-ek Ratanaruang) Superb, absurdist film about suicidal, obsessive Japanese Yukasa who meets messy Thai B-girl. *** 1/2

LAST MIMZY, THE (d. Robert Shaye)V. Pleasant enough fantasy/sf, fine kid actors; not very meaty stuff. ** 3/4

LAST MINUTE MOROCCO (d. Francesco Falaschi) ** 3/4

LAST MISTRESS, THE (Une vieille maîtress) (d. Catherine Breillat) *** 1/2

LAST MOGUL, THE (d. Barry Avrich) Interesting docu about Lou Wasserman with great interviews but fatally marred by the worst mix I've ever heard. **

LAST PULCINELLA, THE (L'ultimo Pulcinella) (d. Maurizio Scaparro) ** 1/2

LAST SAMURAI, THE (d. Edward Zwick) Zwick does it again, imbue an action flick with veracity & emotional truth. Maybe Cruise's best role ever. *** 1/4

LAST SCENE (d. Hideo Nakata) Nostalgic, slow drama about an old man, once a successful leading man, returning to his last film acting job. ** 1/2

LAST SHOT, THE (d. Jeff Nathanson) Occasionally funny comedy about FBI mob sting creating a fake movie. Alec Baldwin especially good. ** 3/4

LAST STOP 174 (d. Bruno Barreto; Brazil) *** 3/4

LAST TRAIN, THE (d. Alexei A German) B&W bleak, brutal, boring Russian WWII film about a German doctor stuck in the winter retreat. **

LAST TRAIN, THE (d. Diego Arsuaga) Uruguay AFF. Old codgers steal a steam locomotive to keep it in Uruaguay. ** 3/4

LATE BLOOMERS (d. Bettina Oberli; Switzerland) ** 1/4

LATTER DAYS (d. C.J. Cox) The perfect festival gay film, sexy, sweet, sentimental and realistic with some star-making performances. *** 1/4

L'AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE (France-Spain d. Cedfric Klapisch) Crowd pleasing comedy about a young Frenchman's defining school year in Barcelona. ***

LAUREL CANYON (d. Lisa Cholodenko) Hi-jinx up the block from me. Dialog so real, acting so spot on, I loved it more than it deserved. *** 1/4

LAW OF DESIRE (Pedro Almodóvar) V. +7 The romantic gay melodrama that first defined the genre. *** 1/2

LAWS OF ATTRACTION (d. Peter Howitt) Hideously bad, predictable screwball romantic comedy. Cast chemistry can't save flat direction. Ugh. * 1/4

LAYER CAKE (d. Matthew Vaughn) Stylish Brit noir à la Guy Richie, only better. Daniel Craig wonderful as a smart drug dealer. *** 1/4

LE CIRCLE ROUGE (d. Jean-Pierre Melville) 1970 noir, typical Melville which means lean and taut. Montand & Delon great. *** 1/4

LE DIVORCE (d. James Ivory) Something between glowing romantic comedy and lame farce re: culture clash between France & America. Guilty pleasure. ***

LEARNING TO LIE (d. Hendrik Handloegten) Well constructed romantic comedy about a guy who is unable to forget his first love or commit to any others. *** 1/4

LEATHERHEADS (d. George Clooney) Clichéd failure proves screwball comedy is harder than it looks. * 1/4

LEAVING BARSTOW (d. Peter Paige) ** 1/2

LEAVING METROPOLIS (d. Brad Fraser) Ludicrously pretentious straight melodrama masquerading as a gay film. Beware films from Winnepeg! 1/2*

LEGALLY BLONDE 2 (d. Charles Herman-Wurmfeld)V. A script of such colossal stupidity that even Reese Witherspoon can't save the film. * 1/4

LEGEND OF 1900, THE (d. Giuseppi Tornatore) V. Sumptuous, sentimental 1998 film about a musical progedy who never left the ship he was born in. ** 3/4

LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS (d. Brad Silberling) I was *not* charmed by Carrey's overacting; but the film worked anyway. ** 3/4

LEÓN AND OLVIDO (d. Xavier Bermúdez) Downer but well-made drama about Downs Syndrome brother & his normal twin sister. ***

LEONARD COHEN - I'M YOUR MAN (d. Lian Lunson) ** 3/4

LEROY (d. Armin Volckers) ** 1/2

LES DIABLES (d. Christophe Ruggia) Harrowing story of 2 abandoned children, incredible acting. Hard to do this one justice in a line. *** 1/2

LES VOLEURS (d. André Téchiné) V.+ Better the 2nd time. Téchiné is a superb director and this family drama is complex and nicely done. *** 1/4

LET THE CHURCH SAY AMEN (d. David Petersen) V. Boring docu about a neighborhood church in D.C. and its troubled, but positive, parishoners. * 3/4

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (d. Tomas Alfredson) ***

LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN (d. Xu Jinglei) Gorgeously shot kind of trivial "woman's pic" about a lifetime of unrequited love. ** 1/4

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (d. Clint Eastwood) ****

LETTING GO OF GOD (d. Julia Sweeney) *** 3/4

LEVITY (d. Ed Solomon) Film about redemption with no redeeming qualities. Manipulative, predictable, dreary. Great cast directed on downers. * 3/4

L'HEURE D'ÉTÉ (Summer Hours) (d. Olivier Assayas) *** 3/4

LIBERTAS (d. Veljko Bulajic; Croatia) ** 1/4

LIBERTINE, THE (d. Laurence Dunmore) ** 1/2

LICENSE TO WED (d. Ken Kwapis) *

LIFE & DEATH OF PETER SELLERS, THE (d. Stephen Hopkins) V. PoMo and meta biopic. Rush is amazing; but Sellers was an asshole, if this to be believed. ***

LIFE AFTER WAR (U.S. doc. d. Brian Knappenberger) Re-building a village destroyed in the Afghani war against the Taliban. Propaganda. W/O

LIFE AND TIMES OF YVA LAS VEGAS, THE (d. Wiley Underdown) **

LIFE AQUATIC, THE (d. Wes Anderson) As his budgets go up his films become more hipster, ironic & detached. Cousteau deserves a better satire. **

LIFE BEFORE HER EYES, THE (d. Vadim Perelman) Difficult. I wanted to escape the theater throughout. ** 1/4

LIFE HITS (d. Christian Christiansen) ***

LIFE IN LOOPS (A MEGACITIES RMX) (d. Tina Novotny) * 1/2

LIFE OF DAVID GALE. THE (d. Alan Parker) Drama about Texas anti-death penalty group and their condemned member. ** 1/2

LIFE ON LIBERTY STREET (d. David Cass) V. Well acted if predictable Hallmark tv movie. Ethan Embry is having a great 2004 and nobody's watching. ** 1/2

LIFE ON THE EDGE (d. Ventura Pons) ** 3/4

LIFE THAT I WANT, THE (La Vita Che Vorrei) (d. Giuseppe Piccioni) *** 1/2

LIFE WITH MY FATHER (d. Sébastien Rose) W/O

LIKE A BROTHER (Comme un frére) (d. Alapetite & Legann) Shortish, disappointment: gay boy in love with straight boy. **

LIKE MINDS (d. Gregory J. Read) *** 1/4

LILJA 4-EVER (d.Lukas Moodysson) Sweden AFF. Drama of child abuse in modern Russia. Downer; but great film. *** 3/4

LIMELIGHT (U.S. d. Terry Lukemire) Mocumentary about karaoke competitors gone horribly wrong. *

LINE OF BEAUTY, THE (d. Saul Dibb) *** 1/2

LINHA DE PASSE (d. Walter Salles, Daniela Thomas) *** 1/2

LION FOR LAMBS (d. Robert Redford) Overly talky & schematic; but brilliant, important and utterly topical! *** 1/2

LION'S DEN, THE (d. Pablo Trapero; Argentina) *** 1/2

LITTLE ASHES (d. Paul Morrison) Overwrought but fascinating hodge-podge,drama of famed true-life gay artists in '30s Spain. Javier Beltran is true find. ** 3/4

LITTLE BIT OF FREEDOM, A (d. Yueksel Yavuz) Stunningly real drama: life of illegal Kurd boy in Hamburg. Exciting, relevant filmmaking. *** 3/4

LITTLE BLACK BOOK (d. Nick Hurran) Good acting can't save this stupid film, though it briefly works during the climactic live tv show. * 3/4

LITTLE BOOK OF REVENGE (d. Jean-François Pouliot) ** 3/4

LITTLE CHILDREN (d. Todd Field) "Golden Boy" Patrick Wilson & Kate Winslet plus remarkable script! Great film. *** 3/4

LITTLE CITY (d. Roberto Benabib) V. Sympathetic '97 romantic rondelay comedy re young S.F. couples. Worthy Josh Charles & ensemble. ** 3/4

LITTLE FUGITIVE (d. Joanna Lipper) ** 3/4

LITTLE GIRL BLUE (d. Anna Luif) Unexceptional, though well acted drama about teenage love thwarted by an affair by the kid's parents. ** 1/2

LITTLE JOE (d.Nichole Haeusser) ** 3/4

LITTLE MEN (d. Nariman Turebayev) Interesting & likable character study of two salesmen in Kazakhstan, one aggressive, one passive. ***

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (d. Dayton & Faris) Good script, acting. Enormously entertaining depressed family comedy. *** 1/4

LITTLE MONK, A (S. Korea d. Joo Kyung-jun) Story of an 8 year old kid in a Buddhist monestary yearning for his mother. ** 1/2

LITTLE RED FLOWERS (d. Zhang Yuan) ** 1/2

LITTLE SECRETS (d. Pol Cruchten; Luxembourg) ** 1/2

LITTLE SOLDIER (d. Annette K. Olesen) ** 3/4

LITTLE THING CALLED MURDER, A (d. Richard Benjamin) V. Fun, campy retelling of Kimes family of grifters. Judy Davis remarkable as usual. ***

LITTLE TRAITOR, THE (d. Lynn Roth) *** 1/4

LIUBI (d. Layia Yiourgou) ***

LIVE AND BECOME (d. Radu Mihaileanu) Epic story of Ethopian non-Jew kid living & growing up in Israel. Quite moving. *** 1/2

LIVE AND REMEMBER (d. Alexander Proshkin) *** 1/4

LIVE FREE OR DIE (d. Gregg Kavet, Andy Robin) ***

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (d. Len Wiseman) Non-stop action, overly convoluted plot. Better than expected. ** 3/4

LIVE FROM BAGHDAD (V) (d. Mick Jackson) HBO film docudrama about CNN crew in Baghdad during Gulf War I. ***

LIVES OF OTHERS, THE (d. Florian Henckel von Donnersmark; Germany) *** 3/4

LIVING WAKE, THE (d. Sol Tyson) * 1/2

LOGGERHEADS (d. Tim Kirkman) *** 1/2

LONESOME JIM (d. Steve Buscemi) Depression & despair has never been more amusing. Casey Affleck finally lives up to his promise. ***

LONG DARK NIGHT (d. Anton Vrdoljak) Croatia AFF. Moving and well made WWII epic of the fight between pro-Germans and pro-Communists. ***

LONG EMBRACE, A (d. Daniel Burman) Warm, franetic Argentine comedy about a Jewish family and their shopping mall denizen friends. *** 1/4

LONGEST YARD, THE (d. Peter Segal) V. Surprisingly entertaining con vs. guards prison football. Sandler actually convincing. ** 3/4

LONGFORD (d. Tom Hooper) V. HBO biopic about dotty, saintly lord (fabulous Jim Broadbent) who visits hopless prisoners. *** 1/4

LONGTIME COMPANION (d. Norman René) V.+++ Remarkable document of '80s, not dated, still rings true. The first & one of the best AIDS films. *** 1/2

LOOK AT ME (d. Agnès Jaoui) Slice of life, bittersweet romantic about a disfunctional French arty family & friends. Quite enjoyable, if minor. ***

LOOK, THE (d. David Sigel) Mockumentary about a NY contest for models. Some good bits; but overall pretty average. I've seen worse. ** 1/4

LOOKOUT, THE (d. Scott Frank) Nicely written & directed psych. thriller, with 3 super perfs. espec. Joseph Gorden-Levitt *** 1/4

LORD OF WAR (d. Andrew Niccol) ***

LORDS OF DOGTOWN (d. Catherine Hardwicke) Fictionalized story of original Venice, CA skateboard punks. Good acting & action. ** 3/4

LORNA'S SILENCE (Le silance de Lorna) (d. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) *** 1/2

LOS OLVIDADOS (d. Luis Buñuel) 1950 B&W drama about disaffected teens in Mexico City. Dali's influence felt in dream sequences. Very affecting. *** 1/4

LOSS (d. Maris Martinsons; Lithuania) **

LOST BOYS OF SUDAN, THE (d. Megan Mylan & Jon Shenk) V. Documentary about two Sudanese refugees in U.S. Interesting, if somewhat uninvolving. ** 3/4

LOST CHILDREN (d. Ahadi and Stoltz)V. ** 1/4

LOST COAST, THE (d. Gabriel Fleming) Antoniesque, arty drama of 2 20ish guys reliving hi-school affair in Castro Halloween night. ** 3/4

LOST IN TRANSLATION (d. Sofia Coppola) Minimalist wry comedy; 2 people adrift in Tokyo who fleetingly connect. Beautifully performed & directed. ***1/4

LOST MAN, A (Un homme perdu) (d. Danielle Artid) ** 1/2

LOST ROOM, THE (d. Baxley & Watkins) V. Fairly original s/f premise until unsatisfactory ending. ** 1/2

LOT LIKE LOVE, A (d. Nigel Cole) Kutcher is turning into a major star...love his line readings. Nicely made, predictable romantic comedy. ** 3/4

LotR: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (d. Peter Jackson)++ (ext. edition) Stunningly re-edited with quiet scenes added. Brand new experience on big screen. ****

LotR: THE RETURN OF THE KING (d. Peter Jackson) Quibble about too many endings; but exceded expectations. Whole is greatest film of all time. ****

LotR: THE TWO TOWERS (d. Peter Jackson)+ (ext. version) Making it longer didn't help the sagging middle. Helm's Deep still a great set piece. *** 1/2

LOUISE-MICHEL (d. Benoît Delépine, Gustave Kervern) *

LOVE & DANCE (Sipur Hatzi Russi) (d. Eitan Anner) ** 3/4

LOVE ACTUALLY (d. Richard Curtis) Pleasant enough multi-story romantic comedy. About 1/3 of the stories misfired, the others really worked. ** 3/4

LOVE AND HONOR (Bushi No Ichibun) (d. Yôji Yamada) ****

LOVE AND OTHER CRIMES (Liebe und Andere Verbrechen) (d. Stefan Arsenijevic) ** 3/4

LOVE AND OTHER DISASTERS (d. Alek Keshishian) *** 1/2

LOVE AT 7-11 (Taiwan d. Teng Yung-shing) Languid, moody, arty, boring story of two couples who fail to connect. ** 1/4

LOVE DON'T COST A THING (d. Troy Beyer) Nick Cannon, worthy star; but this paean to mindless consumerism and teen conformity is horrendous film. 1/2*

LOVE FOR SHARE (d. Nia Dinata; Indonesia) ** 3/4

LOVE FORBIDDEN (France d. Rodolphe Marconi) Dark drama about a sexually confused young filmmaker who gets hung up on an Italian man. ***

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA (d. Mike Newell) Bardem is really fine, a moving "elderly" love story, but... ** 3/4

LOVE ME IF YOU DARE (d. Yann Samuell) A wildly inventive, super-romantic trip of a film about 2 kids growing up playing an obnoxious game full tilt. ***

LOVE OF SIAM, THE (d. Chukiat Sakveerakul) Thai film about gay boy band singer & his first love. Affecting, but inscrutable. ** 1/2

LOVE SONG FOR BOBBIE LONG, A (d. Shainee Gabel) Gentle, amiable, N.O. peculiar family drama. Fine acting ensemble (Johansson, Macht & Travolta). ***

LOVE SONGS (d. Chtrisophe Honoré) +1; I stand by my TIFF review, only 2nd time around liked it even more. *** 1/4

LOVE SONGS (Les chansons d'amours) (d. Christophe Honoré) ***

LOVE TO HIDE, A (d. Christian Fauré) Remarkably effective WWII French Jewish/gay Holocaust tv movie. *** 1/4

LOVELORN (d. Yavuz Turgul) W/O

LOVELORN (d. Yavuz Turgul; Turkey) ***

LOVELY LONELINESS (d. Victoria Galardi & Martin Carranza) ** 3/4

LOVER, THE (Russia d. Valery Todorovsky) Involving drama about a man who discovers is recently deceased wife had had a secret long time lover. *** 1/4

LOVER'S PRAYER (d. Reverge Anselmo)V. Boringly made pastiche of Turganev & Chekhov. Nick Stahl was good, Kirsten Dunst beautiful, but film sucked. * 3/4

LOVESICKNESS (Maldeamores) (d. Carlitos Ruíz Ruíz & Mariem Pérez) ** 3/4

LOW PROFILE (Falscher Bekenner) (d. Christoph Hochäusler) ***

LOWER CITY (d. Sergio Machado) ***

LUCIE AUBRAC (d. Claude Berri) V. Gripping trueish French Resistance film, like Black Book or Sophie Scholl, only better. *** 1/4

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN (d. Paul McGuigan) Peculiar, atmospheric gangster revenge film. Josh Hartnett good; but after 5 min. I figured it all out. ** 1/4

LUCKY YOU (d. Curtis Hanson) Predictable romantic drama; but at least they got the poker right. ** 1/2

LUNACY (d. Jan Svankmajer; Czech Republic) * 3/4

LUNATICS, LOVERS & POETS (d. John Scoular) * 3/4

LUST, CAUTION (d. Ang Lee) Gorgeous, perverse love and revolt story with a phenominal perf by Wei Tang. *** 1/2

LUSTER (d. Everett Lewis) + Forgot I'd seen this primative, sexy, minor gay film effort before. Justin Herwick memorable, not much else. ** 1/2

LYMELIFE (d. Derick Martini) Culkin brothers are quite fine; but unremitting miserablism overwhelms slender plot. ** 1/2