| "V" 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 |
| V FOR VENDETTA (2006, d. James McTeigue) Involving rip-off of 1984. Some good effects; but Portman's English accent was terrible. *** |
| V.O.S. (2010, d. Cesc Gay) ** 1/4 |
| VA SAVOIR (2001, d. Jacques Rivette) *** 1/2 |
| VACATION (2007, d. Thomas Arslan) ** 3/4 |
| VACATIONLAND (2006, d. Todd Verow) Gay teens in Bangor, MN...el cheapo production, mediocre which is an improvement for Verow. ** |
| VAGABOND (2003, Hungary d. Gyorgy Szomjas) Lousy photography & production design with virtually no story & incessant folk dancing which bored me. * |
| VALENTÍN (2003, d. Juan Luis Iborra) Boring, talky drama about a troup of male Shakespeare players undone when director falls for the new young actor. ** |
| VALENTIN (2004, d. Alejandro Agresti) An extraordinarily sympathetic look at a crisis in the life of an 8 year old boy. *** 1/2 |
| VALENTINO: THE LAST EMPEROR (2009, d. Matt Tyrnauer)V. Interesting docu, though somewhat cold. Reminded me of Project Runway in a good way. *** 1/4 |
| VALHALLA RISING (2010, d. Nicolas Winding Refn) Malick's New World on angel dust. Mads Mikkelsen is superb, it looks great; but message plot too heavy for me. ** 3/4 |
| VALKYRIE (2008, d. Bryan Singer) Fine complex action flick with real tension despite knowing the plot. *** |
| VANILLA SKY (2001, d. Cameron Crowe) * 3/4 |
| VANITY FAIR (2004, d. Mira Nair) Much better than average Masterpiece Theater for large screen. Reese Witherspoon luminous; and the time flew by. *** 1/4 |
| VANTAGE POINT (2008, d. Pete Travis) Script doesn't compute; but really exciting filmmaking wins the day. *** |
| VATEL (2000, d. Roland Joffé) *** |
| VAYA CON DIOS (2002, d. Zoltan Spirandelli) *** |
| VENGEANCE (2010, d. Johnnie To) *** 1/4 |
| VENGO (2001, d. Tony Gatlif) * 1/2 |
| VENTO DI TERRA (2005, d. Vincenzio Marra) Quiet, slow, sad film about a young Napolese boy & his poor family ekeing out a proud existence. *** |
| VENUS & FLEUR (2005, d. Emmanuel Mouret) Female buddy flick French style...shy French girl meets vivante Russian girl & blossoms. ** 3/4 |
| VENUS BEAUTY INSTITUTE (2000, d. Tonie Marshall) ** 1/4 |
| VENUS (2006, d. Roger Michell) *** 1/4 |
| VERA DRAKE (2004, d. Mike Leigh) Superb, utterly right period drama about an ordinary abortionist. Imelda Staunton perfect. Mike Leigh's most assured film. **** |
| VERONICA GUERIN (2003, d. Joel Schumacher) I'm not a reflexive Schumacher hater; but this tiresome film was too earnest & obvious despite its "message". * 3/4 |
| VERONIKA VOSS (2003, d. W.R. Fassbinder) V. Like Sunset Blvd. story of former star: a morphine addict under spell of evil female doctor. Stunning B&W. ** 3/4 |
| VERTICAL LIMIT (2000, d. Martin Campbell) ** |
| VERTICAL RAY OF THE SUN, THE (2000, d. Tran Anh Hung) ** 1/2 |
| VERY ANNIE MARY (2002, d. Sara Sugarman) * |
| VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT, A (2004, d. Jean-Pierre Jeunet) Remarkable film, over-the-top (of course), unabashedly in Jeunet's postmodern style. Superb filmmaking. *** 1/2 |
| VERY SERIOUS PERSON, A (2007, d. Charles Busch) ** 3/4 |
| VERY YOUNG GIRLS (2008, d. David Schisgall) Well meaning, ernest docu about 13-16 year old sexually exploited girls & an organization in N.Y. (GEMS) to help them. ** 1/2 |
| VIAJE DE CAROL, EL (2003, d. Imanol Uribe) Touching story of a girl whose life is shattered by the Spanish civil war. *** 1/4 |
| VICE (Tiski) (2008, d. Valery Todorovsky) *** |
| VICEROYS, THE (I Vicerè) (2010, d. Roberto Faenza) *** 1/2 |
| VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (2008, d. Woody Allen) Talky, narration filled, often clever but (for me) uninvolving dramedy about relationships. ** 3/4 |
| VICTOIRE (2005, d. Stéphanie Murat) Even with Silvie Testud as a serial killer, this silly black comedy is a waste of time. * 1/4 |
| VIDA MANCHA, LA (2004, d. Enrique Urbizu) Nicely acted drama about two half-brothers involved with the same woman. Good chick flick. *** 1/4 |
| VIDA UTIL, LA (2010, d. Federico Veiroj; Uruguay) ** |
| VIE D'ARTISTE, LA (2008, d. Marc Fitoussi) *** 1/4 |
| VIE DES MORTS, LA (2008, d. Arnaud Desplechin) *** |
| VIE EN ROSE, LA (2007, d. Olivier Dehan) *** 1/2 |
| VIE PROMESSE, LA (2004, d. Olivier Dahan) Isabelle Hupert once again is great, though the film, a lost souls road picture isn't. ** 1/4 |
| VIEW FROM THE TOP (2003, d. Bruno Barreto) Fluffy & charmless comedy with almost no redeeming qualities except for a luminous Gwyneth Paltrow. * 1/4 |
| VILLAGE, THE (2004, d. M. Night Shyamalan) Atmospheric thriller which got to me. Ron Howard's daughter is wonderfully charismatic. *** |
| VILLAIN, THE (Le Vilain) (2010, d. Albert Dupontel) ** |
| VINCERE (2009, d. Marco Bellocchio) *** 1/4 |
| VIRGEN DE LA LUJURIA, LA (2003, d. Arturo Ripstein) Arty snoozefest centered about a waiter in a '30s Mexican cafe and his sexual obsessions. * |
| VIRGIL BLISS (2001, d. Joe Maggio) ** 3/4 |
| VIRGIN QUEEN, THE (2005, d. Coky Giedroye) V. ** 3/4 |
| VIRGIN SUICIDES, THE (2000, d. Sofia Coppola) ** 3/4 |
| VISIONEERS (2008, d. Jared Drake) 1/2* |
| VISITOR, THE (2008, d. Tom McCarthy) Heartfelt, distressing film about another depressed prof. (cf. Smart People) *** |
| VITUS (2006, d. Fredi M. Murer; Switzerland) *** 3/4 |
| VITUS (2007, d. Fredi M. Murer) + *** 1/2 |
| VIVA CUBA (2005, d. Juan Carlos Cremata) ** 1/4 |
| VIVA LAS NOWHERE (2001, d. Jason Bloom) *** |
| VODKA LEMON (2004, d. Hiner Saleem) A nicely shot but pointless dark comedy about a poor Armenian village and its benighted inhabitents. ** 1/4 |
| VOLEURS, LES (2003, d. André Téchiné) V.+ Better the 2nd time. Téchiné is a superb director and this family drama is complex and nicely done. *** 1/4 |
| VOLVER (2006, d. Pedro Almodóvar; Spain) *** |
| VORTEX (Duburys) (2010, d. Gytis Luksas; Lithuania) *** 1/4 |
| VOY A EXPLOTAR (I'm Going to Explode) (2008, d. Gerardo Naranjo) ** 3/4 |
| VULCAN JUNCTION (2000, d. Eran Riklis) ** |