| "N" 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 |
| NAKED BOYS SINGING (2007, d. Schrock & Christian) Gimmicky staged musical review. Good songs, not cinematic. ** |
| NAKED IN ASHES (2006, d. Paula Fouce) V. Instructive, if slow docu about several yogis in India. ** 1/2 |
| NAKED PROOF (2003, U.S. d. Jamie Hook) Amateurville romantic comedy about a blocked PhD candidate whose life is in upheaval. * 3/4 |
| NAMELESS, THE (Los sin nombre) (2000, d. Jaume Belaguero) W/O |
| NAMESAKE, THE (2007, d. Mira Nair) Terrific immigrant family drama with a surprisingly fine perf by Kal Penn. *** 3/4 |
| NANCY DREW (2008, d. Andrew Fleming) V. Poorly acted, silly, misjudged and failed attempt at a film series for girls. * 1/2 |
| NANKING (2007, d. Guttentag & Sturman) Horrific pictures & well cast readings by actors make effective docu. *** 1/4 |
| NANNY DIARIES, THE (2007, d. Shari Singer Berman, Robert Pulcini) ** 3/4 |
| NAPOLA (2005, d. Dennis Gansel) Story of a teenage boxer given a scholarship to an elite Nazi school. Incredibly involving, one of those films I flip out over. *** 1/4 |
| NAPOLEON DYNAMITE (2004, d. Jared Hess) Weirdly episodic, but very funny geek chic teen flick. We laugh at the hick characters; but it works. ** 3/4 |
| NARC (2002, d. Joe Carnahan) ** 1/4 |
| NARNIA 2: PRINCE CASPIAN (2008, d. Andrew Adamson) Much better than the 1st; but still pallid & a little boring in the mid section. ** 3/4 |
| NARROWS, THE (2008, d. François A. Velle) *** |
| NATE DOGG (2003, U.S. d. Thomas Farone) El cheapo digital production about a boy with ADHD who goes bad. ** |
| NATHALIE (2004, d. Anne Fontaine) Very French adult drama about a wife's strategy for a finagling husband. Overlong and left me cold. ** 1/2 |
| NATIONAL TREASURE (2004, d. Jon Turtletaub) Totally implausable pastiche of Indiana Jones & Da Vinci Code. But I loved it anyway, esp. Justin Bartha, quite a find. ** 3/4 |
| NATIONAL TREASURE: BOOK OF SECRETS (2007, d. Jon Turteltaub) Excessive, ridiculous, a 2 Excedrin mess. * 1/2 |
| NEARING GRACE (2006, d. Rick Rosenthal) Excellent Gregory Smith & David Morse perfs. raise this coming-of-age story. *** |
| NECESSITIES OF LIFE (Ce quíl faut pour vivre) (2008, d. Benoit Pilon; Canada) *** 1/2 |
| NED KELLY (2004, d. Gregor Jorday) True, though suspiciously sympathetic story of Australian version of Jesse James gang. A downer despite attractive leads. ** 1/2 |
| NEMESIS GAME (2004, d. Jesse Warn) V. Silly, poorly acted thriller about a group obsessed with a game of riddles which turn fatal. Jay Baruchel is creepy, nerdy here. ** 1/2 |
| NEST, THE (2005, d. Florent Emilio Siri)V. Above average, tense French action flick about a warehouse under seige with lots of anonymous bad guys. ** 3/4 |
| NEVER AGAIN AS BEFORE (Mai più come prima) (2007, d. Giacomo Campiotti) *** 1/4 |
| NEVER BACK DOWN (2008, d. Jeff Wadlow) Karate Kid on steroids. Way better than expected, esp. actingwise. *** |
| NEVER LET ME GO (2010, d. Mark Romanek) Likable, attractive "people" trying to cope. I *was* interested & involved; but alternate universe aspect bothered. *** 1/4 |
| NEW COUNTRY, THE (2001, d. Geir Hansteen Jorgensen) ** 3/4 |
| NEW MAN, THE (2008, d. Klaus Haro) *** 1/4 |
| NEW TWENTY, THE (2008, d. Chris Mason Johnson) Involving story of 5 college friends nearing 30 encountering NY business & sex life. *** |
| NEW WORLD, THE (2005, d. Terrence Malick) ** 3/4 |
| NEW YORK I LOVE YOU (2009, d. Various) Intermittently interesting portmanteau film; NY with no gays? Some sequences worked, most didn't. ** 1/2 |
| NEW YORK SERENADE (2007, d. Frank Whaley) *** |
| NEWCASTLE (2008, d. Dan Castle) *** |
| NEXT DOOR (2005, d. Pol Sletaune) *** |
| NEXT THREE DAYS, THE (2010, d. Paul Haggis) Fairly taut thriller with a premise just this side of absurd. Crowe is fine. ** 3/4 |
| NEXT (2007, d. Lee Tamahori) Deja Vu with none of that films brilliant f/x & an inferior Phil Dick concept. ** |
| NICELAND (2005, d. Fridrik Thór Fridriksson) A strange but pleasant fable about a boy (Martin Compston) searching for the purpose of life. ** 3/4 |
| NICHOLAS NICKLEBY (2002, d. Douglas McGrath) *** |
| NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST (2008, d. Peter Sollett) "Nice" NYC version of Superbad. Fun and funny, even smart wasted teens story. Cera's a true pomo hero. *** |
| NICO AND DANI ( "Krámpack") (2000, d. Cesc Gay) *** |
| NICOTINA (2003, d. Hugo Rodriguez) Black comedy noir - misadventures of gang of cyberthieves. Diego Luna fine; Lucas Crespi a future latino star. *** |
| NICOTINA (2003, d. Hugo Rodriguez)+ Worth a 2nd look, never underestimate the babe factor and Lucas Crespi is for me the ultimate. A real audience film. *** |
| NIGHT BUS (2008, d. Davide Marengo) *** |
| NIGHT LARRY KRAMER KISSED ME, THE (2000, d. Tim Kirkman) *** |
| NIGHT LISTENER, THE (2006, d. Patrick Stettner) Echos of JT Leroy. Collette great. I felt I lived this story once upon a time. *** |
| NIGHT SHIFT (2001, d. Philippe Le Guay) *** |
| NIGHT WATCH (2005, d. Timur Bekmambetov) Messy Russian pastiche of every big f/x film from The Omen to The Matrix. Vampires rule for 1000 years. ** |
| NIGHTGUARDS (2010, d. Namik Kabil; Bosnia-Herzegovina) * 1/4 |
| NIGHTS IN RODANTHE (2008, d. George C. Wolfe) Every romantic cliché. Nicely acted, but unbelieveable, contemptuous script. * 3/4 |
| NIGHTWATCHING (2007, d. Peter Greenaway) ** 1/2 |
| NINA'S TRAGEDIES ( 2003, d. Savi Gavison) Involving coming of age story of 14 year old boy and his crush on his pretty aunt (and weird family dynamic). *** |
| NINE DEAD GAY GUYS (2003, d. Ky Mo Lab) Fun, frothy comedy: People keep dying all around 2 Irish hustlers in London. Some yuks pretty silly stuff. ** 1/4 |
| NINE QUEENS (2001, d. Fabián Bielinsky) *** |
| NINE QUEENS (2003, d. Fabián Bielinsky) V. + Fine Argentinian caper film worth a 2nd look via TiVo. I expect a Hollywood remake is in the cards. *** |
| NINE (2009, d. Rob Marshall) Liked: intercutting of singing with story, Cruz, Fergie's singing and her one song, Day-Lewis's accent. Disliked most everything else. ** 3/4 |
| NINTH DAY, THE (2005, d. Volker Schlöndorff) Dark, slow, philosophical drama about Catholic priest on leave from Dachau & his duel of wits with an SS officer. ** 3/4 |
| NINTH GATE, THE (2000, d. Roman Polanski) ** |
| NIRVANA (2008, d. Igor Voloshin) *** |
| NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007, d. Joel and Ethan Coen) Ultra bloody, almost perfectly achieved thriller. *** 1/2 |
| NO DEBES ESTAR AQUI (2003, d. Jacobo Rispa) Spanish thriller about killings in an internet chat room. Potboiler. * |
| NO END IN SIGHT (2007, d. Charles Furguson) Impressive docu indicting the Bush administration. *** 1/4 |
| NO MAN'S LAND (2001, d. Danis Tanovic) **** |
| NO NEWS FROM GOD (2002, d. Agustin Diaz-Yanes) * 1/2 |
| NO NIGHT IS TOO LONG (2004, d. Tom Shankland) V. Canadian TV movie: a gay psychological thriller from Ruth Rendell novel. Extraordinary acting. *** 1/4 |
| NO NIGHT IS TOO LONG (2005, d. Tom Shankland) V. + Wonderfully written & acted Ruth Rendell story; a Canadian gay TV film to be cherished. *** 1/2 |
| NO ONE'S SON (Niciji sin) (2008, d. Arsen Ostojic; Croatia) *** 1/4 |
| NO PLACE TO GO (Die Unberührbare) (2000, d. Oskar Roehler) * 1/2 |
| NO PUEDO VIVIR SIN TI (I Can't Live Without You) (2009, d. Leon Dai; Taiwan) *** |
| NO REGRET (2007, d. Leesong Hee-il) *** |
| NO REGRETS (2002, d. Benjamin Quabeck) ** 3/4 |
| NO SONGS OF LOVE (2005, d. Lars Kraume) Talky, boring pseudo-docu of a guy making a doc about his brother's affair with his girlfriend. * 3/4 |
| NO SUBTITLES NECESSARY: LASZLO & VILMOS (2008, d. James Chressanthis) Revelatory docu about 2 Hungarian cinematographers. Fine visuals, well constructed. *** 1/4 |
| NO SUCH THING (2002, d. Hal Hartley) * 1/4 |
| NO TRAINS, NO PLANES (2000, d. Jos Stelling) * |
| NO. 2 (2006, d. Toa Fraser) *** |
| NOBEL SON (2008, d. Randall Miller) Absurd plot; but stylish enough to keep me interested...but just falls apart in 3rd act. * 3/4 |
| NOBODY KNOWS HOW TO TALK TO CHILDREN (2004, d. George Roca) The White Stripes playing a NYC club. Poor sound & picture; but the music is great. ** 1/2 |
| NOBODY KNOWS (2004, d. Hirokazu Kore-Eda) Japanese AFF about 3 kids deserted by their mother to fend. Overlong, but powerful critique of neglectful society. ** 3/4 |
| NOBODY TO WATCH OVER ME (2009, d. Ryoichi Kimizuka; Japan) *** 1/2 |
| NOBODY'S BABY (2003, d. David Seltzer) V. Silly, but watchable dumb & dumber comedy melodrama with two fine leads in Gary Oldman and Skeet Urich. ** 1/2 |
| NOI THE ALBINO (2004, d. Kagar Kari) Bleak, but affecting, Icelandic AFF. Coming-of-age story about an underachiever small town boy. *** |
| NOISE (2007, d. Matthew Saville) *** |
| NOITE ESCURA (2005, d. João Canijo; Portugal) * |
| NOMAD (2007, d. Sergei Bodrov; Kazakhstan) *** 1/2 |
| NORDESTE (2006, d. Juan Solanas) ** 3/4 |
| NORMAL (2007, d. Carl Bessai) *** |
| NORTH (2009, d. Rune Denstad Langlo) ** 1/2 |
| NORTH COUNTRY (2005, d. Niki Caro) *** |
| NORTH FACE (2009, d. Philipp Stölzl) *** 3/4 |
| NORTH KOREA-DAY IN THE LIFE (2005, d. Pieter Fleury) Docu with no narration, just showing the activities of typical N. Korean workers in one day. ** 3/4 |
| NORTHANGER ABBEY (2008, d. Jon Jones) V. Most minor of Austin stories despite Andrew Davies script...but JJ Field was great. ** 1/2 |
| NORTHFORK (2003, U.S. d. Michael Polish) Another boring allegory by the Polish brothers. * |
| NOT HERE TO BE LOVED (Je ne suis pas lã pour être aimé) (2006, d. Stéphane Brizé) Slow, lugubrious; 50ish man redeemed by too much tango. ** 1/2 |
| NOTEBOOK, THE (2004, d. Nick Cassavetes) + Emotionally cathartic melodrama, even better the 2nd time around. Rachel McAdams a major find. *** 1/2 |
| NOTEBOOK, THE (2004, d. Nick Cassevetes) 3-hankey weeper, beautifully acted & directed old fashioned romantic drama. *** |
| NOTES ON A SCANDAL (Richard Eyre) Creepy, strange, literate writing, fabulous acting by both women. *** 1/4 |
| NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (2008, d. Rod Lurie) Clever, satisfying adaptation of Valerie Plame affair. Superb acting ensemble. *** 1/4 |
| NOTHING IS PRIVATE (2007, d. Alan Ball) *** |
| NOTHING MORE (2002, d. Juan Carlos Malberti) * |
| NOTHING (2003, d. Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti) Cuba AFF+. Wacky comedy set in Cuban post office. Tries too hard * 1/2 |
| NOTHING'S ALL BAD (2010, d. Mikkel Munch-Fals) ** 3/4 |
| NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE, THE (2006, d. Mary Harron) ** 3/4 |
| NOTRE MUSIQUE (2004, d. Jean-Luc Godard) Overly intellectualized snoozer about Bosnia...but nicer to look at and better than most recent Godard oeuvre. ** 1/4 |
| NOUVELLE CHANCE (2006, d. Ann Fontaine) *** |
| NOVEMBER (2005, d. Greg Harrison) Pretentious and mysterious recreation of a convenience store robbery. James LeGros & Courtney Cox are just ok. ** |
| NOVIA DE LAZARO, LA (2003, d. Fernando Merinero) Life and loves among the Cuban immegrants in Madrid. ** 3/4 |
| NOVIEMBRE (2004, d. Achero Mañas) Mockumentary about a revolutionary street theater troup in late '90s Madrid. Gorgeous wide screen & fine job all around. *** 1/2 |
| NOVOCAINE (2001, d. David Atkins) ** 1/2 |
| NOWHERE BOY (2010, d. Sam Taylor-Wood) *** 1/4 |
| NOWHERE IN AFRICA (2003, d. Caroline Link) German AFF Epic of refugees in Africa during WWII. *** 1/2 |
| NOY (2010, d. Dondon Santos; Philippines) ** 1/4 |
| NU. (2007, d. Jan-Willem van Ewijk) ** 3/4 |
| NUE PROPRIÉTÉ (2006, d. Joachim Lafosse) *** 1/2 |
| NUIT DE CHIEN (Tonight) (2008, d. Werner Schroeter) * |
| NUITS D'ARABIE (2008, d. Paul Kieffer; Luxembourg) *** 1/4 |
| NURSE BETTY (2000, d. Neil LaBute) ** 1/4 |
| NURSE.FIGHTER.BOY (2009, d. Charles Officer) *** |
| NYNKE (2001, d. Pieter Verhoeff) ** |