"O"    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
O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?   (2000, d. Joel Coen)    ***   
O DELFIM  (2003, d. Fernando Lopes) Portugal AFF. Insufferably pretentious drama about poor suffering rich people.  *
O FANTASMA  (2001, d. João Pedro Rodrigues)    *
O  (2001, d. Tim Blake Nelson)    ** 3/4  
OASIS   (2002, d. Lee Chang-dong)  *** 3/4
OBABA  (2005, d. Montxo Armendariz; Spain)  ** 3/4
OBSERVE AND REPORT (2009,  d. Jody Hill) Very black, obscene, mostly unfunny comedy...however surprisingly entertaining with Rogan & Anna Faris standouts. ***
OCCUPATION DREAMLAND  (2005, d. Olds and Scott; docu) V.   ***
OCEANS (2010, d. Perrin & Cluzaud) Great nature footage of ocean & shore life, a little too obvious narration...all in all a big screen experience to treasure.  *** 1/4
OCEANS 12  (2004, d. Steven Soderbergh) A ridiculous plot, off-hand acting and sloppy direction made for an overblown disaster, IMHO  * 1/4
OCEAN'S ELEVEN   (2001, d. Steven Soderbergh)    ** 3/4
OCULTO  (2008, d. Antonio Hernández) V. Woman's revenge thriller.  Leonardo Sbaraglia & Angie Cepeda have real chemistry.  ***
ODD LITTLE MAN (Da jeg traff Jesus... med sprettert)  (2000, d. Stein Leikanger) ***
ODE, THE  (2008, d. Nilanjan Neil Lahiri) Overwrought, heavy handed So. Asian/American gay drama. Guilt, screwed up childhood. Ugh. * 1/4
OF GODS AND MEN (2010, d. Xavier Beauvois; France)  ** 3/4
OF LOVE AND OTHER DEMONS (2010, d. Hilda Hidalgo; Costa Rica)  ***
OFF SCREEN  (2006, d. Pieter Kuijpers) ** 1/4
OFF THE MAP  (2004, d. Campbell Scott) Wonderfully atmospheric coming of age story of young girl in a close rural New Mexico family.  *** 1/2
OFFSCREEN  (2007, d. Christopher Boe) ** 1/4
OGU & MAMPATO ON EASTER ISLAND  (2003, d. Alejandro Teilez)  Chile AFF.  Children's cartoon.   WO
OH HAPPY DAY  (2007, d. Ian Poitier) * 3/4
OH IN OHIO, THE  (2006, d. Billy Kent) Ograsmic hi-jinx in Cleveland. OK script, good acting, end sort of peters out.  ** 3/4
O'HORTEN  (2008, d. Bent Hamer; Norway) ***
OKAY   (2002, d. Jesper W. Nielsen)  *** 1/4
OLD JOY  (2006, d. Kelly Reichardt) ***
OLGA  (2004, d. Jayme Monjardim) Interesting, if overblown production based on true events about a Jewish Communist woman revolutionary caught in a Nazi net.  ** 1/2
OLIVE HARVEST, THE  (2004, d. Hanna Elias) Overwrought triangle romantic drama about 2 Palestinian brothers & the woman they both covet.  * 3/4
OLIVER TWIST  (2005, d. Roman Polanski) *** 1/4
OMAGH  (2004, d. Pete Travis) Muted dramatic re-enactment of '98 N. Ireland bombing & aftermath with quietly great performance by Gerard McSorley. ***
ON EDGE  (2001, d. Karl Sloven) ** 
ON GUARD   (2002, d. Philippe De Broca) [1997]    ** 1/2   
ON NATIVE SOIL:  THE DOCUMENTARY OF THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT  (2005, d. Linda Ellman; docu) *** 1/2
ON THE BUS   (2001, d. Dustin Lance Black)  *** 1/4
ON THE DOWNLOW  (2004, d. Tadeo Garcia) Latino gangs do an ugly gay West Side Story. Utterly talentless cast & crew. Why are we subjected to these terrible films? 1/2*
ON THE ROAD WITH JUDAS  (2007, d. JJ Lask) ***
ON THE TOWN  (2010, d. Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly)  ** 1/2
ON THE WATERFRONT  (2004, d. Elia Kazan) Missed this when I was 13. For my tastes overly melodramatic with an annoyingly heavy Bernstein score. I do get Brando, tho. ** 1/2
ON THE WINGS OF DREAMS  (2008, d. Golem Rabbany Biplop; Bangladesh) **
ON_LINE  (2003, d.   Jed Weintrob)  Digitally shot indie drama about relationships made and broken on a net sex line. Clever, innovative and involving.  ***
ONCE IN A LIFETIME: STORY OF NEW YORK COSMOS  (2006, d. Crowder & Dower) V. Fast moving, involving docu about pro soccer. *** 1/4
ONCE IN THE LIFE  (2000, d. Laurence Fishburne)    **    
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL: SPIRIT OF JEET KUNE DO  (2004, d. Ha Yu) Sang woo Kwong great as shy high school student beset by bullies.  *** 1/4
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO  (2003, d. Robert Rodriguez) Some good set-pieces and interesting acting; but ultra-violent and shrill.  ** 1/2
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS  (2003, Great Britain  d. Shane Meadows)  Predictable British family drama with inaudible dialog.  ** 1/4
ONCE YOU'RE BORN YOU CAN NO LONGER HIDE  (2006, d. Marco Tullio Giordana) *** 1/4
ONCE  (2007, d. John Carney) ***
ONDINE  (2010, d. Neil Jordan)  ** 1/2
ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER   (2000, d. Kevin Macdonald)    *** 1/2   
ONE DAY LIKE RAIN  (2007, d. Paul Todisco) 1/2*
ONE HOUR PHOTO   (2002, d. Mark Romanek)    ** 3/4    
ONE HUNDRED NAILS (Centochiodi)  (2007, d. Ermanno Olmi) ** 1/4
ONE NIGHT AT MCCOOL'S   (2001, d. Harald Zwart)    *
ONE NIGHT WITH SABRINA LOVE  (2001, d. Alejandro Agresti)  *** 
ONE WEEK  (2008, d. Michael McGowan) ***
ONE-HANDED TRICK, THE (2009,  d. Santiago Zannou) **
ONLY GOD KNOWS  (2006, d. Carlos Bolado) *** 1/4
ONLY HUMAN  (2006, d. Dominic Harari and Terisa Pelagri) Occasionally silly Spanish family farce...Jewish girl/Palestinian man. ** 3/4
ONLY JOURNEY OF HIS LIFE, THE  (2002, d. Lakis Papasthathis)  * 1/2
ONLY JOURNEY OF HIS LIFE, THE  (2003, d. Lakis Papasththis)   Greece AFF.  Magical realism with no coherent plot.  * 1/2
OPEN HEARTS  (2003, d. Susanne Bier) Denmark AFF.  Dogma drama about fear of loss and love.  ***
OPEN RANGE  (2003, d. Kevin Costner) Gorgeously photographed western - almost overcomes cliché plot with some superb acting esp. by Robert Duval.  ** 1/2
OPEN ROAD, THE (2009,  d. Michael Meredith) Jeff Bridges, in best dissipated Dude mode & game Timberlake do road trip clichés. Predictable; but better than expected. ** 3/4
OPEN WATER  (2004, d. Chris Kentis) Viscerally disturbing, small film about a scuba diving couple lost at sea. ** 3/4
OPERATION HOMECOMING  (2007, d. Richard Robbins) Out of the tragedy of war, true art in the best of this years docus. ****
OPIUM - DIARY OF A MADWOMAN  (2008, d. János Szász) ***
OPIUM WAR  (2008, d. Siddiq Barmak; Afghanistan) * 3/4
OPPONENT, THE  (2000, d. Eugene Jorecki) ***
ORA DI PUNTA, L'  (2007, d. Vincenzo Marra) ** 3/4
ORA O MAI PIÚ  (2003, d. Lucio Pellegrini) Energetic & well made coming of age story-leftist group during Genoa 8 fracas. Jacopo Bonvicini actor to watch. ***
ORANGE COUNTY   (2002, d. Jake Kasdan)    ***   
ORCHESTRA SEATS (Fauteuils d'Orchestre)  (2006, d. Danièle Thompson) Nicely edited, involving Parisian mult-character romantic comedy.  *** 1/4
ORDER OF CHAOS (2010, d. Vince Vieluf) Strong, snarky, atmospheric thriller. Fine perfs (Coiro and Ventimiglia). Vieluf is writer/director/composer to watch!  *** 1/2
ORDER, THE  (2003, d. Brian Helgeland) Dark parable of black popes and sin eaters. Surprisingly not bad filmically, though ludicrously overwrought & cheesy. *
ORDINARY EXECUTION, AN (Une exécution ordinaire)  (2010, d. Marc Dugain)  ***
ORFEU  (2000, d. Carlos Diegues)    ** 1/2    
ORIGINAL SIN   (2001, d. Michael Cristofer)    *** 
ORLY  (2010, d. Angela Schanelec)  ** 1/4
ORPHAN, THE   (2002, d. Sun-fung Lee) **
ORPHANAGE, THE  (2007, d. J.A. Bayona) Spain's foreign film submission ** 1/2
OSAMA  (2004, d. Siddiq Barmak) Highly politicized, simplistic indictment of Taliban as anti-women to extreme.  Involving story of girl masquerading as boy.  ** 1/4
OSO ROJO, UN  (2003, d. Israel Adrián Caetano) Loner outlaw, larger than life character in a film noir notable for its cruelty and compassion.  ***
OSS 117:  NEST OF SPIES  (2006, d. Michel Hazanavicius) * 1/4
OSSESSIONE  (2005, d. Luchino Visconti)V. Fine, neo-realist B&W noir based on Postman Always Rings Twice. Massimo Girotti is revelatory.  *** 1/4
OT: OUR TOWN  (2003, d. Scott Hamilton Kennedy) V.  Docu feature about 1st high school play in Compton in 20 years.  *** 1/4
OTHER BANK, THE (2009,  d. George Ovashvili) *** 1/2
OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, THE  (2008, d. Justin Chadwick) Bad history, great jewelry.  ** 1/4
OTHER END OF THE LINE, THE  (2008, d. James Dodson) Every romantic cliché in the book; but Jesse Metcalfe isn't half bad.  **
OTHER GIRLS, THE   (2001, d. Caroline Vignal)  ** 3/4  
OTHER GUYS, THE (2010, d.  Adam McKay) I simply have no tolerance for dumb comedies. I did laugh...but the action sequences were boring & it didn't work for me. * 3/4
OTHER MAN, THE  (2008, d. Richard Eyre) ***
OTHER SIDE OF HEAVEN, THE  (2005, d. Mitch Davis) V.  ***
OTHER SIDE OF HEAVEN, THE   (2002, d. Mitch Davis)    ** 1/2   
OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET, THE (2004, d. Marcos Bernstein) Fine film romance about an elderly lady who gets involved in witnessing a possible crime.  *** 1/4
OTHER SIDE, THE (Al Otro Lado)  (2005, d. Gustavo Loza) ** 1/2
OTHERS, THE   (2001, d. Alejandro Amenábar)    ** 3/4    
OTRO LADO DE LA CAMA, EL  (2003, d. Emilio Martinez-Lazaro) Spanish sex comedy with music & dance, about couples playing musical beds..  ***
OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST  (2008, d. Miguel Gomes; Portugal) W/O
OUR LADY OF THE ASSASSINS  (2001, d. Barbet Schroeder)    *** 3/4 
OUR LADY OF THE ASSASSINS   (2001, d. Barbet Schroeder) +  *** 1/2
OUR LAND (La Terra)   (2006, d. Sergio Rubini) *** 1/4
OUR OWN  (2005, d. Dmitry Meskhiyev) Interesting, involving variant on the Russian WWII film, about escaped soldiers behind German lines.  ***
OUT AT THE WEDDING  (2007, d. Lee Friedlander) *
OUT OF ORDER  (2003, Pilot d. Wayne Powers) V. This works as a standalone feature. Realistic family drama of a pair of screenwriters. Outstanding acting.  ***
OUT OF THE CLOSET:  THE WILLIAM HAINES STORY   (2001, d. Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbado)  ** 1/2
OUT OF TIME  (2003, d. Carl Franklin) A policier/sting film with more plot holes than a pound of swiss cheese.  Diverting at times, but predictable.  * 3/4
OUT OF TIME  (2007, d. Harald Friedl) ** 3/4
OUT  (2002, d. Hideyuki Hirayama)  ***
OUT  (2003, d.   Hideyuki Hirayama)  Japan AFF.  Black comedy reminiscent of Weekend at Bernie's only emontionally resonant.  ***
OUTBREAK  (2003, d. Wolfgang Peterson) V. Catching up (yes, just got TiVo, which explains the videos). Viral thriller. Good suspense, lousy science.  ** 1/2
OUTING RILEY  (2007, d. Pete Jones) ***
OUTPATIENT   (2002, d. Alec Carlin)  *** 1/4
OUTRAGE (2009,  d. Kirby Dick) V. Confrontational docu, intriguingly edited, about hypocritical gay Congresscritters and the harm they foist on the Republic. *** 1/2
OUTRAGE AT GLEN RIDGE  (2004, d. Guy Ferland)V. Earnest, effective TV message movie with outstanding Heather Matarazzo as retarded girl raped by footall team.  ** 3/4
OUTSIDE THE LAW  (Hors la loi) (2010, d. Rachid Bouchareb; Algeria)  *** 1/2
OUTSOURCED   (2006, d. John Jeffcoat) **
OVER THE HILL BAND (2010, d. Geoffrey Enthoven)  ** 1/2
OVERBROOK BROTHERS (2009,  d. John Bryant) ***
OVERLORD  (2005, d. Stuart Cooper) 1975 B&W docudrama about a Brit soldier preparing and participating in D-Day. No Private Ryan, sort of blah. ** 1/4
OVERNIGHT  (2003, U.S. doc. d.Mark Brian Smith)  Excellent documentary about a megalomanic filmmaker/rock singer who tangles with Harvey Weinstein.  *** 1/2
OVERTURE, THE  (2004, d. I Vichailak) Well made, if overwrought, Thai film about a traditional musician's life from child prodigy to regime threatening elder master.  ** 3/4
OWNING MAHOWNY  (2003, d. Richard Kwietniowski)  Hoffman is great as banker-gambler. The film struck close to home to this gambling addict.  Good job.  ***