ALPHABETICAL LIST OF ALL FILMS FROM January, 2003 THROUGH July, 2009

[500] DAYS OF SUMMER (d. Marc Webb) *** 1/2
[UNTITLED]  (d. Jonathan Parker) ***
06/05 THE SIXTH OF MAY (d. Theo Van Gogh) ** 3/4
1:1 (d. Annette K. Olesen) ***
10 (d. Abbas Kiarostami) Ten vignettes of lady cab driver & her passengers (including her son).  Static camera, droning voices. I snoozed.  * 1/2
10 ITEMS OR LESS  (d. Brad Silberling) ** 1/2
10.5 (d. John Lafia) V. The most epically ridiculous, scientifically absurd, horribly written & acted mini-series in tv history.  But the f/x were pretty awesome.  *
100 MILE RULE (d. Brent Huff) Caper film about a salesman at a conference who is entrapped into an illicit affair.  *** 1/4
10th DISTRICT COURT (d. Raymond Depardon) Docu of the quotidien goings on in a local Parisian court. Illuminating...better than Judge Judy.  ***
11'9''01  (France doc. d. various)  11 short films by various directors based on 9/11.  Mostly a waste of celluloid.  ** 1/2
12 (d. Nikita Mikhalkov; Russia) ***
12:08 EAST OF BUCHAREST  (d. Camelia Porumboiu) **
13 GOING ON 30 (d. Gary Winick) Another ridiculous kid in a grownup's body fantasy, though Mark Ruffalo is always worth watching.  * 1/2
13 TZAMETI (d. Géla Babluani) V. Fr./Georgian variation on Intacto. Suspenseful +Giorgi Babluani is a find! *** 1/4
1408 (d. Mikael Hafström) ** 3/4
17 AGAIN (d. Burr Steers) Absurd wish fullfilment fantasy revisiting hi-school with hints of incest.  Strangely enjoyable since Zac Efron pulls it off; ** 3/4
2 DAYS IN PARIS (d. Julie Delpy) ***
2 FAST 2 FURIOUS  (d. John Stockman)  Great action & sound; but the longest 65 minutes of  repetitive testosterone tweaking ever.  * 3/4
2 MINUTES LATER (d. Robert Gaston) * 1/2
2:37  (d. Murali K. Thalluri) *** 1/2
20 CENTIMETERS (d. Ramón Salazar) ***
20 FINGERS (d. Mania Akbari) Tight close-ups of a couple in motion, arguing shrilly, incessantly, boringly. Like recent Kiarostami, only feminist. * 3/4
20:30:40 (d. Sylvia Chang) Interwoven, soapy comedy about 3 varied aged women neighbors in modern Taipei.  Somewhat superficial and overly long.  * 3/4
2046  (d. Wong Kar-Wei) Ravishingly beautiful romantic film, Tony Leung beds several women and androids, and as usual I lost the narrative thread.  ***
21 (d. Robert Luketic) A slam dunk for me both in subject & Jim Sturgess; but so logically flawed it's a shame. ** 3/4
21 GRAMS (d. Alejandro Gonzálas Iñárritu) Art film about love & dying with a choppy non-linear narrative & some great acting by all involved.  *** 1/2
23  (Germany  d.  Hans-Christian Schmid) True life story of youg German hackers who provide crucial passwords to the Russians.  ***
24TH DAY, THE (d. Tony Piccirillo) Excellent 2-person gay-themed drama with incredibly good acting by Scott Speedman & James Marsden.  *** 1/2
25 CENT PREVIEW (d. Cyrus Amini) **
25 DEGREES IN WINTER (d. Stéphane Vuillet) Fun comedy about a Spanish family who has an adventure helping a Ukranian illegal immigrée in Brussels. ** 3/4
27 CLUB, THE (d. Erica Dunton) ** 1/4
28 DAYS LATER (d. Danny Boyle) DV looked terrible, but story gripped and terrific visuals. Cillian Murphy, so great in Disco Pigs, is hot!  ***
28 WEEKS LATER (d. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo) Spare, horrifying, pessamistic...Michael Haneke would be proud.  ***
3 LITTLE PIGS, THE (Les 3 p'tits cochons) (d. Patrick Huard) Fr. Canadian sex comedy which somehow works.  ***
3 NEEDLES (d. Thom Fitzgerald) *** 1/4
3:30 TO YUMA (d. James Mangold) A perfect Western, until unmotivated ending spoiled it.  *** 1/4
300 (d. Zack Snyder) Spectacular design, coherent narrative, even good dialog well presented. Comic book gore, but wow.  *** 1/4
32A (d. Marian Quinn) ** 1/2
36 QUAI DES ORFÈVRES (d. Olivier Marchal) Auteuil & Depardieu in a French noir that could have been a Michael Mann film, dark & violent. ***
39 POUNDS OF LOVE (d. Dani Menkin)V.  ***
3-IRON (d. Kim Ki-Duk) Fascinating, but weird Korean thriller about a silent young guy who breaks into houses. Very filmic and mysterious. *** 1/4
4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS (d. Cristian Mungiu; Romania) *** 1/4
4  (d. Ilya Khzhanovsky) Allegorical Russian film, lots of symbolism of items of 4; but stupefyingly repetative, overlong and obscure.  *
4: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER (d.  Tim May) **
40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN, THE (d. Judd Apatow)  * 1/4
4400, THE (d. various)V. "Limited" tv sf series about returned alien abductees with strange powers. Compelling serial tv and I hope it continues.  ***
49 UP (d. Michael Apted) *** 1/2
50 FIRST DATES (d. Peter Segal) V. Adam Sandler & Drew Barrymore bring out the best of each other. This film mines gold out of a weird concept. ***
54 (d. Mark Christopher) V. Finally caught this interesting film. Ryan Phillippe never hotter; Mike Myers never better.  ***
5x2 (d. François Ozon) Unsparing, fascinating film about a dissolving marriage told in 5 reverse vignettes.  Ozon's best in years.  *** 3/4
7 VIRGINS (d. Alberto Rodríguez) *** 1/4
7 YEARS  (d. Jean-Pascal Hattu) *** 1/4
800 BULLETS (d. Alex de la Iglesia)  Comedy moden day homage to spaghetti Westerns & their genre.  Funny, poignant.  *** 1/2
881 (d. Royston Tan; Singapore) W/O
9 SONGS (d. Michael Winterbottom) Video verité about a couple, she American, he English, into Sex, Antarctica, and Rock & Roll.  *** 1/4
9 SOULS (d.Toshiaki Toyota) A comedy about escaped convicts rampaging. I was bored and unamused and walked after an hour.  W/O
9  (d. Umit Unal)  Turkey AFF.  Docudrama. Videotaped interrogation of 6 suspects in murder rape.  ** 1/2
99 FRANCS (d. Jan Kounen) ***
9TH COMPANY (d. Fyodor Bondarchuk; Russia)  *** 1/2
A DIOS MOMO (d. Leonardo Ricagni) W/O
A SIDE, B SIDE, SEA SIDE (d. Wing-Chiu Chan) ** 1/4
À TOUT DE SUITE (d. Benoît Jacquot) V. Jacquot doing 60's Godard pretty darn well.  ***
AACHI & SSIPAK (d. Joe Bum-jin) 1/2*
ABBUFFATA L' (d. Mimmo Colopresti) ***
ABOUNA  (d. Mahamet Saleh Haroun) Chad AFF.  Two young brothers and their trials finding their father.  ** 
ABOUT ELLY (d. Asghar Farhadi) ***
ABSOLUT  (d. Romed Wyder) Fascinating, complex thriller about 2 computer hacker political terrorists & memory restoration. *** 1/4
ACCEPTED (d. Steve Pink) V. ** 1/2
ACNÉ (d. Federico Veiroj) ***
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (d. Julie Taymor) The '60s film I've been waiting 40 years for.  ****
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE (d. Julie Taymore) + Even on 2nd view, this is my fave film of decade so far. ****
ADAM & STEVE (d. Craig Chester) Silly at times, but also funny & touching romantic comedy about 2 quirky, mature gay men.  ** 3/4
ADAM (d. Max Mayer) *** 1/4
ADAM'S APPLES (d. Anders Thomas Jensen) ***
ADDICTION (d. Minna Virtanen) ** 3/4
ADMIRAL, THE (d. Andrei Kravchuck) *** 1/2
ADORATION (d. Atom Egoyan) *** 1/2
ADORATION (d. Atom Egoyan) + Not quite as stunning the 2nd time around...but worse: 2nd time this week I went to a film I didn't realize I'd seen before! *** 1/4
ADVENTURELAND (d. Greg Mottola) Jesse Eisenberg, like Michael Cera is the ideal pomo hero.  Pleasant, if subdued, rom-com.  ** 3/4
ADVENTURES OF SEBASTIAN COLE, THE  (d. Tod Williams) V. Coming of age/disfunctional family story nicely, if eliptically realized. Adrian Grenier! ** 3/4
AE FOND KISS (d. Ken Loach) Ill fated love of a young 2nd generation Paki for a white woman in today's Scotland. Subtle & affecting.  ***
AFGHAN STAR (d. Havana Marking) ***
AFTER INNOCENCE (d. Jessica Sanders; docu)  V. *** 1/4
AFTER MIDNIGHT (d. Davide Ferrario) Whimsical paean to film à la Amélie without the irony, a charmingly cockeyed love triangle.  *** 1/4
AFTER THE WEDDING (d. Susanne Bier; Denmark) *** 1/2
AFTERLIFE (d. Alison Peebles) Affecting drama: ambitious man forced to care for Down's Syndrome sister. Tear jerker, never goes over the top.  *** 1/4
AFTERMATH (d. Paprika Steen) Emotionally shattering, beautifully acted chamber drama about the affects of grief on a couple & the people around them.  *** 1/2
AFTERSCHOOL (d. Antonio Campos) *** 1/4
AFTERWARDS (d. Gilles Bourdos) ** 1/4
AGAINST THE CURRENT (d. Peter Callahan) *** 1/2
AGENT CODY BANKS 2 (d. Kevin Allen) Silly, but coherent kids film.  At least miles better than Inspector Gadget, which is saying something.  ** 1/4
AGRONOMIST, THE (d. Jonathan Demme) V. Doc. about Haitian radio radical good guy Jean Dominique. Interesting, but slow mid-section disappoints. ** 3/4
AGUA (d. Verónica Chen) ***
AHEAD OF TIME (d. Ágúst Güdmundsson; Iceland)  * 3/4
AHIMSA STOP TO RUN (d. Leo Kittikorn; Thailand) *
AIME TON PERE (d. Jacob Berger) Swiss AFF. High gloss road picture about Literature Nobelist and his estranged son.  *** 1/4
AIMÉE, L' (d. Arnaud Desplechin) ** 1/4
AIN'T SCARED (d. Audrey Estrougo) **
AIRES DIFICILES, LOS (d. Gerardo Herrera) ** 3/4
AKA (d. Duncan Roy)V.+ Complete re-edit from multi-screen festival version 2 years ago. Well done British lower class gay imposter story.  ** 3/4
AKEELAH AND THE BEE (d. Doug Acheson) Predictable, manipulative, moving film about an 11 yr. old black girl spelling genius. ** 1/2
AL FRANKEN: GOD SPOKE (d. Nick Doob, Chris Hegedus) *** 1/4
ALAMO, THE (d. John Lee Hancock) Mediocre script with too many levels of flashbacks; but otherwise fairly well made historical pic.  ** 1/2
ALATRISTE (d. Augustin Diaz Yanes) ** 3/4
ALBINO ALLEGATOR (d. Kevin Spacey)V. Hostage film in a bar with some good perfs, but pretty average script and direction. ** 1/2
ALEGRE MA NON TROPPO (d. Fernando Colomo) Slick, high gloss '94 Spanish sex farce on confused sexuality with clever plot and some fine acting.  ***
ALEX & EMMA  (d. Rob Reiner) Romantic comedy. A novelist & a steno who are writing and acting out a novel. A real turkey, both novel and script.  *
ALEXANDER (d. Oliver Stone) Epic with a confusingly constructed script but some great battle scenes. Jolie's accent inexplicable; but Farrell is pretty good.  ** 3/4
ALEXANDRA (d. Alexander Sokurov) ***
ALFIE (d. Charles Shyer) Jude Law is an attractive star playing a cad in this somewhat boring, mediocre comedy. Shyer is a hack director; but his casting works.  ** 1/4
ALI: FEAR EATS THE SOUL (d. W.R. Fassbinder) V. Indictment of conformest, xenophobic German character; old woman marries nice young Moroccan.  ***
ALICE (d. Marco Martins; Portugal) ** 3/4
ALICE UPSIDE DOWN (d. Sandy Tung) ** 3/4
ALIVE (Zhivoy) (d. Alexander Veledinsky) ** 3/4
ALL HAT (d. Leonard Farlinger) ** 3/4
ALL IN (d. Nick Vallelonga) V. I usually like poker movies; but this barely watchable drama was terrible.  *
ALL OR NOTHING (d. Mike Leigh)V. Finally caught Leigh's miserabilist version of  Life is Sour. As usual, fine filmmaking; but depressing.  ***
ALL OVER THE GUY (d. Julie Davis)+ V. One of the better gay films...bittersweet romantic comedy which has the ring of truth and originality.  *** 1/4
ALL THE KING'S MEN (d. Steven Zaillian) Why was this film critically savaged? Maybe a little over-ripe; but fantastic drama. *** 1/2
ALL THE REAL GIRLS (d. David Gordon Green) Appalachian love story; poetry of the ordinary. Schneider & Deschanel are great.  *** 1/2
ALL WILL BE WELL (Wszystko Bedzie Dobrze) (d. Tomasz Wiszniewski) *** 1/2
ALLEGRO (d. Christoffer Boe) **
ALMOST ADULT (d. Yousaf Ali Khan) ** 1/2
ALMOST BROTHERS (d. Lúcia Murat) Confusingly structured Brazilian story mixing City of God with Carandiru and inferior to both. **
ALMOST PEACEFUL (d. Michael Deville) Post WWII Jews trying to return to normal life in Paris dressmaking atelier.  Gentle, pastoral, slow.  ** 3/4
ALONE (d. Thomas Durschschlag) 2nd film in a row about a wounded girl: this one a German who cuts herself from psychotic low self esteem.  ** 3/4
ALONE IN FOUR WALLS (Allein in vier wanden) (d. Alexandra Westmeier) *** 1/4
ALONG CAME POLLY (d. John Hamburg) Big stars, but a terribly tasteless script...even Philip Hoffman overdid his slob schtick.  * 1/2
ALONG THE RIDGE (d. Kim Rossi Stuart) *** 1/2
ALPHA DOG (d. Nick Cassavetes) Better than expected. Timberlake & especially a game Ben Foster outstanding.  ***
ALZHEIMER CASE, THE (d. Erik Van Looy) Polished thriller about a French mafia assassin whose Alzheimers is affecting his contract hit in Antwerp.  ***
AMATEURS, THE (d. Michael Traegar) A silly comedy with a fine cast, mostly wasted.  * 3/4
AMAZING GRACE (d. Michael Apted) Earnest, but sort of boring film with great perf by Ioan Gruffuid.  ** 3/4
AMAZING MRS. PRITCHARD, THE (d. var.) V. Involving, realistic British political what-if fantasy miniseries.  ***
AMEN (d. Costa-Gavras) Shattering Holocaust drama from pov of conscientious SS Lt. and an Italian priest with the ear of the pope.  *** 1/2
AMERICAN COUSINS (d. Don Coutts) The mob (Ukraine and New Jersey versions) come to Glasgow.  **
AMERICAN FORK (d. Chris Bowman) **
AMERICAN GANGSTER (d. Ridley Scott) A classic gangster flick, reminiscent of Heat.   *** 1/2
AMERICAN HAUNTING, AN (d. Courtney Solomon)  * 3/4
AMERICAN JOBS (d. Greg Spotts) V. Informative, reasoned docu about the effect of NAFTA etc. on the American worker. Good polemics and filmmaking.  ***
AMERICAN PRIMITIVE (d. Gwen Wynne) ** 1/2
AMERICAN RULING CLASS, THE (d. John Kirby)V. *** 1/2
AMERICAN SHOPPER (d. Tamas Bojtor & Sybil Dessau) *** 3/4
AMERICAN SON (d. Neil Abramson) *** 1/2
AMERICAN SPLENDOR  (US  d. Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini) Clever biopic/documentary about Harvey Pekar, comix writer.  *** 3/4
AMERICAN TEEN (d. Nanette Burstein) *** 1/4
AMERICAN VIOLET (d. Tim Disney) Prdictable "based on true" story of ACLU victory over Texas racial injustices.  Good intentions & acting; but so so. ** 3/4
AMERICAN VISA (d. Juan Carlos Valdivia; Bolivia) ** 3/4
AMERICAN WEDDING (d. Jesse Dylan) V. A new scatological nadir for this series; but I have to admit that I laughed at some situations despite myself.  * 1/4
AMERICANESE (d. Eric Byler) ** 3/4
AMERICANO (d. Kevin Nolan) Contrived travelog with little plot (young Americans in Spain finding themselves) and some poor acting.  * 1/2
AMNESIA - THE JAMES BRIGHTON ENIGMA (d. Denis Langlois) Dusan Dukic shines, based on true story.  ** 3/4
AMNESIA (d. Nicholas Laughland) V. BBC mystery-thriller about an amnesiac cop on the trail of a possible wife murderer. Nice script, but too pat.  ** 3/4
AMREEKA (d. Cherien Dabis) *** 1/2
AN ALMOST ORDINARY STORY  (d. Milos Petricic) Romantic comedy about a couple who may or may not be fated to marry.  ** 3/4
AN AMERICAN RHAPSODY  (d. Éva Gárdos) V. Maladjustment of child of Hungarian emigres. Well acted, subtle, true to '50s & a little stolid.  ** 3/4
ANARCHIST'S WIFE, THE (d. Marie Noelle, Peter Sehr) ***
ANATOMY OF HELL  (d. Catherine Breillat) Opaque narrative about a girl who hires a "gay" man to ravage her. Squickily sexually explicit. **
ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND OF RON BURGUNDY (d. Adam McKay) Totally unfunny (for me) silly, even stupid comedy take on '70s newscasters.  *
AND ALONG CAME TOURISTS (Am Ende Kommen Touristen) (d. Robert Thalheim) ***
AND NOW...LADIES AND GENTLEMEN  (France  d. Claude Lelouch)  Fine, lush melodrama about a jewel thief & a chanteuse each with memory blackouts.  ***
ANDER (d. Roberto Caston) Closeted Basque farmer tenderly falls for Peruvian immigrant. Slow, but well observed & touching.  *** 1/4
ANGELA (Italy  d. Roberta Torre) Slow, impressionistic drama based on the true story of a drug running family in Sicily-a torrid love triangle.  ** 3/4
ANGELS IN AMERICA: MILLENIUM APPROACHES (d. Mike Nichols) V. Superb adaptation, utterly absorbing, fabulous acting.  Great tv.  ****
ANGELS IN AMERICA:  PARESTROIKA V. Uneven...some parts superlative, some long political speeches I phased out. I'm in lust with Patrick Wilson. *** 1/2
ANGER MANAGEMENT (d. Peter Segal) Star power. Nicholson mugs & Sandler is quite fine. Embarrassingly bad script & even worse direction!  * 1/4
ANGST (d. Oskar Roehler) Drama about a failing marriage, he has sex problems, she's an hysteric.  Well acted, if over-the-top, hard to watch.  ** 1/2
ANIMATRIX  (US/JAPAN  d.  Various)  9 animated shorts from the Matrix universe.  Some better than others.  ** 3/4
ANNAPOLIS (d. Justin Lin) An average, predictable film with another charismatic perf by James Franco as a boxer-plebe. A guilty pleasure.  ** 1/4
ANNIVERSARY PARTY, THE (d. Leigh & Cumming) V. An almost perfect video film of today's Hollywood creative types & their screwed-up fabulous lives.  *** 1/2
ANONYMOUS (d. Todd Verow) Verow tries arty French porn (a la Porn Theater). He's not up to it as director or actor. Degrading, despicable disaster.  1/2*
ANOTHER GAY MOVIE (d. Todd Stephens) * 1/2
ANOTHER LIFE (d. Michele Placido) Stephano Accorsi's makes it worth sitting through this strange, eerie romantic film. ** 3/4
ANOTHER LIFE (Ovunque Sei) (d. Michele Placido) ***
ANSWER MAN, THE (d. John Hindman) ***
ANTARCTICA (d. Yair Hochner) Multi-character Israeli gay story of hot men & their sex lives. Well acted, somewhat involving.  ***
ANTARES (d. Götz Spielmann) Circularly constructed, sexually explicit slice of life drama about denizens of a Vienna housing development.  ***
ANTIBODIES (d. Christian Alvart) *** 1/2
ANYTHING ELSE (d. Woody Allen) A failure. Occasionally funny romantic comedy; but Allen's dialog seems false coming from 20-somethings.  ** 1/4
ANYTOWN (d. Dave Rodriguez) ** 3/4
APARTMENT, THE (d. Billy Wilder) + Holds up remarkably, still Lemmon's and MacLaine's triumph; but also a fine original script. *** 1/4
APOCALYPTO (d. Mel Gibson) Gotta hand it to him, an art film with stretches of boredom; but overall it worked as an action film.  ** 3/4
APPALOOSA (d. Ed Harris) I like westerns; but despite a fine cast this one seems derivative (e.g. 3:10 to Yuma) & lacking convincing motivations. ** 1/4
APRÈS VOUS (d. Pierre Salvadore) Annoying and contrived French farce.  * 3/4
ARCHANGEL (d.  Jon Jones) V. TV thriller from Robert Harris book with a dead fish Daniel Craig perf. pre-Bond, but quite authentic Soviet feeling.  ***
ARCHANGEL'S FEATHER, THE (d. Louis Manzo) Venezuela AFF.  Allegory, maybe about Archangel Gabriel vs. Big Brother..  ** 3/4
ARISTOCRATS, THE (d.  Paul Provenza) 100 great standup comedians do history's worst dirty in-joke.  90 minutes of constant wracking laughter.  *** 3/4
ARMIN (d. Ognjen Svilicic) ** 3/4
ARO TOLBUKHIN, EN LA MENTE DEL ASESINO (d. Agusti Villaronga etc.) Faux documentary about mass murderer in Guatemala.  **
AROUND THE BEND (d. Jordan Roberts) 4 generation of a family's secrets made into a road picture, similar to Last Orders, but rather pedestrian.  ** 1/4
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (d. Frank Coraci) A ridiculously overblown remake of a movie which didn't need to be remade.  * 1/4
ARSÈNE LUPIN (d. Jean-Paul Salomé) Big film, bigger mess. Anachronistic narrative, a lead actor without enough gravitas, but gorgeous production design. * 1/2
ART AND COPY (d. Doug Pray) ***
ART OF CRYING, THE (Kunsten at Graede I Kor) (d. Peter Fog) *** 1/4
ART OF NEGATIVE THINKING, THE (Kunsten A Tenke Negativt) (d. Bard Breien) ***
ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL (d. Terry Zwigoff) Amusing black comedy satire. Broadbent is great; but this is no Ghost World. *** 
ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES (d. Luc Besson) Luc should stick to live action; predictable, badly acted & animated.  * 1/2
ARYAN COUPLE, THE (d. John Daly) Sometimes cheesy melodramas just work, as this well-cast, politically incorrect Holocaust story does for me. Judy Parfitt is wonderful.  ***
AS IT IS IN HEAVEN (d. Kay Pollack)+ Watched again; some of the plot manipulations more obvious a 2nd time; but still fine, affecting film. *** 1/4
AS IT IS IN HEAVEN  (d. Kay Pollak) Uplifting & emotionally satisfying drama about an artist who brings enlightenment to his backwater Swedish home town.  *** 1/2
ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES (d. Andrew Dominik) Great looking; but the narrator on downers annoyed. ** 3/4
ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON, THE (d. Niels Mueller) Sean Penn is remarkable as a '70s loser who becomes a plane hi-jacker.  ***
ASSASSINATION TANGO (d. Robert Duvall) Thriller on valium.  Duvall is a fine actor; but lousy writer/director from this film.  * 3/4
ASTRONAUT FARMER, THE (d. Michael Polish)V. Subdued Thornton in gentle mode; pretty, feel-good fantasy not typical of Polish Bros. ** 1/2
ASTRONAUTS (d. Santi Amodeo) Slight, wry romantic comedy about an ex-junky and a 16 yr girl.  Not as cute as it tries to be.  **
ASYLUM (d. David Mackenzie) ** 3/4
AT THE DEATH HOUSE DOOR (d. Gilbert & James)  Low key docu about former Texas death row chaplin, esp. his remorse over past injustices & the penalty itself. ** 3/4
AT WEST OF PLUTO (d. Myriam Verreault & Henry Bernadet) ***
ATONEMENT (d. Joe Wright) Wright's direction & McAvoy's acting make this a special tearjerker.   Oscar?  Maybe.  *** 1/2
AUGUST (d. Austin Chick) *** 1/4
AUGUST RUSH (d. Kirsten Sheridan) As delirious & affecting as Sheridan's Disco Pigs, but too many plot holes. ***
AURORA (d. Oxana Bayrak; Ukraine) ** 1/2
AUSTRALIA (d. Bazz Luhrmann) Reminiscent of Giant, a gigantic, yet intimate epic focusing on ranching & a country's ethos. Ambitions almost fulfilled.  ***
AUTISM: THE MUSICAL (d. Tricia Regan) Moving, heart-rending docu...nice editing & photog.  *** 3/4
AUTUMN BALL (d. Veiko Ounpuu ) * 1/2
AUTUMN SPRING  (d. Vladimir Michátek) Czech comedy/drama about an old couple.  Academy bait...so why did Czechoslavakia nominate another film?  ***
AVELLANEDA'S MOON (d. Juan José Campanella) Long, high-gloss social comedy about an Argentine social club & its member's struggles to survive. ** 1/2
AVENUE MONTAIGNE (Fauteuils d'orchestra)  (d. Daniele Thompson; France) + *** 1/2
AVIATOR, THE (d. Martin Scorsese) Powerful biopic, visually splendid with great perfs by Di Caprio and Blanchett. Too sprawling, but it worked magic for me.  *** 1/2
AWAY FROM HER (d. Sarah Polley) Julie Christie is aging gorgeously. And her Alzheimer's is totally convincing.  *** 1/2
AWAY WE GO (d. Sam Mendes) Wildly variable road flick, social satire. John Krasinski is becoming a major star. ** 3/4
BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX, THE (d. Uli Edel; Germany) *** 1/4
BABEL (d. Alejandro González Iñárritu) Circular script like Before the Rain. Fabulous direction. Gut wrenching tension. Great film. *** 1/2
BABY LOVE (d. Vincent Garenq) ***
BACK SOON (d. Rob Williams) ** 3/4
BACKSTAGE (d. Emmanuelle Bercot) ** 3/4
BAD BOYS II (d. Michael Bay) A new morally reprehensible low for the Hollywood mega-violent film.  Only Jordi Molla, a kick-ass baddy is worth it.  0*
BAD EDUCATION (d. Pedro Almodovar) Pedro's gayest film since Law of Desire. Silly noirish plot; but total fun with an extraordinary Gaël Bernal.  ***
BAD FAITH (Mauvaise foi) (d. Roschdy Zem) ***
BAD GUY (S. Korea d. Kim Ki-duk) Circular, confusing story: ruthless pimp subjugates a college girl & makes her into a cooperative prostitute.  ** 3/4
BAD SANTA  (d. Terry Zwigoff) Funny, profane, wonderfully perverse comedy about group of innately bad losers. Kid who could see no evil was great!  ***
BAD SPELLING (d. Jean-Jacques Zilbermann) Fun, homoerotic black comedy, a French boys school where students rebel led by the weird son of the headmasters. ***
BADLAND (d. Francesco Lucente) Except for the overamped score a fine film with a searing perf by Jamie Draven.  *** 1/4
BAGHDAD, TX (d. David H. Hickey) * 1/2
BAJARSE AL MORO (d. Fernando Colomo) A low-budget '88 comedy about Madrid druggies. Even a young Antonio Bandares couldn't elevate it.  **
BALL IN THE HOUSE (d. Tanya Wexler) V.  ***
BALLAST (d. Lance Hammer) ** 1/2
BALSEROS (d. Bosch and Doménech) V. Absorbing doc. which explores the lives of several Cuban raft people who eventually come to the U.S. over 9 years. *** 1/4
BANDE À PART (d. Jean-Luc Goddard) V.  A '60s version of the gang who couldn't shoot straight, a cockeyed noir which holds up well.  ***
BAND'S VISIT, THE (d. Eran Kolirin) ** 3/4
BANISHMENT (Izgnamie) (d. Andrey Zvyagintsev)   *** 1/4                        
BANK JOB, THE (d. Roger Donaldson) Surprisingly predictable, I've seen this heist film several times before. ** 1/4
BANLIEU 13 (d. Pierre Morel) Fast paced, superior martial arts action film set in a lawless 2010 Paris. Vivid, realistic characters.  *** 1/4
BANQUET, THE (d. Feng Xiaogang; Hong Kong) ** 1/4
BARBARIAN INVASIONS, THE (d. Denys Arcand) Art film about love and dying, literate script, excellent ensemble acting, enormously moving  *** 1/2
BARBARIAN INVASIONS, THE  (d. Denys Arcand) + Worth a 2nd viewing, just for the philosophy.  *** 3/4
BARS IN THE MEMORY (d. Manuel Palacios) Dry Spanish docu about the concentration camps and privations during the Franco years.  ** 1/2
BASAIN (d. Subash Prasad Gajural; Nepal)  W/O
BASED ON A TRUE STORY (d. Walter Stokman) Partially successful doc about the "real" story behind Dog Day Afternoon. ** 1/2
BATMAN BEGINNINGS (d. Christopher Nolan) Noisy comic entertainment with a narratively cohesive plot & great design.  ***
BATTLE FOR TERRA (d. Aristomenis Tsirbas) Excellent 3D animation plus superior SF script with subtle issues of loyalties & humanity.  *** 1/4
BATTLE IN SEATTLE (d. Stuart Townsend) ** 1/2
BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS (d. Potelle & Rankin) Indispensible companion to Proj Greenlight. Shia Lebeuf incredible, movie better than expected.  ** 3/4
BATTLE OF WITS (d. Jacob Cheung) ***
BE CALM AND COUNT TO SEVEN (d. Ramtin Lavafipour) ** 1/2
BE COOL (d. F. Gary Gray) Hipper than thou spoof of gangsta music biz and Hollywood. Enjoyed the settings (around the corner from my apartment).   ** 1/4
BE KIND REWIND (d. Michel Gondrey) Gondrey's silly creativity works here. Mos Def surprised me.  ***
BE LIKE OTHERS (d. Tanaz Eshaghian) *** 1/4
BE WITH ME (d. Eric Khoo; Singapore)  ** 3/4
BEAR CUB (d. Luis Miguel Albaladejo) An honest, moving, straightforward Spanish film about a gay man thrust into caring for his 9 yr old nephew.  ***
BEAST STALKER, THE (d. Dante Lam) ***
BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, THE  (d. Jacques Audiard) Frenetic drama based on Fingers with a magnetic perf by Romain Duris. ***
BEAUFORT (d. Joseph Cedar; Isreal)  *** 1/2
BEAUTIES AT WAR (La Guerre des miss) (d. Patrice Leconte) **
BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY, THE  (d. Hans Petter Moland) Involving, well acted adventure of a half-American Vietnamese boy's emigration to the US.  ***
BEAUTIFUL MEMORIES (Se souvenir des belles choses) (d. Zabou Breitman) *** 1/2
BEAUTIFUL OHIO  (d. Chad Lowe) ** 3/4
BEAUTY IN TROUBLE (Kraska V Nesnazich) (d. Jan Hrebejk) *** 1/4
BEAUTY REMAINS (d. Ann Hu) ** 1/2
BECOMING JANE (d. Julian Jarrold) ** 3/4
BEE SEASON (d. McGehee and Siegel) V. Involving, well acted family drama with not well defined spiritual mysteries.  ***
BEFORE FLYING BACK TO EARTH (d. Arunas Matelis; Lithuania) ***
BEFORE I FORGET (Avant que j'oublie) (d. Jacques Nolot) ** 3/4
BEFORE SUNSET (d.Richard Linklater) Talky sequel to one of my all-time fave films. Satisfying in context; but not as good a film.  ***
BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU'RE DEAD (d. Sidney Lumet) Tight thriller- 2 brothers and the "perfect" robbery.  *** 1/2
BEFORE THE RAINS (d. Santosh Sivan) ** 3/4
BEHIND THE RED DOOR (d. Matia Karrell) (V)  Showtime Aids drama.  Kyra and Kiefer are 2 of my least favorite actors.  * 1/2
BEING JULIA (d. Istvan Szabo) Overwrought, entertaining period melodrama about a monster actress in 1938 London. Benning's performance: Oscar bait tour de force. ***
BELIEVER, THE (d. Henry Bean) V.+ I appreciated the quality of the filmmaking more the 2nd time around. One hell of a script, well executed.  *** 1/2
BELLA (d. Alejandro Monteverde) **
BELLE PERSONNE, LA  (d. Chrisophe Honoré) *** 1/4
BELLE TOUJOURS (d. Manoel de Oliveira; Portugal) **
BEN X (d. Nic Balthazar; Belgium) *** 1/2
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (d. Gurinder Chadha) Feel good Indian girl's soccer story set in Britain. Predictable script saved by fine direction.  ***
BENEATH HER WINDOW (d. Metod Pevec) Screwball Slovenian comedy about a 30ish woman's romantic entanglements whose evident charms escaped me.  ** 1/4
BENEDICT ARNOLD: QUESTION OF HONOR  (d. Mikael Salomon)  (V)  A&E historical movie.  Unwatchably bad.   WO
BEOWULF & GRENDEL(d. Sturla Gunnarsson) ** 1/4                       
BEREFT (d. Tim Daly, Clark Mathis) Overwrought drama about a young woman driven crazy with grief by the auto accident death of her husband. ** 1/2
BEREFT (d. Tim Daly, Clark Mathis)+ Oops! I forgot I'd seen this grief drama at SIFF and was unimpressed. Here the beauty of the images made up somewhat.   ** 3/4
BERGA:  SOLDIERS OF ANOTHER WAR (d. Charles Guggenheim) (V) docu. on valium about American WWII  POWs.  ** 1/4
BERNARD AND DORIS (d. Bob Balaban) V. Exquisitely acted (Finnes & Sarandon) but sorta boring biopic.  ** 3/4
BERTIE AND ELIZABETH (d. Giles Foster) Masterpiece Theater schlock.  Fine acting, good script. ** 3/4
BEST DAY OF MY LIFE (d. Cristina Comencini) Splendid and moving, complex Italian disfunctional family saga, 2 sisters and gay son & their lives and loves.  *** 1/4
BEST MAN, WORST FRIEND (d. Stefan Schwartz) V. Guilty pleasure romantic comedy; Stuart Townsend & Seth Green fine.  ** 3/4
BEST OF TIMES, THE (d. Chang Tso-Chi) Taiwan AFF.  Family drama, kitchen sink style.  *** 1/2
BEST OF YOUTH #1  (Marco Giordana) Part one of this sprawling family saga propulsively sets up the drama & characters.  ***
BEST OF YOUTH #2  (Marco Giordana) In part two the emotional rewards so carefully plotted are huge.  A totally satisfying 6 hour epic of  late 20th Century Italy. ****
BEST OF YOUTH, THE (d. Marco Giordano) V.+++ Still the most emotionally resonant film I've ever watched. ****
BEST OF YOUTH, THE 1 & 2 (d. Marco Tullio Giordana) Liked part 1 better than originally, and part 2 dragged a little.  Still, overall fabulous film.  ****
BET COLLECTOR, THE (d. Jeffrey Jeturian) **
BETRAYAL, THE (d. Philippe Faucon) ** 1/2
BETRAYAL, THE (Nerakhoon) (d. Kuras & Phrasavath) Docu of Laotian family uprooted to U.S. after "secret" war. Moving, but confusingly cut with overdone music. ** 1/2
BETTER LUCK TOMORROW (d. Justin Lin) Well directed, but confusing, Asian-American teenage gang film...only the actors looked too old.  ** 1/2
BETTER THINGS (d. Duane Hopkins) ** 1/2
BETWEEN LAND AND SKY (d. Guiseppe Feruto ) Italian political satire about media overkill.  ** 1/2
BETWEEN LOVE AND GOODBYE (d.  Casper Andreas) Gay relationship drama; mediocre direction & acting...but vital, sexy & powerfully realistic. ** 1/2
BEYOND HATRED (d. Olivier Meyrou)  ** 1/4
BEYOND OUR KEN (d. Pang Ho-Cheung) Frothy, insubstantial girl buddy and revenge (against common boyfriend) comedy from Hong Kong.  * 3/4
BEYOND THE SEA (d. Kevin Spacey) The most off the wall musical biopic since Delovely. Spacey makes a better lounge singer than director!  ** 1/4
BHAJI ON THE BEACH (d. Gurinder Chadha) V. Chadha handles ensembles well; but this Indian woman's lib story was clichéd and obvious.  **
B-HAPPY (d. Gonzalo Justiniano) Another periled latina teen girl film, this time a poor girl whose father is in prison. Simple, effective filmmaking.  ***
BICKFORD SHMECKLER'S COOL IDEAS (d. Scott Lew) ** 1/2
BIG BANG LOVE, JUVENILE A (d. Takashi Miike) ***
BIG DREAMS, LITTLE TOKYO  (d. David Boyle) ***
BIG EMPTY, THE  (d. Steve Anderson) Mixed genre.  Is it a noir? Alien abduction flick? Black comedy? An honorable failure at all three.  **
BIG FISH (d. Tim Burton) Story of fabulist (convincingly played by Ewan McGregor & Albert Finney). Burton's most appealing and "normal" film.  ***
BIG RIG (d. Doug Pray) ** 1/2
BILINGUAL LOVER, THE (El Amante Bilingue) (d. Vicente Aranda) **
BILL (d. Melisa Wallack, Bernie Goldmann) **
BIRTH (d. Jonathan Glazer) Heavy duty, eerie psychological drama. Nicole Kiddman fine here, script has a nicely satisfying ambiguity & interesting direction.  *** 1/4
BIRTHDAY, THE (d. Diane Kurys) *** 1/4
BLACK BALLOON, THE (d. Elissa Down) Australian family with autistic son from pov of younger brother. Well observed, tough, truthful. *** 1/4
BLACK BOOK (d. Paul Verhoeven; Netherlands) ***
BLACK DAHLIA, THE (d. Brian de Palma)  Fine cast, terrible script, fake noir. How can such a promising film go so wrong. **
BLACK DOG BARKING (d. Mehmet Bahadir Er & Maryna Gorbach) * 1/2
BLACK ICE  (d. Mikhail Brashinsky) Incoherent film about something or other.  Jittery camera and unengaging plot were too much to stick around.  W/O
BLACK IRISH (d. Brad Gann) *** 1/4
BLACK IRISH (d. Brad Gunn) + *** 1/2
BLACK ROBE (d. Bruce Beresford) V. Gut-wrenching '91 film with Lothar Bluteau playing a jesuit priest in New France pre-revolution.  ***
BLACK SNAKE MOAN (d. Craig Brewer)V. Ricci's perf is brave, Jackson is fine, Timberlake less so.  Film:  clichéd mishmash.  ** 3/4
BLACK SUN (d. Gary Tarn) V. Expressionistic docu about a man (writer & narrator) blinded in the '70s.  ***
BLACK WHITE + GRAY (d. James Crump) *** 1/4
BLACKMAIL BOY (Oxygono) (d. Papathanasiou & Rappas) Over-the-top melodrama about money corrupting a family with a beautiful bisexual scion. * 3/4
BLACKWATER LIGHTSHIP (d. John Erman) V. An Early Frost, updated...but still a little out of date. I'm too emotionally fragile for AIDS stories like this.  *** 1/2
BLADERUNNER (Final Cut) (d. Ridley Scott) I had forgotten how fabu the production design was! New ending:  eh!? *** 1/4
BLADES OF GLORY (d. Gordon & Speck)V. Heder is fine, Ferrell barely ok in this surprisingly funny comedy. Dumb but trenchant. ** 3/4
BLEAK HOUSE (d. various; w. Andrew Davis) Superb adaptation of complex Victorian novel. The Brits do it again. *** 1/2
BLESSED BY FIRE (d. Tristan Bauer) *** 3/4
BLESSED IS THE MATCH: The Life & Death of Hannah Senesh (d. Roberta Grossman) Enormously moving docu re: Hungarian/Palistinian WWII heroine. *** 3/4
BLESSING BELL, THE  (Japan  d. Sabu)  A formally beautiful, but boring, slow paced day in the life.  ***
BLIND (d.  Tamar van den Dop)  *** 1/4                   
BLIND LOVES (d. Juraj Lehotsky; Slovakia) *** 1/4
BLIND MOUNTAIN (d. Li Yang) ***
BLIND SUNFLOWERS, THE (Los girasoles ciegos)  (d. Joeé Luis Cuerda; Spain) ***
BLINDNESS (d. Fernando Meirelles) Unrealistic, but strong catastrophe film (like 28 Days Later) about mystery blindness illness & society throwing victims away. ** 1/2
BLINDSIGHT (d. Lucy Walker) V. Blind children overcoming peril, gorgeous mountain photography, uplift...admirable docu.  *** 1/2
BLISS (d. Abdullah Oguz)  *** 1/4
BLOOD AND BONES (d. Yoichi Sai) ** 1/2
BLOOD APPEARS (La Sangre Brota) (d. Pablo Fendik) ** 1/2
BLOOD BROTHERS (Tiantang Kou) (d. Alexi Tan) * 1/2
BLOOD DIAMOND (d. Edward Zwick) Despite overlength, this is a winner.  Prediction:  multiple Oscars.  *** 1/2
BLOOD OF THE LOSERS (Il sangue de vinti) (d. Michele Soavi) *** 1/2
BLOOD RAIN (d.  Kim Dae-seung, LeeWon-jae) ** 1/2
BLOOM (d. Sean Walsh) Earnest adaptation of the unadaptable Ulysses, using lots of voiceovers for interior monologue. Well made; but not my cuppa.  ** 1/2
BLOSSOMING OF MAXIMO OLIVEROS, THE (d. Aureas Solito) ** 1/4
BLOW DRY (d. Paddy Breathnach) V. Funny slice of life (e.g. Full Monty) British comedy about hair contest. Note Bill Nighy & Josh Hartnett as cockney.  ** 3/4
BLUE CAR (d. Karen Moncrieff) Viscerally disturbing story-troubled teenage girl and troubled broken family. Understated, with subtle acting.  *** 1/2
BLUE CHA CHA (d. Cheng Wen- tang) *** 1/4
BLUE MOON  (Austria   d. Andrea Maria Dusi)  Road picture about a man on a quest to re-find a woman he meets by chance.  ** 1/4
BLUE TOOTH VIRGIN, THE  (d. Russell Brown) + *** 1/2
BLUEBERRY (d. Jan Kounen ) A psychedelic westen which, though overlong and undiciplined, delivers the goods with fabulous f/x & a superb Vincent Cassell.  ***
BLUEBIRD (d. Mijke de Jong) Emotionally shattering, excellent drama about a 12 year old girl who is the brunt of bullies in her jr. high class.  *** 1/2
BLUES, THE  (d. various) PBS series edited down to 5 ahortened sequences about the blues music.  Some sequences worked, some didn't.  ** 3/4
BLUETOOTH VIRGIN, THE (d. Russell Brown) *** 1/2
BOATS OUT OF WATERMELON RINDS (d. Ahmet Uluçay) A Turkish Cinema Paradiso, terrible digital photography, but the 2 boys were charming.  ** 1/4
BOBBY (d. Emelio Estevez) ***
BODY OF LIES (d. Ridley Scott) Entertaining star driven CIA vs. terrorist contempo thriller.  Scott is a director in control of the medium.  *** 1/4
BODY OF WAR (d. Ellen Spiro & Phil Donahue) Another successful docu: Robert Byrd, such a hero.  *** 1/2
BODYSONG (d. Simon Pummell) V. Hypno-docu, sort of a Family of Man of found film clips to music (cf Koyaanisqatsi). Fascinating and a little boring.  ** 1/2
BOLT (d. Howard & Williams) OK if predictable script.  Good vocal acting.  But ultimately mediocre.  Lousy year for Academy animated features. ** 1/2
BOMB THE SYSTEM (d. Adam Lough) Mark Webber is outstanding in this arty, nicely made indy about radical grafitti artists in NYC.  ***
BOMBÓN, EL PERO (d. Carlos Sorin) Like director's Historias Minimas, a fun film without irony about a poor man who is given a show dog. ***
BON VOYAGE  (d. Jean-Paul Rappeneau) Big French WWII melodrama, hugely entertaining & wellmade throwback to old-fashioned classic French cinema. *** 1/4
BONJOUR M. SHLOMI (d. Shemi Zarhin) A superbly observed film about a 16 year old boy whose specialness has been hidden in his disfunctional family. *** 3/4
BOOK OF LOVE (d. Alan Brown) V. Younger man (Gregory Smith). Older married woman.  Clichés; but very nicely acted.  ** 3/4
BOOK OF REVELATION, THE (d. Ana Kokkinos) ***
BOOKIES (d. Mark Illsley)V. ** 3/4
BORAT (d. Larry Charles) Cohen is impressive in creating consistent character; funny in a wildly tasteless way.  ***
BORDER WAR: THE BATTLE OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION (d. Kevin Knoblock) V.  Docu looks great, too polemic. ** 3/4
BORED IN BRNO (d. Vladimir Moravek) An earthy Czech multi-character sex comedy which got better as it went along. Too bread for my tastes.  ** 1/4
BORN AND BRED (d. Pablo Trapero) ** 1/2
BORN IN 68 (d. Olivier Duscastel, Jacques Martineau) *** 1/2
BORN INTO BROTHELS (d. Kaufmann & Briski) Kids born in Calcutta brothels get a chance for a life through photography. Interesting & well edited. ***
BORN RICH (d. Jamie Johnson) V. Doc by millionaire heir about his wealthy contemporaries. Mostly talk; but inherently interesting & well made.  *** 1/4
BOSS OF IT ALL, THE (d. Lars von Trier) ***
BOSTA (d. Philippe Aractingi; Lebanon) * 1/2
BOTHERSOME MAN, THE (Den Brysomme Mannen) (d. Per Schreiner) *** 1/4
BOTTLE SHOCK (d. Randall Miller) Napa vintage 1976 & wine growing. Looks good; but terrible on the palate. Terrible script.  * 1/2
BOURNE SUPREMACY, THE (d. Paul Greengrass) Superior thriller, greatest auto chase scene since Ronin. Some plot holes; but editing pace hides them.  *** 1/4
BOURNE ULTIMATUM, THE (d. Paul Greengrass) *** 1/2
BOW, THE (d. Kim Ki-duk) ***
BOY (d. Aureaus Solito) ***
BOY A (d. John Crowley) *** 3/4
BOY A (d. John Crowley) *** 3/4
BOY CULTURE (d. Q. Allen Brocka) ** 3/4
BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS, THE (d. Mark Herman) Emotionally affecting, well acted (Farmiga and the two boys especially). Too pat.  ***
BOYFRIEND FOR MY WIFE, A (Un novio para mi mujer) (d. Juan Taratuto) ** 3/4
BOYNTON BEACH BEREAVEMENT CLUB (d. Susan Seidelman) ** 3/4           
BOYS (d. Stacy Cochran)V. A TiVo loser. Mysterious Winona Ryder ends up in a boys boarding school dorm tempting rebellious Lucas Haas. No chemistry.  * 1/2
BOYS FROM COUNTY CLARE (d. John Irvin) Predictable, clichéd Irish trifle about dueling traditional Irish bands.  * 3/4
BOYS OF BARAKA, THE (d. Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady; docu) V.  *** 3/4
BOYSTOWN (d. Juan Flahn) ** 3/4
BRASHER DOUBLOON, THE (d. John Brahm) 40's noir with George Montgomery playing Chandler's Philip Marlowl, stylish, great B&W photog. ***
BRAVE ONE, THE  (d. Neil Jordan) *** 1/4
BREACH (d. Billy Ray) Well acted (esp. Chris Cooper) true story of bringing down a spy. Also Ryan Phillippe's best work in ages. ***
BREAKFAST ON PLUTO (d. Neil Jordan)  ***
BREAKFAST WITH SCOT (d. Laurie Lynd) ** 3/4
BREAKING AND ENTERING (d. Anthony Minghella) I loved this film despite flaws, became emotionally involved with characters.  ***
BREAK-UP, THE (d. Peyton Reed) Fairly clever by-the-numbers romantic dramady.  No chemistry between leads. ** 1/2
BREATHLESS (d. Yang Ik-june) ** 1/4
BRICK (d. Rian Johnson) Overly complex, familiar noirish plot; but topflight young cast and zingy script really work.  ***
BRICK LANE (d. Sarah Gavron) ***
BRIDE AND PREJUDICE (d. Gurinder Chadha) Hollywood meets Bollywood, and I suspect becomes a surprising hit. It works after a fashion.  ***
BRIDESHEAD REVISITED (d. Julian Jarrold) Over-amped but curiously passionless & unnecessary redo of a definitive miniseries. ** 1/4
BRIDGE TO TARABITHIA  (d. Gabor Csupo) Xtian propaganda in a totally wonderful disguise. Moving, grounded fantasy. Hurrah!  *** 1/2  
BRIDGET JONES: EDGE OF REASON (d. Beeban Kidron) Dreadful film. Poor Renée Zellweger wasted all that weighty effort. Horrendous script, no romantic chemistry.  **
BRIGHT FUTURE (d. Kiyoshi Kurosawa) A straightforward (for this director) slacker story about disaffected youths in Japan.  ** 1/4
BRIGHT LEAVES (d. Ross McElwee) V. Personal docu about McElwee's family connection to tobacco. Slowly paced, but interesting & beautifully shot.  ***
BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS (d. Stephen Fry) Fast paced story of the mad upperclass in England just pre-WWII.  Gorgeous period stuff, well played.  ***
BRITZ (d. Peter Kominsky) V. Shattering, scary story of Pakistani/Brit brother & sister caught up in modern terrorism on opposite sides.  *** 1/2
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (d. Ang Lee)  *** 1/2
BROKEN (d. Alan White) ** 1/4
BROKEN ENGLISH (d. Zoe Cassavetes) *** 1/2
BROKEN FLOWERS (d. Jim Jarmusch) *** 1/2
BROKEN SKY (El Cielo Dividido) (d. Julián Hernández) Gorgeously photographed and scored gay art film of gestures.  *** 1/4
BROKEN WINGS  (d. Nir Bergman) Israel AFF.  Drama about family riven by grief after father's death.  *** 1/4
BRONSON (d. Nicolas Winding Refn) ***
BROTHER BEAR  (d. Blaise, Walker) Traditional Disney animation with overly simplistic amerind legend theme. Still, I was move. Good kid film.  ** 3/4
BROTHERS (d. Susanne Bier) Shattering drama about a good man who commits an act beyond redemption.  Incredible acting and fine direction.  *** 3/4
BROTHERS BLOOM, THE (d. Rian Johnson) Silly, slapsticky, anachronistic fantasy which wastes a good cast.  A strange comedown for the director of Brick.  * 1/4
BROTHERS GRIMM, THE (d. Terry Gilliam) * 3/4
BROTHERS OF THE HEAD (d. Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe) ***1/4
BRÜNO (d. Larry Charles) Über confrontationalist Cohen manages ütter tastelessness.  Funny in a transgressive way, but sort of a mess.  * 3/4
BRUNO (d. Shirley MacLaine) V.  Limp, soppy comedy - 8 year old spelling genius boy (phenom kid actor Alex Linz) who needs to compete in a dress. * 3/4
BUBBA HO-TEP (d. Don Coscarelli) Horror comedy in an old-folks home:  Elvis & JFK take on an Egyptian mummy.  Silly fun.  ** 3/4
BUBBLE, THE  (d. Eytan Fox) *** 1/4
BUCKET LIST, THE (d. Rob Reiner)V.  Only for old folks; but a great travelogue.  ** 3/4
BUDDENBROOKS (d. Heinrich Breloer) *** 1/4
BUDDHA COLLAPSED OUT OF SHAME (d. Hana Makmalbaf) *** 1/4
BUDDY (d. Marten Tyldum) Young guy turns his & 2 eccentric roommates liver into a commercially successful video journal.  Touching, fun comedy.  ***
BUFFALO BOY (d. Minh Nguyen-Vo; Vietnam)  ***
BUFFALO SOLDIERS (US d. Gregor Jordan) Glossy, high-budget, somewhat over-the-top satire about army corruption in German occupation in '89.  *** 1/2
BUKOWSKI: BORN INTO THIS (d. John Dullighan) V. I've never much been into Bukowski; but this compelling docu presents him well.  ** 3/4
BULGARIAN LOVERS (d. Eloy de la Iglesia) Tongue in cheek drama about a straight Bulgarian expat in Madrid taking advantage of a gay Spaniard. ** 1/4
BUM'S NAME, THE (Civico 0) (d. Citto Maselli) ***
BURN AFTER READING (d. Joel & Ethan Coen) Silly, but quite entertaining farce about CIA snafu involving a computer disk & some greedy Washingtonians.  ***
BURNING IN THE WIND  (d. Silvio Soldini)  Bleak but well acted story of East Euro life transported into France along with ill-fated love  ***.
BURNING PLAIN, THE (d. Guillermo Arriaga) *** 1/4
BURNT OUT (d. Fabienne Godet) ***
BUS 174 (d. José Padilha) V. Brazilian doc which examines thoroughly the background of a publically televised bus hijacking and relives the tragic events.  ***
BUT FOREVER ON MY MIND (d. Gabriele Muccino)V. Finally this 1999 coming of age masterpiece about youthful exhuberance is out on DVD!  *** 3/4
BUTTERFLY, THE  (France  d. Philippe Muyl)  Sappy, Kolya type drama about old butterfly collector & the little girl who runs away with him.  ** 1/2
BYRON (d. Julian Farino) V.  ** 3/4
C.R.A.Z.Y. (d. Jean-Marc Vallée) V. 2nd time around this time on video.  Why is this masterpiece not getting released in the U.S.? *** 3/4
C.R.A.Z.Y. (d. Jean-Marc Vallée) V.+++ Still one of the best coming-of-age gay films ever made. *** 3/4
C.R.A.Z.Y. (d. Jean-Marc Vallée; Canada)  *** 3/4
CA-BAU-KAN (d. Nia Dinata) Indonesia AFF.  Historical drama about a beautiful pleasure girl who marries a shady businessman.  * 1/2
CADILLAC RECORDS (d. Darnell Martin) Interesting biopic of Chess recording artists. Nice musical numbers, esp. Beyoncé's Etta James. ** 3/4
CAESAR (d. Uli Edel)V. ** 3/4
CAKE EATERS, THE (d. Mary Stuart Masterson) Quirky, realistic contemporary heart tugger with some really wonderful perfs & assured direction.  *** 1/4
CALENDAR GIRLS (d. Nigel Cole) Mediocre female version of The Full Monty.  **
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' (ENDLESS) (d. Cristian Nemescu) *** 1/4
CALL ME TROY (d. Scott Bloom) ***
CAMILLE (d. Gregory Mackenzie)  * 3/4
CAMP (d. Todd Graff) V.++ Still more entertaining than American Idol!  Guilty pleasure; but very much a pleasure.  ***
CAMP HOLLYWOOD (d. Steve Markle)V. Superb personal DV docu about a nearby hotel & its denizens, many trying to make it in Hollywood.  *** 1/2
CAMP  (d. Todd Graff) + Just hits me squarely in my wheelhouse. 2nd viewing confirms its cleverness & skills of the cast despite inherent clichés.  ***
CAMP  (US  d. Todd Graff)  Aimiable, but predictable (we've seen it before), musical comedy about a summer camp for budding entertainers.  ** 1/2
CAMPFIRE (d. Joseph Cedar) Involving family drama about a woman with 2 daughters coping with social and relational problems. Nicely acted.  ***
CAN GO THROUGH SKIN (d. Esther Rots) ** 1/2
CAN MR. SMITH GET TO WASHINGTON ANY MORE? (d. Frank Popper) V. Absorbing docu of empassioned run for Congress. *** 1/2
CAPE NO. 7 (d. Te-Sheng Wei; Taiwan) **
CAPE OF GOOD HOPE  (d. Mark Bamford) Harmless S.African ecuminical romantic comedy, sort of predictable.  ** 1/2
CAPITOL CRIMES (p. Bill Moyers) V. Surgical dissection of the Jack Abramoff/Tom de Lay scandals.  Great tv journalism.  *** 1/4
CAPONE (d. Jean Marc Brandolo) Buddy road trip film...two lost souls taking a race horse from Paris to Finland. Good film, but I dozed.  ** 3/4
CAPOTE (d. Bennett Miller) *** 1/4
CAPTAIN ABU RAED (d. Amin Matalqa) ***
CAPTAIN AHAB (Captaine Achab) (d. Philippe Ramos) ** 1/4
CAPTIVE (d. Gastón Biraben) Moving & beautifully acted film about an Argentine teenage girl who discovers her parents are not her real parents.  *** 1/4
CAPTIVE  (d. Aleksei Uchitel) ** 3/4
CAPTURE OF THE GREEN RIVER KILLER, THE (d. Norma Bailey) V. Zodiac lite. Very well made & acted.  ***
CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS  (US doc.  d. Andrew Jarecki)  A great documentary which peels the layers off of a family's secrets & justice mislaid.  ****
CARAMEL (d. Nadine Labaki; Lebanon) ** 1/2
CARANDIRU (d. Hector Babenco) A Brazilian prison worse than Oz, from doctor's pov. Involving, occasionally wrenching, well acted, nicely put together.  *** 1/4
CARD PLAYER, THE (d. Dario Argento) Ludicrous, but well directed Italian policier about a maniac serial woman killer using the internet to play games with police. * 1/2
CARMEN IN KHAYELITSHA (d. Mark Dornford-May) ** 1/2
CARMO HIT THE ROAD (d. Murillo Pasta) ** 1/4
CARNAGE (d. Delphine Gleize) V. Visually stunning film about, well, bull.  And how all is connected in the world.  Or something.  ***
CARS (d. John Lassiter) Inventive animation, got better as it went along, but just not up to its rep.  ** 3/4
CASA DE LOS BABYS  (d. John Sayles) Intermittently interesting Mexican baby mill story, unexpectedly flawed by a poorly structured script.  **
CASANOVA (d. Lasse Hallström) ***
CASH TRUCK  (d. Nicolas Boukhrief) Effective, beautifully shot film noir, violent and unpredictable.  ***
CASHBACK  (d. Sean Ellis) ***
CASINO ROYALE (d. Martin Campbell) Nice new Bond; nice physical action stunts.  But the film is as ridiculous as ever.  ** 1/4
CASSANDRA'S DREAM (d. Woody Allen) Hitchcockian film with a little Purple Noon thrown in.  ** 3/4
CATCH A FIRE (d. Phillip Noyce) Excellent "making of a terrorist/freedom fighter" film from So. Africa. Derek Luke fine.  *** 1/4
CATCH AND RELEASE (d. Susannah Grant) Predictable but well acted chick flick which involved me.  ** 3/4
CAUCASIA (d. Farid Gumbatov; Azerbaijan) * 1/4
CAVE OF THE YELLOW DOG, THE (d. Byambasuren Davaa; Mongolia)
CAVEDWELLER (d. Lisa Cholodenko) Sometimes annoying but satisfying drama about woman who ran away with a rock band returning home to Georgia.  ** 3/4
CAYO (d. Vincente Juarbe; Puerto Rico) * 3/4  
CECILIE (d. Hans Fabian Wullenweber) ** 3/4
CELESTE IN THE CITY (d.  Larry Shaw) V. Queer Eye for Straight Girl makeover ABC Family film abounding with simplistic stereotypes. Another great Ethan Embry role. **
CELLULAR (d. David Ellis) More plot holes than Swiss cheese in this silly variant on Phone Booth; but Chris Evans is going to be a star.  * 3/4
CHACUN SA NUIT  (d. Jean-Marc Barr, Pascal Arnold) *** 1/4
CHAMPAGNE SPY, THE (d. Nadav Schirman) ***
CHANGE OF ADDRESS (Changement d'adresse) (d. Emmanuel Mouret) ** 1/2
CHANGELING, THE  (d. Clint Eastwood) Schocking true story resonates emotionally. Jolie's over-the-top perf. is Oscar bait; but Eastwood's clear vision holds.  ***
CHANGING DESTINY (d. Daniele Gaglianone) Jagged, cutty, edgy story of 3 teenage northern Italian boys who drop out and get into various kinds of trouble. ***
CHANGING TIMES (Les Temps qui changent)  (d. André Téchiné) *** 1/4
CHAOTIC ANA (Caótica Ana) (d. Julio Medem)   *** 3/4         
CHARITON'S CHOIR (d. Grigoris Karantinakis; Greece) * 3/4
CHARLEY AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (d. Tim Burton) V. Amusing with impressive effects. ***
CHARLIE BARTLETT (d. Jon Poll) Anton Yelchin great as a preppy Ferris Bueller type undermining public school authority.  ***
CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (d. Mike Nichols) Simplistic demonizing of enemy turned me off.  ** 3/4
CHARLIE: THE LIFE & ART OF CHARLES CHAPLIN (d. Richard Schickel) V. Fascinating, if facile doc about the great film artist.  *** 1/4
CHARLIE'S ANGELS FULL THROTTLE (d. McG)  Some inventive stuff, though the CGI was cheesy; but ultimately tedius and familiar action thriller.  ** 1/4
CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES (d. Eric Byler) 4 Asian-American characters and their tangled relationships.  Haunting, eliptical, subtle, well played.  *** 1/4
CHARLOTTE'S WEB (d. Gary Winick) Nice voice acting, good f/x and a moving story make for a pleasant film.  ***
CHASER, THE (d. Na Hong-jin) *** 1/2
CHE Part 1 (d. Steven Soderbergh) Light on exposition, too many characters to keep straight, still interesting as docudrama.  ** 3/4
CHE Part 2 (d. Steven Soderbergh) Same problesm; but it just works better as futility and defeat is just more interesting than victory. ***
CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN (d. Shawn Levy) I expected to hate it; but instead I was enchanted by the story & actors. Funny and emotionally satisfying.  ***
CHEF'S SPECIAL  (d. Nacho Velilla) ** 1/4
CHÉRI (d. Stephen Frears) Outstanding, lavish evocation of Belle Epoque; Pfeiffer is radient, Rupert Friend fabulously epicene. Literate script.  *** 1/2
CHERRY BLOSSOMS - HANAMI (d. Dorris Dorrie) *** 1/4
CHIAVI DI CASA, LE (d. Gianni Amelio) V.+ Wonderful, moving film with sublime performances by Rampling, Stuart & Rossi. *** 1/2
CHILD, THE (L'enfant) (d. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne) *** 1/4
CHILDHOOD OF MAXIM GORKY  (d. Mark Donskoy) Classic Russian film from the writer's memoire of his peasant Volga family.  ***
CHILDREN (d. Ragnar Bragason; Iceland) *** 1/2
CHILDREN OF HUANG SHI, THE (d. Roger Spottswoode) ** 3/4
CHILDREN OF MEN (d. Alfonso Cuaron) Masterpiece of Gazaian dystopia, Nativity allegory & Time of the Wolf rolled into one. *** 1/2
CHILDREN OF WAR (d. Alexandre Fuchs) ** 1/4
CHILDSTAR  (d. Don McKellar) Funny, trenchant and occasionally silly satire about a 12 yr. old movie star & his kooky mom.  ***
CHINAMAN (Kinamand) (d. Henruk Ruben Genz) Wry Danish comedy. Plumber divorced by wife marries younger Chinese woman. ***
CHINESE ODYSSEY: 2002  (Hong Kong  d. Jeff Lau)  Funny and assured satire of a martial arts, Chinese Emperor's court film.  *** 1/4
CHOK-DEE (d. Xavier Durrenger) The French Rocky, a French street criminal becomes a world champ Thai boxer...written & acted by the guy himself. ** 1/2
CHOKE (d. Clark Gregg) * 1/2
CHOP SHOP (d. Ramin Bahrani) ***
CHORISTES, LES (d. Christophe Barratier) Franch AFF: moving drama of a teacher who tames the boys in a reform school through music.  *** 1/2
CHRIS & DON:  A LOVE STORY (d. Guido Sante) *** 1/2
CHRISTMAS TALE, A (Un conte de Noël) (d. Arnaud Desplechin) *** 1/4
CHRISTMAS TREE UPSIDE DOWN (d. Ivan Cherkelov and Vassil Jivkov) ***
CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS (d. Joe Roth) Horrendous, embarrassing, utterly offensive (to this Jewish observer), silly, unfunny.  Did I love it?   1/2*
CHRONICAL OF AN ESCAPE  (d. Israel Adrián Cactano) ** 3/4
CHRONICALS (d. Sebastian Cordero) Equador's Acad. entry is a superb psychological thriller about a child serial killer's manipulation of tv pop news.  *** 1/4
CHRONICALS OF NARNIA (d. Andrew Adamson)  **
CHRYSALIS (d. Julien Leclercq) ** 1/2
CHRYSTAL (d. Ray McKinnon) Southern gothic story of the effects of an auto accident on a couple after 20 years of the husband in prison.  ** 3/4
CHUMSCRUBBER, THE (d. Arie Posin) Wonderful suburban satire cult-type film in Donnie Darko mode. Jamie Bell: #1 actor of his generation.  *** 1/2
CIAO (d. Yen Tan) Touching, arty (in a good way) American indie gay film...Italian man meets friend on net.  ***
CINDERELLA MAN (d. Ron Howard) Moving story of James Braddock with a searingly honest portrayal by Russell Crowe.  *** 1/2
CINEMA, ASPIRIN & VULTURES (Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus) (d. Marcelo Gomes) ** 1/4
CITIZEN DUANE (d. Michael Mabbott) ** 3/4
CITY OF BORDERS (d. Yun Suh) ***
CITY OF EMBER (d. Gil Kenan) Superb dystopian heroic fantasy, a live action Wall*E with the visual panache of Brazil.  *** 1/2
CITY OF GHOSTS (d. Matt Dillon) Pseudo Graham Greene. Stifling atmosphere well done, as were characterizations. Story falls down.  Good try.  ** 1/4
CITY OF MEN (d. Paolo Morelli) Much better than City of God, imho.  Emotionally affecting, driving narrative. *** 1/4
CITY OF THE SUN, THE (Slunecný Stát) (d. Martin Sulík; Slovak Republic)  **
CLAPHAM JUNCTION (d. Adrian Shergold) Terrific British TV movie about contrasts in modern society (marriage & bashing).  *** 1/2
CLASS, THE (d. Ilmar Raag; Estonia) *** 1/2
CLASS, THE (Entre les murs) (d. Laurent Cantet; France) *** 3/4
CLASSE TOUS RISQUE (d. Claude Sautet) A terrific classic noir with a star-making Belmondo perf (if Breathless hadn't hit first).  *** 1/2
CLAY BIRD, THE (d. Tareque Masud) Bangladesh AFF.  A family uprooted by political upheaval in '68.  ** 3/4
CLEAN (d. Olivier Assayas) Maggie Chung is superb as a junkie trying to go clean to reclaim her son from her inlaws in this wonderful drama.  *** 1/2
CLEARING, THE (d. Pieter Jan Brugge) Hi-gloss kidnap film, Redford victim, Mirren the suffering wife. "Without a Trace" does it better.  **
CLICK (d. Frank Coraci) Good F/X, lousy script, sort of an It Might Have Been a Wonderful Life. Not Sandler's finest.  * 3/4
CLOSER (d. Mike Nichols) Four loathsome characters well acted and beautifully photographed (cf similar Carnal Knowledge!)  Portman & Owen never better.  ** 3/4
CLOUD, THE (d. Gregor Schnitzler) ** 3/4
COAST GUARD, THE  (d. Kim Ki-duk) Overwrought drama about the soldiers who guard the Korean coastline from spy incursions.  Way over the top.  * 3/4
COAST TO COAST (d. Paul Mazursky) V. Judy Davis & Richard Dreyfuss are excellent in this moving, adult drama about a couple devastated by their son's death. *** 1/2
COCHOCHI (d. Israel Cárdenas & Laura Amelia Guzmán) *** 1/4
COCK COLLEGE (short films) (d. various)
CODE 46 (d. Michael Winterbottom) One,   of the greatest examples of cyberpunk ever put on film. Winterbottom's future imagery is amazing.  *** 3/4
COFFEE DATE (d. Stewart Wade) Amusing comedy about sexual confusions, really well written script.  ***
COLD LIGHT (d. Hilmar Oddsson) Iceland's AFF is a dour tragedy about a 40ish man finally facing a tragedy of his youth.   ***
COLD MOUNTAIN (d. Anthony Minghella) Fine production, good acting, but the "well made" story was too predictable. Jude Law is a bonafide star. ***
COLD SHOWERS (Douches froides) (d. Antony Cordier) ***
COLD SOULS (d. Sophie Barthes) ** 1/2
COLDEST DAY, THE (d. Xie Dong) A somewhat boring film about mutual infidelity in a modern Chinese marriage.  **
COLLATERAL (d. Michael Mann) L.A. is the star here; and Mann doesn't cheat the geography. Mann's best film in a while.  ***
COLLECTOR, THE (Komornik) (d. Feliks Falk; Poland)  ** 1/4
COLMA: THE MUSICAL (d. Richard Wong) Strictly amateurville musical, but charming, simple story.  ** 1/2
COLOR OF FAME, THE (d.Alesandro Bellame Palacios; Venezuela) ***
COMANCHE MOON (d. Simon Wincer) V.  Nicely played, if choppy, miniseries. Val Kilmer? weird.  ** 3/4
COMBAT (d. Patrick Carpentier) *
COME EARLY MORNING (d. Joey Lauren Adams) ***
COME INTO THE LIGHT (Alla Luce Del Sol) (d. Roberto Faenza) ** 1/2
COMEDY OF POWER, A (d. Claud Chabrol)  ** 3/4
COMIC EVANGELISTS (d. Daniel Jones, Dann Sytsma) ***
COMPANY, THE (d. Mikael Salomon) V. *** 1/2
COMPANY, THE  (d. Robert Altman) Little narrative, lots of good dancing. Neve impresses, and James Franco underplays to splendid effect.  *** 1/4
CONDOR: AXIS OF EVIL (d. Rodrigo Vasquez) A doc linking the U.S. to South American dictators and disappearances of the '70s.  Too unstructured.  ** 1/4
CONFESSIONS OF PAIN (d. Andrew Lau & Alan Mak) *** 1/4
CONFIDENCE (d. James Foley) Foley has style to burn.  Too bad he didn't burn this derivative script. Why I like Ed Burns is the question.  ** 1/2
CONGORAMA  (d. Philippe Falardeau) ** 3/4
CONNIE AND CARLA (d. Michael Lembeck) Silly, if intermittantly funny, script. I liked the music; but the film is excessivly clichéd.  * 3/4
CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE (d. John Deery) Ernest, polemic drama: celebacy and the Catholic church. Nice production, but too on-point for good drama.  **
CONSTANT GARDNER, THE (d. Fernando Meirelles)  ***
CONSTANTINE (d. Francis Lawrence) V. Looks good with graphic novel feel, nice f/x, absurd plot.  ** 1/4
CONTAINER (d. Lukas Moodysson) * 3/4
CONTINENTAL, A FILM WITHOUT GUNS (d. Stéphane Lafleur) ** 1/2
CONTROL (d. Anton Corbijn) ***
CONTROL ALT DELETE (d. Cameron Labine) ** 3/4
CONTROL ROOM (d. Jehane Noujaim) Doc. about Al-Jezeera's coverage of the current Iraq War. Good footage, though repetitive.  ** 3/4
CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER WOMEN (d. Hans Canosa)  *** 1/4
COOL MONEY (d. Gary Burns ) V. Modestly involving TV caper film about some losers knocking off N.Y. hotels.  ** 1/2
COOLER, THE  (d. Wayne Kramer) The acting's pretty good, especially Alec Baldwin; but the plot, direction & cinematography pretty well suck.  **
COPYING BEETHOVEN (d. Agnieszka Holland) Overwrought, overacted. Sublime music (though weirdly edited).  **
CORE, THE (d. Jon Amiel) F/x end-of-world flick fun enough to overcome implausibilities.  First hour great & then film degrades to clichés.  ** 3/4
CORPORATION, THE (d. Achbar & Abbott) Overlong but fascinating Canadian documentary about "corporations" as psychotic people.  *** 1/2
CORRECTION (Diorthosi) (d. Thanos Anastopoulos, Greece) ** 1/4
CORTEX (d. Nicolas Boukhrief) ***
COST OF LIVING  (d. Phillippe Le Guay) Vivid, beautifully realized multi-character story connected by the theme money for love.  *** 1/4
COTE D'AZURE (d. Ducastel & Martineau) Entertaining French farce about an family on vacation whose sexuality is mutable & evolving.  ** 3/4
COUNTER INVESTIGATION (Contre-enquête) (d. Franck Mancusco) *** 1/2
COUNTERFEITERS, THE (Die Falscher) (d. Stefan Ruzowitzky; Austria) *** 1/2
COUNTRY TEACHER, THE (d. Bohdan Sláma) *** 3/4
COUNTRY WEDDING (d. Vladis Öskarsdóttir) ***
COUPERET, LE (d. Costa-Gavras) More black comedy than the usual Costa-Gavras, entertaining film which takes Time Out to a higher level.  ***
COVE, THE (d. Louie Psihoyos) ** 3/4
COVERBOY (d. Carmine Amoroso) ***
COWBOYS AND ANGELS (d. David Gleeson) Beautifully written & acted Irish coming-of-age gay/straight romantic comedy. Michael Legge is wonderful.  *** 1/4
COWBOYS AND ANGELS (d. David Gleeson)V.+ ***
CRACKER:  A NEW TERROR (d. Antonia Bird) V.  Excellent tv film about a killer British cop driven crazy in the "troubles".  ***
CRANE WORLD (d. Pablo Trapero) Slow, Argentine neo-realist B&W film about a 49 yr. old construction worker ex-rock guitarist.  ** 1/2
CRANFORD (d. Simon Curtis) V. Superb British early Victorian mini-series which just got better & better. The final part blew me away. *** 1/2
CRASH (d. Paul Haggis) Superb Short Cuts type multi-character, roundabout drama...modern day L.A. as racial dystopia. I need to leave L.A.!  *** 1/2
CRAZY LOVE (d. Dan Klores & Fisher Stevens) *** 1/4
CREATIVE NATURE (d. John Andres) ** 1/4
CRIME NOVEL (d. Michele Placido) *** 1/4
CRIMINAL (d. Gregory Jacobs) A faithful remake of Nine Queens, which means a good, if familiar script. A sympathetic cast, still this one doesn't quite jell.  ** 1/2
CROOKED E, THE (d. Penelope Spheeris) V.  CBS film docudrama about fall of Enron.  Predictable script, Christian Kane actor to watch.  **
CROSSING A SHADOW (d. Augusto Tamayo; Peru) ** 1/2
CROSSING BORDERS (d. Arnd Wächter) Hopeful, moving docu feels like "Real World Morocco", 4 American & 4 Moroccan students live together for a week and keep it real.  *** 1/4
CROSSING OVER (d. Wayne Kramer) Like Crash, only better, this is an involving ensemble drama about distressed immigrants in L.A. *** 1/4
CROSSING THE BORDER (Un Franco 14 Pesetas) (d. Carlos Iglesias) ***
CROSSING THE BRIDGE: THE SOUND OF ISTANBUL (d. Fatih Aiken) V. Music docu, sporadically good music, nice photog. ** 1/2
CROSSING  (d. Kim Tae-kyun; Republic of Korea) ** 3/4
CRUDE  (Turkey  d. Paxton Winters)  Road film about 2 young American guys and their travels through Turkey looking for fame & fortune.  ** 3/4
CRUEL BUT NECESSARY (d. Saul Rubinek) Innovative video about a woman secretly recording her life for 2 years on a hidden camera. ** 3/4
CRUEL JOYS  (d. Juraj Nvota) Slovakia AFF.  Relationship drama in pre-war small Slovak town.  ** 3/4
CRYING LADIES (d. Mark Meily) Three Philippine women hired as cryers for a Chinese funeral. I was uninvolved; but the film wasn't that bad.  W/O
CSI:  GRAVE DANGER 1 & 2 (d. Quentin Tarantino)V. ** 3/4
CUBA LIBRA (d. Juan Gerard) Nostalgic, but too pat, reminiscence of an 11 yr. old boy coming of age in '58 small town Cuba prior to revolution.  **
CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, THE (d. David Fincher) + Even more moving 2nd time around. Epic, emotional, great film. *** 3/4
CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON, THE (d. David Fincher) Moving, epic filmmaking which works at all levels. Nearly a masterpiece. *** 1/2
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER (d. Zhang Yimou; China) ***
CURSED (d. Wes Craven) V. Campy parody of werewolf stories with a great cast (Jesse Eisenberg & Milo Ventimiglia are wonderful). Ridiculous; but clever & fun. ***
CUT SLEEVE BOYS (d. Ray Yeung) ** 3/4
CUTTING EDGE 3, THE (d. Stuart Gillard) V.  Surprisingly not bad, although predictable. Matt Lanter is good! ** 1/2
CUTTING EDGE, THE (d. Paul Michael Glaser) V. Moira Kelly & D.B. Sweeney have good chemistry. Otherwise clichéd. ** 1/2
CYCLES (d. Cyril Gelblat) *** 1/2
DA VINCI CODE, THE (d. Ron Howard) The con of film.  Turgid, overlong...nice historical f/x, though. ** 1/4
DALECARLIANS, THE  (d. Maria Blom) Involving family drama about 3 sisters and the small Swedish town that the youngest returns to.  ***
DAN IN REAL LIFE (d. Peter Hedges) Emotionally satisfying, breakthru film for Hedges (and for me, Carell).  *** 1/4
DANCERS (d. Pemille Fischer Christensen) ** 1/2
DANCING ACROSS BORDERS (d. Anne H. Bass) ***
DANDELION (d. Mark Milgard) Well acted, somewhat pointless coming of age story of boy who sacrifices much for his dysfunctional family.  ** 3/4
DANIKA (d. Ariel Vromen) * 1/2
DANS PARIS (d. Christophe Honoré) ** 1/2
DAREDEVIL (d.Mark Steven Johnson) Better stunts than Spiderman; but rather wan story.  I enjoyed it, especially Affleck.  ** 3/4
DARJEELING LIMITED, THE (d. Wes Anderson) Better than his last one; but I need more than a train & exotica. ** 3/4
DARK AGES, THE (d. Chris Cassel) V. Standard issue History channel docu.  Lots of info well presented.  ** 3/4
DARK HARBOR (d. Naito Takasugu) ***
DARK HORSE (Voksne Mennesker) (d. Dagur Kári) **
DARK KNIGHT, THE (d. Christopher Nolan) Surprisingly dark and dense, some narrative glitches, but Ledger is as good as the hype. *** 1/4
DARK STREETS (d. Rachel Samuels) Rarely has so much stylishness been put in aid of such a lame story. Only singers & prod. designers come out ok. **
DARKBLUEALMOSTBLACK  (d. Daniel Sánchez Arévalo) *** 1/2
DARWIN'S NIGHTMARE (d. Hubert Sauper; docu) V. ***
DASEPO NAUGHTY GIRLS (Dasepo Sonyo) (d. E J-yong) *
DAUGHTER FROM DANANG (d. Dolgen and Franco) (V)  docu. Mixed race Viet Nam war child sent to US at 7 meets her mom.  *** 1/4
DAVID COPPERFIELD (d. Simon Curtis) V. The first half, Daniel Radcliffe as young Copperfield, is fine. Then it all turns to treacle and sentiment.  ** 1/2
DAY A PIG FELL INTO THE WELL, THE (S. Korea  d. Hong Sang-soo) Muddled story of multiple affairs going nowhere.  Film does too.  1/2*
DAY AFTER TOMORROW, THE (d. Roland Emmerich) Cliché story (though involving & well done), fantastically realistic special f/x.  ** 3/4
DAY AT THE MUSEUM, A (Musée haut, musée bas)  (d. Jean-Michel Ribes) ** 1/4
DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, THE (d. Scott Derrickson) Good f/x; but sappy, incredulous script a million times inferior to original.* 1/2
DAY WATCH (d. Timur Bekmambetov) ***
DAYBREAK (d. Bjorn Runge) Three cleverly interwoven stories of strange relationship angst in Sweden. I couldn't relate to the stories.  ** 3/4
DAYS AND CLOUDS (d. Silvio Soldini) ***
DAYS AND HOURS (d. Ademir Kenovic) Talky, slow paced slice of life story about family coping with consequences of Bosnian war 7 years earlier. * 3/4
DAYS OF BEING WILD (d. Wong Kar-wei) I was carried away by the plot, actors & especially the cinematography. Now I must reassess In The Mood For Love. *** 1/2
DAYS OF DARKNESS (d. Denys Arcand; Canada) ***
DAYS OF GLORY (d. Rachid Bouchareb; Algeria) ***
DEAD GIRL, THE (d. Karen Moncrieff) *** 1/4
DEAD MAN'S HAND (d. Boon & Brandenbourger) Luxembourg AFF.  High gloss consumerist satire.  ** 3/4
DEAD MAN'S SHOES (d. Shane Meadows) Paddy Considine is the nemesis of group of guys who tortured his brother. Violent and bloody.  ** 1/2
DEAD SILENCE (d. James Wan)V. Stylish horror flick with ridiculous seen-before "dummy" plot. Looks great, less filling.  ** 1/4
DEADGIRL (d. Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel) ** 1/2
DEAL (d. Gil Cates, Jr.) Predictable, but the poker was realistic & Bret Harrison is a winning actor. ** 3/4
DEAL, THE (d. Harvey Kahn) Wall Street shenanigans in the oil patch in the near future. Slickly made, good cast, but probably straight to video.  ** 1/2
DEAL, THE (d. Stephen Frears) V. British political true story, Labour deal to share power. Too parochial for U.S.  ** 1/2
DEAR FRANKIE (d. Shona Aurbach) Tender and moving drama of deaf boy's bonding with a surrogate father.  *** 1/4
DEAR WENDY (d. Thomas Vinterberg) ***
DEATH AND TEXAS (d. Kevin DiNovis) Satiric, pointed but understated mockumentary about a famed football player on death row in Texas. *** 1/4
DEATH AT A FUNERAL (d. Frank Oz) ***
DEATH DEFYING ACTS (d. Gillian Armstrong) Excellent period piece; strong acting by Guy Pierce & Zeta-Jones!  *** 1/4
DEATH IN LOVE (d. Boaz Yakin) Good cast mostly wasted on incoherent effects-of-Holocaust-on-2nd-generation-family sexually explicit melodrama. ** 1/4
DEATH IN VENICE (d. Luchino Visconti) ** 3/4
DEATH OF A PRESIDENT  (d. Gabriel Range) *** 1/2
DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU, THE (Moartea domului Lazarescu)  (d. Cristi Puiu; Romania) *** 1/2
DEATH SENTENCE (d. James Wan) **
DEBUTANTES, LOS (d. Andres Waissbluth) Strong, multi-POV, sexy drama about 2 naive brothers who become involved with a porn boss and his mistress. ***
DECEMBER BOYS (d. Rod Hardy) Good performances, but a predictable clichéd script.  ** 1/2
DEEP BREATH (d. Parviz Shahbazi) Iran's AFF is a road picture about disaffected college students, amazingly secular for an official submission.  ** 1/2
DEEP WATER (d. Osmond & Rothwell) Disquieting, excellent docu: 1969 around world boat race.  *** 1/2
DEEPWATER (d. David Marfield) A superior psychological thriller disguised as a gothic noir.  Great performance by Lucas Black.  *** 1/4
DEFENDERS OF RIGA (Rigas Sargi) (d. Algars Grauba; Latvia) ** 1/2
DEFIANCE (d. Edward Zwick) Involving, well directed...but somewhat clichéd and old fashioned.  ***
DÉFICIT (d. Gael García Bernal) *** 1/4
DÉJÀ VU (d. Tony Scott) A superior, timebending thriller which, while totally absurd, amazingly almost holds together! *** 1/4
DEKADA '70 (d. Chito Rono) Melodramatic saga of 15 years of a Philippine family, 5 boys & Ozzie & Harriet parents.  Too long and overamped.  **
DELIRIOUS (d. Tom Dicillo) ***
DELIVER US FROM EVIL (d. Amy Berg) V. Gripping docu about Catholic church coverup of pederast priest.  *** 1/2
DE-LOVELY (d. Irwin Winkler) Massively over-written Cole Porter biopic. Good music and singer cameos; but otherwise bloated and pretentious. ** 1/4
DEMONLOVER  (France  d. Olivier Assayas)  Stylish, mysterious business scullduggery among the rich and successful international cyber-crowd.  *** 1/4
DENIAS, SINGING ON THE CLOUD (d. John de Rantau; Indonesia) ** 1/2
DEPARTED, THE (d. Martin Scorsese) Fabulously cast, but script too eliptical...Infernal Affaires made more sense. *** 1/4
DEPARTURES (Okuribito) (d. Yojiro Takita; Japan) *** 3/4
DEPENDENCIA SEXUAL (d. Rodrigo Bellott)  Sexual adventures of youths in Bolivia & U.S. done in split screen. Wildlly uneven, but also a turn-on.  ***
DEVDAS (d. Sanjay Leela Bhansali) India AFF.  Bollywood musical:  overblown tragic love story.   * 3/4
DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON, THE (d. Jeff Feuerzeig)V.  ***
DEVIL WEARS PRADA, THE (d. David Frankel) Well acted (Hathaway finally grows up, Streep perfect), funny.  ***
DEVOTEE (d. Rémi Lange) French drama about a thalidomide 40-ish gay man (no limbs) used as a fetish object. ** 1/2
DEXTER:  Season 1 (d. various) V. Sympathetic serial killer sociopath...stylish, Michael C. Hall is simply amazing.  *** 3/4
DHAMMA BROTHERS, THE (d. Jenny Phillips) Hopeful, thoughtful docu of Alabaman prisoners who find peace thru Buddhist meditation.  ***
DIAS DE SANTIAGO (d. Josué Méndez; Peru)  ** 1/4
DICKIE ROBERTS:  FORMER CHILD STAR (d. Sam Weisman)  Infantile, arrested-development story, occasionally funny, very meta, embarrassing to watch.  *
DIE, MOMMIE, DIE (d. Mark Rucker) Camp take-off on Mommy Dearest, a showcase for tranny Charles Busch, which just didn't cut it.   ** 1/4
DIG!  (d. Ondi Timoner) Extraordinary video documentary about two current retro 60's underground bands. Fabulous footage well edited.  *** 1/4
DIGGERS (d. Katherine Dieckmann) ** 1/2
DIRT  (US  d. Nancy Savoca)  Entertaining humanist drama about an undocumented Salvadorian family...mother a cleaning woman.  *** 1/4
DIRTY DANCING: HAVANA NIGHTS (d. Guy Ferland) Pretty much cookie cutter plot, but fun.  Diego Luna: Latin lover for the 2000's.  ** 1/4
DIRTY DEEDS (d. David Kendall) V. Stupid high school caper film. Watched for Milo Ventimiglia, who is worth watching.  *
DIRTY PRETTY THINGS  (Great Britain  d. Stephen Frears)  Excellent romantic drama about refugees living and being exploited in London.  *** 1/4
DIRTY SHAME, A (d. John Waters) Utterly transgressive sex farce which takes Waters' anarchic style to its untoppable culmination. Still, never boring.  ** 3/4
DIRTY WAR (d. Daniel Percival) V. Dirty bomb terrorist attack on central London. BBC film, a good suspenser and scary as hell, though nothing special filmwise. ** 3/4.
DISAPPEARANCES  (d. Jay Craven) ** 1/4
DISTANT (d. Nuri Bilge Ceylan) Arty Turkish film about alienating effects of big city on two men, one older & established, other new to town. *** 1/4
DISTANT LIGHTS  (Germany  d. Hans-Christian Schmidt) Hand held, documentary feel: about refugees trying to get to Germany.  *** 1/4
DISTURBIA (d. D.J. Caruso) Despite a star making turn by Shia LaBeouf this Rear Window update is ridiculously over the top. ** 1/4
DISTURBING BEHAVIOR (d. David Nutter) V. Mind control '98 horror flick, a teenage Stepford High, good cast, well directed, but way over the top. **
DIVINE INTERVENTION (d. Elia Suleiman) Palestine's AFF nomination is an unfunny absurdist comedy which didn't work for me. **
DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, THE (d. Julian Schnabel) Most expressive eye in film history. Amalric amazing!  *** 3/4
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (d. Giacomo Campiotti) V. Why the David Lean film needed a remake is questionable; but this one is well made, intimate & emotional.  ** 3/4
DODGEBALL (d. Rawson M. Thurber) Silly, amiable entertainment.  I didn't find it funny; but it sure tries hard enough. Stiller still has "it".  ** 1/2
DOG EAT DOG (d. Carlos Moreno; Columbia) * 3/4
DOG POUND  (d. Manuel Nieto Zas) W/O
DOGHEAD (d. Santi Amodeo) *** 1/4
DOGHEAD (d. Santi Amodeo) +  *** 1/4
DOGVILLE (d. Lars von Trier) A malevolent Our Town, more tv throwback than film, Kidman and Bettany are really good.  ***
DOING TIME ON MAPLE DR. (d. Ken Olen)V.  *** 1/4
DOING TIME  (Japan  d.  Sai Yoichi) Intelligent comedy about regimented life in a modern Japanese prison. ***
DOL (d. Hiner Saleem) ** 3/4
DOLLS  (d. Takeshi Kitano) Gorgeously photographed, metaphorically opaque.  Three stories of regret that I regret that went over my head.  **
DONAU, DUNA, DUNAJ, DUNAV, DUNAREA (d. Goren Rebic) Beautiful;y done story of a "ship of fools" and romantics heading down the Danube.  ***
DONKEY SKIN  (d. Jacques Demy) A gentle fairy tale. Demy has style to spare; but other than the costumes I wasn't blown away.  ** 1/2
DONNIE DARKO: DIRECTOR'S CUT (d. Richard Kelly) Improved comprehensibility; but I really missed some scenes. Still a fantastic film.  *** 1/2
DON'S PLUM (d. R.D. Robb) V. B&W indie near masterpiece, a 20-something My Dinner With André with a hard edge. Why is it banned?  *** 1/2
DONSOL (d. Adolfo Alix, Jr.; Philippines) ** 1/2
DON'T LET ME DOWN (d. Cruz Angeles) ***
DON'T MOVE (d. Sergio Castellitto) Obsessive adultry-romance with a superb perf by Penelope Cruz. Involving and interestingly structured. ***
DON'T TELL (La bestia nel cuore) (d. Cristina Comencini; Italy) *** 1/2
DOOR IN THE FLOOR, THE (d. Tod Williams) Superbly acted drama of a family's corrosive grief & a boy's (the promising Jon Foster) coming of age.  *** 1/2
DOPAMINE (d. Mark Decina) Indie romantic comedy; 3geeky programmers in S.F. Genuine characters, well written, actors have real chemistry.  *** 1/4
DORIAN BLUES (d. Tennyson Bardwell) A genuinely funny coming out comedy, a crowd pleaser with a brilliant script and assured acting & direction.  *** 1/4
DOS TIPOS DUROS (d. Juan Moreno) A Guy Richie type bloody, gang-who-couldn't-shoot-straight comedy, only totally diverting. Jordi Vilches wonderful. ***
DOT THE I (d. Matthew Parkhill) Clever script with double & triple crosses galore a la Nine Queens. Bernal is a star in English, too.  *** 1/4
DOUBT (d. John Patrick Shanley) Major acting kudos (esp. Viola Davis), but film's ambiguity and murky central thesis a problem for me.  ** 3/4
DOWN BY LOVE (d. Tomás Sas) Weird, annoying one-actor monologue of effects of child sexual abuse. Ultimately pays off. Patricia Kovács amazing.  ** 3/4
DOWN IN THE VALLEY (d. David Jacobson) Weird, wonderful; Ed Norton his usual amazing. E.R.Wood more beautiful than ever. *** 1/4
DOWN TO THE BONE (d. Debra Granik) Bare bones video verité of a woman drug addict that spares nothing. Some incredible acting here.  ***
DOWN WITH LOVE (d. Peyton Reed)  Retro, ironic '60s sex comedy, gorgeous production design, often ridiculous script but fun and truly hip.  *** 1/4
DOWNFALL (d. Oliver Herschbiegel) Well made drama of last days of 3rd Reich in Hitler's bunker. Bruno Ganz is amazing. Authentic, gripping.  *** 1/4
DR. BRONNER'S MAGIC SOAPBOX (d. Sara Lamm) V. ** 1/4
DRAMA/MEX (d. Gerardo Naranjo) *** 1/2
DREAM BOY (d. James Bolton) ** 1/2
DREAM WEAVERS (d. Jun Gu; China) ** 1/2
DREAMCATCHER (d. Lawrence Kasdan) Absurd Stephen King story, 4 boys/men against familiar movie aliens.  Scary, funny, overwrought.  ** 1/4
DREAMERS, THE (d. Bernardo Bertolucci) I just about lived this movie 5 years earlier...and this excellent film couldn't be more true to life.  *** 3/4
DREAMGIRLS (d. Bill Condon) Better than average musical with fantastic casting. ***
DREAMING OF SPACE (d. Alexei Uchitel) ** 3/4
DREAMLAND (d. Jason Matzner) ***
DRIFTERS (d. Wang Xiaoshuai) Slow drama about a Chinese guy who had a kid as an illegal in the U.S. and then is kept from his son when he's deported. **
DRIVING LESSONS (d. Jeremy Brock) Bad coming-of-age film with over-the-top Julie Walters & a pretty good Rupert Grint. * 3/4
DRUMMER, THE (d. Kenneth Bi) *** 1/4
DUCHESS OF LANGEAIS, THE (Ne toucher pas la hache) (d. Jacques Rivette)   ** 1/2
DUCHESS, THE (d. Saul Dibb) Excellently made, authentic seeming, gorgeous and even moving historical epic with great perfs by Keira and Ralph. *** 1/2
DUCK SEASON (d. Fernando Eimbcke) Two 14 year old boys left alone in an apartment on a Sunday get into trouble. Wonderfully observent and affecting.  *** 1/4
DUMA (d. Carroll Ballard) V. Predictably beautiful but predictable. ** 3/4
DUMMY  (U.S.  d. Greg Pritikin 90 min.)  Adrien Brody is incredible as a shy ventriloquist in this touching, truly funny romantic comedy.  *** 1/2
DUNYA & DESIE (d.Dana Nechushtan; Netherlands) ** 3/4
DUPLICITY (d. Tony Gilroy) Script double crosses itself once too many times, but stars have chemistry & it's slick.  ** 3/4
DUSKA (d. Jos Stelling) The Netherlands foreign film submission.  * 3/4
DUST TO GLORY (d. Dana Brown)V.  ** 1/2
DYING GAUL, THE (d. Craig Lucas) Until a very unsatisfying ending this was an extraordinary noir with fabulous acting (Sarsgaard! Scott! Clarkson!) *** 1/4
EAGER BODIES  (d. Xavier Giannoli) Love Story with a particularly French twist.  Great acting. *** 1/2
EAGLE EYE (d. D.J. Caruso) Absurd script well executed.  Raises paranoia quotient and chase sequence destruction derby games to new, ridiculous high.  Shia is fine. ** 1/2
EAGLE VS. SHARK (d. Taika Waititi) ** 3/4
EARLY IN THE MORNING (d. Gahité Fofana) * 3/4
EARTH AND ASHES (d. Atiq Rahimi) Wide screen Afghanistan AFF plays like a despairing Irani film: old man & young boy war victims wandering desert.  ***
EARTHLING  (d. Tristan & Wolfgang Bayer) Stunning, fascinating docu about family of nature photogs on a 7 year adventure journey.  *** 3/4
EARTHLINGS (d. Shaun Monson) V. Hard to watch docu about human speciesism: abuse of animals for food, clothing, science etc..  *** 3/4
EARTHSEA (d. Robert Lieberman) V. Surprisingly together, if hokey, sf miniseries, mediocre acting...but the f/x are fine and the project works.  ** 1/2
EASTERN PROMISES (d. David Cronenberg)  Stylized violence...best Mortensen tattoos since Indian Runner. *** 1/4
EASY VIRTUE (d. Stephan Elliott) ***
EAT THIS NEW YORK (d. Novack and Rossi) V. Pre-The Restaurant docu about building a neighborhood bistro in Brooklyn & the viscissitudes of the big NYC chefs. ***
EATING OUT (d. Q. Allan Brocka) Sparkling, well cast lo-budget gay/straight sex farce. Emily Stiles' clever faghag steals the movie from some good looking guys. ** 3/4
EATING OUT 2: SLOPPY SECONDS (d. Phillip Bartell) Funny gay farce, well acted with a fairly novel script.  ** 3/4
EDEN (d. Declan Recks) Intimate, disturbing, well played drama of a marriage troubled by the 10 year itch.  ***
EDEN IS WEST (Eden à l'ouest) (d. Costa-Gavras) ** 3/4
EDEN'S CURVE (d. Anne Misawa)V. 1/2*
EDGE OF HEAVEN, THE (d. Fatih Akin; Germany) *** 3/4
EDGE OF LOVE, THE (d. John Maybury)  Fine cast, nice evocation of blitz England and arty circle doings; but turgid drama doesn't spark.  ** 1/2
EDI (d. Piotr Trzaskalski)  Poland AFF  Drama about a down and outer in present day Poland.  ***
EDUART (d. Angeliki Antoniou; Greece) *** 1/4
EDUCATION OF CHARLIE BANKS, THE (d. Fred Durst) Fascinating character study of nerd vs. charismatic sociopath (and Jason Ritter is amazing.) *** 1/4
EDUCATION OF GORE VIDAL, THE  (US doc.  d. Deborah Dickson)  Fine, intelligent documentary about Vidal through his words & work.  *** 1/2
EDUKATORS, THE (d. Hans Weingartner) Gripping drama of 3 foolish young German revolutionaries & their caper gone wrong. *** 1/2
EDY (d. Stephan Guérin-Tillié) Cool, noirish film about killer insurance scammers. ** 3/4
EFECTO IGUAZÚ, EL (d. Pere Joan Ventura) Doc. about 1800 striking Spaniards who camped out in a Madrid shanty town for 6 months in 2001. *** 1/4
EGOISTE: LOTTI LATROUS (d. Stephan Anspichler) Harrowing docu: Swiss nurse's AIDS hospice in Ivory Coast.  ** 3/4
EIGHT BELOW (d. Frank Marshall) Deserted dogs in the Antarctic winter do their thing. Pretty (Paul Walker especially), but vapid. ** 1/4
EKLAVYA (d. Vidhu Vinod Chopra; India) ***
EL ALAMEIN  (d. Enzo Monteleone) Spare and powerful story of Italian platoon on the losing side at the battle of El Alamein. ***
EL ALQUIMISTA IMPACIENTE (d. Patricia Ferreira)  Thriller/policier...lurid murder of a nuclear plant worker.  ** 3/4
EL AURA (d. Fabián Bielinsky; Argentina) *** 1/4
EL BENNY (d. Jorge Luis Sanchez) ** 3/4
EL BONAERENSE  (Argentina/Chile  d.  Pablo Trapero) Naive country bumpkin makes good in the big city police department.  ** 3/4
EL CABALLERO DON QUIXOTE  (d. Manuel Gutierrez Aragon) Boring sequel to Don Quixote.  * 3/4
EL CANTANTE (d. Leon Ichaso) ** 3/4
EL CRIMEN DEL PADRE AMARO  (d. Carlos Carrera)  Mexico AFF.  Anti-clerical satiric melodrama in small Mexican parish.  *** 1/4
EL EMBRUJO DE SHANGHAI (d. Fernando Trueba) Drama of post-WWII in Barcelona from a teenage boy's pov. Pretty but confusing.  **
EL LUGAR DONDE ESTUVO EL PARAISO (d. Gerardo Herrero) Diverting melodrama of intrigue in the Peruvian Amazon.  ** 3/4
EL OTRO LADO DE LA CAMA (d. Emilio Martinez-Lazaro) Spanish sex comedy with music & dance, about couples playing musical beds..  ***
EL PERRO DEL HORTELANO  (d. Pilar Miro 1996) Historical Lope de Vega comedy about a fickle countess.  ** 1/2
EL REY (d. Antonio Dorado) Involving history of a '60s Columbian drug lord, Scarface revisited.  ** 3/4
EL SOL DEL MEMBRILLO (d. Victor Erice 1992) Arty semi-documentary about an artist sloooowly painting a quince tree.  **
EL VIAJE DE CAROL (d. Imanol Uribe) Touching story of a girl whose life is shattered by the Spanish civil war.  *** 1/4
ELDORADO (d. Bouli Lanners; Belgium) ** 3/4
ELDRA (d. Tim Lyn) UK AFF.  Charming story about a young gypsy girl's coming of age.  ***
ELECTION (d. Johnny To) ***
ELECTION 2 (d. Johnny To) ***
ELEGY (d. Isabel Coixet) Superb acting by entire company, lovely, moving adult plot. Cruz should win actress Oscar. *** 3/4
ELEPHANT (d. Gus Van Sant) I'm still reeling from the cumulative effect of this ephebiphile's dream. Shot amazingly like Le Fils, stomach churning ***
ELEPHANT AND THE SEA, THE (d. Woo Ming Jin) * 1/2
ELEVEN MEN OUT (d. Róbert Douglas) Predictable troubles for Iceland gay soccer team.  ** 1/4
ELINA (d. Klaus Haro) Like Evil, a story of schooling in Sweden in the '50's, only this time a stubborn little girl vs. a stubborn teacher. Academy bait left me cold. ** 3/4
ELITE SQUAD (d. José Padhila) *** 3/4
ELIZABETH I (d. Tom Hooper) V. Historical epic, good but histrionic perf by Helen Mirren. Drama over historicity. ***
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE (d. Shekhar Kapur) Bombastic, overdone, disappointing bodice ripper.  ** 1/4
ELIZABETHTOWN (d. Cameron Crowe)  ** 3/4
ELLE S'APPELLE SABINE (d. Sandrine Bonnaire) ***
ELLIE PARKER (d. Scott Coffey) Home movie quality video with a stupendous performance by Naomi Watts which lifts the film to watchability.  ***
ELSA & FRED (d. Marcos Carnevale) *** 3/4
EM (d. Tony Barbieri) ** 3/4
EMMA (d. Diamuid Lawrence, 1996) V. The Kate Beckinsale/BBC version.  Not my favorite Austin story, but Andrew Davies' scenario quite good.  ***
EMMANUEL JAL:  WAR CHILD (d. C. Karim Chrobog) ***
EMMA'S BLISS (d. Sven Taddicken) *** 1/4
EMPEROR'S WIFE, THE (d. Julian Vrebos) Stylized modern dress story of court intrigue. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers charismatic as chancellor to Max Beesley's emperor. ** 1/2
EMPIRE FALLS (d. Fred Schepisi)V. HBO family saga of small town New England doings. Fine cast, sprawling, unfocused script. ** 3/4
EMPTIES (d. Jan Sverak) ***
EMPTY NEST (El Nido Vacio) (d. Daniel Burman) *** 
EN LA CAMA (d. Matías Bize; Chile) *** 1/4
ENCARNATION (d. Anahi Berneri)  ** 1/4
ENCHANTED (d. Kevin Lima) Fun script, flaccid direction.  Too bad Julie Taymore didn't get a chance with this script.  ** 3/4
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (d. Werner Herzog) + Fascinating docu footage of Antarctica & modern scientific explorers.  *** 1/2
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (d. Werner Herzog) Fascinating footage of Antarctica & modern scientific explorers.  *** 1/2
END OF LOVE, THE (d. Simon Chung; Hong Kong) Mediocre digital film: story of young gay hustler/druggie involved with Christian sect. Nicely acted. ** 1/2
END OF THE CENTURY (d. Fields & Gramaglia) V. The Ramone's were never my cuppa musicwise; but this informative, of uninspired docu about group digs deep.  ***
ENDURING LOVE (d. Roger Michell) Dynamite, kinetic opening leads to a story of divinely inspired romantic obsession. Daniel Craig is wonderful. *** 1/4
ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM (d. Alex Gibney) V.Well made docu about complexity, maybe not as informative as it might have been.*** 1/4
ENVY (d. Barry Levinson) It started ok, clever with some good yuks. Black & Stiller are a great comedy team & Walken rules; but the film totally falls apart in 3rd act. **
EPITAFIOS (d. Alberto Lecchi & Jorge Nisco) V. HBO miniseries à la SE7EN from Argentina. Literally the best tv series I've ever seen.  ****
ERAGON (d. Stefen Fangmeier) It's supposed to be bad; but try as I might I couldn't fail to enjoy it...nicely paced, good f/x.  ***
ERES MI HEROE (d. Antonio Cuadri) Excellent coming of age story of 13 year old boy during the death of Franco era.  Manuel Lozano is great as the kid.  *** 1/2
ESCAPE, THE (d. Kathrine Windfeld) ***
ÉTÉ SANS POINT NI COUP SUR, UN (A No-hit, No-run Summer) (d. Francis Leclerc)  ** 3/4
ETERNAL SUMMER (d. Leste Chen and Patrick Mao Huang) * 3/4
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (d. Michel Gondry) Writing, acting, directing, f/x tour de force; also an affecting love story.  ****
ETHAN MAO (d. Quentin Lee) Involving drama in the Araki mode of a Gay Asian boy kicked out of home into life of street hustler.  ** 3/4
EUGENE (d.Jake Barsha) * 3/4
EULOGY (d. Michael Clancy) A screwball family comedy with an outstanding cast, entertaining, but a ridiculous script and only intermittently funny.  ** 1/4
EUPHORIA (Ejfroija) (d. Ivan Vyrypaev) ** 1/2
EVAN ALMIGHTY (d. Tom Shadyac) Good f/x money shot; but that's about it for this bloated, unfunny "comedy".  **
EVENING (d. Lajos Koltai) *** 1/2
EVENT, THE   (Canada  d. Thom Fitzgerald) Emotionally shattering AIDS drama about a sick man whose friends throw an assisted suicide party  *** 1/4
EVERGREEN (d. Edid Zentelis) A low-budget Seattle HD video/film about a lower class girl who is ahamed of her family. Good acting. ** 1/4
EVERLASTING MOMENTS (d. Jan Troell; Sweden) ***
EVERY LITTLE STEP (d. James Stern & Adam Del Deo) Superb meta-docu (film about trying out for a musical about trying out). Riveting & emotional. *** 3/4
EVERY OTHER WEEK (d. various) ** 3/4
EVERYDAY PEOPLE  (d. Jim McKay) Pleasant enought HBO tv movie about a Brooklyn deli and the consequences of its closing.  ** 3/4
EVERYONE ELSE (d. Maren Ade) *** 1/4
EVERYTHING IS FINE (d. Yves Fournier) ***
EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED (d. Liev Schreiber)  ** 1/2
EVERYTHING STRANGE AND NEW (d. Frazer Bradshaw) ***
EVERYTHING'S GONE GREEN (d. Paul Fox) ** 3/4
EVIL (d. Maiael Hafström) A 50's Swedish boarding school's sadistic system and its affect on a rebellious kid. A cross of If and Rebel Without a Cause. *** 1/2
EVIL (Ondskan) (d. Mikael Håfström) V. + One of the best depictions of boarding school sadism ever filmed. *** 1/2
EX DRUMMER (d. Koen Mortier)  * 1/4                 
EX, THE (Jesse Peretz) Unfunny comedy. Braff and Bateman are worth admission; but the plot has holes & doesn't hold together.  **
EXILED (d. Johnny To) ** 1/4
EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE, THE (d. Scott Derrickson)  ** 3/4
EXPIRATION DATE (d. Rick Stevenson) ***
EXPIRED (d. Cecilia Miniucchi) ** 1/2
EXPLICIT ILLS (d. Mark Webber) Somewhat muddled continuity, but a quite moving anti-poverty drama with some memorable perfs.  ***
EXPLODING GIRL, THE (d. Bradley Rust Gray) *** 1/4
EXTREME OPS (d. Christian Duguay)V. Silly, unlikely action film: extreme sports vs.Serbian terrorists. Good cast (Devon Sawa, Rupert Graves, Rufus Sewell) wasted.  ** 1/4
EYE, THE  (Thailand  d. Danny & Oxide Pang) Horror film, not especially scary, blind woman cured with a corneal transplant who sees dead people. ** 1/2
FACING WINDOWS (d. Ferzan Ozpetek) Resonant, multilevel story of a modern day couple who become involved with a Holocaust survivor.  *** 1/4
FACTOTUM (d. Bent Hamer) ** 3/4
FAHRENHEIT 9/11 (d. Michael Moore) Slam dunk politically; but doc could be structured better for my taste.  *** 1/4
FAILURE TO LAUNCH (d. Tom Dey) Reasonably original romantic comedy...Justin Bartha should be given a leading role! ** 3/4
FAIR PLAY (d. Lionel Bailliu) *** 1/4
FAIRY TALE OF KATHMANDU (d. Neasa Ni Chianain) **
FALKENBERG FAREWELL (d. Jesper Ganslandt; Sweden) **
FALL, THE (d. Tarsem Singh) ** 3/4
FALLEN (d. Mikael Salomon) V. Good TV movie with series possibilities.  ** 3/4
FAMILY FRIEND (L'Amico di Famiglia) (d. Paolo Sorrentino) W/O
FAMILY HERO (Le héros de la famille) (d. Thierry Klifa) ** 3/4
FAMILY LAW (d. Daniel Burman; Argentina) *** 1/2
FAMILY STONE, THE (d. Thomas Bezucha)  ** 1/2
FAMILY TIES  (d. Kim Tae-yang) ** 1/2
FANTASTIC FOUR (d. Tim Story) Fun, if silly super-character comic story. Chris Evans is a star.  ** 3/4
FANTASTIC PARASUICIDES (Fantastic Ja-sal-so-dong) (d. Kim, Park & Jo) ** 3/4
FAQS (d. Everett Lewis) Militantly gay romance. Fine performance by perky newcomer Joe Lia. Oddly, I enjoyed this terribly written & shot digital film. * 3/4
FAR SIDE OF THE MOON (d. Robert Lepage) Quirky comedy based on 1-man play. Lepage plays 2 leading roles & he must be an acquired taste that I don't share.  **
FASHION VICTIMS (d. Ingo Rasper) Intermittently funny & clever German farce: two dress salesmen battle.  ** 3/4
FAST AND FURIOUS (d. Justin Lin) Testosterone soaked film with some nicely edited & conceived auto stunts; but ridiculous and predictable script. ** 1/2
FAST FOOD NATION (d. Richard Linklater) Exploited Mexicans, slaughtered cattle, great cast, tough sell!  ***
FAT GIRLS (d. Ash Christian) Inventive if juvenile gay comedy by a talented writer/director. ** 1/2
FATELESS (Sorstalanság) (d. Lajos Koltai; Hugary) *** 3/4
FATHER & SONS (d. Michael Boujenah) A feel good, amusing French comedy road picture about a father and his squabbling sons. Beautifully acted.  ***
FATHER, A SON, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, A  (d. Lee Grant) V. Insider docu about Kirk and Michael Douglas, interesting but not great.  ** 3/4
FATHERS AND SONS (d. various)V. ** 3/4
FAUBOURG 36 (d. Christophe Barratier)  ** 3/4
FAVELA RISING (d. Mattt Mochary, Jeff Zimbalest; docu) V. ***
FAVOR, THE (d. Eva Eridjis) Fine lost indie film with interesting perfs by Frank Woods & Ryan Donowho ***
FAY GRIM (d. Hal Hartley) Wildly uneven comedy/thriller.  Posey is fine, but writing not up to former Hartley films. ** 3/4
FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (d. Terry Gilliam) V. Like watching a lurid train wreck & almost needing to turn away. Depp & del Toro are amazing.  **
FEAR AND TREMBLING (d. Alain Corneau) A fascinating French office film set in a Japanese office. Sylvie Testud is wonderful.  *** 1/4
FEAR ME NOT  (d. Kristian Levring) ** 3/4
FEAST OF LOVE (d. Robert Benton) Emotionally affecting; but I need to read the book, which is obviously richer. ***
FEATHERS IN MY HEAD (d. Thomas de Thier) Compelling, beautifully shot film about a family torn by the consequences of a missing child.  ***
FEELING FACTORY, THE  (La Fabrique des sentiments) (d. Jean-Marc Moutout) V.  ** 1/2
FEELING MINNESOTA (d. Steven Baigelman)V.  '96 Keanu Reeves/Cameron Diaz screwball dumb guy/bad girl comedy. Watchable, but ridiculous plot.  **
FEMALE AGENTS (Les Femmes de l'ombre) (d. Jean-Paul Salomé) ** 1/2
FEMME DE GILLES, LA (d. Frédéric Fonteyne) Formally terrific, if slow, drama about a laborer obsessed by his plain wife's beautiful sister. Emmanuel Devos rules. ***
FERPECT CRIME (d. Alex de la Iglesia) Another zany film by Iglesia, high gloss comedy about a Lothario salesman's comeuppence. Good fun, but a trifle obvious. ** 3/4
FESTIVAL EXPRESS (d. Bob Smeaton) Wonderful footage of 1970 rock festival train across Canada. Great The Band & Janis performances. *** 1/2
FEVER OF '57 (d. David Hoffman) *** 1/4
FEVER PITCH (d. Farrelli Bros.) Gets everything right in a delightful romantic comedy. Fallon is a star in the Hanks mode.  *** 1/4
FEVER, THE (La Febbre) (d. Alessandro d'Alatri) *** 1/4
FIDEL (d. David Attwood)V.  TV mini-series biopic of the Cuban revolution...diffuse script, but good performances by Victor Martin and, of course, Gael Bernal as Che.  ** 1/4
FIELDS OF FUEL (d. Josh Tickell) *** 3/4
FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING (d. Kari Skogland) ***
FIFTY PILLS (d. Theo Avgerinos) V. Monumentally stupid film; but Lou Pucci is my type of leading man.  * 1/4
FIG TREES (d. John Greyson) ** 3/4
FIGHTER PILOT:  OPERATION RED FLAG (d.  Stephen Low)V.  ** 3/4
FIGHTING (d. Dito Montiel) Clichés abound & Montiel's mis-en-scène just seems confused. Tatum isn't a convincing actor; but he sure looks the part. ** 1/4
FINAL ARRANGEMENTS (Bouquet final) (d. Michel Delgado) ** 3/4
FINAL CUT, THE (d. Omar Nïam) Unsatisfying, psychological sci-fi melodrama about saving memories.  Poor Robin Williams comes a cropper again.  **
FINAL DESTINATION 3 (d. James Wong) V. Surprisingly stylish horror thriller; but when Jesse Moss was killed off I bailed. W/O
FINDING AMANDA (d. Peter Tolan) Faintly amusing dramady...witty about the tv game, but the rest not so good.  ** 1/4
FINDING BLISS (d. Julia Davis) ** 1/2
FINDING NEMO  (d. Andrew Stanton)  Another engaging Pixar/Disney film with superb 3-D animation but a fairly simplistic plot.  ** 3/4 (REV. *** 1/4)
FINDING NEVERLAND (d. Marc Forster) Emotionally powerful, unlikely romantic film based on J.M. Barrie's life. Depp is outstanding in a muted perf.  ***
FIRM LAND, THE (d. Chapour Haghighat) * 1/4
FIRST DAUGHTER (d. Forest Whitaker) Utterly predictable, slick romantic comedy. I like Marc Blucas; but Katie Holms is awfully plastic.  * 1/2
FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE (Le premier jour du reste de ta vie) (d. Rémi Bezançon) *** 3/4
FIRST NIGHT, THE (d. Luis Restrepo) Columbian AFF about the uprooting effects of a local rebellion on a rural family. Somewhat overamped, but moving. ** 1/2
FIRST SNOW (d. Mark Fergus)  Pedestrian, twisty Amer. Indy with a great Guy Pearce perf.** 3/4 
FIRST TIME I WAS TWENTY, THE (d. Lorraine Lévy) Enormously entertaining coming of age in mid '60s of a portly girl jazz musician.  *** 1/2
FISH DREAMS (d. Kiril Mikhanovsky) ** 1/2
FIVE DAYS IN SEPTEMBER (d. Barbara Sweete) ****
FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS, THE (d. Lars von Trier, Jorgen Leth) Von Trier as tyrant making Leth redo his seminal short 5 times. Both boring & interesting.  ** 1/2
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (d. Clint Eastwood) Overly complex; but moving despite. Spectacular action direction.  *** 1/4
FLAME & CITRON (Flammen & Citronen) (d. Ole Christian Madsen) ***
FLAQUEZA DEL BOLCHEVIQUE, LA (d. Manuel Cuenca) Luis Tosar shines again as conflicted man who gets involved with teenage girl. ** 3/4
FLEUR DU MAL, LA (d. Claude Chabrol)V.+ Incestuous hijinx among the French bourgeoisie. Cool & intriguing. ***
FLICKERING LIGHTS (d. Anders T. Jensen) Clever Danish caper film about gang who can't shoot straight trying to go straight.  ***
FLIGHT TO FREEDOM (Fuga per la libertà) (d. Carlo Carlei) ** 1/2
FLIGHTPLAN (d. Robert Schwentke) ** 3/4
FLOOD (d. Tony Mitchell) V. Tacky, convincing British disaster drama about 1,000 year flood of London.  ** 1/4
FLOWER OF EVIL, THE  (d. Claude Chabrol) Skewering the haut bourgeoisie, a winner. Magimel is sexiest actor alive and Suzanne Flon magnificent! *** 1/4
FLYBOYS (d. Tony Bill) Astoundingly good aerial f/x. Utterly predictable, lame script. James Franco fine, as usual.  ** 1/2
FLYING SCOTSMAN, THE (d. Douglas Mackinnon) Jonny Lee Miller & Billy Boyd are good; but film predictable sports bio. ** 1/4
FOG OF WAR, THE (d. Errol Moris) More than a talking head doc, the film is a valuable primer on the responsibilities of leadership and frailty of human nature.  *** 1/2
FOOD INC (d. Robert Kenner) ** 1/2
FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO (d. Daniel Karslake) *** 3/4
FORASTERS (d. Ventura Pons) ** 3/4
FORBIDDEN KINGDOM, THE (d. Rob Minkoff) Angarino is good, action direction ok; but too predictible.  ** 1/2
FOREST (d. Benedek Fliegauf) Boring, pretentious ordeal of a film...7 droning vignettes vaguely connected by people's proximity in a shopping mall.  *
FOREVER ENTHRALLED (d. Chen Kaige) ** 1/2
FOREVER FLOWS (d. Abu Sayeed; Bangladesh) **
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL (d. Nicholas Stollar) Sweet & surprisingly smart comedy . *** 1/4
FORGIVEN (d. Paul Fitzgerald) ***
FORGOTTEN WOMAN, THE (d. Dilip Mehta) Docu based on plight of widows in India (non-fiction version of Water). Intrinsically horrifying; but film meanders. ***
FORGOTTEN, THE (d. Joseph Rubin) Eerie, scary psychological sci-fi melodrama about losing memories, very effectively filmmaking. Julianne Morre simply great.  *** 1/4
FORMULA 17 (d. D.J. & Yin-Jung Cheng) V. Silly gay Taiwanese comedy with lavish photography, but dreadful acting and line readings.  * 3/4
FORSYTE SAGA, THE: TO LET (d. Andy Wilson) V. Incredibly involving 5 hour followup to original. Glorious production, superb acting.  ****
FORTRESS (d.Shamil Nacafzada; Azerbaijan) * 1/2
FORTRESS, THE (d. Fernand Melgar) ** 1/2
FORTY SHADE OF BLUE (d. Ira Sachs)  ***
FOSTER CHILD (d. Brilliante Mendoza)  ** 3/4
FOUNTAIN, THE (d. Darren Aronofsky) Pretentious & arty. Jackman & Weisz and f/x are great, but script annoyingly obscure.  ** 1/4
FOUR BOXES (d. Wyatt McDill) ***
FOUR BROTHERS (d. John Singleton)  * 1/2
FOUR MINUTES (d. Chris Kraus) *** 1/4
FOUR STARS (d. Christian Vincent) ** 1/4
FRACTURE (d. Gregory Hoblit) Clever story, acting tour de force. Gosling is a star.  *** 1/4
FRAMED (d. Daniel Petrie, Jr.)  (V.) TNT tv movie about NYC cop (Rob Lowe) vs. classy mob squealer (Sam Neill).  Predictable.  * 1/2
FRANCE BOUTIQUE (d. Tonie Marshall) Fast paced but empty comedy about the people doing a French cable tv shopping channel.  **
FRANK MILLER'S SIN CITY (d. Robert Rodriguez) Super stylish pop-art graphic novel the way it should be filmed. But I was bored.  ** 1/2
FRANK THE RAT (d. Jim Cozza) *** 1/4
FREAKY FRIDAY (d. Mark Waters) Enjoyable, but empty change-of-identity comedy with some nice acting by Jamie Lee Curtis & Lindsay Lohan. ** 1/2
FREE RADICALS (d. Barbara Albert) Interconneced year-in-the-life story of capricious fate. Confusingly written and edited, but nicely directed.  ** 3/4
FREEDOM WRITERS (d. Richard LaGravenese)V. Surprisingly moving true story of teacher vs. gangs. *** 1/4
FRENCH FOR BEGINNERS (Französisch für Anfänger) (d. Christian Ditter) ***
FRENCH GIGOLO, A (Cliente) (d. Josiane Balasko) *** 1/4
FRESH AIR (Friss levegö) (d. Agnes Kocis and Andrea Roberti) ***
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (d. Peter Berg) One of the all-time great sports films, wonderfully directed and edited (great music, too). Thornton & Lucas Black shine.  *** 1/2
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (d. Peter Berg) V.+ Even more impressive on video, certainly the best sports film I've ever seen and the best edited film of the year.  *** 3/4
FRIEND OF MINE, A (d. Sebastian Schipper) *** 1/4
FRIEND, THE (Der Freund) (d. Micha Lewinsky, Switzerland) *** 1/4
FRIENDS WITH MONEY (d. Nicole Holofcener) Ensemble film, well observed, nicely acted...ending left me wanting more. ***
FROST/NIXON (d. Ron Howard) Surprisingly fascinating middlebrow film, with a career perf. by Longella.  *** 1/2
FROZEN CITY (d. Aku Louhimies) ** 1/4
FROZEN DAYS (Yamin Kfuim) (d. Danny Lerner) ** 3/4
FROZEN RIVER (d. Courtney Hunt) *** 1/2
FROZEN  (d. Juliet McKoen) Mysterious, sort of pointless English film with Shirley Henderson as a woman mourning her lost, presumed dead sister.  ** 1/2
FUGITIVE PIECES  (d. Jeremy Podeswa) ***
FUNNY PEOPLE (Judd Apatow) Well written & acted dramedy; could have benefited from tightening, but much genius is on display here.  *** 1/2
FUSE (d. Pjer Zalica) A confusing, but effective satire about post-war reconciliation in Bosnia.  ** 3/4
GABRIELLE (d. Patrice Chéreau) Edwardian film of manners; pretty, talky and boring with good perfs by Isabelle Huppert & Pascal Greggory. **
GAGARIN'S GRANDSON (d. Andrey Panin) ** 1/2
GAMBLER (d. Phie Ambo) ** 1/2
GAMES OF LOVE & CHANCE  (d. Abdellatalfi Kechiche) Teenagers in the projects in Paris, variation of Romeo & Juliet...talkiy but fun.  ** 3/4
GARAGE (d. Lenny Abrahamson) ***
GARAGE DAYS (d. Alex Proyas) Familiar rock film about a garage band trying to get established in Australia. Sometimes clever direction, clichéd. ** 1/4
GARBAGE DREAMS (d. Mai Iskander) ** 3/4
GARÇON STUPIDE (d. Lionel Baier) ** 1/2
GARDEN OF THE FINZI-CONTINIS, THE  (d. Vittorio De Sica) V. Gorgeous, subtle, inscrutable. Jews in facist Italy, more thwarted love than political.  ***
GARDEN PARTY (d. Jason Freeland) ***
GARDEN STATE (d. Zach Braff) Likable young man comes home to N.J. when his mother dies and finds himself. Inventive details, I just like this film.  ***
GARDEN, THE (d. Scott Hamilton Kennedy) Infuriating docu about a disputed S. Central L.A. parcel of land which is political dynamite. *** 1/2
GARPASTUM (d. Alexey Guerman) ***
GAY HOLLYWOOD  (d. Jeremy Simmons) V. Doc. notable since I'm acquainted with 2 of the subjects. Dustin Lance Black is a personal fave.  ** 3/4
GAY LIVES (short program, various directors) (average:  ** 1/2)
GAY SHORTS (d. various) 6 quite ordinary to poor gay short films.  Only "Postmortem" and "Just Pray" were worth watching.   **
GEBIRTIG (d. Lukas Stepanik, Robert Schindel) Austria AFF.  Drama about present day Holocaust participants.  ** 1/2
GEMINIS (d. Albertina Carri) ** 3/4
GENERAL, EL (d. Natalia Almada) * 3/4
GENOVA (d. Michael Winterbottom) ***
GEORGE MICHAEL - A DIFFERENT STORY (d. Southan Morris) *** 1/4
GERRY (d. Gus Van Sant) Boring existential drama about 2 dumb guys metaphysically lost in the desert.  Great steady-cam.  **
GETTING HOME (Luo ye gui gen) (d. Zhang Yang) *** 1/4
GHOSTS OF CITÉ SOLEIL (d. Leth & Loncarivic) V. Scattered docu; a Haitian City of God. Rappers in the slums get screwed. ***
GIE (d. Rira Riza) ** 3/4
GIFT TO STALIN, THE  (d. Rustem Abdrashev) *** 1/2
GIFT, THE  (US doc. d. Louise Hogarth)  Important documentary about some gays, especially the young, who purposely contract HIV.  *** 1/2
GIGLI  (d. Martin Brest) An embarrassing film for all, especially Affleck and Brest. Tacky, squicky, homophobic; but Justin Bartha a find.  1/2*
GIGOLOS, THE (d. Richard Bracewell) ** 1/2
GIRL BY THE LAKE, THE (La Ragazza del Lago) (d. Andrea Molaioli) ** 1/2
GIRL CUT IN TWO, A (La fille coupée en deux) (d. Claude Chabrol) ***
GIRL FROM MONACO, THE  (La fille de Monaco) (d. Anne Fontaine) ** 1/4
GIRL FROM PARIS, THE (France d. Christian Carion) +  Lovely movie about a woman who forsakes the city and buys and runs a mountain farm.  *** 1/2
GIRL IN THE CAFÉ, THE (d. David Yates)V. Bill Nighy is great as a financial dweeb. But simplistic politics sink this Richard Curtis written romance. ** 1/4
GIRL IN THE PARK, THE (d. David Auburn) *** 1/4
GIRL IS MINE, THE (d. Virginie Wagon) ***
GIRL NEXT DOOR, THE (d. Luke Greenfield) I expect to like it; but instead I was offended by the ridiculous plot, though Olyphant and Hirsch were good. * 3/4
GIRL ON THE TRAIN, THE (La fille du RER) (d. André Téchiné) *** 1/4
GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING (d. Peter Webber) Cinematography worthy of Vermeer; but the film's story was like watching paint dry. **
GITS, THE (d. Kerri O'Kane) Compelling counterpoint to Malfunkshun, a docu about a Seattle punker lead singer who was raped & murdered. ***
GIVE ME YOUR HAND (d. Pascal-Alex Vincent) ***
GIVING IT UP (d. Frank Ruy) ***
GLASS: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts (d. Scott Hicks) Inherently intersting if overlong docu about composer. ***
GLI INDESIDERABILI (d. Pasquale Scimeca) Confusing gangster film. Desires to be Once Upon a Time in America and fails utterly. Vincent Gallo OK * 1/4
GLORY ROAD (d. James Gartner) Solid, typical sport docudrama with great Josh Lucas perf, raised 1/4 star by the real-life end credit interviews.  *** 1/4
GLUE  (d. Alexis Dos Santos) ** 1/2
GO FURTHER (d. Ron Mann) Entertaining doc. about Woody Harrelson emulating Kesey's Prankster bus in a trip & bike ride for the environment.  ** 3/4
GO WEST (d. Ahmed Imamovic) ***
GOAL II:  LIVING THE DREAM (d. Jaume Collet-Serra) I'm not into soccer; but this is one sports film which satisfies. Kuno Becker!, Nivola, Hauer, Dillane, great f/x. ***
GOAL! THE DREAM BEGINS (d. Danny Cannon) Totally clichéd, predictable script; but damn, this film rocked my world. Kuno Becker!  ** 3/4
GODS AND GENERALS (d. Ronald Maxwell) Civil War epic, centered on Stonewall Jackson.  Well made; but not as good as Gettysburg..  ** 3/4
GODSEND (d. Nick Hamm) Almost a good film, sort of a secular Omen, effectively and darkly shot, directed & acted.  But can't surmount its ridiculous premise. **
GO-GETTER, THE (d. Martin Hynes) V.  Typical indie road flick, but a good vehicle for Lou Taylor Pucci.  ** 1/2
GOING THRU SPLAT: STEWART STERN (d. Jon Ward) Conventional docu about embittered ex-film screenwriter, only occasionally interesting.  ** 1/4
GOLDEN COMPASS, THE (d. Chris Weitz) Great f/x, muddled script.  **
GOLDEN DOOR, THE (d. Emanuele Crialese; Italy) ***
GOMORRA (d. Matteo Garrone; Italy) ** 3/4
GONE BABY GONE (d. Ben Affleck) Nicely directed.  Story too  far-fetched; but Casey Affleck especially fine. *** 1/4
GONE WITH THE WOMAN (d. Peter Naess) Norway Academy foreign film submission ***
GONZO:  THE LIFE AND WORK OF DR. HUNTER S. THOMPSON (d. Alex Gibney) *** 1/2
GOOD (d. Vicente Amorim) A misguided but fairly involving Holocaust film about a "good" German SS man & his Jewish buddy. ** 1/2
GOOD BOY! (d. John Robert Hoffman) A sweet and inoccuous kids film, with some tacky effects, but mostly successful on the level it was intended.  ***
GOOD BOYS (d. Yair Hochner)  * 3/4
GOOD BYE, LENIN! (d. Wolfgang Becker) A political satire about the Wall and German unification which is amusing and affecting. *** 1/4
GOOD FOOD (d. Melissa Young & Mark Dworkin) **
GOOD GERMAN, THE (d. Steven Soderbergh) Glorious B&W cinematography doesn't disguise ambiguous plot & lack of involvement. ** 1/2
GOOD LAWYER’S WIFE, A (Im Sang-soo) Very sexy drama about the corrosive effects of marital infidelity by a lawyer & his wife.  ***
GOOD MORNING, NIGHT (d. Marco Bellocchio) Impressionist docudrama of Aldo Moro kidnapping. Talky & political.  ** 3/4\
GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK (d. George Clooney)  *** 1/2
GOOD NIGHT TO DIE, A  (d. Craig Singer) Arty,  ironic thriller about 2 hit men and their destiny.  Good cast, but pretentious.  * 3/4
GOOD NIGHT, THE (d. Jake Paltrow) Totally forgettable story about a shlub who lives a vivid dream life.  **
GOOD SHEPHERD, THE (d. Robert De Niro) Absorbing, well achieved CIA story, but Matt Damon seems too young & callow for role.  ***
GOOD SON, THE (d. Joseph Rubin)V. Elija Wood, great kid actor...Culkin ok.  Convincing film, except for unlikely ending.  ** 3/4
GOOD THIEF, THE  (d. Neil Jordan) Based on Bob le flambeur which was infinitely better.  Atmospheric caper film with large holes.  * 3/4
GOOD YEAR, A (d. Ridley Scott) The French do this sort of romantic comedy of terroir much better (e.g. Rohmer's Autumn Tale).  ** 1/2
GOOD YEAR, A (d. Ridley Scott) V.+ Minor Scott film; but Provence and Russell Crowe are lovely.  ** 3/4
GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY (d. Sergio Leone) 195 min. extended version is *long*, but visual feast; Eli Wallach steals the film. *** 1/2
GOODBYE DRAGON INN (d. Tsai Ming-Liang) Weirdly paced allegory? ghost story? shaggy dog story? Tsai's most formal exercise in boredom as style.  ***
GOODBYE MOTHERS (d. Mohammed Ismail; Morocco) ** 3/4
GOOSE FEATHER (d. Ljubisa Samardzic; Serbia) Psychologically iffy, soapy melodrama about a peasant who loves one woman but marries another rich one. ** 1/4
GOTHIKA (d. Mathieu Kassovitz) Kassovitz stories tend towards supernatural claptrap. Excellent acting & direction overcome ridiculous plot.  ***
GOYA'S GHOST (d. Milos Forman) ***
GRACE IS GONE (d. James Strause) Subtle, well crafted & acted (especially the girls): mom killed in war.  *** 1/4
GRAFFITI ARTIST, THE (d. James Bolton)  Slow, hypnotic digital video about a young, gay graffiti artist who befriends another boy & tags the NW. ***
GRAN GATO, EL (d. Ventura Pons) Doc. about songwriter in vein of Shadow of Motown & Buena Vista Club.  Good music.  ***
GRAN TORINO (d. Clint Eastwood) The gran curmudgeon as sassy as ever.  Neatly plotted if a tad obvious.  ***
GRAND VOYAGE, LE (d. Ismael Ferroukhi) Involving, picturesque road pic of father & son driving Paris to Mecca. ***
GRANDE ÉCOLE (d. Robert Salis)V. Empassioned film about young people's sexual obsessions. Arty bi-sexual frontal nudity a plus. ** 3/4
GRAVE DECISIONS (d. Marcus H. Rosenmüller) ** 1/2
GRAVEHOPPING (d. Jan Cvitkovic) **
GRBAVICA (d. Jasmila Zbanic; Bosnia & Herzegovina) *** 1/4
GREAT BUCK HOWARD, THE (d. Sean McGinly) ** 3/4
GREAT DEBATERS, THE (d. Denzel Washington) Better than I expected. Predictable, but moving.  ***
GREAT NEW WONDERFUL, THE (d. Danny Leiner) 5 post-9/11 NY stories of ordinary people in search of meaning.  ** 1/2
GREAT RAID, THE (d. John Dahl) ***
GREAT WATER (d. Ivo Trajkov) Nicely directed and acted drama about a dying Macedonian politician recalling his youth. ***
GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED, THE (d. Bill Paxton)  ***
GREEN BUTCHERS, THE (d. Anders Jensen)  Dutch black comedy about a couple of losers who make a macabre go of a new butcher shop.  ** 3/4
GREEN HAT (d. Liu Fendou) Quirky dramedy about 3 inep bankrobbers & a cuckolded cop with marital impotence. Amusing, but confusing, script.  * 3/4
GRID, THE (d. Mikael Salomon)V. Mini-series about a multi-national war on terrorism involving the CIA, NSC, FBI, MI-5 & MI-6. Gripping, with some fine performances. ***
GRIFFIN AND PHOENIX  (d. Ed Stone) **
GRIMM LOVE (d. Martin Weisz) ** 1/2
GRIZZLY MAN (d. Warner Herzog) *** 1/2
GROCER'S SON, THE (Le Fils de l'épicier) (d. Eric Guirado) *** 1/4
GRÖNHOLM METHOD, THE (El Metodo Grönholm) (d. Marcelo Piñero) ***
GROOMSMAN, THE (d. Edward Burns) *** 1/4
GROUND TRUTH, THE (d. Patricia Foulkrod) V. Docu of plight of returning Iraq vets. More than I wanted to know, but vital.  *** 1/4
GROWN UPS (Les grandes personnes) (d. Anna Novion) ** 1/4
GUARDIAN, THE (d. Andrew Davis) Nicely scripted action flick; both Costner & Kutcher are fine. Storm f/x top of line. ***
GUARDIAN'S SON (d. Dimitis Koutsiabassakos) ** 3/4
GUESS WHO (d. Kevin Sullivan) Unfunny, borderline offensive...but Ashton Kucher actually desplays some talent for timing & star quality.  ** 1/2
GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS, A (d. Dito Monteil) V.+ Great cast, life as art.  *** 1/4
GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS, A (d. Dito Montiel) Truish life Mean Streets.  Great cast, indie at its best.  *** 1/2
GUILTY, THE (d. Anthony Waller)V. Totally contrived murder mystery thriller with a good cast, Bill Pullman and Devon Sawa especially.  ** 1/2
GUYS, THE (d. Jim Simpson) An emotional, talky film about FDNY coping with 9/11. Anthony LaPaglia great, Sigorney Weaver also pretty good.  ** 1/2
GYPSY CARAVAN (d. Jasmine Dellal) ***
H (S. Korea  d. Lee Jeong-hyuk) Serial killer melodrama with the creepiest villains since Hannibal Lector.  Very much in the same vein as Cure.  ***
HABITANTE INCIERTO, EL (The Uninvited Guest)  (d. Guillem Morales) V. ***
HACHIKO:  A DOG'S STORY (d. Lasse Hallstrom) ** 3/4
HAIRSPRAY (d. Adam Shankman) *** 1/2
HALF LIFE OF TIMOFEY BEREZIN, THE  (d. Scott Z. Burns) *** 1/4
HALF NELSON (d. Ron Fleck) *** 1/4
HALF-LIFE (d. Jennifer Phang) **
HANA & ALICE (d. Shunji Iwai) Intermittantly clever & interesting, quirky film about two teenage girls & their crush on a reserved boy.  ** 1/2
HANA (d. Hirokazu Kore-eda) ** 3/4
HANCOCK (d. Peter Berg) Ridiculous premise, reasonably good f/x. Superhero with a human face; but I strongly disliked script.  * 1/2
HANGING OFFENSE (d. Guillame Nicloux) Atmospheric, puzzling thriller about possible murders and the woman Colombo-like detective on the case. ***
HANGOVER, THE (d. Todd Phillips) One of those great bad comedies:  earned laughs, surprising plot development, fresh acting by 4 comic actors. *** 1/4
HANNIBAL RISING (d. Peter Webber) Now just an ordinary slasher/revenge genre pic, though Gaspard Ulliel is a very interesting actor.  **
HANSEL AND GRETEL (d. Yim Phil-sung) W/O
HAPPENING, THE (d. M. Night Shyamalan) Good acting (Betty Buckley's classic camp), ridiculous script (plot holes to spare).   **
HAPPILY EVER AFTER (d. Yvan Attal) Ironically titled, interesting enough film about 2 married guy & single friend and their failing relationships. ** 3/4
HAPPY AS ONE (d. Vanessa Jopp) ***
HAPPY ENDINGS (d. Don Roos) Somewhat sprawling, well observed black comedy of 21st century families with a brilliant perf by Maggie Gyllenhaal *** 1/2
HAPPY FEET (d. George Miller) Simply wonderful 3-D animation combined with a timeless, appealing story.  A triumph.  *** 3/4
HAPPY HOUR (d. Mike Bencivenga) Anthony LaPaglia doing a Leaving Las Vegas dramatic turn, well acted but ultimately derivative.  ** 1/2
HAPPY-GO-LUCKY (d. Mike Leigh) Formless, well acted character study centered around a happy-go-lucky young woman and her angst ridden driving teacher.  ** 3/4
HARD CANDY (d. David Slade) ***
HARD GOODBYES:  MY FATHER  (Greece/Germany   d. Penny Panayotopoulou) Slight story about young boy in denial about his father's death.  ** 1/4
HARD PILL (d. John Baumgartner) ***
HARD WORD, THE  (Australia/Great Britain  d. Scott Roberts)  Delightful caper film.  ***
HARI OM (d. Bharatbala Ganapathy) Another travelog, this one better, though also contrived:  French girl roving thru India with a rickshaw driver.  ** 1/2
HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE (d. Danny Leiner) Silly teen farce with too many stupid bathroom & fag bashing jokes...but fun anyway.  ** 1/4
HARRY AND MAX (d. Chris Munch) Brutally honest, well written story of 2 boy-band brothers with incest overtones. Bryce Johnson is a major find!  *** 1/4
HARRY AND MAX (d. Christopher Munch) + Still one of the most truthful & insightful films about boybands and gay life in general. Better the 2nd time. *** 1/2
HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN #3 (d. Alfonso Cuarón) Darker, better directed; but still relatively uninvolving. Maybe I should read the books.  ** 1/2
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX #5 (d. David Yates) *** 1/4
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE #4 (d. Mike Newell) ***
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE  #6 (d. David Yates) Series marking time; but excellent script and f/x make it worthwhile.  *** 1/4
HARSH TIMES (d. David Ayer) Tough action film with scintillating acting and superreal dialog. Bale is a phenom.  ***
HATE CRIME (d. Tommy Stovall) *
HAVEN (d. Frank E. Flowers) Good actors in a mess of a film about Cayman Island life and dire financial schemes. **
HAWAII, OSLO (d. Erik Poppe) Norway AFF: slick, complex multi-strand drama of a group of Oslo residents as they play out one character's portentious dream.  ***
HE KNEW HE WAS RIGHT (d. Tom Vaughan) Psychologically modern Trollope novel of 4 Victorian relationships given average Masterpiece Theater treatment. ** 1/2
HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT (d. Laetetia Columbani) Clever thriller about a woman literally crazy about a cardiologist.  ***
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS (d. John Duigan) Old fashioned big WWII romance, a tear jerker that didn't jerk but never bored. Theron fine; but Townsend too callow for role. ** 3/4
HEADLESS WOMAN, THE (d. Lucrecia Martel) ** 1/2
HEAD-ON (d. Fatih Akin) Off center love story about troubled German Turkish couple.  Good film, but not as good as rep.  *** 1/4
HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, THE (d. Asia Argento) Mind blowing adaptation from life of a young boy being raised by his disaster of a mother.  *** 1/2
HEART OF ME, THE  (Great Britain/Germany   d. Thaddeus O'Sullivan) Unabashed weepy romance about 2 sisters in love with the same man.  ***
HEARTBEAT DETECTOR  (d. Nicolas Klotz) ** 1/4
HEAVENS BLUE (Tengri) (d. Marie Jaoul de Poncheville; Kyrgyzstan) *** 1/4
HEAVEN'S BURNING (d. Craig Lahiff)V. Russell Crowe & Japanese chick in a corkingly over-the-top (a la Robert Rodriguez) violent road pic from Oz. ***
HEIGHTS (d. Chris Terrio) + Second time to watch this one. Superbly well done. Another great Glenn Close role.   My kinda film!  *** 1/2
HEIGHTS (d. Chris Terrio) Multi-character 24 hours in the lives of N.Y. arty types. Superbly well done.  My kinda film!  *** 1/2
HEIR TO AN EXECUTION  (d. Ivy Meeropol)V. Doc. Rosenberg's grandaughter searches for the truths of family's past. Moving, well made, informative. ***1/2
HELL (d. Danis Tanovic) *** 1/2
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (d. Guillermo del Toro) Bombastic fantasy with del Toro's nightmarish imagery, but a soporific, predictable plot. **
HELLO GOODBYE (d. Graham Guit) ** 1/2
HENRY POOLE IS HERE (d. Mark Pellington) Luke Wilson in a film totally without irony doesn't compute.  * 1/4
HENRY VIII (d. Pete Travis) V. Abridged PBS version of British series with an interesting Ray Winstone perf. Pop history, but too short to be meaningful.  ** 1/4
HER MINOR THING (d. Charles Matthau) Silly romantic comedy with a trite, predictable story but nice production values. * 1/2
HERO (d. Zhang Yimou) China AFF.  Huge marshall arts epic in Crouching Tiger vein.  Gorgeous & well made; but cold.  ***
HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU (d. Ken Kwapis) Attractive cast, but clichés abound in this all too clever rom-com about coupling. ** 1/2
HIDALGO (d. Joe Johnston) Entertaining western variant, true (if transparently enhanced) story of a mustang competing with thoroughbred Arabians. ** 3/4
HIDDEN (Caché)  (d. Michael Haneke) *** 1/2
HIDDEN BLADE, THE (d. Yoji Yamada) *** 1/2
HIDDEN FACE (d. Bernard Campan) * 1/4
HIDDEN LOVE (L'amour caché) (d. Alessandro Capone) * 3/4
HIDING AND SEEKING (d. Menachem Daum) V. Enormously moving docu about a family of Holocaust survivors and their reconciliation with the past.  *** 3/4
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL (d. Kenny Ortega) V. By far the best musical of the last year is a Disney TV film. Zac Ephron can move & even lip sync. ***
HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3 (d. Kenny Ortega) Surprisingly good, fun and frothy.  High energy, ok score, great choriography make for a diverting experience.  ***
HIGH TENSION  (d. Alexandre Aja) Vividly graphic and gory mass-murder horror thriller, well made, but based on a cheat which compromises it.  ***
HIGHER FORCE, THE (d. Olaf de Fleur Johannesson) * 3/4
HIGHER FORCE, THE (d. Olaf de Fleur Johannesson) Silly Iceland comedy which went nowhere for 45 minutes so I walked.  W/O
HIGHWAY (d. James Cox) V. Messy, faintly homoerotic '02 road movie with stoned out Jake Gyllenhaal & Jared Leto looking fine.  * 3/4
HINDENBERG, THE (d. Robert Wise) V. Fairly good old fashioned disaster flick. F/x sort of lame. ** 1/4
HISTORY BOYS, THE (d. Nicholas Hytner) Yorkshire Dead Poets Society with a fine, literate script. Totally absorbing.  *** 3/4
HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, A (d. David Cronenberg) *** 1/2
HIT. THE (d. Stephen Frears) V. 1984 noir with superb performances.  Wonderfully nihlistic & typical of later Frears. *** 1/4
HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY (d. Garth Jennings) Banal, arch as only the Brits can. I was incredibly bored, even with the great f/x. * 1/2
HOAX, THE (d. Lasse Hallstrom) Competent, but predictable and not involving.  ** 1/2
HOLD MY HEART (d. Trygve Allister Diesen) Norway AFF.  Drama about father who kidnaps estranged young daughter.  *** 1/4
HOLDING TREVOR (d. Rosser Goodman) *** 1/2
HOLES (d. Andrew Davis) It's sort of churlish to complain about a bad script with such a feel-good movie.  Shia LaBeouf is great.  ** 3/4
HOLIDAY, THE (d. Nancy Meyers)  I loved every minute of this chick flick despite its flaws. *** 1/4
HOLLYWOOD HOMICIDE (d. Ron Shelton) Cop flick where quirky cops are more interesting than the case. Shelton better director here than writer.  ** 1/2
HOLLYWOODLAND (d. Allen Coulter) TV director's style more suited to noir. Fine cast (esp. Brody & Affleck) good script!  ***
HOLY GIRL, THE (d. Lucrecia Martel) Turgid and pointless drama about the effect on a teen girl of an almost molestation by a married older man.  * 1/2
HOLY LOLA (d. Bertrand Tavernier) Just about the same movie as John Sayles' Casa de los babys except in Cambodia. Too protracted and long.  ** 1/2
HOME (d. Ursula Meier) ***
HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD, A (d. Michael Mayer) Extraordinarily well made, literate gay film which nails its '60s-'80s eras. Great acting.  *** 3/4
HOME OF DARK BUTTERFLYS, THE (d. Dome Karukoski;  Finland) ** 3/4
HOME OF THE BRAVE (d. Irwin Winkler) Powerful affects-of-war film about current Iraq soldiers.  Too on point, but well acted. ** 3/4
HOME OF THE BRAVE (d. Paola di Florio) V. Well made docu, informative & emotionally powerful about civil rights martyr Viola Liuzzo & her surviving family.  *** 1/2
HOME SONG STORIES, THE (d. Tony Ayres; Australia) *** 1/4
HOMEGROWN (d. Stephen Gyllenhaal) V. Authentic '98 pot growing paranoia movie thriller/comedy with good cast (Ryan Phillippe is fine).  ** 3/4
HOMELESS TO HARVARD (d. Peter Levin) (V) Lifetime tv movie (Thora Birch) about girl who surmounts incredible odds to get an education.  ** 3/4
HOMESICK (Koti-ikävä) (d. Petri Kotwica) Superb, raw Finnish film about a teenage boy committed to a mental institution, similar plot to Manic. *** 1/4
HOMME DE SA VIE, L'  (d. Zabou Breitman) *** 3/4
HONEY (d. Bille Woodruff) Is there a cookie-cutter factory for recycled plots like this? Ok music & dancing don't make up for terrible direction. * 1/4
HONEYDRIPPER (d. John Sayles) Good music, but very predictable.  ** 3/4
HOOKED (d. Adrian Sitaru) ** 1/2
HOOT (d. Wil Shriner) Ernest flick from teen book. Interesting young actors, but lacking directoral spark. * 3/4
HOPE ETERNAL (d. Karl Francis; United Kingdom) ** 1/2
HORAS DEL DIA, LAS (d. Jaime Rosales) Boring (cf. Bruno Dumont) film about the boring quotidien life of a boring shopowner with one little quirk.  **
HORIZON OF EVENTS, THE (d. Daniele Vicari) ** 3/4
HORNBLOWER: DUTY (d. Andrew Grieve)V. #8, not quite up to #7. Still, this series is best thing ever to happen on high seas, despite Russell Crowe.  ***
HORNBLOWER: LOYALTY (d. Andrew Grieve) V.  #7 in the series, and one of the best. Ioan Gruffudd was born to play this role.  *** 1/4
HOST AND GUEST (d. Shin Dong-il) ** 3/4
HOST, THE (Gue-Mool) (d. Bong Joon-ho) **
HOSTAGE (d. Constantine Giannaris) Gripping based on true story variation of Bus 174.  Stathis Papadopoulis wonderful as the bus hostage taker. *** 1/4
HOSTAGE (d. Florent Siri) Visually dazzling thriller with multiple layers of jeopardy. Plot has several holes; but effective filmmaking nevertheless.  ** 3/4\
HOTEL RWANDA (d. Terry George) Epic, shocking and sad.  Don Cheadle towers as a strong man in a crumbling society. Maybe too much on target.  *** 1/4
HOTTEST STATE, THE (d. Ethan Hawke) ** 3/4
HOUNDS (d. Ann-Kristin Reyels) *** 1/4
HOUSE OF ADAM, THE (d. Jorge Ameer) Gay ghost story.  A film of towering badness in every aspect: acting, direction, script, all the technicals, yet somehow watchable. *
HOUSE OF D (d. David Duchovny) Sappy but watchable period piece ('70s N.Y) coming of age story. Anton Yelchin is quite good; but script has holes.  * 3/4
HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS (d. Zhang Yimou) Visually stunning, emotionally resonant, remarkable f/x; but too much of a good thing is too much.  *** 1/4
HOUSE OF FOOLS (d. Andrei Konchalovsky) Russia AFF.  Off-center drama.  Chechan war comes to insane asylum.  ** 1/2
HOUSE OF SAND (d. Andrucha Waddington) *** 1/4
HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG (d. Vadim Perelman) Classic tragedy: good but flawed people who make fateful mistakes. Incredibly well acted & directed.  *** 1/2
HOUSE ON THE CLOUDS, THE (La casa sulle nuvole) (d. Claudio Giovannesi) ***
HOUSEBOY, THE (d. Spencer Schilly) Totally realistic & sexy portrayal of 20-ish gay boy's life & times. Watch for actor Nick May.  *** 1/4
HOUSEKEEPER, THE   (France d. Claude Berri)  Wry, romantic comedy about a May-November romance.  ***
HOUSEWARMING (Travaux, on sait quand ça commence...) (d. Brigitte Roüen) Silly Paris apt. money pit/illegal alien worker comedy.  ** 1/2
HOW IS YOUR FISH TODAY (Jin tian de yu zen me yang?)  (d. Xiaolu Guo) ** 3/4
HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE ME (Combien tu m'aimes?) (d. Bertrand Blier) Monica Bellucci as sexy prostitute; fun, not my cuppa.  ** 3/4
HOW THE WEST WAS WON (d. Henry Hathaway et al)+ Pristine print in 3-screen Cinerama of gorgeous overblown star-driven turkey. Great experience. ** 1/4
HOW TO COOK YOUR LIFE (d. Dorris Dörrie) *** 1/2
HOW TO DEAL (d. Clare Kilner) Rather innocuous teen romantic comedy. Mandy Moore is OK, Trent Ford one to watch; but Nina Foch steals the film.  ** 1/2
HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS (d. Donald Petrie) Fairly clever high concept romantic farce: 2 people trying not to fall in love.  Empty calories.  **
HOW TO ROB A BANK (d. Andrews Jenkins) Talky, pretentious caper thriller that doesn't work at all. Even Nick Stahl can't save. * 1/2
HOWARD ZINN:  YOU CAN'T BE NEUTRAL ON A MOVING TRAIN (d. Ellis & Mueller) V. Didactic docu about a lifetime activist against war & prejudice. ** 3/4
HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE (d. Hayao Miyazaki) Good story, well dubbed (especially Christian Bale as Howl), nice animation. I was surprised. *** 1/4
HUDDERSFIELD (Hadersfild) (d. Ivan Zivkovic) ** 1/2
HUDSON RIVER BLUES (d. Nell Cox)V. '95 film chick flick about a large family. Some good actors, and a script with possibilities; but mostly mediocre filmmaking.  **
HULA GIRLS (d. Lee Sang-il; Japan) **
HULK  (d. Ang Lee) Turgid, overlong King Kong vs. Crouching Tiger takeoff. Good effects, but constant barrage of novel transition device wearing. * 1/2
HUMAN STAIN. THE (d. Robert Benton) Surprisingly effective melodrama with a star-making debut by Wentworth Miller and another Kiddman triumph.  ***
HUMPDAY (d. Lynn Shelton) *** 1/4
HUNTED, THE (d. William Friedkin) Well made, exciting chase film: army trained killer on a rampage hunted by his teacher.  *** 1/4
HUNTER, THE (d. Serik Aprymov) A youthful juvenile deliquent in rural Khazagstan is tought by a lone wolf hunger. Fabu scenery, not much of a plot. ** 3/4
HUNTING AND GATHERING (Ensemble, c'est tout) (d. Claude Berri) *** 1/2
HUNTING OF THE PRESIDENT, THE (d. Perry & Thomason) V. Docu which nails slimy Ken Starr and his corrupt attack dogs as they tried to get Clinton.  *** 1/4
HUNTING PARTY, THE (d. Richard Shepard) ** 1/2
HURT LOCKER, THE (d. Kathryn Bigelow) ****
HUSTLE & FLOW (d. Craig Brewer) Effective filmmaking about Tenn. underclass dealer & pimp (amazing Terrence Howard) & his need to be a rap star. ** 3/4
I ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A SAINT (d. Geneviève Mersch) Luxembourg AFF (though Belgian), about disfunctional family from the pov of the daughter. ***
I AM (d. Dorota Kedzierzawska) *** 1/4
I AM DAVID (d. Paul Feig) V. Moving, if fairly pat, story of boy who escapes from Bulgarian camp in '52.  ***
I AM LEGEND (d. Francis Lawrence) Too similar to 28 Days Later; but effective filmmaking, fine f/x.  ***
I CAPTURE THE CASTLE  (United Kingdom  d. Tim Fywell) Three hankey weeper, British upper class period romance better than most.  *** 1/4
I DON'T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE (d. Tsai Ming-liang) ** 1/2
I IMAGINE A DREAM LIKE THAT (Pense che un sogno cosi) (d. Marco De Luca) ** 1/2
I JUST DIDN'T DO IT (d. Masayuki Suo) Japan Academy foreign film submission *** 1/2
I KNOW YOU KNOW (d. Justin Kerrigan) ***
I LOVE CINEMA (d. Osamma Fawzy) Egypt AFF. Annoying comedy about a kid raised in a raucus Coptic Christian family in 1966.  * 3/4
I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER (d. Chris Columbus) Horrible teen nerd+cheerleader comedy. Jack Carpenter as gay best friend can't redeem it. *
I LOVE YOU, MAN (d. John Hamburg) Great to see an endearing, straight male bonding flick not based on homo panic!  Rudd & Segal are wonderful.  *** 1/4
I MURDER SERIOUSLY  (Mex.  d. Antonio Urrutia)  Off kilter serial killer film, midnight movie fare.  W/O
I NOT STUPID  (Singapore d. Jack Neo) Raucus, amusing comedy about 3 educationally challenged kids in a Singapore school & their zany parents.  ** 1/2
I REALLY HATE MY JOB (d. Oliver Parker) * 3/4
I REMEMBER (d. Edgard Nevarro) **
I SERVED THE KING OF ENGLAND (d. Jiri Menzel; Czech Republic) *** 1/4
I WAS HERE (d. René Vilbre; Estonia) ***
I  ♥  HUCKABEES (d. David O. Russell) Who green lighted this script? Russell's style and his fine cast can't overcome the silly, pseudo profound script.  **
I, ROBOT (d. Alex Proyas) Surprisingly good adaptation of Asimov, though also filled with cheesy movie clichés and some ragged CGI f/x.  ** 1/2
I.O.U.S.A. (d. Patrick Creadon) Very well made pov docu about the crushing future economic deficits facing the U.S.  Nobody wants to hear this, but everybody should.  *** 1/2
ICE AGE THE MELTDOWN (d. Carlos Saldanha) Funny, silly, watchable 3-D animated Road-Runnerish film. ** 3/4
ICE AGE  (d. Chris Wedge)  DVD. Animated film, road trip with Mammoth, Sabre Tooth, Sloth & Neanderthal baby  ** 1/2
ICE AGE: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS (d. Carlos Saldanha) Nice 3-D animation...but boring, clichéd and not up to previous.  * 3/4
ICE CREAM, I SCREAM (d. Yüksel Aksu; Turkey)  * 1/4
ICE HARVEST, THE (d. Harold Ramis)  * 3/4
ICE PRINCESS (d. Tim Fywell) Another tired teen flick about a girl's struggle against her good mother & bad mother. Nice skating.  **
ICEBERG (d. Abel, Gordon & Romy) ** 1/2
IDENTITY (d. James Mangold) Stifling psycho thriller which holds together pretty well, considering it's pure claptrap. Figured it out too early. ** 1/2
IDIOCRACY (d. Mike Judge) Intriguing, clever set-up, well written; ok f/x; just sort of boring and disappointing.  ** 1/4
IDIOT LOVE (Amor Idiota) (d. Ventura Pons) *** 1/4
IDLEWILD (d. Bryan Barber) Annoying, overly stylish film with lousy songs by Outkast...but Big Boi can act.  **
IF I HAD YOU (d. John Deery) V.  Underplayed English murder mystery with triple whammy.  Nice script.  ***
IL DIVO  (d. Paolo Sorrentino) ** 3/4
I'LL SLEEP WHEN I'M DEAD (d. Mike Hodges) Atmospheric Brit revenge thriller. Works despite disappointingly abrupt ending.  ***
ILLUSION OF FEAR, THE (d. Aleksandr Kirienko; Ukraine) * 3/4
ILLUSIONIST, THE (d. Neil Burger) ***
I'M FROM TITOV VELES (d. Teona Mitevska; Macedonia) **
I'M NOT SCARED (d. Gabriele Salvatores) 10 year Sicilian boy makes friends with victim of his village's kidnapping plot. Beautiful & well acted.  ***
I'M NOT THERE (d. Todd Haynes) Fascinating, but completely inscrutable, just like most of Dylan's songs for me. ***
I'M TARANEH, 15 (d. Rassul Sadr-Ameli) Iran AFF.  "Good" young girl gets in  trouble in modern Iran.  ***
I'M THE FATHER  (Germany  d. Dani Levi)  A German Kramer vs. Kramer, which ultimately worked for me, though it sometimes flagged.  ***
I'M THE KING OF THE CASTLE (d. Régis Wargnier) Gothic thriller cum Lord of the Flies with some remarkably naturalistic acting by 2 French kids. *** 1/2
IMAGINARY HEROES (d. Dan Harris) Fabulous script, an enthralling & moving disfunctional family black comedy with an awesome ensemble cast.   *** 3/4
IMAGINARY HEROES (d. Dan Harris) V.+ 2nd time around some of the acting & direction came off stilted. Still, great script and a moving very realistic drama. *** 1/2
IMPULSOS (d. Miguel Alcantud) Thriller about a Ted Bundy type of serial killer who meet his match with a suicidal woman.  ** 3/4
IN A DREAM (d. Jeremiah Zagar) Raw nerve of a docu about Phila mosaic artist Isiah Zagar & his wife by the 2nd son. Fascinating but difficult. ***
IN AMERICA (d. Jim Sheridan) Tender weeper which earns tears honestly with flawless performances & heartfelt script. A near perfect little gem. *** 1/2
IN BRUGES (d. Martin Mcdonagh) Witty, terrific black comedy thriller with Colin Farrell's best perf.  *** 1/2
IN GOOD COMPANY (d. Paul Weitz) Clever office comedy with Dennis Quaid's best performance in years & a charming Topher Grace.  It really worked for me.  *** 1/4
IN GOOD COMPANY (d. Paul Weitz) V.+ Watched this well written & acted comedy again, and appreciated Scarlett Johanson more this time. Good ensemble. *** 1/4
IN HER SHOES (d. Curtis Hanson) ** 3/4
IN HIS HANDS(d. Anne Fontaine) ** 1/2                                         
IN JULY  (Germany  d.  Fairth Akin)  Delightful road film.  ***
IN MEMORY OF MYSELF (d. Saverio Costanzo) ** 3/4
IN MY COUNTRY (d. John Boorman) Earnest, but sporadically affecting film about reporting on the S. African reconciliation trials.  ** 1/2
IN MY FATHER'S DEN (d. Brad McGann) Involving, complex New Zealand drama with a superb Matthew MacFadyen performance.  *** 1/4
IN SEACH OF KENNEDY (d. Chuck Workman) * 1/2
IN THE ARMS OF MY ENEMY (d. Micha Wald) ***
IN THE CITY (d. Cesc Gay) 3 couples explore variations of marital infidelity in modern Barcelona. Mostly boring, til it clicked after an hour. ** 3/4
IN THE CUT (d. Jane Campion) Stylish, creepy, sexy, edge of seat thriller.  Meg Ryan is Oscar-worthy, Ruffalo miscast, but fine.  *** 1/4
IN THE HELIOPOLIS FLAT (d. Mohamed Khan; Egypt) ** 1/4
IN THE LAND OF WOMEN (d. Jon Kasdan) Brody is legitimate leading man. Ryan impressive. Fine debut by young Kasdan. *** 1/4
IN THE LOOP (d. Armando Iannucci) ***
IN THE REALM OF THE UNREAL (d. Jessica Yu) Docu with weird, unsavory subject matter but interesting art and fine animation. I just didn't enjoy the experience.  **
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON (d. David Sington) ***1/4
IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH (d. Paul Haggis) Strong perfs, especially Tommy Lee Jones. Resonant script. *** 1/4
IN THIS WORLD  (d. Michael Winterbottom) Quasi-documentary style film about 2 refugees trip from Pakistan to England. I wasn't engaged enough.  ** 3/4
IN YOUR ABSENCE  (d. Iván Noel) ***
INCIDENT AT LOCH NESS (d. Zak Penn) Amusing, slick mockumentary in the Charlie Kaufmanesque mode. ***
INCONVENIENT TRUTH, AN (d. Davis Guggenheim) V. More than a slide show, America's fall happened in Nov. 2000.  *** 3/4
INCREDIBLE HULK, THE (d. Louis Leterrier) King Kong meets Godzilla except they're people.  Good f/x, Norton fine, film flawed.  ** 1/4
INCREDIBLES, THE (d. Brad Bird) V. I guess I'm just not into Bird's genre of animated film. Well made, but overly obvious.  ** 1/2
INDIANA JONES & THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (d. Steven Spielberg) Great f/x can't mask stupid escapist fantasy story. ** 1/4
INFAMOUS (d. Douglas McGrath) V. Better in every particular than Capote. Stunning acting by Jones & Craig. *** 1/2
INFERNAL AFFAIRS #1  (d. Andrew Lau) + Thriller that is only slightly clearer watching it a 2nd time.  Still rivitingly fascinating. *** 1/4
INFERNAL AFFAIRS #2  (d. Andrew Lau) A prequel to the initial film which does explain some of the backstory.  Still confusing, but entertaining. ** 3/4
INFERNAL AFFAIRS #3  (d. Andrew Lau) An expansion of the first film, fleshing out some of the events and going a little haywire psychologically.  ** 1/2
INFERNAL AFFAIRS  (Hong Kong  d. Andrew Lau, Alan Mak) High production value policier about long-term moles infiltrating an evil gang.  *** 1/4
INFORMERS, THE (d. Gregor Jordan) Glossy, trashy film based on Bret Easton Ellis depraved L.A. novel. More meandering than Crash. Nobody wins.  * 1/2
INHERITANCE  (d. Per Fly) Heavy, well made drama about scion of a steel factory owning family and his choice between business and happiness.  *** 1/4
INHERITANCE: A FISHERMAN'S STORY (d. Peter Hegedus) V. Australian doc about an ecologic disaster in Hungary. Well put together, somewhat slight. ** 3/4
INJU, LA BÊTE DANS L'OMBRES (Inju, the Beast in the Shadow) (d. Barbet Schroeder) ** 3/4
INNOCENT VOICES (d. Luis Mandoki) El Salvador guerilla war from pov of 11 year old boy in a small village. Shattering, powerful, excellent film.  *** 1/2
INSIDE MAN (d. Spike Lee) Close to perfect bank heist film: original, unpredictable, involving. Clive Owens...wow!  *** 1/2
INTERMISSION (d. John Crowley) Unsparing Irish film which might be called Hate Actually. Good acting, inventive script.  ***
INTERNATIONAL, THE (d. Tom Tykwer) Competent,  disappointingly concluded thriller with 1 great shoot-out at the Guggenheim Museum, NY. ** 3/4
INTERPRETER, THE (d. Sidney Pollack) Disappointing thriller pastiche (Man Who Knew Too Much + 3 Days of Condor). Star power aint enough. **
INTERVIEW (d. Steve Buscemi) ***
INTIMATE ENEMIES (L'ennemi intime) (d. Florent-Emilio Siri) *** 1/4
INTIMATE STRANGERS (d. Patrice Leconte) Talky, if nicely written 2-character unconventional love story. Too one-note and buttoned-up for my taste. ** 3.4
INTO THE WILD (d. Sean Penn) I've been haunted by this story of a young man's spiritual journey. *** 1/2
INTOLERABLE CRUELTY (d. Joel Coen)  The usual Coen Bros. hipster triumph of style over substance, only much too cynical for my tastes.  ** 1/2
INTOUCHABLE, L'  (d. Benôit Jacquot) ***
INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS (Cherie Nowlan) ***
INVESTIGATION (d. Iglika Trifonova) ***
INVINCIBLE (d. Ericson Core) Fun football true story.  Mark Wahlberg is fine as Vince Papale. Well made, moving.  *** 1/4
INVISIBLE CHILDREN, THE (d. Lisandro Duque Naranjo) Columbia AFF.  Nostalgic comedy about boys & black magic.  ** 1/2
INVISIBLE WAVES (d. Pen-ek Ratanaruang) ** 1/2
INVISIBLE, THE (d. David Goyer) Ridiculous plot, guilty pleasure...I like Justin Chatwin, so sue me.  ** 1/4
INVOLUNTARY (d. Ruben östlund) ***
IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS (d. James Langley) V. 3 part docu about today's Iraq. Beautifully shot, difficult to follow.  ** 1/2
IRINA PALM (d. Sam Garbarski) ***
IRISH EYES (d. Daniel McCarthy) Daniel Baldwin vehicle...he's a Boston Irish gangster. But it wasn't holding my interest, though it wasn't all that bad.  W/O
IRON JAWED ANGELS (d. Katja von Garnier) V. Sufferagette biopic about fight for 19th Amendment. Good cast, clichéd filmmaking.  ** 1/4
IRON MAN (d. Jon Favreau) Smart, with good script & a great perf by Downey's mature & sarcastic superhero. *** 1/4
IRREVERSIBLE (d. Gaspar Noe)  Assault by celluloid?  Or masterpiece of modern cinema.  I'm firmly in the latter camp.  ****
IS THERE ANYBODY THERE? (d. John Crowley)  *** 1/4
ISKA'S JOURNEY (Iszka Utazása) (d. Csaba Bollók) ** 1/2
ISLAND ETUDE (d. Huai-en Chen; Taiwan) W/O
ISLAND OF LOST SOULS, THE (De Fortabte Sjaeles O) (d. Nikolaj Arcel) ** 3/4
ISLAND, THE (d. Michael Bay) More plot holes than swiss cheese, shameful stealing from past films; but still a diverting mishmosh.  **
ISLAND, THE (d. Pavil Lounguine) ***
ISLAND, THE  (d. Sherif Arafa; Egypt) ** 3/4
IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY (d. Robert Hamer, 1947) ** 1/2
IT DOESN'T HURT (Mne ne bolno) (d. Alexey Balabanov) **
IT RUNS IN THE FAMILY (d. Fred Schepisi) Unaccountably entertained by this schlocky piece of emotionally manipulative crap. Family star power.  **
ITALIAN JOB, THE  (d. F. Gary Gray) Caper thriller which works like gangbusters until it runs out of steam at the end.  ***
ITALIAN, THE (d. Andrey Kravchuk; Russia) *** 1/2
ITINÉRARIES (d. Christophe Otzenberger) *** 1/4
IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE (d. Thomas Vinterberg) Pretentious, opaque melodrama about a near future world catastrophy. Nobody comes out a winner here.  *
IT'S ALL GONE PETE TONG (d. Michael Dowse) Funny satirical mocumentary about a deaf disco DJ with a splendid central performance (Paul Kaye) ***
IT'S HARD TO BE NICE (d. Srdan Vuletic; Bosnia/Herzogovina) ***
IT'S NOT ME, I SWEAR! (d. Philippe Falardeau) ** 3/4
IT'S WINTER (d. Rafi Pitts (86 min.) **
I'VE LOVED YOU SO LONG (d. Philippe Claudel) Superb, original & unpredictable family drama with towering perfs from Kristin Thomas & Elsa Zylberstein. *** 1/2
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 PRÉFÈRE 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
KABEI (d. Yôji Yamada) *** 3/4
KABLUEY (d. Scott Prendergast)  Amusing Woody Allenish comedy. Prendergast is an actor/writer/filmmaker to watch. ***
KAIFECK MURDER (d. Esther Gronenborn) ** 1/2
KAMATAKI (d. Claude Gagnon, Takako Miyahira) *** 1/4
KAMCHATKA (d. Marcelo Piñeyro) Argentina AFF.  Superb family drama about "The Disappeared" from the pov of a 10 year old. *** 3/4
KANCHIVARAM (d. Priyadarshan) ** 3/4
KARAMAZOVS, THE (d. Petr Zelenka; Czech Republic) ** 1/2
KARL ROVE I LOVE YOU (d. Butler & Leirness) Trenchant mocumentary, fun and just real enough to fool me for a while. ***
KATYN (d. Andrzej Wajda;  Poland) *** 1/2
KEKEXILI: MOUNTAIN PATROL (d. Lu Chuan) Vigilante group patrols Tibetian plains to catch antelope pelt poachers. Disturbing, gorgeous.  ***
KEN PARK (d. Larry Clark)V. The king of transgressive pedo-cinema is in fine form in this pornographic film of skater youths in extremis.  *** 1/4
KEPT AND DREAMLESS (d. Fogwill & Desalvo) 9 yr. old girl comes of age among poor Argentine extended family. Good characters but uninspired.  **
KEYS TO THE HOUSE, THE (d. Gianni Amelio) Quietly moving, beautifully made film of a father getting to know his 15 yr. old disabled son for the first time.  *** 1/2
KHAMSA (d. Karim Dridi) ** 3/4
KICKING IT (d. Susan Koch) Uplifting, if predictable docu about contestants at the 2006 Homeless World Cup soccer tournament in Capetown. ***
KID & I, THE  (d. Penelope Spheeris)  ** 3/4
KIKI & TIGER (d. Alan Gsponer) Boring, ugly DV about a straight Albanian illegally in Germany and the Serb closet case who loves him. * 1/2
KILL BILL - VOL. 2 (d. Quentin Tarantino) Unlike Vol. 1, this one has a real story to go with Terantino's obvious filmmaking genius.  ***
KILL BILL VOL. 1 (d. Quentin Tarantino) Stylized violence to no purpose. Looks great, but empty and boring...but then I'm no fan of the genre.  **
KILL ME TENDER  (d. Ramon de España) Another Spanish winner, a sexy, romantic black comedy, a gentle farce, well acted with a good script.  ***
KILL THEM ALL (d. Esteban Schroeder; Uruguay) ***
KILLER, THE (Le Tueur) (d. Cédric Anger) ** 3/4
KING AND CLOWN (d. Lee Jun-ik) *** 1/4
KING ARTHUR (d. Antoine Fuqua) Stirring mideval action film which takes the legend and gives reality to it. Great sequence on ice; but the rest is ordinary.  ** 3/4
KING KONG (d. Peter Jackson) ****
KING OF ANTS  (U.S.  d. Stuart Gordon)  Weird midnight movie type noir about young guy turned hired killer who wrecks revenge. Gruesome fun.  ***
KING OF FIRE (d. Chatrichalerm Yukol; Thailand) ***
KING OF KONG (d. Seth Gordon) ***
KING OF PING PONG (Ping Pong Kingen) (d. Jens Jonsson) ** 1/2
KING OF THE HILL (El Rey de la Montaña) (d. Gonzalo López-Gallego) *** 1/4
KING OF THIEVES (d. Ivan Fila) Energetic, splendid drama-2 Ukranian kids sold by father to Berlin circus & into life of thievery & prostitution. ***1/4
KING, THE (d. James Marsh) *** 1/4
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (d. Ridley Scott) Bloom is charismatic, if a trifle lightweight in this spectacular period epic which transports.  ***
KINGDOM, THE (d. Peter Berg) Berg's docudrama style works; but the film's script is problematical.  ** 3/4
KINGS & QUEEN (d. Arnaud Desplechin) Well acted drama with farcial overtones & plot holes: an extended family facing death, taxes & insanity.  *** 1/4
KINGS (d. Tom Collins) Ireland Academy foreign film submission ** 3/4
KING'S GAME (d. Nicolai Arcel) Beautifully constructed political thriller about high level Danish politics and a reporter caught in the middle.  *** 1/4
KINKY BOOTS (d. Julian Jerrold) Predictable, Full Montyish film about making boots for drag queens. Chiwetel Ejiofor fabu! ** 3/4
KINSEY (d. Bill Condon) Another groundbreaking biopic, this time about the polarizing sex researcher. Fine script, acting & direction (I love Peter Sarsgaard here).  *** 1/4
KISS KISS BANG BANG (d. Shane Black) **
KISS THE BRIDE (d. C. Jay Cox) **
KISSED BY WINTER (Vinterkyss)  (d. Sara Johnsen; Norway)  ***
KISSES (d. Lance Daly) *** 1/2
KIT KITTREDGE: AN AMERICAN GIRL (d. Patricia Rozema) Fine depiction of '30s Depression, kid's film with adult resonance.  ** 3/4
KITCHEN STORIES  (d. Bent Hamer) Minimalist, wry comedy about a '70s Swedish "scientific" study of single men's activities in the kitchen.  ** 3/4
KITE RUNNER, THE (d. Marc Forster) No big name stars; but boy what an emotional wallop.   *** 1/2
KITE, THE (d. Randa Chahal Sabbag) Lebanese AFF, bettersweet comedy about girl coming of age on Israel-Lebanon border.  ** 3/4
KNOCKED UP (d. Judd Apatow) *** 1/4
KNOT, THE (d. Li Yin) China Academy foreign film submission ***
KNOWING (d. Alex Proyas) Good f/x, great sound; but Proyas is no Spielberg.  Distubing plot which only fitfully holds water.  ** 1/2
KONTAKT (d. Sergej Stanojkovski; Macedonia) ** 3/4
KONTROLL (d. Nimród Antal) Hungarian AFF. Well shot but overly bleak and obscure allegory of hell in the Budapest subway. ** 1/2
KOPS (d. Josef Fares) Genuinely funny farce about a small town police force trying to avoid getting shut down for lack of crime. A big step up from Jalla Jalla.  ***
KRABAT (d. Marco Kreuzpaintner) *** 1/2
KRABAT (d. Marco Kreuzpaintner) + *** 1/2
KREUTZER SONATA, THE - WHAT IS LOVE? (Quale amore) (d. Maurizio Sciarra) *** 1/2
KUNG FU HUSTLE (d. Stephen Chow) People enjoy this?  Not me.  Of course I rooted for Willie Coyote against Roadrunner.  **
KUNG FU PANDA (d. Osborne & Stevenson) Fine opening dream animation; but rest of film is quite ordinary 3-D with silly story.  ** 1/2
KYLE (d. John Bradburn) 1/2*
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
LA ARDILLA ROJA (d. Julio Medem 1993)  Romantic thriller about a man's fascination with an amnesiac woman.  ***
LA CAJA 507 (d. Enrique Urbizu)  Thriller about a meek bank director who gets involved in a huge Mafia inspired international conspiracy.  ** 3/4
LA FRANCE (d. Serge Bozon) ** 1/2
LA LEÓN (d. Santiago Otheguy) * 1/2
LA NOVIA DE LAZARO (d. Fernando Merinero)  Life and loves among the Cuban immegrants in Madrid.  ** 3/4
LA VIRGEN DE LA LUJURIA (d. Arturo Ripstein) Arty snoozefest centered about a waiter in a '30s Mexican cafe and his sexual obsessions.  *
LABYRINTH  (d. Miroslav Lekic)  Yugoslavia AFF.  Enigmatic political allegory mystery.  ** 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
M FOR MOTHER (d. Rasool Mollagholi Poor; Iran) * 3/4
MA VRAIE VIE À ROUEN (d. Ducastel and Martineau) Coming of age video diary by a proto-gay ice skater, wonderfully observent, my cuppa!  *** 1/2
MACHINIST, THE (d. Brad Anderson) This director makes creepy films, and this is one of the most. Christian Bale is phenomenal, but viscerally hard to watch.  ***
MACHUCA (d. Andrés Wood) Chilean AFF:  an 11 year old privileged boy's pov of society at the end of Allende's regime. Politically slanted left, but powerful stuff.  ***
MAD DETECTIVE (Shentan) (d. Johnnie To & Wai Ka-Fai) ***
MAD HOT BALLROOM (d. Marilyn Agrelo) The kids and their dreams raise this docu out of the ordinary. Wilson is a star.  *** 1/2
MADAME SATA  (Brazil/France  d. Karim Ainouz) Period biopic of famous drag queen in Rio in the '30s.  Steamy sex, well made film.  *** 1/4
MADE IN AMERICA (d. Stacy Peralta) Flashy docu of history of gangs in L.A., affecting, frightening & ultimately uplifting.  *** 1/4
MADE OF HONOR (d. Paul Weiland) V. Horribly clichéed and predictable if slick romantic comedy. Even McDreamy couldn't save this one. * 3/4
MADE OF HONOR (d. Paul Weiland) V. Horribly clichéed and predictable if slick romantic comedy. Even McDreamy couldn't save this one. * 3/4
MADE UP (d.Tony Shalhoub) Clever, well made mockumentary about making a documentary about women aging.  *** 1/4
MADEINUSA (d. Claudia Llosa) ** 3/4
MADELEINE (d. Park Kwang-Chung) Korean story of kooky, modern young romance.  Simple story, fun and touching.  ***
MADISON (d. William Bindley) Slick, banal, feel-good period (early 70s) film about speed boats in Madison, IN. Nothing original. * 3/4
MAGDALENE SISTERS  (UK  d. Peter Mullan) Disturbing drama about the abuses of the Catholic "fallen women" nunneries in Ireland.  Fine acting.  *** 1/4
MAGIC BOX, THE  (d. Ridha Behi) Tunisia AFF.  Drama about film director writing a script about his childhood.  *** 1/4
MAGIC FLUTE, THE  (d. Kenneth Branagh) ** 3/4
MAGIC OF ORDINARY DAYS, THE (d. Brent Shields) V. Hallmark romantic feel-good tv pic with an excellent Skeet Ulrich & Keri Russell looking '40's pretty.  ** 1/2
MAGNUS (d. Kadri Köusaar) ** 3/4
MAID, THE (d. Sebastian Silva) ***
MAISON DE NIÑA, LA (d. Richard Dembo) *** 1/2
MALAS TEMPORADAS (Hard Times) (d. Manuel Martín Cuenca) ** 3/4
MALFUNKSHUN:  THE ANDREW WOOD STORY (d. Scot Barbour) Interesting docu about Seattle grunge rocker Wood, who died at 24.  ** 3/4
MAMAY (d. Oles Sanin) Gorgeous to look at; but fatally pretentious and opaque Cossack legend, or something like that.  * 1/4
MAMBO ITALIANO (d. Émile Gaudreault) Gay family comedy, nice performance by Luke Kerby which almost makes up for clichéd ethnic coming out plot. ** 1/2
MAMBO ITALIANO (d. Émile Gaudreault) V.+ Enjoyable gay family dramedy with a nice, sympathetic perf by Luke Kerby. ** 3/4
MAMMA MIA! (d. Phyllida Lloyd) Silly plot, ABBA music which doesn't add to story...the cast gives all; but the direction is so lame.  **
MAN ABOUT DOG (d. Paddy Breathnach) Irish film greatly in need of subtitles. An occasionally funny comedy about dog racing betters.  **
MAN EXPOSED, THE (d. Aku Louhimies) ** 3/4
MAN FROM LONDON, THE (d. Bela Tarr) ***
MAN IN THE CHAIR (d. Michael Schroeder) ***
MAN OF MY LIFE, THE (d. Zabou Breitman)+  *** 3/4
MAN OF THE HOUSE (d. Stephen Kerek) Utterly stupid and exploitive film about a cop tending cheerleader witnesses.  1/2*
MAN OF THE YEAR (d. José Henrique Fonseca) Fine Brazilian film about a guy who bleaches his hair and turns into a cold killer anti-hero. *** 1/4
MAN ON FIRE (d. Tony Scott) Another rage/revenge story, stylishly made with another great Denzel performance, though ending a cop out.  ** 3/4
MAN ON WIRE (d. James Marsh) *** 3/4
MAN WHO LOVED YNGVE, THE (d. Stian Kristiansen; Norway) Confused punk rocker straight boy falls for new boy in class. Beautiful & involving despite.  ***
MAN WHO LOVES, THE (L'uomo che ama) (d. Marie Sole Tognazzi) ***
MAN WITHOUT A FACE, THE (d. Mel Gibson) V. Well intended film about a troubled boy & the troubled tutor who helps him. Nick Stahl was wonderful at 13.  ***
MAN WITHOUT A PAST, THE  (d. Aki Kaurismäki)  Finland AFF.  Amnesiac man builds a new life.  ** 3/4
MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, THE (d. Jonathan Demme) OK thriller, except for the incoherent narrative lapses and utter inferiority to the original.   **
MANCORA (d. Recardo de Montreuil) ** 3/4
MANDERLAY (d. Lars Von Trier) ***
MANOS VACIAS, LAS (d. Marc Recha) Silly "lost dead body" farce (in French) with a plot I found impossible to follow. * 1/4
MAN'S BEST FRIEND (d. Rob Lundsgaard) Fun, screwball romantic comedy about straight guy who is supposedly gay. .  ***
MAN'S JOB, A (d. Aleksi Salmenperä) Finland's foreign film submission ***
MANSFIELD PARK (d. Iain MacDonald) V. Short & sweet. But Blake Ritson made a remarkably good Edmond. ***
MANSFIELD PARK (d. Patricia Rozema)V.  Not Austen's best story; but a fine "film of quality".  Jonny Lee Miller especially noteworth. *** 1/4
MANSION BY THE SEA (d. Lester James Peries) Sloooooow, well shot but overdrawn Sri Lankan AFF about the economic upheavals in that country.  * 1/2
MANSLAUGHTER (Drabet) (d. Per Fly) Another Danish mid-life crisis film...teacher falls for eco-terrorist former student. Stark, fine drama.  *** 1/4
MANUELA AND MANUEL (d. Paul Marchand Sanchez) ***
MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES (d. Jennifer Baichwal) ***
MARCELLO MARCELLO (d. Denis Rabaglia) ***  3/4
MARCELLO MARCELLO + *** 1/2
MARCH OF THE PENGUINS (d. Luc Jacquet) Involving nature docu done beautifully in extraordinarily difficult shooting conditions.  *** 1/4
MARGOT AT THE WEDDING (d. Noah Baumbach) Dysfunctional sisters squared. Fabu acting, ugly story.  ***
MARIA FULL OF GRACE (d. Joshua Marston) Straightforward audience pleaser about a Columbian girl who becoms a drug mule. ***
MARIE ANTOINETTE (d. Sofia Coppola) Sort of boring, sort of frivolous, sort of anachronistic.  But fun.  ** 3/4
MARION BRIDGE (d. Wiebke Von Carolsfeld) 3 sisters play out their neuroses as mother lay dying in bleak Nova Scotia. Molly Parker was fine.  ***
MARIO'S WAR ( La Guerra Di Mario) (d. Antonio Capuano) ** 3/4
MARKET - A TALE OF TRADE, THE (d. Ben Hopkins) ** 1/4
MAROA (d. Solveig Hoogesteijn; Venezula) *** 1/4
MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN, THE  (d. W.R. Fassbinder) V. Schygulla's riviting perf lifts this post-WWII German reconstruction epic to greatness.  *** 1/2
MARRIED LIFE (d. Ira Sachs) Elegant adult dramedy which copped out and wasted some fine actors. ** 1/4
MARS  (d. Anna Melikian) A totally incomprehensible allegorical comedy about today's Russia. Sort of poor man's Kusterica.  * 1/4
MARTIAN CHILD (d. Menno Meyjes) How this script aborted my friend David Gerrold's true story!  ** 1/2
MARUJAS ASESINAS (d. Javier Rebollo) V. 2001 black comedy...murderous, crazy wife, and her loser friends.  ** 1/2
MASCULIN FEMININE (d. Jean-Luc Godard) I wanted to like this '60s Godard b&w film; but it's pretty boring.  ** 1/2
MASQUERADES (d. Lyes Salem; Algeria) *** 1/4
MASSEUR, THE (Masahista) (d. Brillante Mendoza) Another naive Philipine gay film with bad acting & predictable story. * 3/4
MASTER & COMMANDER (d. Peter Weir) Rip-roaring seafaring epic, no disappointments here.  Crowe does it again. A 2nd viewing seems called for.  *** 1/4
MATADOR, THE (d. Richard Sheperd)  **
MATAHARIS (d. Isiar Bollain) ***
MATCH POINT (d. Woody Allen) *** 1/2
MATCHSTICK MEN  (d. Ridley Scott) Morally ambiguous multi-level con scam film - good performances and solid direction, but a hole-filled script.  ** 1/2
MATRIX RELOADED, THE  (d. Bros. Wachowski) About what I expected: fun; but the novelty of invention has worn thin. Dynamite effects, too wordy.  ** 3/4
MATRIX: REVOLUTIONS, THE  (d. Washovski Brothers) Another visual & sonic tour de force. Much better than the 2nd film, though slow parts boring.  ***
MATTI (d. Aleksi Mäkelä) ** 1/4
MAX HAVELAAR (d. Fons Rademakers) ***
MAX RULES (d. Robert Burke) Silly kids movie, sort of a cheezy Spy Kids without the special effects budget.  The audience ate it up, though.  * 1/4
MAXED OUT (d. James D. Scurlock) ** 1/2
McLIBEL (d. Franny Armstrong) Docu about famous British libel case won in a truly Pyrrhic victory by McDonalds. Engaging, but familiar stuff.  ***
ME AND ORSON WELLES (d. Richard Linklater) *** 1/4
ME AND YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW (d. Miranda July) Uniquely voiced comedy about a broken family & connecting. ***
ME TWO (La personne aux deux personnes) (d. Bruno Lavaine, Nicolas Charlet) **
MEAN CREEK (d. Jacob Estes) Involving indie, sort of Rivers Edge mixed with Deliverance. Scott Mechlowicz is a find!  ***
MEAN GIRLS (d. Mark Waters) Well written, trenchant high school satire reminiscent of Heathers.  Silly fun, but smart. ***
MEDIATOR (d. Dito Tsintsadze; Georgia) ***
MEETING RESISTANCE (d. Connors & Bingham) Excellent, scary docu about Iraqi resistance fighters.  *** 1/2
MELINDA AND MELINDA (d. Woody Allen) Will Farrell is a strange Allen avatar; but this overly clever, hit-&-miss dual-plot film worked for me.  ** 3/4
MELODRAMA HABIBI (d. Hany Tamba) **
MELODY'S SMILE (La chambre des morts) (d. Alfred Lot) ***
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA (d. Rob Marshall) ** 3/4
MEMORIES OF MURDER (d. Bong Joon-ho) Diverting, comic Korean policier about a serial killer and the Keystone Kops who hunt him.  ** 1/2
MEMORIES OF TOMORROW (Ashita No Kioku) (d. Yukihiko Tsutsumi) ***
MEMORY THIEF, THE (d. Gil Kofman) *** 3/4
MEN AND WOMEN (d. Claude Lelouch) Somewhat foced amalgam of 2 complex relationship films, nicely done until it turns too meta midway.  ** 1/4
MEN IN THE NUDE (d. Károly Esztergályos) ***
MERCHANT OF VENICE, THE (d. Michael Radford) "The quality of this film is strained; it droppeth like a gentle thud from pretention."  ** 1/2
MERCI DOCTEUR REY (d. Andrew Litvack) Farce, a fine international cast but plot holes and a silly resolution kept it from living up to promise.  ** 3/4
MERMAID, THE (d. Anna Melikyan; Russia) ***
MERRY GENTLEMEN, THE (d. Michael Keaton) ** 3/4
MESRINE: PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE (Part 1) (d. Jean-François Richet) *** 1/2
MESRINE: PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER ONE (Part 2) (d. Jean-François Richet) *** 1/4
MESSIAH 1:  THE FIRST KILLINGS (d. Diarmuid Lawrence)V.  *** 1/4
MESSIAH 2: VENGENCE IS MINE (d. David Richards)V. *** 1/4
MESSIAH 3: THE PROMISE (d. David Drury)V.  ** 3/4
METALLICA: SOME KIND OF MONSTER (d.  Berlinger & Sinofsky) A fascinating documentary that really examines the angsts of aging rock idols.  *** 3/4
MIAMI VICE  (d. Michael Mann) More plot holes than Swiss cheese; but usual Mann atmosphere makes a good film. ** 3/4
MIAO MIAO (d. Hsiao-Tse Cheng) ***
MICHOU D'AUBER (d. Thomas Gilou) *** 1/4
MID-AUGUST LUNCH (d. Gianni di Gregorio) ***
MIDDLE OF THE WORLD, THE (d. Vicente Amorim) V. A family bicycles through Brazil in this beautifully shot road film.  ** 3/4
MIDWINTER'S NIGHT DREAM, A (d. Goran Paskaljevic) Depressing, if beautifully acted, drama about a luckless Serbian man.  ** 3/4
MIGHTY HEART, A (d. Michael Winterbottom) Great docu like feeling; but film failed to affect me emotionally.  ** 3/4
MIGHTY WIND, A  (d. Christopher Guest) Folksinging mocumentary.  Not as funny as Guest's previous...sort of forced.  But enjoyable.  ** 1/2
MILA FROM MARS (d. Zornitsa Sophia) An involving love story, a Christ allegory, a post-modern road trip all rolled into one.   ** 3/4
MILANO PALERMO - IL RITORNO (d. Claudio Fragasso) *** 1/4
MILK (d. Gus Van Sant) *** 3/4
MILK (d. Gus Van Sant) + A 2nd viewing discloses subtleties unseen before.  Superb script, direction & acting make this the year's most important film. ****
MILLION DOLLAR BABY (d. Clint Eastwood) Beautifully realized drama about a female boxer who is all heart. Stunning cinematography & great acting.  *** 1/2
MILLIONS (d. Danny Boyle) Gentle fable about a kid finding stolen money. Technically adept & well made; but I'm too cynical for the message.  ** 1/2
MILWAUKEE, MINNESOTA  (U.S.  d. Allan Mandel)  Quirky character study of greedy people trying to fleece a somewhat retarded young man.  *** 1/4
MINIMAL STORIES  (Argentina  d. Carlos Sorin) Road pic about 36 hours of nice ordinary people living ordinary lives, only without irony.  ***
MINOR MISHAPS (d. Annette Olesen) An eccentric family comedy which put me to sleep.  I couldn't follow it when I awoke so I walked.  W/O
MINUS MAN, THE  (d. Hampton Fancher) V. Ted Bundy type serial killer (good job Owen Wilson!), great Brian Cox role, stylish well made thriller.  ***
MINUTE OF SILENCE, A (Une Minute de silence) (d. Florent Emilio Siri) ** 1/2
MIRACLE (d. Gavin O'Connor) V. Feel good replay of '80 Olympic hockey team. ** 3/4
MIRACLE ACCORDING TO SALOMÉ, THE (d. Mário Barroso) Lush, beautifully shot tragedy about the affairs of a virtuous prostitute.  ** 3/4
MIRACLE OF BERNE, THE  (d. Sonke Wortmann) Crowd pleaser about Germany's world cup victory in 1954. Made soccer interesting even to me.  ** 3/4
MIRACLE OF MORGAN CREEK (d. Preston Sturges) V. Nicely structured comedy, if too silly for my taste; but almost Capraesque in its earnestness.  ** 3/4
MIRANDA (Great Britain d. Mark Munden)  Cross between a caper film and a romantic comedy.  Enjoyable, but minor.  ** 3/4
MIRUSH (d. Marius Holst) ***
MISS AUSTEN REGRETS (d. Jeremy Lovering)V. Fair if fictionalized biopic in the style of an Austen novel. ** 1/2
MISS CONGENIALITY 2 (d. John Pasquin) Slick caper comedy & female buddy pic with a ridiculous plot. Nice use of Enrique Murciano. * 3/4
MISS ENTEBBE  (Israel  d. Omri Levy)  Afterschool Specialish film about Israeli kids running wild during the Entebbe air hijacking.  ***
MISS PETTIGREW LIVES FOR A DAY (d. Bharat Nalluri) Academy audience loved it; but sort of insipid.  ** 3/4
MISS POTTER (d. Chris Noonan) Sort of charming, esp. Emily Watson; but a little too sugary for my taste.  ** 3/4
MISSING IN AMERICA  (d. Gabrielle Savage Dockterman) Affecting story of lost Viet vet (Danny Glover) and the child that comes into his life. ** 1/2
MISSING PERSON, THE (d. Noah Buschel) **
MISSING STAR, THE (d. Gianni Amelio) ***
MISSING, THE  (d. Ron Howard) One of the better westerns of the last few decades, marred only by excessive spiritualty and predictability. *** 1/4
MISSION, LA (d. Peter Bratt) *** 1/4
MISTERIO GALÍNDEZ, EL (d. Gerardo Herrero) Competent, if turgid, political thriller based on true disappearance of Basque nationalist in the Dominican Republic.  ** 1/4
MIX (d. Steven Lovy) A sex and music comedy about an American boy who returns to his roots in Hungary and has quite an adventure. Great music!  *** 1/4
MOI CÉSAR  (d. Richard Berry) A kid flick about a 10 year old chubby boy's adventures. Nothing great; but a lark.  ** 1/4
MOLIÈRE (d. Laurant Tirard) *** 1/4
MOLLY'S WAY (d. Emily Atef) ***
MOMMA'S MAN (d. Azazel Jacobs) ** 1/2
MOMMY IS AT THE HAIRDRESSER'S (d. Léa Pool) *** 1/2
MON ANGE (d. Serge Frydman) V.  Farfetched prostitute bonds with teenage boy story. Again, Vincent Rottiers steals a film. ** 1/4
MON COLONEL (d. Laurent Herbiet) *** 1/4
MONA LISA'S SMILE (d. Mike Newell) The Dead Poetesses Society with Julia R in the Williams role. 50's sexual politics too obvious. Pleasant. ** 1/2
MONDAYS IN THE SUN (d. Fernando Leon de Aranoa) Spain AFF.  Drab bar-room drama about out-of-work laborors.  *** 1/4
MONDOVINO (d.  Jonathan Nossiter)V. ** 1/2
MONGOL  (d. Sergei Bodrov)  ** 3/4                       
MONGOLIAN PING PONG (d. Ning Hao) Like Weeping Camel, a charming tale of culture clash on the Mongolian grasslands featuring 3 young kids. ***
MONKEY WARFARE  (d. Reg Harkema) * 3/4
MONKEYS IN WINTER (d. Milena Andonova; Bulgaria) **
MONSIEUR BATIGNOLE (d. Gérard Jugnot) Another Jews vs. Nazis (French colabos) & oldster-learns-life-lesson-from-young-kid film.  ** 1/2
MONSIEUR IBRAHIM (d. François Dupeyron) Subtle coming of age film about 16 year old Jewish boy and his elderly Sufi mentor.  Pierre Boulanger! *** 1/4
MONSIEUR N (d. Antoine de Caunes) Intimate, well made, wide screen epic about Napoleon's last days on St. Helena.  ***
MONSTER (d. Patty Jenkins) Excruciating (for me) to watch "true" story of a female serial killer.  Theron was remarkable, but I wanted to walk out.  **
MONSTER HOUSE (d. Gil Kenan) Almost perfectly made 3-D animated film with levels of meaning.  *** 1/2
MONSTER-IN-LAW (d. Robert Lutetik) V.  Totally predictable, forgettable comedy.  Unwatchable.  W/O
MOON (d. Duncan Jones) ** 3/4
MOROCCAN SYMPHONY, THE (d. Kamal Kamal; Morocco) * 3/4
MOSCOW, BELGIUM (d. Christophe van Rompaey) ***
MOSTLY UNFABULOUS LIFE OF ETHAN GREEN, THE (d. George Bamber) Bad, bad gay film which I sort of enjoyed.  * 1/2
MOTEL, THE (d. Michael Kang) Chinese-American chubby 13 yr. old motel owner's kid. Truthful, but sort of boring.  ** 3/4
MOTHER OF MINE (d. Klaus Härö;  Finland) *** 1/2
MOTHER, THE (d. Roger Michell) A simply extraordinary, wonderfully done drama about an older woman's adjustment when her husband dies. *** 3/4
MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS (d. Carl Bessai) *** 1/4
MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (d. Walter Salles) Moving, beautiful, insightful road pic about young Che Guivara with a career perf. by Gael Bernal. Oscar calibre.  *** 3/4
MOUSTACHE, LA (d. Emmanuel Carrère) Unsettling, atmosphericx film with unreliable narrative, who's insane?  ***
MR. & MRS. SMITH (d. Doug Liman) Brad Pitt has never been better. Flawed script with some missing pieces; but a super entertainment.  ***
MR. BROOKS (d. Bruce A. Evans) Wonderful script, this audacious serial killer as anti-hero film just works.  *** 1/2
MR. DEEDS (d. Steven Brill) V. Adam Sandler vehicle which mostly misses due to lame, unfunny script. But I like him, what can I say? * 1/2
MR. LONELY (d. Harmony Khorine) Inscrutible, occasionally visually interesting, mostly boring...good actors wasted.  * 3/4
MR. MAGORIUM'S WONDER EMPORIUM (d. Zach Helm) Nice special f/x, but nothing else special here.  ** 1/2
MR. RIGHT (d. Jacqueline Morris) 3 gay couples live & romance in modern day London. Clunky, confusing exposition, but nifty resolution & well observed. ** 3/4
MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS (d. Stephen Frears) ** 1/2
MRS. PALFREY AT THE CLAIRMONT (d. Dan Ireland) I'd give Joan Plowright the Oscar for this.  Plus Rupert Friend is a true find.   *** 1/2
MUDGE BOY, THE  (U.S.  d. Michael Burke  94 min.)  Drama about a sexually confused teen-age farm boy.  ***
MUGGER, THE (d. Pablo Fendrik) **
MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR (d. Rob Cohen) Excessive use of every action cliché in the book. Corny, stupid, but good f/x.  *
MUNA MADAN (d. Gyanendra Bahadur Deuja) Honestly, one of the worst films I've ever seen, every aspect an embarrassment.  WO
MUNICH (d. Steven Spielberg)  *** 1/4
MURDERBALL (d. Rubin & Shapiro) Effective, emotionally satisfying & extremely well shot docu about paraplegic wheelchair rugby at high level. *** 1/4
MUSA THE WARRIOR (d. Kim Sung-su) Well constructed epic of 14th Century Mongol-Chinese wars and a Korean delegation caught in the middle. ***
MUSHISHI (d. Katsuhiro Otomo) ** 1/2
MUSIC AND LYRICS (d. Marc Lawrence) Great fake '80s music videos. Uninvolving romantic comedy. Grant's shtick is getting tired.  ** 3/4
MUSIC MAN, THE  (d. Jeff Bleckner) (V) Disneyfied tv version.  Love Matthew Broderick; but he didn't make it as Harold Hill.  * 3/4
MUST LOVE DOGS (d. Gary David Goldberg) Cookie-cutter romantic comedy. Good perfs don't make up for clichéd script & lack of chemistry. **
MUTUAL APPRECIATION (d. Andrew Bujalski) V. Involving slice of Gen-Y life per a 3-way friends relationship. B&W, talky, ugly: Woody Allen + Cassavetes. ***
MY ARCHITECT (d. Nathaniel Kahn) Touching documentary of an illigitimate son searching for the soul of his famed, but flawed, architect father. *** 1/2
MY BEST FRIEND (d. Patrice Laconte) *** 1/2
MY BOY JACK (d. Brian Kirk) V. Beautifully written (by the actor who plays Rudyard!) teleplay.  ***
MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD (Mio fratello è figlio unico) (d. Daniele Luchetti) *** 1/2
MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY (d. Laura Poitras) V. Docu about a Sunni Iraqi family leading up to election. Gripping, informative. *** 1/2
MY DAD IS INTO TERRORISM (La fille du juge) (d. William Karel) Well made docu; reminiscences by 24 yr.old daughter of suicide judge. ***
MY DEAR ENEMY (d. Yoon-Ki Lee) ** 3/4
MY EFFORTLESS BRILLIANCE (d. Lynn Shelton) ** 1/2
MY FLESH AND BLOOD (d. Jonathan Karsh) V. Heartbreaking, emotionally devastating doc - a woman raising a family of disabled adopted children.  *** 3/4
MY FRIEND AND HIS WIFE (Naeui Chingu, geneui anae) (d. Shin Dong-il) ***
MY HOUSE IN UMBRIA (d. Richard Loncraine) V. Terrorism survivors recovering in sprightly Maggie Smith's home amid gorgeous Italian scenery.  ** 1/2
MY LIFE WITHOUT ME (d. Isabel Coixet) Wonderful, emotionally shattering film, some great acting, esp. Sarah Polley & Mark Ruffalo.  *** 3/4
MY MAGIC (d. Eric Khoo; Singapore) ** 1/2
MY NIKIFOR (d. Krzystof Krauze) ** 3/4
MY RUSSIA  (d. Barbara Gräftner) Family drama about Austrian guy marrying a Ukranian girl & the interactions of the two families.  Way too long.  * 3/4
MY SISTER'S KEEPER (d. Nick Cassavetes) Emotionally over-the-top, but satisfying weeper. Watch "Medium" kid Sofia Vassilieva & Tom Dekker spark. ***
MY STEP BROTHER FRANKENSTEIN (d. Valery Todorovsky) Quirky, entertaining film about a psychologically damaged returning soldier & his family.  ***
MY SUICIDE (d. David Lee Miller) *** 3/4
MY SUMMER OF LOVE  (d. Pawel Pawlikowski) More civil version of Heavenly Creatures, only in the English moors. Nicely acted.  ** 3/4
MY TINY UNIVERSE (d. Scantlebury & Phillips) American indie, a wryly clever farce, nicely written and acted, especially by newcomer lead Andy Comeau.  ***
MYSTERIES OF PITTSBURGH (d. Rawson Marshall Thurber) ** 3/4
MYSTERIOUS SKIN (d. Greg Araki)V. + *** 1/2
MYSTERIOUS SKIN  (d. Gregg Araki) Mindblowingly accurate and well made drama about sexual abuse & its affects on two boys.  *** 3/4
MYSTIC RIVER (d. Clint Eastwood) I'd read the strong book and knew all the surprises, seemed clunky and overwrought. Still, good Hollywood fare. ** 3/4
NAKED BOYS SINGING (d. Schrock & Christian) Gimmicky staged musical review.  Good songs, not cinematic. **
NAKED IN ASHES (d. Paula Fouce) V.  Instructive, if slow docu about several yogis in India.  ** 1/2
NAKED PROOF  (U.S.  d. Jamie Hook)  Amateurville romantic comedy about a blocked PhD candidate whose life is in upheaval.  * 3/4
NAMESAKE, THE (d. Mira Nair) Terrific immigrant family drama with a surprisingly fine perf by Kal Penn.  *** 3/4
NANCY DREW (d. Andrew Fleming) V. Poorly acted, silly, misjudged and failed attempt at a film series for girls.  * 1/2
NANKING (d. Guttentag & Sturman) Horrific pictures & well cast readings by actors make effective docu. *** 1/4
NANNY DIARIES, THE (d. Shari Singer Berman, Robert Pulcini) ** 3/4
NAPOLA (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 (d. Jared Hess) Weirdly episodic, but very funny geek chic teen flick. We laugh at the hick characters; but it works.  ** 3/4
NARNIA 2:  PRINCE CASPIAN (d. Andrew Adamson) Much better than the 1st; but still pallid & a little boring in the mid section.  ** 3/4
NARROWS, THE (d.  François A. Velle) ***
NATE DOGG  (U.S.  d. Thomas Farone) El cheapo digital production about a boy with ADHD who goes bad.  **
NATHALIE  (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 (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 (d. Jon Turteltaub) Excessive, ridiculous, a 2 Excedrin mess.  * 1/2
NEARING GRACE (d. Rick Rosenthal) Excellent Gregory Smith & David Morse perfs. raise this coming-of-age story. ***
NECESSITIES OF LIFE (Ce quíl faut pour vivre)  (d. Benoit Pilon; Canada) *** 1/2
NED KELLY (d. Gregor Jorday) True, though suspiciously sympathetic story of Australian version of Jesse James gang. A downer despite attractive leads. ** 1/2
NEMESIS GAME (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 (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) (d. Giacomo Campiotti) *** 1/4
NEVER BACK DOWN (d. Jeff Wadlow) Karate Kid on steroids. Way better than expected, esp. actingwise. ***
NEW MAN, THE (d. Klaus Haro) *** 1/4
NEW TWENTY, THE (d. Chris Mason Johnson) Involving story of 5 college friends nearing 30 encountering NY business & sex life.  ***
NEW WORLD, THE (d. Terrence Malick) Visually stunning; but frankly boring narrative.  ** 3/4 
NEW YORK SERENADE (d. Frank Whaley) ***
NEWCASTLE (d. Dan Castle)  ***
NEXT (d. Lee Tamahori) Deja Vu with none of that films brilliant f/x & an inferior Phil Dick concept.  **
NEXT DOOR (d. Pol Sletaune) ***
NICELAND (d. Fridrik Thór Fridriksson) A strange but pleasant fable about a boy (Martin Compston) searching for the purpose of life.  ** 3/4
NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST (d. Peter Sollett) "Nice" NYC version of Superbad. Fun and funny, even smart wasted teens story. Cera's a true pomo hero. ***
NICOTINA (d. Hugo Rodriguez) Black comedy noir - misadventures of gang of cyberthieves. Diego Luna fine; Lucas Crespi a future latino star. ***
NICOTINA (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 (d. Davide Marengo) ***
NIGHT LISTENER, THE (d. Patrick Stettner) Echos of JT Leroy. Collette great. I felt I lived this story once upon a time. ***
NIGHT WATCH (d. Timur Bekmambetov) Messy Russian pastiche of every big f/x film from The Omen to The Matrix. Vampires rule for 1000 years.  **
NIGHTS IN RODANTHE (d. George C. Wolfe) Every romantic cliché.  Nicely acted, but unbelieveable, contemptuous script. * 3/4
NIGHTWATCHING  (d. Peter Greenaway)  ** 1/2               
NINA'S TRAGEDIES (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 (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 (d.  Fabián Bielinsky) V. + Fine Argentinian caper film worth a 2nd look via TiVo.  I expect a Hollywood remake is in the cards.  ***
NINTH DAY, THE (d. Volker Schlöndorff) Dark, slow, philosophical drama about Catholic priest on leave from Dachau & his duel of wits with an SS officer.  ** 3/4
NIRVANA (d. Igor Voloshin) ***
NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (d. Joel and Ethan Coen) Ultra bloody, almost perfectly achieved thriller.  *** 1/2
NO DEBES ESTAR AQUI (d. Jacobo Rispa) Spanish thriller about killings in an internet chat room.  Potboiler.  *
NO END IN SIGHT (d. Charles Furguson) Impressive docu indicting the Bush administration.  *** 1/4
NO NIGHT IS TOO LONG (d. Tom Shankland) V. + Wonderfully written & acted Ruth Rendell story; a Canadian gay TV film to be cherished.  *** 1/2
NO NIGHT IS TOO LONG (d. Tom Shankland) V. Canadian TV movie: a gay psychological thriller from Ruth Rendell novel. Extraordinary acting.  *** 1/4
NO ONE'S SON (Niciji sin) (d. Arsen Ostojic; Croatia) *** 1/4
NO REGRET (d. Leesong Hee-il) ***
NO SONGS OF LOVE (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 (d. James Chressanthis) Revelatory docu about 2 Hungarian cinematographers. Fine visuals, well constructed. *** 1/4
NO. 2 (d. Toa Fraser) ***
NOBEL SON (d. Randall Miller) Absurd plot; but stylish enough to keep me interested...but just falls apart in 3rd act.  * 3/4
NOBODY KNOWS (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 KNOWS HOW TO TALK TO CHILDREN (d. George Roca) The White Stripes playing a NYC club. Poor sound & picture; but the music is great. ** 1/2
NOBODY'S BABY (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 (d. Kagar Kari) Bleak, but affecting, Icelandic AFF. Coming-of-age story about an underachiever small town boy.  ***
NOISE (d. Matthew Saville) ***
NOITE ESCURA (d. João Canijo; Portugal) *
NOMAD (d. Sergei Bodrov; Kazakhstan) *** 1/2
NORDESTE (d. Juan Solanas) ** 3/4
NORMAL (d. Carl Bessai) ***
NORTH (d. Rune Denstad Langlo) ** 1/2
NORTH COUNTRY (d. Niki Caro) ***
NORTH FACE (d. Philipp Stölzl) *** 3/4
NORTH KOREA-DAY IN THE LIFE (d. Pieter Fleury) Docu with no narration, just showing the activities of typical N. Korean workers in one day. ** 3/4
NORTHANGER ABBEY (d. Jon Jones) V. Most minor of Austin stories despite Andrew Davies script...but JJ Field was great. ** 1/2
NORTHFORK  (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) (d. Stéphane Brizé) Slow, lugubrious; 50ish man redeemed by too much tango. ** 1/2
NOTEBOOK, THE (d. Nick Cassavetes) + Emotionally cathartic melodrama, even better the 2nd time around. Rachel McAdams a major find. *** 1/2
NOTEBOOK, THE (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 (d. Rod Lurie) Clever, satisfying adaptation of Valerie Plame affair. Superb acting ensemble.  *** 1/4
NOTHING IS PRIVATE (d. Alan Ball) ***
NOTHING  (d. Juan Carlos Cremata Malberti) Cuba AFF+.  Wacky comedy set in Cuban post office.  Tries too hard  * 1/2
NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE, THE (d. Mary Harron) ** 3/4   
NOTRE MUSIQUE (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 (d. Ann Fontaine) ***
NOVEMBER (d. Greg Harrison) Pretentious and mysterious recreation of a convenience store robbery. James LeGros & Courtney Cox are just ok.  **
NOVIEMBRE (d. Achero Mañas) Mockumentary about a revolutionary street theater troup in late '90s Madrid. Gorgeous wide screen & fine job all around.  *** 1/2
NOWHERE IN AFRICA (d. Caroline Link) German AFF  Epic of refugees in Africa during WWII.    *** 1/2
NU. (d. Jan-Willem van Ewijk) ** 3/4
NUE PROPRIÉTÉ (d. Joachim Lafosse) *** 1/2
NUIT DE CHIEN (Tonight) (d. Werner Schroeter) *
NUITS D'ARABIE (d. Paul Kieffer; Luxembourg) *** 1/4
NURSE.FIGHTER.BOY (d. Charles Officer) ***
O DELFIM (d. Fernando Lopes) Portugal AFF. Insufferably pretentious drama about poor suffering rich people.  *
OBABA (d. Montxo Armendariz; Spain)  ** 3/4
OBSERVE AND REPORT (d. Jody Hill) Very black, obscene, mostly unfunny comedy...however surprisingly entertaining with Rogan & Anna Faris standouts. ***
OCCUPATION DREAMLAND (d. Olds and Scott; docu) V.   ***
OCEANS 12 (d. Steven Soderbergh) A ridiculous plot, off-hand acting and sloppy direction made for an overblown disaster, IMHO  * 1/4
OCULTO (d. Antonio Hernández) V. Woman's revenge thriller.  Leonardo Sbaraglia & Angie Cepeda have real chemistry.  ***
ODE, THE (d. Nilanjan Neil Lahiri) Overwrought, heavy handed So. Asian/American gay drama. Guilt, screwed up childhood. Ugh. * 1/4
OFF SCREEN (d. Pieter Kuijpers) ** 1/4
OFF THE MAP (d. Campbell Scott) Wonderfully atmospheric coming of age story of young girl in a close rural New Mexico family.  *** 1/2
OFFSCREEN (d. Christopher Boe) ** 1/4
OGU & MAMPATO ON EASTER ISLAND (d. Alejandro Teilez)  Chile AFF.  Children's cartoon.   WO
OH HAPPY DAY (d. Ian Poitier) * 3/4
OH IN OHIO, THE (d. Billy Kent) Ograsmic hi-jinx in Cleveland. OK script, good acting, end sort of peters out.  ** 3/4
O'HORTEN (d. Bent Hamer; Norway) ***
OLD JOY (d. Kelly Reichardt) ***
OLGA (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 (d. Hanna Elias) Overwrought triangle romantic drama about 2 Palestinian brothers & the woman they both covet.  * 3/4
OLIVER TWIST (d. Roman Polanski) *** 1/4
OMAGH (d. Pete Travis) Muted dramatic re-enactment of '98 N. Ireland bombing & aftermath with quietly great performance by Gerard McSorley. ***
ON NATIVE SOIL:  THE DOCUMENTARY OF THE 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT (d. Linda Ellman; docu) *** 1/2
ON THE DOWNLOW (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 (d. JJ Lask) ***
ON THE WATERFRONT (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 (d. Golem Rabbany Biplop; Bangladesh) **
ON_LINE  (d.  Jed Weintrob)  Digitally shot indie drama about relationships made and broken on a net sex line. Clever, innovative and involving.  ***
ONCE (d. John Carney) ***
ONCE IN A LIFETIME: STORY OF NEW YORK COSMOS (d. Crowder & Dower) V. Fast moving, involving docu about pro soccer. *** 1/4
ONCE UPON A TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL: SPIRIT OF JEET KUNE DO (d. Ha Yu) Sang woo Kwong great as shy high school student beset by bullies.  *** 1/4
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (d. Robert Rodriguez) Some good set-pieces and interesting acting; but ultra-violent and shrill.  ** 1/2
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE MIDLANDS  (Great Britain  d. Shane Meadows)  Predictable British family drama with inaudible dialog.  ** 1/4
ONCE YOU'RE BORN YOU CAN NO LONGER HIDE (d. Marco Tullio Giordana) *** 1/4
ONE DAY LIKE RAIN (d. Paul Todisco) 1/2*
ONE HUNDRED NAILS (Centochiodi) (d. Ermanno Olmi) ** 1/4
ONE WEEK (d. Michael McGowan) ***
ONE-HANDED TRICK, THE (d. Santiago Zannou) **
ONLY GOD KNOWS (d. Carlos Bolado) *** 1/4
ONLY HUMAN (d. Dominic Harari and Terisa Pelagri) Occasionally silly Spanish family farce...Jewish girl/Palestinian man. ** 3/4
ONLY JOURNEY OF HIS LIFE, THE  (d. Lakis Papasththis)   Greece AFF.  Magical realism with no coherent plot.  * 1/2
OPEN HEARTS (d. Susanne Bier) Denmark AFF.  Dogma drama about fear of loss and love.  ***
OPEN RANGE  (d. Kevin Costner) Gorgeously photographed western - almost overcomes cliché plot with some superb acting esp. by Robert Duval.  ** 1/2
OPEN WATER (d. Chris Kentis) Viscerally disturbing, small film about a scuba diving couple lost at sea. ** 3/4
OPERATION HOMECOMING (d. Richard Robbins) Out of the tragedy of war, true art in the best of this years docus. ****
OPIUM - DIARY OF A MADWOMAN (d. János Szász) ***
OPIUM WAR (d. Siddiq Barmak; Afghanistan) * 3/4
ORA DI PUNTA, L' (d. Vincenzo Marra) ** 3/4
ORA O MAI PIÚ (d. Lucio Pellegrini) Energetic & well made coming of age story-leftist group during Genoa 8 fracas. Jacopo Bonvicini actor to watch. ***
ORCHESTRA SEATS (Fauteuils d'Orchestre) (d. Danièle Thompson) Nicely edited, involving Parisian mult-character romantic comedy.  *** 1/4
ORDER, THE  (d. Brian Helgeland) Dark parable of black popes and sin eaters. Surprisingly not bad filmically, though ludicrously overwrought & cheesy. *
ORPHANAGE, THE (d. J.A. Bayona) Spain's foreign film submission ** 1/2
OSAMA (d. Siddiq Barmak) Highly politicized, simplistic indictment of Taliban as anti-women to extreme.  Involving story of girl masquerading as boy.  ** 1/4
OSS 117:  NEST OF SPIES (d. Michel Hazanavicius) * 1/4
OSSESSIONE (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 (V) (d. Scott Hamilton Kennedy)  Docu feature about 1st high school play in Compton in 20 years.  *** 1/4
OTHER BANK, THE (d. George Ovashvili) *** 1/2
OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, THE (d. Justin Chadwick) Bad history, great jewelry.  ** 1/4
OTHER END OF THE LINE, THE (d. James Dodson) Every romantic cliché in the book; but Jesse Metcalfe isn't half bad.  **
OTHER MAN, THE (d. Richard Eyre) ***
OTHER SIDE OF HEAVEN, THE (d. Mitch Davis)V.  ***
OTHER SIDE OF THE STREET, THE (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) (d. Gustavo Loza) ** 1/2
OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST (d. Miguel Gomes; Portugal) W/O
OUR LAND (La Terra)  (d. Sergio Rubini) *** 1/4
OUR OWN (d. Dmitry Meskhiyev) Interesting, involving variant on the Russian WWII film, about escaped soldiers behind German lines.  ***
OUT (d.  Hideyuki Hirayama)  Japan AFF.  Black comedy reminiscent of Weekend at Bernie's only emontionally resonant.  ***
OUT AT THE WEDDING (d. Lee Friedlander) *
OUT OF ORDER  (Pilot d. Wayne Powers) V. This works as a standalone feature. Realistic family drama of a pair of screenwriters. Outstanding acting.  ***
OUT OF TIME (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 (d. Harald Friedl) ** 3/4
OUTBREAK (d. Wolfgang Peterson) V. Catching up (yes, just got TiVo, which explains the videos). Viral thriller. Good suspense, lousy science.  ** 1/2
OUTING RILEY (d. Pete Jones) ***
OUTRAGE AT GLEN RIDGE (d. Guy Ferland)V. Earnest, effective TV message movie with outstanding Heather Matarazzo as retarded girl raped by footall team.  ** 3/4
OUTSOURCED  (d. John Jeffcoat) **
OVERBROOK BROTHERS (d. John Bryant) ***
OVERLORD (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  (U.S. doc. d.Mark Brian Smith)  Excellent documentary about a megalomanic filmmaker/rock singer who tangles with Harvey Weinstein.  *** 1/2
OVERTURE, THE (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 (d. Richard Kwietniowski)  Hoffman is great as banker-gambler. The film struck close to home to this gambling addict.  Good job.  ***
p.s. (d. Dylan Kidd) Kidd makes movies smack dab in my wheelhouse. I loved the film (and Grace and Linney) more than its problematic script deserved.  ***
P.T.U.  (Hong Kong  d.  Johnny To)  Stylized policier/comedy about one frenzied night in the streets of Hong Kong.  Great fun.  ***
PADRE NUESTRO (d. Rodrigo Sepulveda; Chile) ***
PAHELI (d. Amol Palekar; India)  **
PAIN IN THE ASS, A (d. Francis Veber) **
PAINTED HOUSE, A   (d. Alfonso Arau) (V.) Faithful adaptation, spare & underplayed TV movie.  Scott Glenn's grandfather very strong.  ** 3/4
PAINTED SKIN (d. Gordon Chan; Hong Kong)  ** 1/4
PAINTED VEIL, THE (d. John Curran) Old fashioned story telling, but beautiful and nicely done.  ***
PALAIS ROYAL! (d. Valérie Lemercier) * 3/4
PALENDROMES (d. Todd Solondz) Ebony black comedy with Solondz's patented mordant sardonic wit. Uneven, but always interesting.  ** 3/4
PALM BEACH STORY (d. Preston Sturges) V. Amiable, wordy, classy screwball comedy with finally made me see why Sturges has such a rep for wit.  ***
PAN'S LABYRINTH (d. Guillermo del Toro) *** 1/2
PAPA (d. Maurice Barthélémy) Touching, nicely made, well observed French road pic, sort of young boy Ponette travels with his father. ***
PAPER DOVE (d. Fabrizio Aguilar) Campañeros in the Andes: gorgeously photographed drama about a small town & boy 11 under seige by terrorists.  ***
PAPER HEART (d. Nicholas Jasenovec) *** 1/4
PAPER WILL BE BLUE, THE (Hirtia va fi Albastra) (d. Radu Muntean) ***
PAPRIKA (d. Satoshi Kon) **
PA-RA-DA (d. Marco Pontecorvo) *** 1/4
PARADISE NOW (d. Hany Abu-Assad; Palestine) *** 1/2
PARANOID PARK (d. Gus Van Sant) Spare, non-acted skate board epic.  Gabe Nevins a natural. *** 1/2
PARANOIDS, THE (Los Paranoicos)  (d. Gabriel Medina)  ** 3/4
PARC (d. Arnaud des Pallières) * 1/2
PARENTS (d. Ragnar Bragason) *** 1/4
PARIS, JE T'AIME (d. various) *** 1/4
PARTICLES OF TRUTH (d. Jennifer Elster) V. Insufferably pretentious film with amateurish direction, though the actors are interesting.  W/O
PARTING SHOT, A (d. Pas douce) (d. Jeanne Waltz) *** 1/4
PARTS LEFT OVER, THE (d. Roy Wageman) ** 3/4
PARTY MONSTER (d. Bailey & Barbato)  Witty, trueish story of '80s legendary partyboy & murderer. Seth Green superb, Macaulay Culken less so. ** 3/4
PASSCHENDAELE (d. Paul Gross) ** 1/2
PASSION OF THE CHRIST, THE (d. Mel Gibson) Effective filmmaking, if long on sadism. But too many repetitive images, and left me cold.  ** 1/2
PAST IS A FOREIGN LAND, THE (Il passato e'una terra straniera) (d. Daniele Vicari) *** 1/2
PAST, THE (El Pasado) (d. Héctor Babenco) *** 1/2
PATER FAMILIAS (d. Francisco Patierno) Complex multi-threaded drama about a group of doomed Neapolitan ragazzi. ***
PATERNAL INSTINCT (d. Murray Nossei) Wonderful, emotionally satisfying doc. about a gay couple who employ a surrogate mother to have children. *** 1/2
PATRIK, AGE 1.5 (d. Ella Lemhagen) *** 1/2
PATRIK, AGE 1.5 (d. Ella Lemhagen) + Second time around even better...this time I could appreciate more the outstanding filmmaking.  *** 1/2
PAYCHECK (d. John Woo) Phil Dick story, full of paranoia & plot holes; but Woo does great action flicks, even if the slo-mo dove is forced here. ** 1/4
PEACEFUL WARRIOR (d. Victor Salva) Setting aside the New Agey hokum, thrilling film. Mechlowicz amazes.  ***
PEAS AT 5:30 (d. Lars Buechel) Richly rewarding, intensely moving romantic road pic about a newly blind stage director & the blind woman that fate brings him.  *** 3/4
PEDRO (d. Nick Oceano) *** 1/2
PEDRO (d. Nick Oceano) V.+ MTV is a natural place to show this superior biopic. Dustin Lance Black should now add an Emmy to his Oscar for Milk.  *** 1/2
PELICAN BRIEF, THE (d. Alan Pakula) V.  Finally saw this; holds up well, tho Grisham stories are predictable. ** 3/4
PENELOPE (d. Mark Palansky) Modern fairy tale with great production design, but what's with the accents?  ** 3/4
PERFECT DAY, A (d. Peter Levin) V. Sappy TV movie wannabe Wonderful Life.  * 3/4
PERFECT DAY, A (Un Giorno perfetto)  (d. Ferzan Ozpetek) *** 1/4
PERFECT MATCH (d. Anne-Marie Étienne) ***
PERFECT SCORE, THE (d. Brian Robbins)  Unoriginal, but enjoyable Hughesish teener flick. Chris Evans shines and Leonardo Nam is very funny as an Asian stoner. ** 3/4
PERFECT SCORE, THE (d. Brian Robbins) V.+ ** 3/4
PERFECT SPORT (d. Anthony O'Brien) ***
PERFECT STRANGERS (d. Gaylene Preston) Romantic thriller about a woman kidnapped to a desert island. Unlikely, but well made.  ** 1/2
PERFECTIONIST, THE (La perfezionista) (d. Cesare Lanza) 1/2*
PERFUME - THE STORY OF A MURDERER (d. Tom Tykwer) Amazing gorgeous production, creepy, original concept.  *** 1/2
PERHAPS LOVE (d. Peter Ho-Sun Chan; Hong Kong)  ** 3/4
PERSEPOLIS (d. Vincent Paronnaud, Marjane Satrapi; France)  *** 1/4
PERSUASION (d. Adrian Shergold) V.  Austin is well served by this tv prod. cast, esp. Sally Hawkins.  ***
PERSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, THE (d. Gabriele Muccino)  Too much miserablism for too long; but Smith & son are quite good.  ***
PETER PAN (d. P.J. Hogan) Wasn't enchanted by this honorable, boring attempt at authentic Pan. Sorry, every aspect seemed forced & artificial.  * 3/4
PETIT LIEUTENANT, LE (d. Xavier Beauvoir) Spare, Bressonian French policier...sublimely realistic, Nathalie Baye great. *** 1/2
PETITE LILI, LA (d.  Claude Miller) Amiable trifle about a group of film people cavorting in a French chateau whose story is then made as a film within a film.  ** 3/4
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (d. Joel Schumacher) Maybe I'm just not into Lloyd Weber; a visual treat, great sets, costumes etc...but I was bored.  ** 1/2
PHARMICIST, THE  (d. Jean Veber) Entertaining claptrap, thriller/buddy comedy/policier. Guillaume Depardieu and Vincent Perez have true chemistry. ** 3/4
PHILANTHROPY (d. Nae Caranfil) Romania AFF.  Black comedy about begging as theater in modern Romania.  ** 3/4
PHOEBE IN WONDERLAND (d. Daniel Barnz) Simplistic psycho stuff well presented.  Fine acting; but just not all that original.  ** 3/4
PHONE BOOTH (d. Joel Schumacher) Taut, tense thriller about a psycho sniper in NY.  Colin Farrell is great here...remember at awards time. *** 1/4
PIECES OF APRIL (d. Peter Hedges) Another cliché disfunctional family/Thanksgiving trifle until a neat ending ties it all up. Somehow it worked. ***
PIEDRAS (d. Ramon Salazar) Rapturously romantic parallel story of several women and gay men.  My kind of film!  *** 1/2
PIERRE RISSIENT:  MAN OF CINEMA (d. Todd McCarthy) ** 1/4
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (d. David Gordon Green) Genuinely funny stoner chase comedy with brain, wit & originality.  *** 1/4
PINGPONG (d. Matthias Luthardt) *** 1/4
PINNOCHIO (VO) (d. Roberto Benigni) Italy AFF.  Even with subtitles, a major train wreck of a film.  *
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN (d. Gore Verbinski) 1st half is wonderful, then sort of topples from excesses; but Depp and Bloom are great.  ** 3/4
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 2 (d. Gore Verbinski) Exhaustingly repetitive, boring empty calories.  * 1/2
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 3 (d. Gore Verbinski) Better than #2, not saying much.  **
PIZZA (d. Mark Christopher) DV eccentric comedy: one night's adventure of a lonely fat girl turning 18 & a 30ish pizzaboy (sparkling turn by Ethan Embry). ** 1/4
PLAY (d. Alicia Scherson; Chile)  *** 1/4
PLAYTIME (d. Jacques Tati) 70mm presentation of this Chaplanesque (i.e. Modern Times) large canvas, subtle, visually extraordinary slapstick comedy. *** 1/2
PLEASANT MOMENTS (d. Vera Chytilová) *** 1/2
PLEASE VOTE FOR ME (d. Weijun Chen) Illuminating Chinese docu: 3rd graders' 1st election of class monitor. *** 1/4
PLONING (d. Dante Nico Garcia; Philippines) **
PLOY (d. Pen-ek Ratanauang) ** 1/4
PLUS TARD, TU COMPREHENDRA (d. Amos Gitaï) ** 1/2
POCO PIÚ DI UN ANNO FA (d. Marco Filiberti) Oddly affecting drama about an upper class Italian gay porn star & his familial relationships.  ** 3/4
POISON FRIENDS (Les amitiés maléfique) (d. Emmanuel Bourdieu) V. Literary, unpleasant story of college students taken in by a pathological liar friend. ***
POLAR EXPRESS (d. Robert Zemeckis) Nice animation, trite story...but it works on an elemental level.  I enjoyed more than I expected from the lousy reviews.  ***
POLICE BEAT (d. Robinson Devor) Stream of consciousness experiences of a Seattle cop originally from Senegal. Wide screen video transfer. ** 1/4
POLICE ROMANCE, A (d. Stéphanie Duvivier) *** 1/4
POLIGONO SUR (d. Dominique Abel) Doc. about Gypsy flamenco artists living in the projects and making a life of music.  *** 1/2
PONIENTE  (WESTERN) (d. Chus Gutierrez) Drama about labor strife in rural greenhouse farms in Andelusia.  ** 1/4
POP STAR ON ICE (d. David Barba) ***
POPE'S TOILET, THE (d. Enrique Fernández) Uruguay foreign film submission.  ** 3/4
PORN THEATER  (France  d. Jacques Nolot) Very sexy film about men making it with other men in a straight porn theater in today's Paris.  ***
PORNOGRAFIA  (d. Jan Jakub Kolski) Another WWII story, a drama about a group of Poles on a country farm.  **
PORNOGRAPHY (d, David Kittredge) Disquieting, arty thriller/ghost story set in porno world...a gay EYES WIDE SHUT as if directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa.  *** 1/4
POSEIDON (d. Wolfgang Petersen) Well directed old fashioned disaster thriller, if predictable and ridiculous.  ** 1/2
POSTCARDS FROM LENINGRAD (d. Mariana Rondón; Venezuela) **
POSTER BOY (d. Zak Tucker) Well acted, romantic political film about a Jesse Helms-ish senator's closeted gay son & his encounter with gay activists. ** 3/4
POWER TRIP  (U.S. doc.  d. Paul Devlin)  Well edited documentary about an American company which buys the ex-Soviet Georgian power utility.  *** 1/2
PRAGUE (d. Ole Christian Madsen) *** 1/2
PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION (d. Robert Altman) ** 1/2
PRAY THE DEVIL BACK TO HELL (d. Gini Reticker) Talky docu with important subject: women getting together to stop bloodshed in Liberia. ** 3/4
PRAYERS FOR BOBBY (d. Russell Mulcahy)V. Well acted tear jerker tv movie based on true story of gay boy's suicide. Emotionally devistating.. *** 1/4
PRESTIGE, THE (d. Christopher Nolan) Wonderfully scripted enigmatic period mystery which really delivers the goods.  *** 1/4
PRETTY PERSUASION (d. Marcos Siega) Teen black comedy satire designed to offend everybody; with a great perf. by Evan Rachel Wood.  ** 1/2
PRICE OF SUGAR, THE (d. Bill Haney) Admirable docu which also works: Priest in Domin.Rep. vs. sugar industry. *** 1/4
PRICELESS (Hors de prix) (d. Pierre Salvadori) Typical French romantic comedy, sumptuous but uninspired.  ** 1/2
PRIDE & PREJUDICE (d. Joe Wright) Superbly directed and acted Austin story; Wright is a director to watch.  ****
PRIDE AND GLORY (d. Gavin O'Connor) Good acting and produciton values don't make up for plot clichés.  ** 1/2
PRIME (d. Ben Younger)  *** 1/2
PRIMER (d. Shane Carruth) Fascinating, realistic low-budget time-machine-built-in-a-garage story. I couldn't follow it; but it was entertaining as hell.  *** 1/4
PRINCESS DIARIES 2 (d. Garry Marshall) Inane teenage girl wish fullfillment fantasy even dumber than part 1.  Chris Pine a find, however.  * 1/4
PRINCESS OF THE SUN (La reine soleil) (d. Philippe Leclerc) * 1/2
PRINCESS RACOON (d. Seijun Suzuki) **
PRINCESSES (d. Fernando de Aranoa) ** 1/2
PRISONER OF PARADISE (d. Malcolm Clarke,  Stuart Sender) (V)  Great Holocaust docu. about Thereisenstadt & actor/director Kurt Gerron  *** 3/4
PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE OHIO, THE (d. Jane Alexander) V. Sentemenatl & hokey, but Julianne Moore is fine, Woody H. is a hambone. ** 1/2
PROBLEM WITH FEAR, A (d. Gary Burns) Urban angst runs riot in this funny satire set in Canada in the near future.  *** 1/4
PRODUCING ADULTS (d. Aliksi Salmenperä) Complex Finnish relationship drama about a woman's desire to have a child with a partner unable to commit.  *** 1/4
PROFESSIONAL, THE  (d. Dusan Kovacevic) Black comedy - secret policeman's raprochement with his prey in "new" Serbia. Obscure Balkan politics.** 1/4
PROMISE KEPT, A (d. Daniel Milligan) Turgid, predictable, badly acted and directed policier about a child molester and a mysterious avenger.  1/2 *
PROMISE TO THE DEAD, A (d. Peter Raymont) Docu: Ariel Dorfman's paean to Pinochet's Chilean disappeared.  ***
PROMISE, THE (Wuji) (d. Chen Kaige; China) ***
PROMISED LAND, THE (Ziemia obiecana) (d. Andrzej Wajda) V. Epic masterpiece of 19th Century capitalism in Lodz, Poland.  *** 3/4
PROOF (d. John Madden) ** 3/4
PROPOSAL, THE (d. Anne Fletcher) Adequate, if predictable romcom with revelatory leading man perf by Ryan Reynolds.  ** 3/4
PROPOSITION, THE (d. John Hillcost) ***1/4
PROTEUS (d. John Greyson) Remarkably crude, but somehow effective drama about gay prisoners in 18th century South Africa.  ** 1/4
PUBLIC ENEMY (S. Korea  d. Kang Woo-suk)  Satisfying, well written and acted policier about a slovenly policeman getting his man.  *** 1/4
PUFFY CHAIR, THE (d. Jay Duplass) V. Typical talky indie, sort of annoying but occasionally quite amusing. ** 1/2
PUMP UP THE VOLUME (d. Alan Moyle) V.+ Slater's definitive perf of teen alienation still relevant & thrills. Among my top 5 fave teen films.  *** 1/4
PUNISHER, THE (d. Jonathan Hensleigh) Another revenge comic novel/film. Much better than expected. Thomas Jane is perfect. ** 3/4
PUNTO ROSSO, IL (d. Marco Carlucci) ** 1/4
PUNTO Y RAYA (d. Elia Schneider) Silly Venezuelan black comedy about two opposing soldiers, one corrupt, one pure, & their adventures in the jungle.  * 1/4
PUPENDO (d. Jan Hrebejk) DV slice-of-life: '80s Czech society centering on out-of-favor sculptor and circle around him. Pleasant, but minor.  ** 3/4
PUSH (d. Paul McGuigan) Psi powers thriller with muddled, contradictory plot but some nifty acting, especially Fanning and Evans.  ** 1/2
PUSHER (d. Nicolas Winding Refn) ** 3/4
PUSHER II (d. Nicolas Winding Refn) *** 1/4
PUSHER III (d. Nicolas Winding Refn) *** 1/4
PYTHON, THE (d. Laila Pakalnina) Boring Latvian comedy about a school where several wild animals are loose. The metaphor was beyond me. * 1/4
QUAI DES ORFÈVRES (d. Henri-George Clouzot) '47 light hearted murder mystery among the Music Hall crowd.  ** 3/4
QUANTUM OF SOLACE (d. Mark Forster) High production values & a fine Bond don't make up for hyperactive cutting and horrendously confusing plot. * 1/2
QUEEN, THE (d. Stephen Frears) Superb script, great performances by Mirren and Michael Sheen.  Remarkable film. *** 1/2
QUEENS (Reinas) (d. Manuel Gomez Pereíra) *** 1/4
QUEENS (Reinas)(d. Manuel Gómez Pereira) +  ***                                         
QUICK & THE DEAD, THE (d. Sam Raimi)V. Spaghetti western takeoff with great cast (Russell Crowe!, Leo DiCaprio); Raimi channeling Richard Rodriguez.  ** 1/4
QUIET CHAOS (d. Antonello Grimaldi) *** 1/2
QUINCEAÑERA (d. Wash Westmoreland, Richard Glatzer) *** 1/4
RABBIT ON THE MOON (d. Jorge Suárez) Superior, gripping political thriller about Mexican government corruption & its affect on innocent people.  ***
RACE TO WITCH MOUNTAIN (d. Andy Fickman) Loveably dumb scrip and just ok f/xt; but then I'm not the target audience. ** 1/2
RACE YOU TO THE BOTTOM (d. Russell Brown) Surprisingly enjoyable, caustic affair of bi-guy & faghag in wine country. Nicely written. ***
RACHEL GETTING MARRIED (d. Jonathan Demme) Superbly acted and perfectly executed Dogme 95 filmmaking. *** 1/2
RACHIDA (d. Yamina Bachir-Chouikh)  Algeria AFF.  Melodrama about terrorism & its effect on a young lady teacher.  ** 3/4
RADIO (d. Mike Tollin) Like Patch Adams, a true story which should pull the heartstrings, but so much liberal crap that it fails on every level. * 3/4
RAGE IN PLACID LAKE, THE  (d. Tony McNamara) Coming-of-age film about a non-conformist (a wonderful turn by Ben Lee)...an Australian Rushmore.  *** 1/4
RAGE, THE (La Rabbia) (d. Louis Nero) * 1/4
RAGING SUN, RAGING SKY (d. Julián Hernández) *** 1/2
RAISING VICTOR VARGAS (d. Peter Sollett)  Cocky latino boy courts romance and his family copes.  Well intentioned; but didn't do it for me.  ** 1/2
RAJA (d. Jacques Doillon) V. Strange, incomprehensible love affair between a Frenchman & his Moroccan maid.  ** 1/4
RAMCHAND PAKISTANI (d. Mehreen Jabbar) ***
RANG DE BASANTI (d. Rakesh Omprakash Mehra; India) *** 1/4
RAPE OF EUROPA, THE (d. Berge & Cohen) Well researched docu: WWII and stolen art. Unique footage. *** 1/4
RATATOUILLE (d. Brad Bird) My fave of all the Pixar films; its basically adult theme exalting foodie culture appeals.  *** 1/2
RAY (d. Taylor Hackford) One of all-time best biopix with a searingly great perf by Jamie Foxx as Ray Charles. Well structured script, top flight credits all around.  *** 1/2
READER, THE (d. Stephen Daldry) Exquisite film, tender, moving; with astounding central perfs. David Kross fulfills promise of Krabat.  *** 1/2
READY? OK! (d. James Vasquez) ***
REAL DIRT ON FARMER JOHN, THE (d. Taggart Siegel) Liberal crowd-pleaser docu about an organic farmer & his collective farm in Illinois.  ***
REAL TIME (d. Randall Cole) ** 3/4
REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES (d. Patricia Cardoso) (V)  Latina Star Maps, only college vs. sweatshop.  ** 3/4
RECKONING, THE (d. Paul McGuigan) An almost can't miss genre and cast...and it misses.  Too murky, though quite faithful to 14th Century.  ** 1/4
RECLAIM YOUR BRAIN (Free Rainer -- Dein Fernseher Lügt) (d. Hans Weingartner) ** 1/2
RECONSTRUCTION (d. Christoffer Boe) Danish wide screen experimental drama about writer manipulating a man in a love affair.  ** 3/4
RECOUNT (d. Jay Roach) V. The 2000 election still hurts & it's taken me several false starts to finish this fine, well acted, well written tv film.  *** 1/4
RECRUIT, THE  (d. Roger Donaldson) Formulaic thriller, no surprises.  But Colin Farrell is a star who leaps off the screen.  ** 3/4
RED AWN, THE (d. Cai Shangjun) ** 3/4
RED DUST (d. Tom Hooper) Very well made and well acted, though familiar plotwise, drama about the S.African reconciliation.  ***
RED EYE (d. Wes Craven)  ** 3/4
RED LIGHTS (d. Cedric Kahn) Cautionary, spellbinding drama about a marriage in trouble and a drunken road trip where it all comes to a head. *** 1/4
RED ROAD (d. Andrea Arnold) Moral ambiguity abounds in this well made, subtle thriller. *** 1/4
RED WITHOUT BLUE (d. Brooke Sebold, Todd & Benita Sills) *** 1/4
RED, WHITE AND BLUES (d. Mike Figgis) Full length film from The Blues series, fascinating stuff about the '60s British invasion re-introducing blues to U.S. *** 1/2
REDBELT (d. David Mamet) Typical venial and corrupt Mametworld, but even more so than usual.  **
REDEEMER (d. Claudio Torres) A wildly uneven, but ultimately too far-out film about a crooked real estate empire in Rio and how God got even.  * 3/4
REEL PARADISE (d.  Steve James)V.  ***
RÈGLE DU JEU, LA (d. Jean Renoir) ++ A gem, beautifully constructed social satire/French farce.  *** 3/4
REIGN OVER ME (d. Mike Binder) Binder bites off a lot; but Cheadle & Sandler (nervy, spot on perf) make it work.  ***
RELIGULOUS (d. Larry Charles) I agree with everything in this film; but Maher's script depends too much on editing cheats, unlike much superior Letting Go of God. . ** 3/4
REMEMBER ME, MY LOVE (d. Gabriele Muccino) Fast paced troubled family drama with some great performances.  *** 1/4
RENART, THE FOX (d. Thierry Schiel; Luxembourg) *
RENDITION (d. Gavin Hood) Another well directed film with a story that just doesn't add up.  ** 3/4
RENT (d. Chris Columbus) Disappointingly prosaic version of La Bohème musical.  * 3/4
REPRISE (d. Joachim Trier; Norway)  *** 1/2
REQUIEM (d. Hans Christian Schmid) ***
REQUIEM OF SNOW (d. Jamil Rostami; Iraq)  **
RESCUE DAWN (d. Werner Herzog) *** 3/4
RESERVATION ROAD (d. Terry George) Unlikely coincidence mars a well told, predictable story.  ** 3/4
RESOLVED (d. Greg Whiteley) Gripping & a little scary docu about HS debaters now (so different from the '50s when I was one.) *** 1/2
REST IS SILENCE, THE (d. Nae Caranfil; Romania) *** 1/4
RESURRECTING THE CHAMP (d. Rod Lurie) *** 1/4
RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL (d. Sun-Woo Jang) Korean Matrix like videogame playing adventure film.  ** 1/2
RETRIBUTION (Sakebi) (d. Kiyoshi Kurosawa) ** 3/4
RETRIEVAL (d. Slawomir Fabiciki; Poland) *** 1/4
RETURN OF THE STORKS (d. Martin Repka; Slovakia) ***
RETURN, THE  (d. Andrei Zvagintsev) Russia's AFF: a beautiful, moody road picture about 2 kid brothers and their long absent father.  *** 1/2
REVANCHE (d. Götz Spielmann) *** 1/2
REVOLUTION OF PIGS (d. Kilmi & Reinumägi) Ambitious, but sprawling film about an '85 Young Communist camp gone to riot in Estonia.  ** 1/4
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD (d. Sam Mendes) Kate is pheomenal, Leo less so; but unpleasant film is caustic, dramatic dynamite with ring of truth.  *** 1/4
RICE RHAPSODY  (d. Kenneth Biroli) Singapore woman with 3 gay sons tries to get one to turn straight. A fun, lush foodie confection of a film.  ** 3/4
RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES (d. Zhang Yimou) Extraordinarily moving road picture of Japanese man's quest in China. *** 1/2
RIDING GIANTS (d. Stacy Peralta) A documentary about the history and addiction of riding the biggest waves in the world.  *** 1/4
RIGHT OF THE WEAKEST, THE (La Raison du plus faible) (d. Lucas Belvaux) *** 1/2
RING OF DARKNESS (d. David DeCoteau) Overamped Satinist "boy band" potboiler. The guys are very good looking; but the film is pretty bad.  * 3/4
RING TWO, THE (d. Hideo Nakata) A truly ridiculous premise so outlandish that it's impossible to be scared. Still, effective acting & direction.  * 3/4
RIPLEY UNDER GROUND (d. Robert Spottiswoode) ** 3/4
RIPLEY'S GAME  (d. Liliana Cavani) V. Unaccountably STV murder-for-hire and sociopathic intrigue plot from Highsmith.  Quite stylish and well made.  ***
RITCHIE BOYS, THE (d. Christian Bauer) Nicely made docu about German Jews who served in army intelligence during WWII. Great interviewees.  *** 1/2
RITTENHOUSE SQUARE (d. Robert Downey) V.  ** 1/2
RIVALS (Les Liens du sang) (d. Jacques Maillot) ***
RIVERMAN, THE (d. Bill Eagles) V. Murky, poor man's Manhunter tv movie about the Green River serial killer and Ted Bundy's last days on death row.  **
RIVERS WASH OVER ME (d. John G. Young) Nicely shot and acted issue film about gay black boy returned to small town South.  ***
RIZE (d. David LaChapelle; docu) V. ** 1/4
ROAD MOVIE (d. Kim In-Sik) Mediocre but visually interesting Korean melodrama - an itinerate gay man's love for a failed straight stockbroker.  ** 1/2
ROAD TO GUANTANAMO (d. Michael Winterbottom) ****
ROAD, THE (d. Zhang Jiarui) ** 3/4
ROADS TO KOKTEBEL, THE (d. Khlebnikov & Popogrebsky) OK, if slow, kid and father road-trip-to-nowhere Russian flick.  ** 3/4
ROBBER BRIDE, THE (d. David Evans) V. Canadian tv thriller with plot gyrations, but rather predictable, if well acted.  ** 1/4
ROBERT CAPA:  IN LOVE AND WAR  (US doc.  d. Anne Makepeace) Uninspired documentary about the photo-journalist.  ** 1/2
ROBERT ZIMMERMANN IS TANGLED UP IN LOVE  (d. Leander Haussmann) ***
ROBERTO SUCCO (d. Cedric Kahn) Frighteningly real true story of an insane Italian who charms women and serial kills randomly in France.  *** 1/4
ROBOTS (d. Chris Wedge) Kinetic, beautifully designed 3-D animated roller-coaster with a predictable script. Marred by Greg Kaneer's incipidly voiced villainy. ***
ROCK SCHOOL (d. Don Argott) Enormously entertaining docu about a Philadelphia school for kids to learn to perform rock.  *** 1/2
ROCKET SCIENCE (d. Jeffrey Blitz) *** 1/4
ROCKNROLLA (d. Guy Ritchie) Some clever bits looking for a coherent narrative.  Typical Ritchie, not a good thing imo.  ** 1/2
ROCKY BALBOA (d. Sylvester Stallone) I may be the sole ideal demographic for this film; but Stallone hits a perfect tone here. *** 1/4
ROGER DODGER (d. Dylan Kydd) V+ 2nd viewing not as great as remembered. Searing performances, though.  ***
ROLE MODELS (d. David Wain) Sweet comedy with a perfect cast. ***
ROLE OF A LIFETIME, THE  (d. François Favat) Pleasant, involving dramidy about a famous film actress & the woman she makes her assistant.  ***
ROLLING FAMILY (d. Pablo Trapero) Earthy road pic about an extended family's 1000km journey by camper through north Argentina.  *** 1/4
ROMA (d. Adolfo Aristarian) Poignant, lovely, wonderful epic drama about an elderly writer's reminiscences of his mother. Juan Diego Boto rules! ****
ROMAN DE GARE (d. Claude Lelouch) ***
ROMANCE & CIGARETTES (d. John Turturro) Virtually unwatchable embarrassment for all.  *
ROMEO IS BLEEDING (d. Peter Medak) V. Nihilistic, stylish, '93 film noir with memorable performances by Gary Oldman and Lena Olin.  ***
ROMULUS, MY FATHER (d. Richard Roxburgh) Superb acting, spare, slow, but beautifully made weeper. *** 1/2
RON CLARK STORY, THE (d. Randa Haines) V. Matthew Perry is good as inspiring teacher in Harlem. Predictable. ** 3/4
RONDA NOCTURNA (d. Edgardo Cozaninsky) Delightful rondelay of one enchanted night of an attractive male hustler in Buenos Aires.  *** 1/4
ROOM WITH A VIEW, A (d. Nicholas Renton) V. Andrew Davis's unnecessary remake; still, enjoyable.  ** 1/2
ROOSTER'S BREAKFAST, THE (Petalinaji zajtrk) (d. Marco Nabersnik; Slovenia) ***
ROOTS (d. Pavel Lungin) *** 1/2
RORY O'SHEA WAS HERE (d. Damien O'Donnell) Moving, uplifting disabled youths story with some great acting (James McAvoy!) and a story which sticks to the ribs. ***  1/2
ROSENSTRASSE  (d. Margarethe von Trotta) Somehow uninspiring, earnest Holocaust drama about Aryan wives of German Jewish men taken in 1943.   ** 1/2
ROSE'S SONGS (d. Andor Szilágyi) Excellent, unique Hungarian Holocaust film: group of Jews trying to avoid living in the ghetto. *** 1/4
ROUND TWO (d. Daniel Cebrián) *** 1/4
RUDO Y CURSI (d. Carlos Cuarón) Bernal & Luna are good enough; but soccer story and direction don't ignite.  ** 3/4
RUINS, THE (Rusevine) (d. Janez Burger) ** 1/2
RUMOR HAS IT... (d. Rob Reiner)  ***
RUMOR OF ANGELS, A   (d. Peter O'Fallon) V. Vanessa Redgrave & Trevor Morgan shine in this melodrama of grieving. Minor, but moving for all that.  ** 3/4
RUNAWAY JURY (d. Gary Fleder) A screen adaptation which is superior to the original book. Good acting, direction & editing save a hole filled plot. ***
RUNNING ON EMPTY (d. Akinci Bülent) ** 3/4
RUNNING ON KARMA (d. Johnny To, Wai Ka-fai) A female cop and a karma seeing ex-monk expiate past lives in this grizzly, confusing thriller.  ** 1/2
RUNNING WITH SCISSORS (d. Ryan Murphy) Excessive bio which struck gold for me. Great performances.  ***
RUSSIAN ARK (d. Aleksandr Sokurov)  Brilliant tour de force 1-take Russian historical pageant.  *** 1/2
RUSSIAN DOLLS (d. Cédric Klapisch) *** 1/4
RUSSIAN TRIANGLE, THE (d. Aleko Tsabadze; Georgia) *** 1/4
S.W.A.T. (d. Clark Johnson) Overly loud, violent, predictable L.A. police drama with enough originality & raging testosterone to be involving. ** 1/2
SABAH (d. Ruba Nadda) Traditional Muslem woman falls for white guy in this Canadian film. It's an old story; but done well enough here to work for me. ** 3/4
SACRED HEART (d. Ferzan Ozpetek) *** 1/4
SACRED PLANET (d. Jon Long) IMAX doc with pretty images - an ecologic world tour; but derivitive and with nothing new to say. **
SAD VACATION (d. Shinji Aoyama) * 3/4
SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD, THE (d. Guy Madden) Demented visual master's '30s retro fabulosity.  *** 1/4
SAFE PASSAGE (d. Robert Ackerman) V. A moving, if minor, '94 film dysfunctional family film with a wonderful Susan Sarandon perf. as mother of 7 boys.  ** 3/4
SAHARA (d. Breck Eisner) Big scope, empty calorie adventure film about skullduggery and treasure hunting in Africa. Mindless entertainment.  **
SAINT RALPH (d. Michael McGowan) Heartening, feel-good period film about a teenage boy in Catholic School who needs to make a miracle.  ***
SA-KWA (d. Kang Yi-kwan) *** 1/4
SALAWATI (d. Marc X. Grigoroff) ***
SALOME (d. Carlos Saura) Film about the creation of a Spanish ballet of Salome, mostly the performance.  * 3/4
SALT OF THIS SEA (d. Annemarie Jacir; Palestine) ***
SALTY AIR (d. Alessandro Angelini) *** 1/2
SALVADOR (d. Manuel Huerga) ***
SALVATORE: THIS IS LIFE (d. Gian Paolo Cugno) ***
SANCTUARY: LISA GERRARD (d. Clive Collier) ** 3/4
SAND AND SORROW (d. Paul Freedman) Darfur docu.  Admirable subject, boring straightforward filmmaking.  ** 1/2
SANGRADOR (d. Leonardo Henriquez)  B&W retelling of the Macbeth story with Andean bandits.  Overwrought, badly acted, but visually interesting.  * 3/4
SANGRE (d. Arnat Escalante) ** 1/4
SARABAND (d. Ingmar Bergman) Starts slow; but accumulates great strength with story of disaffected family.  *** 1/4
SATANAS (d. Andrés Baiz; Columbia) ***
SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE BATHS (d. David Buckley) 1974 groundbreaking film.  Fair story, great history ** 3/4
SATURN IN OPPOSITION (d. Ferzan Ozpetek) + *** 3/4
SATURN IN OPPOSITION (d. Ferzan Ozpetek) Building evacuation with 10 minutes to go! So a provisional *** 3/4
SAVAGE GRACE (d. Tom Kalin) *** 1/4
SAVAGES, THE (d. Tamara Jenkins) So real, so personally identifying, great acting, just too much of a downer.  *** 1/4
SAVED!  (d.  Brian Dannelly) Comedy take off on a X-tian high school which is pretty well done, some good actors but uninspired direction.  ** 1/2
SAVING FACE (d. Alice Wu) Lesbian approx. of The Wedding Banquet...a feelgood comedy of a family & a girl coming to grips with being gay. ** 3/4
SAY UNCLE (d. Peter Paige) Strangely discomforting film about a naive gay man whose innocent love for children is misunderstood.  **
SCANNER DARKLY, A (d. Richard Linklater) Phil Dick is well served, nice animation.  But ultimately unsatisfying.  ** 3/4
SCHOOL DAYS WITH A PIG (d. Tetsu Maeda) ***
SCHOOL OF ROCK (d. Richard Linklater) Jolt of pure entertainment, probably Jack Black's ultimately defining performance. Everyone wins here.  *** 3/4
SCHOOL TIES (d. Robert Mandel, '92) V. Good, if predictable, drama, a prep school in mid '50s; Jewish student (Brendan Fraser) vs. rich snob (Matt Damon).  ** 1/2
SCIENCE OF SLEEP, THE (d. Michel Gondry) ** 1/2
SCOOP (d. Woody Allen) Woody is in a clever caper story rut. Fun, but not nearly as good as similar Match Game.  ** 3/4
SCOTLAND, PA  (d. Billy Morrissette) V. Silly, amiable retelling of the Macbeth story in a 60's small town. Points for originality and humor.  ** 3/4
SCRATCH (d. Michal Rosa) ** 3/4
SCUSA MA TI CHIAMO AMORE (d. Federico Moccia) **
SEA INSIDE, THE (d. Alejandro Amenábar) Spanish AFF, remarkably sentimental, but moving true story about non-state sanctioned euthenasia.  ***
SEA OF SILENCE (d. Stijn Cominx) Belgium's so-so Academy nomination about a disfunctional farm family from the pov of the middle daughter.  ** 1/2
SEA WALL, THE (Un barrage contre le Pacifique) (d. Rithy Panh) *** 1/4
SEA , THE (d. Baltasar Kormakur)  Iceland AFF.  Dysfunctional family drama...non Dogmatic Conversation.  *** 1/2
SEABISCUIT (d. Gary Ross) Excellent docu-drama with fine cast and a resonant, spellbinding script - left me wanting more (to read the book?)  *** 1/4
SEASIDE  (France  d. Julie Lopes-Curval)  Multi-character, small-town drama of repressed yearnings for better things.  *** 1/4
SEAWARDS JOURNEY (d. Guillermo Casanova) Slight, but revelatory pastoral road picture about a group of men from the interior who journey to the sea. ** 1/2
SECOND COMING, THE (d. Jack Walsh) V.  0*
SECONDHAND CHILD (d. Karola Hattop) German "tv afterschool special" about a troubled, fatherless 13 year old boy who bonds with a new neighbor. ** 3/4
SECONDHAND LIONS (d. Tim McCanlies) 2 eccentric uncles raise teenage boy. Fine actors don't overcome shamelessly manipulative if amiable script. * 3/4
SECRET BEYOND THE DOOR (d. Fritz Lang) ** 3/4
SECRET FESTIVAL #2  Already seen this one, admittedly at L.A.'s worst big screen venue; but hated it and had no desire to see it again.  W/O
SECRET FESTIVAL #2  *** 1/2
SECRET FESTIVAL #3 ** 3/4
SECRET FESTIVAL #3  ***
SECRET FESTIVAL #4 Redeemed the entire concept of Secret Festival for the year.  *** 3/4
SECRET FESTIVAL #4  *** 1/2
SECRET LIFE OF BEES (d. Gina Bythewood) Color Purplish film with a fine cast.  Dakota Fanning is great; but Paul Bettany surprises playing a Southern redneck.  ***
SECRET LIFE OF DENTISTS, THE  (U.S.  d. Alan Rudolph)  Beautifully written and acted drama about a marriage in trouble.  *** 3/4
SECRET LIFE OF HAPPY PEOPLE, THE (d. Stephane Lapointe) ***
SECRET LIFE OF WORDS, THE (d. Isabel Coixet) 2 wounded souls in another moving Coixet. Tim Robbins & Sarah Polley great. ***
SECRET OF THE GRAIN, THE (d. Abdellatif Kechiche) *** 1/4
SECRET SUNSHINE (d. Lee Chang-dong; Korea) ***
SECRET THINGS (d. Jean-Claude Brisseau) + Re-saw in theater by accident (I forgot I'd seen it) a ridiculous, if sexy, film that is way over-the-top.  **
SECRET THINGS  (France  d. Jean-Claude Brisseau)  Soft porn with a lesbian bent.  Good looking bodies, but total trash and a ridiculous story.  *
SECRET WINDOW (d. David Koepp) Depp is the only reason to watch this ridiculous Stephen King story which rings psychologically false.  * 3/4
SECRET, UN (d. Claude Miller) *** 1/2
SECRETS OF A YOUNG GIRL (d. Magdi Ahmed Ali)  Egypt AFF.  Courageous family drama about 15 year old girl's pregnancy.  ***
SECRETS OF STATE (Secret défence) (d. Philipe Haïm) ***
SEDUCING DR. LEWIS (d. Jean-François Pouliot) Small, eccentric, mediocre French Canadian town shaggy dog story à la Waking Ded Devine.  ** 1/4
SEED OF DISCORD, THE (Il seme della siscordia) (d. Pappi Corsicato) ** 1/4
SEEKER: THE DARK IS RISING, THE (d. David L. Cunningham) V.+ Adolescent fantasy with an interesting hero in Alex Ludwig. ** 1/2
SENSE & SENSIBILITY (d. John Alexander) V. Andrew Davis' superb mini-series adaptation with a fine cast. *** 1/4
SENTIMENTS, LES  (d. Noémie Lvovsky) Two couples & the consequences of infidelity. Nice acting, but somehow unpleasant.  ***
SENTINAL, THE (d. Clark Johnson) Good Secret Service thriller. Kiefer Sutherland will henceforth always be Jack Bauer in every role. ***
SEOUL TRAIN (d. Lubansky, Butterworth, Sleeth) Mainly talking heads docu about plight of N. Korean refugees in China. Bad sound.  ** 1/4
SEPARATE LIES (d. Julian Fellowes) ***
SEPARATE PEACE, A (d. Peter Yates) V. Nicely done TV movie from the novel.  Well cast, well directed...but the script needed fleshing out.  ** 3/4
SEPTEMBER DAWN (d. Christopher Cain) Controversial gutwrenching true story of Morman slaughter of innocent wagon train in 1800s.  ***
SEQUESTRO EXPRESS (d. Jonathan Jakubowicz) Caracas slum dwellers carjack & kidnap a priveleged couple. Frenetic, visceral, frightening film.  ** 3/4
SÉRAPHINE (d. Martin Provost) *** 1/4
SERENITY (d. Joss Whedon)  * 3/4
SEUL CONTRE TOUS (d. Gaspar Noé) V. Noé is a great stylist. This film is hard to warch, but a fascinating character study of a loser.  ***
SEVEN DAYS, THE  (d. Ronit Elkabetz, Shlomi Elkabetz) * 1/2
SEVEN POUNDS (d. Gabriele Muccino) Terribly flawed script, obvious and predictable.  ** 1/4
SEVEN SWORDS (d. Tsui Hark) * 3/4
SEVERANCE (d. Christopher Smith) ***
SEX & BREAKFAST (d. Miles Brandman) Reprises the least interesting thread of HBO's Tell Me You Love Me.   ** 1/2
SEX AND DEATH 101 (d. Daniel Waters) **
SEX AND THE CITY (d. Michael Patrick King) Great fashions, sappy, predictable...but it kept getting better as it went on.  ** 3/4
SEX IS COMEDY (d. Catherine Breillat) Comedy about an annoying, talky female director making a sexy movie. Actually more fun than I expected.  ***
SHADE (d. Damian Nieman) Interesting movie about crosses and double crosses among poker players, card mechanics & gangsters. Very entertaining. ***
SHADOWBOXER (d.  Lee Daniels) No cops in sight in this hired assassin story.  Mirren as usual is great.  ** 3/4
SHADOWS (d. Milcho Manchevski; Macedonia) ***
SHADOWS IN THE PALACE (Goong-Nyuh) (d. Kim Mee-jung) ** 3/4
SHADOWS, THE (d. Guillermo Rodriguez) **
SHAKE THE DEVIL OFF (d. Peter Entell)  OK post Katrina docu: parish church & beloved reverend disbanded.  ** 3/4
SHALL WE KISS? (Un baiser s'il vous plait)  (d. Emmanuel Mouret) *** 1/2
SHANGHAI DREAMS (d. Wang Xiaoshuai) ** 3/4
SHAPE OF THINGS, THE   (d. Neil Labute) Clever reversal of Company of Men.  Attractive ensemble; stagey line readings. Why isn't Fred Weller a star?  ***
SHARK TALE (d. Bergeron, Jenson, Litterman) Predictable, clichéd, hip-hop animated comedy with star cast & lovely 3-D computer graphics but no heart.  * 3/4
SHATTERED GLASS (d. Billy Ray) True story: journalist faker Stephen Glass. Great acting & veracity, tho psychological insight is rather thin.  *** 1/4
SHE HATE ME (d. Spike Lee) Slick, but hateful & misogynist miscalculation. One of the worst films by a good filmmaker ever.  *
SHELTER (d. Jonah Markowitz) ***
SHELTER ME (Riparo) (d. Marco Simon Puccioni) *** 1/4
SHEM (d. Caroline Roboh) A bisexual English Everything is Illuminated.  Ash Newman is a real find; the film doesn't pay off.  ** 3/4
SHERRYBABY (d. Laurie Collyer) Maggie Gyllenhaal is fine; but film about junkie mom is very hard to take.  ** 1/4
SHE'S THE MAN (d. Andy Fickman) A teener "12th Night"; but a mediocre script. Channing Tatum is worth watching. **
SHINE A LIGHT (d. Martin Scorsese) Great, intimate concert film; an historical flawless production! ****
SHINER (d. Christian Calson) Horrendously directed but strangely erotic gay Fight Club imitator.  Amateur boxers lovingly & boringly pummel each other.  *
SHINOBI (d. Ten Shimoyaina) ** 3/4
SHOOT 'EM UP (d. Michael Davis)V. Hyperviolent, imaginative, totally absurd film. Fine cast wasted. Clive Owen's BMW ads taken to extreme. ** 3/4
SHOOTER (d. Antoine Fuqua) Better than average paranoid govt. out of control thriller - Mark Wahlberg is quite good.  ***
SHOOTING GALLERY (d. Keoni Waxman) V. Mediocre crooked cop/poolhall hustle STV. Ving Rhames & Prinze Jr. ok. ** 1/4
SHOP OF DREAMS (Stiilipidu) (d. Peeter Urbla; Estonia) ** 1/2
SHOPGIRL (d. Anand Tucker) ***
SHORT CIRCUITS (Kratki Stiki) (d. Janez Lapajne) Slovenia's foreign film submission ** 3/4
SHORTBUS  (d. John Cameron Mitchell) *** 1/4
SHOTGUN STORIES (d. Jeff Nichols) V. Quietly powerful, reflective Amer. indie pitting half-brothers against each other.  ***
SHREK 2 (d. Adamson, Asbury, Vernon) V. Best animated film since Toy Story 2. Clever schtick, a story which holds together & real characters. *** 1/2
SHREK THE THIRD (d. Chris Miller & Raman HuI) **
SHRINK (d. Jonas Pate) *** 1/4
SHUT UP AND SING (d. Barbara Kopple, Cecelia Peck) V.  I'm not a Dixie Chicks fan; but this politically satisfying docu works.  *** 1/4
SHUTKA BOOK OF RECORDS, THE (d. Aleksandar Manió) V.  * 1/4
SHWAAS (d. Sandeep Sawant) Overamped heart tugger about 6 year old boy with cancer who must lose both his eyes. * 3/4
SHY AMOL CHAYA (d. Humayun Ahmed; Bangladesh)  *
SICKO (d. Michael Moore) The Cuba trick is overly cute; but docu is entertaining & useful.  ***
SIDEWAYS (d. Alexander Payne) A Calif. subculture comedy, like Swingers. Note perfect performances, great wine lore, but 2nd act longeurs detracted.  ***
SILENCE, THE  (d. Cate Shortland) ** 3/4
SILENT LIGHT (d. Carlos Reygadis; Mexico) *** 3/4
SILK (d. François Gerard) Slow and reflective, but beautiful.  ** 3/4
SILLY AGE, THE (d. Pavel Giroud)  Cuba Academy foreign film submission  ***
SILMIDO (d. Woo-suk Kang) S. Korea forms a platoon of convicted criminals to fight North, and then it goes wrong.  Well directed with incredible cast. *** 1/4
SILVER CITY (d. John Sayles) Boring, turgid political eco-thriller, great take-off on George W. by Chris Cooper...but otherwise too long and overly complicated.  **
SIMON (d. Eddy Terstall) Dutch AFF, remarkably un-sentimental story about a flamboyant dying man and state sanctioned euthenasia. *** 1/4
SIMPSONS MOVIE, THE (d. David Silverman) ***
SIN NOMBRE (d. Cary Joji Fukunaga) Superbly executed drama of Central American gangs & the plight of immigrants with a believeable, moving romance. *** 1/2 .
SINCE OTAR LEFT (d. Julie Bertucelli) An old Georgian lady's triumph of the spirit when the death of her emmigré son is kept from her.  *** 1/4
SINGER, THE (Quand j'étais chanteur) (d. Xavier Giannoli) ** 1/4
SINGING DETECTIVE, THE  (d. Keith Gordon) First hour OK; but by end, good acting & direction didn't solve an offputting script. ** 1/4
SINGING FOREST, THE (d. Jorge Ameer) Gay melodrama about a couple of Nazi victims reunited after reincarnation. Horrendously bad in every aspect.  1/2*
SINGING REVOLUTION, THE (d. James & Maureen Tusty) Moving, eloquent and vital docu of how Estonian freedom is due to the culture of singing.  *** 1/2
SISTERS IN LAW (d. Kim Longinotto) V. Slow but moving docu about justice for women & children in Camaroon.  ***
SITA SINGS THE BLUES (d. Nina Paley) *** 1/4
SIXTY SIX (d. Paul Weiland) Nicely evoked coming of age about a nerdy English boy's Bar Mitzvah in 1966. Builds to satisfying climax. ***
SKETCHES (d. Neil Israel) V. TiVo found this unfairly maligned (Ebert 0 stars?! WTF!) young man dying weeper road picture with a great Jason Bateman perf.  ** 3/4
SKETCHES OF FRANK GEHRY (d. Sydney Pollack) ***
SKI JUMPING PAIRS - ROAD TO TORINO 2006 (d. Mashima Riichiro, Kobayashi Masaki) *** 1/4
SKIN (d. Anthony Fabian) ** 3/4
SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW (d. Kerry Conran) Stylized, retro futuristic thriller with great sound & design but otherwise predictable.  ** 3/4
SKY HIGH (d. Mike Mitchell) Fun, unpretentious kid's flick about a school for kids with super powers. Michael Angarano shines here...ditto Chris Wynne. ** 3/4
SKYFIGHTERS (Les chevaliers du ciel) (d. Gérard Pirès) French airforce fighter pilots intrigue. Well acted, great f/x; but preposterous, elliptical plot. **
SLAVE OF LOVE (Raba lyubvi) (d. Nikita Mikhalkov)V. Gorgeous, pastoral love story set in Russian revolution. ***
SLEEP DEALER (d. Alex Rivera)  *** 1/2
SLEEPER CELL (d. various) V. Extremely plausable & well made mini-series about Muslim terrorists in a terrifyingly real L.A.  *** 1/2
SLEEPER CELL 2 (d. various ) V. Similar, but inferior to 1st series.  ** 1//2
SLEEPING DOGS LIE  (d. Bobcat Goldthwait) ***
SLEEPLESS NIGHTS  (d.  Hany Khalifa) 3 married and one unmarried yuppie couple have their marital troubles in this fluffy romantic comedy.  ** 1/2
SLIM SUSIE (d. Ulf Malmros) Wild, sometimes clever, often not film about crazy antics of a bunch of young people in a small Swedish town. ** 3/4
SLINGSHOT (Tirador) (d. Brillante Mendoza) * 1/2
SLIPSTREAM (d. David van Eyssen) V. Ridiculous time travel story mixed with a Guy Richie gang who couldn't shoot straight story. Sean Astin is good, however.  * 1/4
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (d. Danny Boyle) Intense melodrama about boy from Mombai slums competing in TV game show.  ***
SLUMMING (d. Michael Glawogger) *** 1/4
SMALL CUTS (d. Pascal Bonitzer) Daniel Auteuil! Kristen Scott Thomas!  No chemistry!  Drama disguised as silly French farce.  **
SMALL ENGINE REPAIR (d. Niall Heery) *** 1/4
SMALL TOWN GAY BAR (d. Malcolm Ingram) ** 3/4
SMALL VOICES  (d. Gil M. Portes) Philippines AFF.  New teacher in rural village copes with problems.  **
SMALLPOX 2002:  SILENT WEAPON (d.  Daniel Percival) V. British tv movie, well done fake documentary with a frightening message.  ** 3/4
SMART PEOPLE (d. Noam Murro) 1st time I liked Ellen Page in a film! Fine cast, involving indie film.  ***
SMILEY FACE (d. Gregg Araki) *** 1/4
SMOKERS ONLY (d. Veronica Chen)  Pretentious, artsy-fartsy Argentine film about vapid rock chick and male hustler.  *
SNAPPER, THE (d. Stephen Frears) V. Another wonderful early Frears Irish family comedy.  Humanistic, well acted, effortlessly entertaining.  *** 1/4
SNIPER, THE (d. Dante Lam) *** 1/4
SNOW (Snijeg) (d. Aida Begic; Bosnia and Herzegovina) ***
SNOW ANGELS (d. David Gordon Green) Another remarkable, difficult drama by this artist. Great acting. *** 1/2
SNOW CAKE (d. Marc Evans) *** 3/4
SNOW WALKER (d. Charles Martin Smith) Clichéd and unlikely story of a pilot downed in N. Canada along with an ill Inuit woman. Still, effective storytelling.  ***
SO CLOSE, SO FAR (d. Reza Mir Karimi, Iran)  *** 1/4
SO GOES THE NATION (d. del Dio & Stern) V. Fascinating, gutwrenching docu of both sides of political organizers in Ohio in 2004. *** 3/4
SOAP, A (d. Pernille Fischer Christiansen) ** 3/4
SOLDANOS DE SALAMINA (d. David Trueba) A writer gradually uncovers an enigmatic incident in the Spanish Civil War. Slow start but big pay-off.  ***
SOLDIER'S GIRL, A   (US  d. Frank Pierson) True story: an American soldier falls for a transexual and how the dynamic plays out in his platoon.  *** 1/4
SOLO MIA (d. Javier Balaguer) Sergio Lopez plays abusive macho husband.  Excellent portrait of a bad marriage.  ***
SOLOIST, THE (d. Joe Wright) Wright throws every directorial trick in the book at this sappy script, and Downey & Foxx are fine; but I was bored. ** 1/2
SOME GIRL (d. Rory Kelly) V. Ribisi siblings interest me. A charming, surprisingly involving romantic comedy...young Jeremy Sisto a revelation.  ***
SOMEONE ELSE'S HAPPINESS (d. Fien Troch; Belgium) ** 3/4
SOMEONE I LOVED (Je l'aimais) (d. Zabou Breitman) ***
SOMERSAULT (d. Cate Shortland) Well played slice of life about Australian runaway teenage girl.  ***
SOMETHING LIKE HAPPINESS (Stestí) (d. Bohdan Sláma; Czech Republic)  *** 1/4
SOMETHING'S GOTTA GIVE (d. Nancy Meyers) I wanted to hate this like every other Meyers film; but it struck a deep chord of truth. Bravo to all. *** 1/4
SOMEWHERE OVER THE DREAMLAND  (Taiwan   d. Cheng Wen-tang) Inscrutable film about yearning and lost love...maybe.  ** 3/4
SON FRÈRE (d. Patrice Chéreau) Intimate drama of 2 estranged brothers, the straight one dying of rare blood disease. Eric Caravaca is great!  *** 1/4
SON OF A LION (d. Benjamin Gilmour) ***
SON OF RAMBOW (d. Garth Jennings) ***
SON, THE  (LE FILS) (d. Dardenne Bros.)  Belgium AFF.  Spare drama about carpentery teacher & apprentice who share a secret history.  *** 1/2
SONETAULA (d. Salvatore Mereu) ***
SONG FOR A RAGGY BOY (Ireland/US  d. Aisling Walsh) Drama/exposé about Catholic workhouse schools for wayward boys in 1939.  *** 1/4
SONG OF SPARROWS, THE (Avaze Gonjeshk-ha) (d. Majid Majidi) ***
SONS (Sonner) (d. Erik Richter Strand) *** 1/4
SOPHIE SCHOLL - THE FINAL DAYS (d. Marc Rothemund; Germany) ** 1/2
SORROW OF MRS. SCHNEIDER, THE  (d. Piro & Eno Milkani; Albania) ***
SOUND OF THUNDER, A (d. Peter Hyams) * 1/4
SOUNDLESS (d. Mennan Yapo) Excellent, moody thriller about a professional assassin & the cop who hunts him. Superbly written and directed. *** 1/2
SOUNDS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT: A POPUMENTARY (d. Jamie Jay Johnson) *** 1/2
SOUTH (d. Martin Koolhoven) Well made, viscerally upsetting psychological drama about a sexually wounded woman who slips into insanity.  ***
SOUTH DESERT (d. Shawn Garry)  ** 3/4
SOUTHLAND TALES (d. Richard Kelly) Scrambled script, good f/x,  Fifth Element light.  Was Donny Darko a fluke? ** 1/2
SPANGLISH (d. James Brooks) I loved this observent dark family comedy. Téa Leoni was bravely over-the-top, Paz Vega is a star & Sandler and Leachman: wonderful. *** 1/4
SPARE PARTS (d. Damjan Kozole) Slovenian version of Lichter, a bleak drama about smugglers who profit from driving 3rd world refugees into Europe.  ** 1/2
SPARROW (Man Jeuk) (d. Johnnie To) ** 1/2
SPARTAN (d. David Mamet) Twisty and turny thriller about skullduggery in high places. I like Val Kilmer and this film appealed to my cynical nature.  ***
SPEAK (d. Jessica Sharzer) Excellent, subtle, beautifully acted drama about a high school freshman traumatized by rape.  *** 1/4
SPEAK (d. Jessica Sharzer)V.+ ** 3/4
SPECIAL (d. Haberman and Passmore) Michael Rappaport as pathetically needy meter man who goes psycho on an experimental drug. Minor stuff.  ** 1/4
SPEED RACER (d. Wachowski Bros.) Visually stunning and inventive.  But script is so predictable.  Interesting cast, though. ** 1/2
SPELLBOUND (d. Jeffrey Blitz)  Involving, well conceived documentary about 8 competitors in the National Spelling Bee.  *** 1/2
SPIDER-MAN 2 (d. Sam Raimi) Tobey Maguire shines, the f/x much improved over the original. Satisfying Hollywood tentpole, if ultimately trivial entertainment. ***
SPIDER-MAN 3 (d. Sam Raimi)V.  Much better than #2; but too many villains spoil the plot.  ** 1/2
SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, THE (d. Mark Waters) Scary stuff; better than expected. Fine f/x, nicely acted.  ***
SPIN (d. James Redford) A more than credible first feature...'50s coming of age story centered on flying. Ryan Merriman a young actor to watch! *** 1/4
SPINNING BORIS (d. Roger Spottiswoode) American political spinsters go to Russia to work for Yeltsin in this ok Showtime tv movie.  ** 3/4
SPINNING INTO BUTTER (d. Mark Brokaw) Racism in a New England college has never been so banal or clichéd.  * 3/4
SPIRIT OF THE MARATHON, THE (d. Jon Dunham) Human interest docu about people who run Chicago marathon. Nicely shot, but of limited interest.  ** 3/4
SPIRIT: STALLION OF THE CIMARRON (d. Kelly Asbury, Lorna Cook) Beautiful animated film which actually moved me.  ***
SPRING 1941 (d. Uri Barbash) * 1/2
SPRING BREAKDOWN (d. Ryan Shiraki) * 1/4
SPRING SUBWAY (China  d. Zhang Yibai) Gorgeous photography & production design in search of a story to give a damn about.  ** 3/4
SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER...AND SPRING (d. Kim Ki-duk) Gorgeously photographed fable about the life of a very human Buddhist monk.  *** 1/2
SPUN (d. Jonas Akerlund)  Requiem For a Dream wannabe.  Tweaker farce. Transgressive and fun, but  cheesy.  **
SPY KIDS 3D: GAME OVER (d. Richard Rodriguez) 3D gives me eye strain; but this kinetic film had a consistent script with miraculous digital f/x.  ***
SQUARE, THE (d. Nash Edgerton) ***
SQUID AND THE WHALE, THE (d. Noah Baumbach)  *** 1/2
STAGE BEAUTY (d. Richard Eyer) Very disappointing...Shakespeare in Love lite. Poorly paced & directed, and Crudup miscast, though rest of the cast was superb.  ** 1/4
STALAG 17 (d. Billy Wilder)+ V. Still works as straighforward prison camp story, though plot and characters now seem pretty stock. Holden fine.  ***
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (d. Errol Morris) Docu of Abu Ghraib as you wished it weren't.  *** 1/4
STANDARD, THE (d. Jordan Albertsen) *** 3/4
STANDER (d. Bronwen Hughes) Thomas Jane is remarkable in this involving, off-center crime spree tale from S. Africa. ***
STAR TREK (d. J.J. Abrams) Spectacular in IMAX, well cast, nothing special about the plot...but as a summer action flick it is about as good as they come. ***
STAR WARS EPISODE III: RETURN OF THE SITH (d. George Lucas) Kept my interest.  ** 3/4
STAR WARS: EPISODE 2 (d. George Lukas) Bombastic, effects heavy...not as bad as I'd heard.  ** 1/4
STARDUST (d. Matthew Vaughn) ** 1/2
STARFISH HOTEL (d. John Williams) * 3/4
STARSKY & HUTCH (d. Todd Phillips) Better than I expected...no Charlie's Angels, at least. Stiller & Wilson have chemistry; but Owen is not a '70s dude!  ** 1/4
STARTER FOR 10  (d. Tom Vaughan) *** 1/2
STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING (d. Andrew Wagner) Understated, fine acting.  A very adult script.   *** 1/4
STATE OF MIND (d. Christopher Menaul) V. Pretty good British tv forensic psych story...Andrew Lincoln wonderful, per usual. ** 3/4
STATE OF PLAY (d. Kevin Macdonald) More focused than the BBC series, Good character driven thriller with fine acting.  ***
STATEMENT, THE  (d. Norman Jewison) Turgid thriller about a Nazi collaborator on the run 46 years later. Very disappointing.  **
STATION AGENT, THE  (d. Tom McCarthy) David Green territory without his visual pinache, but real narrative.  Fine performances by all 3 leads.  *** 1/4
STAY (d. Marc Forster) ***
STAY ALIVE (d. William Bell) Good cast can't save this computer death game Ringu like film. Weak dialog, reasonable f/x. **
STEAL A PENCIL FOR ME (d. Michèle Ohayon) Holocaust docu: Dutch survivors on their 60th wedding aniv. *** 1/4
STEAL ME (d. Melissa Painter) Gem of an Amer. indie about a wandering teenage boy klepto who gets adopted into a good Montana home. *** 1/4
STEALING SINATRA (d. Ron Underwood) V. True gang-who-couldn't-shoot-straight story. I like Thomas Ian Nicholas as Sinatra Jr., but film is silly.  **
STEALTH (Comme des voleurs -A l'est) (d. Lionel Baier) *** 1/4
STEALTH (d. Rob Cohen) Politically dubious, viscerally exciting war as video game. Surprisingly effective entertainment. Josh Lucas & EDI rule. ** 3/4
STELLA (d. Sylvie Verheyde) ***
STEP BROTHERS (d. Adam McKay) 40ish guys playing kids is not funny. Still, watchable silliness with many groaners.  * 1/2
STEP UP (d. Anne Fletcher) Clichés abound. Channing Tatum can't act; but he sure can dance and he's a STAR.  ** 1/2
STEP UP 2 THE STREET (d. Jon Chu) Predictable script; great street dancing.  Robert Hoffman a star? ** 1/2
STEPFORD WIVES, THE (d. Frank Oz) Silly and unfunny satire, another wasted remake. Watchable for the sets and costumes at least.  * 3/4
STEPHANIE DALEY (d. Hilary Brougher) ***
STEVIE (d. Steve Jones) (V)  Documentary about a troubled boy-man, abused as a kid, who faces prison for child sexual abuse himself.  *** 1/4
STILL ALIVE: A FILM ABOUT KRZYSZTOF KIESLOWSKI (d. Maria Zmarz-Koczanowicz) ** 1/4
STILL LIFE (Sanxia Haoren) (d. Jia Zhang-ke) ** 1/2
STILL ORANGUTANS (d. Gustavo Spoldoro) *** 1/2
STILL WALKING (d. Kore-ea Hirokazu) *** 1/2
STOKED: THE RISE & FALL OF GATOR (d. Helen Stickler) Nicely constructed, fascinating docu about skateboarder/murderer Mark Rogowski.  *** 1/2
STOLEN CHILDREN (Certi Bambini)  (d. Andrea and Antonio Frazzi) *** 1/4
STOLEN EYES (Otkradnati ochi) (d. Radoslav Spassov; Bulgaria)
STONED (d. Stephen Woolley) Leo Gregory is ok, Paddy Considine better in this amalgam of Sid & Nancy and Last Days about Brian Jones. ***
STOP-LOSS (d. Kimberly Peirce) Extraordinarily affecting, difficult & appropos film; superb script & acting. *** 3/4
STORM OF EMOTIONS (d. Yael Klopmann) V. Very powerful, apolitical docu of forced evacuation of Gaza settlers.  *** 1/2
STORY OF MY LIFE, THE (d. Laurent Tirard) Fun, well made French 4-character romantic comedy. Only flaw is too pat a resolution.  ** 3/4
STORY OF PAO, THE (d. Ng Quang Hai; Vietnam) ***
STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL, THE  (d. Byambasuren Davaa) Realistic & involving saga of Mongolian herder family & little camel rejected by its mom.  ***
STRACCIATELLA  (d. Adnras Kern) Kern is the Roberto Benigni (or Ed Burns) of Hungary. Self-indulgant: about conductor having a nervous breakdown. ** 1/4
STRAIGHT-JACKET (d. Richard Day) Horrendously banal and poorly directed gay romantic comedy about a Rock Hudson type gay '50s movie star.  *
STRANDED:  I'VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED ON THE MOUNTAINS (d. Gonzalo Arijon) *** 1/2
STRANGE CULTURE (d. Lynn Hershman Leeson) ****
STRANGER THAN FICTION (d. Marc Forster) Charlie Kaufmanesque script with a stunning Emma Thompson perf.  ***
STRANGERS (d. Erez Tadmor, Guy Nattiv) ** 1/2
STRANGERS WITH CANDY (d. Paul Dinello) *
STRAWBERRY STATEMENT, THE (d. Stuart Haggman) V. '69 student tumult in this non-dated cult film.  ***
STRAY GIRLFRIEND, A (Una novia errante) (d. Ana Katz) ** 1/4
STRAYED (d. André Téchiné) Totally absorbing film about a family of refugees in 1940 France. Téchiné is a master of atmosphere & actors. *** 1/2
STREET FIGHT (d. Marshall Curry; docu) V.  *** 1/2
STREET KINGS (d. David Ayer) Too many unbelieveable loose ends. Why is Chris Evans not a star?  ** 1/2
STRIKE (Volker Schlöndorff) *** 1/2
STRINGLESS VIOLIN, THE (d. Sekar Ayu Asmara) An overamped melodrama mostly about a brain-damaged child and the woman who cares for him.  **
STUCK ON YOU (d. Bobby & Peter Farelly) Irresistably sweet, hip and funny. Farellys continue to play with characters' illusions & it works.  ***
SUBURBAN MAYHEM (d. Paul Goldman) ***
SUDESTE  (Argentina  d. Sergio Diego Bellotti) Torpid drama of a young river fisherman and his encounter with an outlaw. ** 3/4
SUERTE DORMIDA, LA (d. Angeles Sinde) Spanish Erin Brokovich with some fine acting by Adriana Ozores, Jose Soriano, and Felix Gomez (yum!)  *** 1/4
SUGAR (d. Anna Bodin, Ryan Fleck) Fine American indie about a young Dominican baseball player & his minor league tryout in Iowa. ***
SUGAR (d. John Palmer) A Canadian NC-17 afterschool special about an 18 year old from the burbs who falls for a crack addict street hustler. Brendan Fehr shines. ** 3/4
SUICIDALS (d. Juan Villegas) **
SUITE HABANA (d. Fernando Pérez) Like Hukkle last year, a music & sound efx filled 24 hours in the lives of several ordinary people in present day Havana. ***
SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (d. Preston Sturges) I just don't find Sturges's rapid fire dialog,  endless montages and liberal messaging all that interesting or amusing.  ** 1/2
SUMMER (d. Kenny Glenaan) ** 3/4
SUMMER '04  (d. Stefan Krohmer) *** 1/4
SUMMER DAY, A (d. Franck Guerin) ***
SUMMER HEAT (d. Monique van de Ven) ** 3/4
SUMMER HOURS (L'heure d'été)  (d. Olivier Assayas) + *** 3/4
SUMMER IN BERLIN (Andreas Dresen) ** 1/2
SUMMER RAIN (El Camino de los ingleses)  (d. Antonio Bandaras) ** 3/4
SUMMER STORM (d. Marco Kreuzpaintner) Pleasant, sexy, gay German American Pie type film about youthful affairs at a summer rowing camp.  ***
SUMMER STORM (d. Marco Kreuzpaintner) ++ Yes, for the first time ever I watched a film for the 2nd time at SIFF. Blame the fabu eye candy. ***
SUMMER STORM (d. Marco Kreuzpaintner)+++ Yikes!  Third time the charm.  Hollywood should only make a teen sex comedy this good!  As if.  ***
SUN ALSO RISES, THE (Tai Yang Zhao Chang Sheng Qi) (d. Jiang Wen)  ** 1/4      
SUNSET STRIP (d. Adam Collis) V.+  ***
SUNSHINE (d. Danny Boyle) *** 1/4
SUNSHINE CLEANING (d. Christine Jeffs) Enjoyable indie dramedy.  Amy Adams better here than in Doubt.  ***
SUPER SIZE ME (d. Morgan Spurlock ) Superb, entertaining, shocking doc about the physical effects of the director's immersion in McDonald's fast foods for a month.  *** 3/4
SUPERBAD (d. Greg Mattola) ** 1/2
SUPERBAD (d. Greg Mattola) V.+  One of the rare cases of a film where the over-the-top raunch works better on video than in the theater. ***
SUPERMAN RETURNS (d. Brian Singer) Not a disappointment...Singer did everything just about right.  ***
SUPERVOLCANO (d. Tony Mitchell)V. Scary, involving, high gloss fictionalized disaster docudrama about Yellowstone eruption. ***
SUR LA TRACE D'IGOR RIZZI (d. Noël Mitrani) ** 1/4
SURF'S UP (d. Ash Brannon & Chris Buck) ** 3/4
SURVEILLANCE (d. Paul Oremland) ** 1/4
SUSPECT ZERO (d. Elias Merhige) Dour, complex SE7EN clone.  Interesting visually; and Eckhart is good, as usual. But script is not up to snuff.  ** 3/4
SWAY (Yureru) (d. Miwa Nishikawa) *** 1/2
SWEENEY TODD (d. Tim Burton) Well made; but even Sondheim's lyrics can't make me love this musical. ***
SWEET AND THE BITTER, THE (Il dolce a l'amaro) (d. Andrea Porporati) *** 1/4
SWEET CRUDE (d. Sandy Cioffi) ***
SWEET LAND (d. Ali Selim) A 20th century immigrant woman's story; hardscrabble midwest farmland, slow paced but quite moving. ***
SWEET MUD (d. Dror Shaul; Israel) *** 1/2
SWIMMERS (d. Doug Sadler) American indie with high production values, but a slow, trivial tv-movie plot which failed to go anyplace.  * 3/4
SWIMMING POOL (d. François Ozon) Somewhat disappointing film from this always interesting director. Sagnier has grown to a sexy young woman.  ** 1/2
SWIMMING UPSTREAM (d. Russell Mulcahy) Pedestrian bio of early '60s Australian swimmer (the magnetic Jesse Spenser) & his drunking & abusive father.  ** 1/4
SWIMSUIT ISSUE (d. Mans Herngren) ** 3/4
SWINDLED (Incautos) (d. Miguel Bardem) ***
SWING VOTE (d. Joshua Michael Stern) Costner is ideal "everyman"; nicely acted (esp. Kelsey Grammar), predictable, timely.  ***
SYLVIA (d. Christine Jeffs) Not as bad a biopic as Iris; but it doesn't go anywhere but the obvious with no insight. Good acting, nowhere script.  **
SYMMETRY  (d.  Konrad Niewolski) Slow, bleak, well made prison drama of an innocent convict's assimilation into prison culture.  *** 1/4
SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE (d. Park Chan-wook) ** 1/4        
SYNECDOCHE, N.Y. (d. Charlie Kaufman) Excruciating exercise in self indulgence...but funny in an in-joke kind of way.  **
SYRIAN BRIDE, THE (d. Eran Riklis) Well made, emotionally satisfying film about a Druze family where the daughter must leave to wed in Syria.  ** 3/4
SYRIANA (d. Stephen Gaghan)  ** 3/4
TAARE ZAMEEN PAR (d. Aamir Khan; India) ** 3/4
TAE GUK GI:  THE BROTHERHOOD OF WAR (d. Kang Je Gyu) Overly melodramatic Korean war film. Good, bloody battle scenes, if edited too fast.  ** 1/2
TAHAAN - A BOY WITH A GRENADE (d. Santosh Sivan) * 3/4
TAIS-TOI! (d. Francis Veber) Depardieu 100 lbs. lighter & on his game has true chemistry with Jean Reno in this fast paced buddy/chase comedy.  ***
TAKING CHANCE (d. Ross Katz) V. Emotionally devastating TV movie about the consequences of war on the homefront. *** 1/2
TAKING LIVES (d. D.J. Caruso) I intended to hate this predictable & implausable thriller; but its atmosphere & good acting (Hawke!) won me over.  ** 3/4
TAKING SIDES (d. István Szabó) Umteenth film in a row Harvey Keitel chews scenery; but Stellan Skarsgard superb. Thoughtful, morally ambiguous.  ** 3/4
TAKVA - A MAN'S FEAR OF GOD (d. Ozer Kiziltan) *** 1/4
TALE OF TWO SISTERS (d. Kim Ji-woon) Boring, pointless, confusing "ghost" story mostly about hysteria, but with a few shocks.  * 1/4
TALHOTBLOND (d. Barbara Schroeder) *** 1/4
TALK TO ME (d. Kasi Lemmons) *** 1/4
TALK TO ME ABOUT LOVE (Parlami d'amore) (d. Silvio Muccino) ***
TALLADEGA NIGHTS (d. Adam McKay) Finally a really funny stupid satire. Sasha Baron Cohen a revelation!  ***
TAN DE REPENTE  (d. Diego Lerman) Lesbian road film, B&W, like early Godard or Greg Araki, with sweetly life affirming aftertaste.  *** 1/4
TAPAS (d. José Corbacho & Juan Cruz) V. ***
TARGET FOR RAGE (d. Michael Watkins) V. High tension 1997 film based on N. Calif. school massacre with excellent acting by Schroder, Winkler & Prinze. ** 3/4
TARNATION (d. Jonathan Caouette) Highly charged personal life docu done as experimental film. Revealing of a screwed up family life, but aroused my sympathy.  ***
TATTOOED (Tatuado) (d. Eduardo Raspa) ** 3/4
TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE (d. Alex Gibney) Horrific, difficult docu: American torture of prisoners since 9/11. *** 1/4
TAXIDERMIA (d. György Pálfi) ** 3/4
TBILISI-TBILISI (d. Zakareishvili Levan;  Georgia) ** 1/2
TBS [NOTHING TO LOSE] (d. Pieter Kuijpers) *** 1/4
TCHAO PANTIN (d. Claude Berri) *** 1/4
TE DOY MIS OJOS (d. Iciar Bollain) Excellent womans picture about a wife dealing with an abusive husband. Fabulous acting by Laia Marull and Luis Tosar!  *** 1/2
TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE (d. Parker & Stone) Surprisingly funny and relevant puppet comedy, trenchant satire on Bruckheimer films.  ***
TEAR THIS HEART OUT (Arráncame la vida) (d. Roberto Sneider, Mexico) *** 1/4
TEARS OF APRIL (d. Aku Louhimies) *** 3/4
TEARS OF THE SUN (d. Antoine Fuqua) White man's burden as American soldiers save day in Nigeria.  Good direction...horrendous script.  * 1/2
TEDDY BEAR (d. Jan Hrebejk) *** 1/4
TELL NO ONE (Ne le dit à personne) (d.Guillaume Canet) *** 1/4
TELL THEM WHO YOU ARE (d. Mark Wexler) Fascinating, very personal docu about prickley liberal cinematographer by his rebellious son.  *** 1/2
TELSTAR (d. Nick Moran) ***
TEMPESTA (d. Tim Disney) * 3/4
TEN CANOES (d. Rolf de Heer; Australia) ** 1/2
TEN, THE (d. David Wain) *** 1/4
TERMINAL, THE (d. Stephen Spielberg) Logistic triumph, great cinematography; but a mediocre script. Hanks is turning into the male Meryl Streep. ** 1/2
TERMINATOR 3 RISE OF THE MACHINES (d. Jonathan Mostow) Good script, great f/x, one of the most satisfying action thrillers of recent years.  *** 1/4
TERMINATOR 4 (d. McG) I love the "Terminator" world, including the tv-show contrib to the mythos. This film worked, consistent and thrilling.  *** 1/4
TERRIBLY HAPPY (d. Henrik Ruben Genz) ** 3/4
TESIS (d. Alejandro Amenabar 1995) Thriller about snuff films on campus.  Amenabar at 23 was already an accomplished creepmeister!  *** 1/2
TESSERACT, THE (d. Oxide Pang) Complex, stylish thriller about a dope smuggling deal which goes wrong.  ***
TESTOSTERONE (d. David Moreton) Nicely done thriller about obsessive love, made in Argentina with a fine cast. Looks splendid, but some editing decisions detract.  ** 3/4
TESTOSTERONE (d. David Moreton)V.+ Murky gay doings in Buenos Aires with an attractive (!) cast & a story of lust and longing which doesn't work.  ** 1/2
TEXAS (d. Fausto Paravidino) ***
THANK YOU FOR SMOKING (d. Jason Reitman) Clever satire with a great cast. Slightly oversold as the best thing since sliced bread. ***
THAT MAN:  PETER BERLIN (d. Jim Tushinski) Interesting docu about male porn object of the '70s. Nicely made with excellent interviews. *** 1/4
THEATER OF WAR (d. John Walter) ** 1/2
THEM (Ils) (d. David Moreau and Xavier Palud) ** 3/4
THEN SHE FOUND ME (d. Helen Hunt) Enjoyable, if predictable, romantic dramidy.  ** 3/4
THERE GOES MY BABY (d. Floyd Mutrux) V. American Graffiti lite: high-school grad night set in L.A. during Watts riots. Good music, bad acting.  ** 1/2
THERE WILL BE BLOOD (d. Paul Thomas Anderson) Respect the filmmaking more than loved the film.  *** 1/4
THESE FOOLISH THINGS (d. Julia Taylor-Stanley) **
THEY (d. Robert Harmon)V. Atmospheric but shlocky horror flick about some college students who had night terrors as kids & now they're being harvested by "they".  ***
THEY KILLED SISTER DOROTHY (d. Daniel Junge) Shocking docu about miscarried justice in the Brazil rainforests. *** 1/4
THEY'VE GOT KNUT  (Germany  d. Stefan Krohmer) A tedious film about a group of leftists who meet in a Tyrol ski cabin for fun times & relating.  **
THICKER THAN WATER (d. Arni Olafur Asgersson) *** 1/4
THIEF OF PARIS, THE  (d. Louis Malle) V. Very cool, young Belmondo in solid period piece.  Malle obviously influenced by Bresson at this stage. ***
THIEVES AND LIARS (d. Matta & Marichal) ***
THING ABOUT MY FOLKS, THE  (d. Raymond De Felitta) Touching family comedy written & acted by Paul Reiser with the great Peter Falk.  ***
THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE (d. Susanne Bier) Fine direction, fantastic acting (del Toro & Barry)  *** 1/4
THINK IT OVER  (d. Katerina Evangelakou) Forgetable romantic comedy: family where daughter is pregnant by her much younger almost step brother.  *
THIRTEEN (d. Catherine Hardwick) Hard to watch, authentic, gritty drama about "good" teen girl going bad. Wood & Hunter truly great!  *** 1/4
THIRTY DAYS OF NIGHT (d. David Slade) V. Hyper-violent vampire film with ridiculous script, some bad overacting, but also a scary Arctic atmosphere. **
THIS CHARMING GIRL (d. Lee Yoon-ki) Tedious, pointless film about a quietly suffering S. Korean girl wounded inside by sexual abuse.  ** 1/4
THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED (d. Kirby Dick) V. Amusing indictment of rating system. Predictable.  *** 1/4
THIS GIRL'S LIFE (d. Ash)V. Extraordinarily powerful film about a girl in the internet porn biz. Great perfs by James Wood, Kip Pardue and esp. Juliette Marquis. *** 1/4
THIS IS ENGLAND (d. Shane Meadows) *** 1/4
THOSE HAPPY DAYS (Ces jours heureux) (d. Nackache & Tolédano) OK summer camp romantic comedy. Got better as it went along. ** 1/2
THOSE WHO REMAIN (Ceux qui restent) (d. Anne Le Ny) ** 3/4
THOUSAND CLOUDS OF PEACE, A (d. Julio Hernandez) Pretentious B&W gay reverie about a teen boy's troubles coming out. Mala Noche from the chicken's POV. ** 3/4
THREE BLIND MICE (d. Matthew Newton)  ***
THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA, THE (d. Tommy Lee Jones)  ***
THREE DANCING SLAVES (d. Gaël Morel) Three attractive brothers and their somewhat eliptical stories. Morel should quit directing & return to acting. ** 1/4
THREE MARIAS  (Brazil/Italy  d. Aluizio Abranches) Stylish drama of family feud and revenge.  A nothing story gorgeously told.  ** 1/2
THREE MONKEYS (d. Nuri Bilge Ceylan; Turkey) *** 1/2
THREE OF HEARTS (d. Susan Kaplan) Interesting docu about a 3-way "marriage" between two gay men & a straight woman. Fascinating outcome. *** 1/4
THREE ON THE ROAD (Baciami Piccina) (d. Roberto Cimpanelli) ***
THREE TIMES (d. Hou Hsiao-hsien) **
THUMBSUCKER (d. Mike Mills) ** 1/2
TILL HUMAN VOICES WAKE US (d. Michael Petroni)V. My low expectations for this moody romance (man & ghost) were exceded. Bravo Guy Pearce!  ***
TILSAMMANS (Together)  (d. Lukas Moodysson) V.+ Undeminished a 2nd time. The best film about the leftist collectives of the '70s ever made. ****
TIME CHANGER (d. Rich Christiano) Offensive Christian propaganda film disguised as a SF time travel story.  0*
TIME OF THE WOLF (d. Michael Haneke) Contextless, disturbing apocolyptic drama of society's breakdown in rural France. Strong stuff.  ***
TIME TO DIE (Pora Umierac) (d. Dorota Kedzierzawska) ***
TIME TO LEAVE (d. François Ozon) ****
TIMECRIMES (d. Nacho Vigalondo) ** 1/2
TIMELINE (d. Richard Donner) Workmanlike, if eliptical, historical time-travel story, looked good...but the acting and direction mostly sucked.  * 3/4
TIMES AND WINDS (d. Riha Erdem) *** 1/4
TIN MINE, THE (d. Jira Maligool; Thailand)  ** 3/4
TO BE AND TO HAVE (France  d. Nicolas Philibert) Pastoral documentary about a year in the life of a one-room school in rural France.  ***
TO BE OR NOT TO BE  (d. Ernst Lubitch) V. Polish WWII farce with some clever, if unrealistic, fantasy writing.  No trace of the Lubitch touch.  **
TO GET TO HEAVEN YOU FIRST HAVE TO DIE (Bihisht Faqat Baroi Murdagon) (d. Djamshed Usmonov) ***
TO SERVE & PROTECT (d. Jean de Segonzac) V. Competent '98 tv movie about a family of Dallis cops & a serial killer targeting them. James Franco's 1st role. ** 3/4
TOGETHER  (China/S. Korea  d. Chen Kaije) Audience pleaser about a young violin prodigy facing life in Beijing.  *** 1/4
TOKYO SONATA (d. Kiyoshi Kurosawa) Excellent screwed-up family drama & morality tale which is more Kore-eda + Cantet  than Kurosawa. *** 1/2
TOKYO! (d. Michel Gondry, Leos Carax, Joon-ho Bong) ** 1/2, * 3/4, ** 1/2
TOM BROWN'S SCHOOL DAYS (d. Dave Moore) V.  *** 1/4
TOMORROW MORNING (Sutra ujutro)  (d. Oleg Novkovic; Serbia) * 3/4
TON OF LUCK, A (d. Rodrigo Triana; Columbia) ** 1/4
TONY MANERO (d. Pablo Larrain) ** 1/2
TORCHWOOD:  CHILDREN OF EARTH (d. Euros Lyn) Superior 5-part SF tv mini-series from Britain about alien visitation. Political dynamite.  *** 1/2
TORREMOLINOS 73 (d. Pablo Berger) Fun satire about an ordinary couple making home pornos for the Scandinavian market. Candela Peña a standout!  ***
TOTALLY PERSONAL (Sasvim Licno) (d. Nedzad Begovic)  ** 3/4
TOTALLY SEXY LOSER (d. Jason Schafer) Low budget, very realistic DV comedy about a man afraid to commit (fine Chad Lindsey) in a doomed affair.  ***
TOUCH (d. Paul Schrader) V.+ Nice cast, esp. Skeet Ulrich; I hadn't remembered it at all until the stigmata scene which stuck. ** 1/2
TOUCH OF PINK  (d. Ian Iqbal Rachid) Witty, skillful comedy much like The Wedding Banquet: gay man's Muslim family unaware he's gay.  ***
TOUCH OF SPICE, A (d. Tassos Boulmetis) Large scale but intimate picaresque à la Junot:  a Turkish-Greek family, a boy's coming of age with a heavy food metaphor.  ** 3/4
TOUCHING EVIL (d. var.) V. Eerie English detective miniseries created by Paul Abbott and Russell Davis with fine cast (Robson Green!) *** 1/4
TOUCHING THE VOID (d. Kevin Macdonald) V. Recreated docu (with interviews with original mountain climbers.) Suspenseful, nicely shot, but more fiction than doc? *** 1/4
TOUGH ENOUGH (d. Detlev Buck) *** 1/2
TOUR, THE  (d. Goran Markovic; Serbia) ** 1/4
TOURNEUSE DE PAGES, LA (d. Denis Dercourt) *** 1/4
TOUT CONTRE LÉO (d. Christophe Honoré) French tv "afternoon special": 12 yr. old boy whose older brother gets AIDS. Frank, well acted. ** 1/2
TOUT UN HIVER SANS FEU (d. Greg Zglinski; Switzerland)  ** 3/4
TRACKER, THE (d. Rolf de Heer) Spare, well shot drama of white power in Australia in 1922.  The Aboriginal hero was the best thing in the film.  ***
TRAFFIC (d. Eric Bross, Stephen Hopkins) V. 3 part mini-series: new story, many threads, volently cross-cut, high tension, good acting.  ***
TRAINWRECK: MY LIFE AS AN IDOIT (d. Todd Harrison Williams) ***
TRAITOR (d. Jeffrey Nachmanoff) Superior, if predictable, terrorism thriller with superb perfs by Cheadle and Guy Pearce.  *** 1/4
TRANSAMERICA (d. Duncan Tucker)  *** 1/4
TRANSFORMERS (d. Michael Bay) ** 1/4
TRANSPORTER 2, THE (d. Louis Leterrier) ** 1/2
TRANSPORTER, THE (d. Louis Leterrier)V.  ** 3/4
TRANSSIBERIAN (d. Brad Anderson) ***
TRAP, THE (d. Srdan Golubovic; Serbia) *** 3/4
TRAPPED (d. Luis Mandoki) V. Greg Iles is one of my fave authors; but his own screenplay for his worst book was lame. Still, worked as thriller. ** 1/2
TREASURE PLANET (d. Ron Clements, John Musker) Disney animated Oscar nom based on Treasure Island.  I slept through part of it.  * 1/2
TRECE CAMPANADAS (d. Xavier Villaverde) Brilliantly made Hitchcockian thriller/ghost story.  *** 1/2
TREELESS MOUNTAIN (d. So-Yong Kim) ** 1/2
TRIALS OF DARRYL HUNT, THE (d. Stern & Sundberg) Almost perfect docu about failure of justice in N. Carolina.  *** 3/4
TRIANGLE (Tie Saam Gok) (d. Tsui Hark, Johnnie To, Ringo Lam) ** 1/4
TRICKS (d. Andrzej Jakimowski; Poland) ***
TRILOGY:  AFTER LIFE  (France/Belgium  d. Lucas Belvaux) Melodrama about the morphine addict & her flic husband running parallel to previous.  ***
TRILOGY:  AN AMAZING COUPLE  (France/Belgium   d. Lucas Belvaux  100)  Edgy romantic comedy farce of events running parallel to above.  ***
TRILOGY:  ON THE RUN  (France/Belgium  d. Lucas Belvaux) Thriller noir about prison escapee terrorist, taut and well played.  *** 1/2
TRIMPIN: THE SOUND OF INVENTION (d. Peter Esmonde) ** 1/2
TRIP TO KHARABAKH (d. Levan Tutberidze) ***
TRIPLE AGENT (d. Eric Rohmer) Cerebrial, talky, involving pre-WWII thriller about a White Russian general and his Greek wife.  ***
TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, THE  (d. Sylvaine Chomet) Stylish 2-D animation feature, weird story: Tour de France race gone very wrong.  Not my cuppa'.  ***
TRISTAN + ISOLDE (d. Kevin Reynolds) Formula period romance with a charismatic perf by James Franco and a better than average script.  ** 3/4
TRISTRAM SHANDY:  A COCK AND BULL STORY (d. Michael Winterbottom) ***
TROLLYWOOD (d. Madeleine Farley) Poorly edited and photographed doc. about the homeless in my neighborhood of L.A.  * 3/4
TROPIC THUNDER (d. Ben Stiller) One of the funniest, most clever set ups of the movie biz ever. Often silly; but it worked for me.  *** 1/4
TROPICAL MALADY (d. Apichatpong Weerasethakul) Very strange, beautiful film which starts as a simple gay friendship film & ends as an allegory.  ** 3/4
TROUBLE THE WATER (d. Deal & Lessin) Docu with amateur video work, but a strong personalized message about Katrina lessons.  ***
TROUBLED WATER (d. Erik Poppe) *** 3/4
TROY (d. Wolfgang Peterson) Much better than expected...a psychologically apt script and some great battles and superb acting (esp. Peter O'Toole).  *** 1/2
TRUE ADOLESCENTS (d. Craig Johnson) *** 1/2
TRUE LOVE (d. Michael J. Saul) V. ***
TRUE STORY OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT, THE (d. Jim Lindsay) V. Quite informative History Channel 2 1/4 hr. opus, better than the recent feature. ***
TRUST THE MAN (d. Bart Freundlich) Enjoyable adult relationship comedy which peters out last 1/3.  ***
TRUTH AND LIES (d. Piergiorgio Gay)  Italian film about a man discovers the truth about his Fascist father.  ***
TRY TO REMEMBER (d. Zabout Breitman)  Moving & pathos filled love story set in rehab hospital.  Young woman with Alzheimer's.  *** 1/4
TSOTSI (d. Gavin Hood; South Africa) ****
TU VERRAS, ÇA TE PASSERA (d. Fabrice Cazeneuve) Superb coming out "afternoon special" tv movie, frank and truthful as only the French can do.  *** 1/4
TULPAN (d. Sergei Dvortsevoy; Kazakhstan) *** 1/4
TULSE LUPER SUITCASES 1, THE (Peter Greenaway) Ambitious multi-media project, visual jumble, I just couldn't take it for long.  W/O
TUPAC: RESURRECTION (d. Lauren Lazin) V. Superbly made docu about life & death of 2Pac Shakur, ultimately too hagiographic.  *** 1/4
TURN LEFT, TURN RIGHT (d. Johnny To, Wai Ka-fai) Exhillerating romantic comedy in the Lelouchian And Now My Love mode.  *** 1/4
TURTLES CAN FLY (d. Bahman Ghobadi) Powerful, wrenching drama about damaged Kurdish children in a refugee camp just before Gulf War 2.  *** 1/4
TV JUNKIE (d. Michael Cain) ***
TV SET, THE (d. Jake Kasdan) Spot on satire of tv network/show running goings on.  Great cast, nifty, truthful script.  *** 1/4
TWELVE AND HOLDING (d. Michael Cuesta) *** 1/2
TWENTY THOUSAND STREETS UNDER THE SKY (d. Simon Curtis) V. BBC romantic period '30s drama from 3 points of view. Bryan Dick!  ***
TWICE UPON A TIME (Désaccord parfait) (d. Antoine De Caunes) ** 1/2
TWILIGHT (d. Catherine Hardwicke) Paradigmic film with vampirism as metaphor for teenage insecurities. Strangely beautiful & involving. *** 1/4
TWILIGHT DANCER (d. Mel Chionglo) * 1/4
TWILIGHT SAMURAI, THE (d. Yoji Yamada)  A masterpiece set in same era as Last Samurai.  Intimate, truthful and emotionally fulfilling.  ****
TWIN SISTERS (d. Ben Sombogaart) 20th cent, epic of 2 twins separated at 6 yr., one German, one Dutch. Beautifully made in every department.  ****
TWIST (d. Jacob Tierney) A very bleak, but truthful digital variant on Oliver Twist characters as Toronto street hustlers.  Great acting, but unremitting.  ** 3/4
TWIST OF FATE (d. Kirby Dick) V. Downer docu about angry men who were molested as teenagers by a Catholic priest in Toledo OH. Incendiary, but sort of boring. ** 1/2
TWISTED (d. Philip Kaufman) Utterly predictable, unlikely policier thriller.  Ashley Judd fares well; but the film is pretty bad.  * 3/4
TWISTED LOVE (shorts)
TWO DAYS (d. Sean McGinly) Hip, funny - a 30-something actor (Paul Rudd at the top of his game) who has a documentary made about his suicide.  *** 1/4
TWO DRIFTERS (d. João Pedro Rodrigues) ** 3/4
TWO FOR THE MONEY (d. D.J. Caruso) ** 1/2
TWO FRIENDS (d. Scimone, Sframeli) Slice of life drama about 2 roommates, one a mafia hit-man, the other an ordinary joe. Droning, boring.  **
TWO GREAT SHEEP (d. Liu Hao) Visually stunning Chinese shaggy sheep story about collectivism gone nuts. I was a little bored.  ** 1/2
TWO LOVERS (d. James Gray) ***
TWO SONS OF FRANCISCO (Dois Filhos de Francisco) (d. Breno Silveira; Brazil) ** 3/4
TYCOON: A NEW RUSSIAN (d. Pavel Languine) Fascinatingly dense, overdone haunting satire about the rise and fall of a modern Russian Oligarch. *** 1/4
UGLY TRUTH, THE (d. Robert Luketic) Heigl's a star & there is real romantic chemistry with Butler; but way too talky & not nearly as clever as it wants to be. ** 1/4
ULZHAN (d. Volker Schlöndorff) ***
UM FILME FALADO  (d. Manoel de Oliveira) Travelogue cum philosophical meditation on feminism and language. Interesting, if unsatisfying.  ** 1/2
UN OSO ROJO  (d. Israel Adrián Caetano) Loner outlaw, larger than life character in a film noir notable for its cruelty and compassion.  ***
UNCERTAINTY (d. Scott McGehee, David Siegel) ** 1/4
UNCONSCIOUS (d. Joaquin Oristell) Sometimes funny, lush Spanish period farce about sexuality in the days when Freud was current. ** 3/4
UNDER ANOTHER SKY (d. Gaël Morel) Go back to acting, Gaël!  Nicolas Cazale was magnetic as French/Algerian youth forced to return to his roots.  ** 1/2
UNDER THE BOMBS (d. Philippe Aractingi) ** 1/2
UNDER THE ICE (d. Aelrun Goette) *** 1/2
UNDER THE SAME MOON (d. Patricia Riggen) Predictable, but the kid is great & the story just works.  ** 1/2
UNDER THE SIGN OF SCORPIO (d. Taviani brothers) 1969 film by filmmakers I like; but this shipwreck film was boring & thematically opaque  *
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN (d. Audrey Wells) Romantic woman's pic which despite predictablilty, pressed all my buttons. Ah, lovely Italy...mi amore.   ** 3/4
UNDERTOE (d. David Gordon Green) Green has such a unique style. It works here, with nice acting turns by Jamie Bell and Josh Lukas. Quite affecting.  *** 1/2
UNFAITHFULLY YOURS (d. Preston Sturges) V. Deftly written drawing room comedy - symphony conductor plots to music against wife's infidelity.  *** 1/2
UNFINISHED LIFE , AN (d. Lasse Hellstrom)  ** 1/2
UNIDENTIFIED, THE (d. Kevin Tucker) *** 1/4
UNITED 93 (d. Paul Greengrass) V.  Impressively subtle.  As close to Cinéma vérité as we're likely to get this century.  *** 3/4
UNITED STATES OF LELAND, THE (d. Matthew Ryan Hoge) Fine cast, but overwritten and predictable. Manic was similar, but better. Still Ryan Gosling rules!  ** 3/4
UNIVERSALOVE (d. Thomas Woschitz) * 3/4
UNKNOWN WHITE MALE (d. Rupert Murray) V.  *** 1/2
UNKNOWN, THE (d. Giuseppe Tornatore) Italy Academy foreign film submission *** 1/4
UNKNOWN, THE (d. Giuseppi Tornatore) + *** 1/4
UNLIKELY HEROES  (d. Richard Trank) Doc. about resistance during the Holocaust. I did considerable work on this, and film/vid/film looks great. ** 3/4
UNMISTAKEN CHILD (d. Nati Baratz) ***
UNO (d. Aksel Hennie) Tough, violent drama about a good man who can't escape the consequences of acts beyond his control.  ***
UNREASONABLE MAN, AN (d. Mantel an Skrovan) V. Excellent, if mostly talking head docu about Ralph Nader.  *** 1/4
UNSPOKEN PASSION (d. Roni Bertubin) ** 1/2
UNTOLD SCANDAL  (d. E J-yong) Ravishingly visual Korean adaptation of a 17th century Dangerous Liasons.  It translates well.  *** 1/4
UNTOLD STORY OF EMMETT LOUS TILL, THE (d. Keith and Kevin Beauchamps) V. ***
UP AND DOWN (d. Jan Hrebejk) Involving multi-character comedy about the intertwined life in Prague today among refugees, emigrées, and all stratas of society. *** 1/4
UP THE YANGTZE (d. Yung Chang) ** 3/4
UPSIDE OF ANGER, THE (d. Mike Binder) John Gissing was so bad that I dismissed Binder as a director...mistake. Fine ensemble comedy. ***
URBAN SCARECROW (d. Andrew McAllister) ** 3/4
URO (d. Stefan Faldbakken) ***
USED PARTS (d. Aaron Fernandez) *** 1/4
V FOR VENDETTA (d. James McTeigue) Involving rip-off of 1984. Some good effects; but Portman's English accent was terrible. ***
VACATION (d. Thomas Arslan) ** 3/4
VACATIONLAND (d. Todd Verow) Gay teens in Bangor, MN...el cheapo production, mediocre which is an improvement for Verow. **
VAGABOND (Hungary  d. Gyorgy Szomjas) Lousy photography & production design with virtually no story & incessant folk dancing which bored me.  *
VALENTIN (d. Alejandro Agresti) An extraordinarily sympathetic look at a crisis in the life of an 8 year old boy.  *** 1/2
VALENTÍN (d. Juan Luis Iborra) Boring, talky drama about a troup of male Shakespeare players undone when director falls for the new young actor.  **
VALET, THE (d. Francis Veber) French farce, better than director's recent stuff, at least I laughed.  ***
VALKYRIE (d. Bryan Singer)  Fine complex action flick with real tension despite knowing the plot.  ***
VANITY FAIR (d. Mira Nair) Much better than average Masterpiece Theater for large screen. Reese Witherspoon luminous; and the time flew by.  *** 1/4
VANTAGE POINT (d. Pete Travis) Script doesn't compute; but really exciting filmmaking wins the day. ***
VENTO DI TERRA (d. Vincenzio Marra) Quiet, slow, sad film about a young Napolese boy & his poor family ekeing out a proud existence.  ***
VENUS & FLEUR (d. Emmanuel Mouret) Female buddy flick French style...shy French girl meets vivante Russian girl & blossoms.  ** 3/4
VENUS  (d. Roger Michell) *** 1/4
VERA DRAKE (d. Mike Leigh) Superb, utterly right period drama about an ordinary abortionist.  Imelda Staunton perfect.  Mike Leigh's most assured film.  ****
VERONICA GUERIN (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 (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
VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT, A (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 (d. Charles Busch) ** 3/4
VERY YOUNG GIRLS (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
VICE (Tiski) (d. Valery Todorovsky) ***
VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (d. Woody Allen) Talky, narration filled, often clever but (for me) uninvolving dramedy about relationships.  ** 3/4
VICTOIRE (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 (d. Enrique Urbizu) Nicely acted drama about two half-brothers involved with the same woman. Good chick flick.  *** 1/4
VIE D'ARTISTE, LA (d. Marc Fitoussi) *** 1/4
VIE DES MORTS, LA (d. Arnaud Desplechin) ***
VIE EN ROSE, LA (d. Olivier Dehan) *** 1/2
VIE PROMESSE, LA (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 (d. Bruno Barreto) Fluffy & charmless comedy with almost no redeeming qualities except for a luminous Gwyneth Paltrow.  * 1/4
VILLAGE, THE (d. M. Night Shyamalan) Atmospheric thriller which got to me. Ron Howard's daughter is wonderfully charismatic.  ***
VIRGIN QUEEN, THE (d. Coky Giedroye) V.  ** 3/4
VISIONEERS (d. Jared Drake) 1/2*
VISITOR, THE (d. Tom McCarthy) Heartfelt, distressing film about another depressed prof. (cf. Smart People) ***
VITUS (d. Fredi M. Murer) + *** 1/2
VITUS (d. Fredi M. Murer; Switzerland) *** 3/4
VIVA CUBA (d. Juan Carlos Cremata) ** 1/4
VODKA LEMON (d. Hiner Saleem) A nicely shot but pointless dark comedy about a poor Armenian village and its benighted inhabitents.  ** 1/4
VOLVER (d. Pedro Almodóvar; Spain) ***
VOY A EXPLOTAR (I'm Going to Explode) (d. Gerardo Naranjo) ** 3/4
W.  (d. Oliver Stone) Well made, if creepy biopic. Drags in the 2nd act. Brolin is fine; but I'd rather forget that Bush ever existed if I could.  ** 3/4
WACKNESS, THE (d. Jonathan Levine) *** 1/4
WAH-WAH (d. Richard E. Grant) ***
WAITER (d. Alex van Warmerdam) ** 1/2
WAITING FOR HAPPINESS (d. Abderrahmane Sissako) * 3/4
WAITING FOR THE CLOUDS (d. Yesim Ustaoglu) Slow film about an old lady's guilt at staying in Turkey during the great 1916 expulsion to Greece. ** 1/2
WAITRESS (d. Adrienne Shelly) Pleasant, well acted & directed romantic dramedy. Fillion & Russell have true chemistry. ***
WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY (d. Jake Kasdan) Silly fun, but quite creative, funny pseudo biopic.  ***
WALK INTO THE SEA, A: DANNY WILLIAMS AND THE WARHOL FACTORY (d. Esther B. Robinson) ***
WALK ON WATER (d. Eytan Fox) A truly exceptional film from Israel about a Mossad assassin.  Great script and fine job all around.  *** 3/4
WALK THE LINE (d. James Margold)  ** 3/4
WALK THE TALK (d. Matthew Allen) ** 3/4
WALK TO REMEMBER, A  (d. Adam Shankman) V. X-tian teenage version of Love Story. Shane West & Mandy Moore quite good; I ate melodrama up.  ***
WALKER, THE (d. Paul Schrader) Stylish, fine perfs by Harrelson and Bleibtreu & several aged actresses; but eliptical, senseless plot. **
WALKING & TALKING (d. Nicole Holofcener 1996) (V) Winning yupster girl comedy with Keener & Heche.  Better than Lovely & Amazing  *** 1/4
WALKING ON WATER (d. Tony Ayres)+ I forgot I'd already seen this film. Fine! It's a wonderfully observant, beautifully written & drama.  *** 1/2
WALL*E (d. Andrew Stanton) Technically fine, complex 3-D animation.  But for me lacked entertainment value. ** 3/4
WALLACE & GROMMET:  CURSE OF THE WERE RABBIT (d. Nick Park) V. ***
WALT & EL GRUPO (d. Theodore Thomas) ** 1/2
WALTZ WITH BASHIR (d. Ari Folman; Israel) *** 1/2
WANDERING SHADOWS (d. Ciro Guerra) Unconventional buddy flick amidst the squalor of Bagota, Columbia. B&W looked digitized.  ** 3/4
WANTED (d. Timur Bekmambetov) + A kinetic thriller even better 2nd time around. Ridiculous plot; but amazing acting & f/x plus a great cast. *** 1/2
WANTED (d. Timur Bekmambetov) Totally amazing kick ass film,  MATRIX².  McAvoy & Bekmambetov fulfill their destinies.  *** 3/4
WAR DANCE (d. Sean & Andrea Nix Fine) Moving, if somewhat contrived docu of Ugandan children in camp. ***
WAR GAMES (d. Dariusz Jablonski) Polish docu about the tragic life of cold war Pole who spied for U.S. Quite creative filmmaking, fascinating but scattered.  ***
WAR OF THE WORLDS (d. Steven Spielberg) Until the mushy, unlikely ending, one of the great scary thriller SF films ever. Remarkable f/x.  *** 1/4
WAR TAPES, THE (d. Deborah Scranton) V. Iraq war from pov of 3 New Hampshire Nat. Guardsmen with cameras. Most real yet. *** 3/4
WAR THAT MADE AMERICA, THE (d. Loeterman & Strange) V. PBS docudrama of the French & Indian War with fine recreations. ***
WAR ZONE, THE (d. Tim Roth) V. Miserabilist film about a troubled family in Devon. Superb acting, though tough to take.  ***
WAR  (Russia  d. Aleksei Balabanov) Drama of rescue and revenge in Russo-Chechan war.  A testosterone drenched delight.  ***
WARDEN OF THE DEAD (Pazachyt na myrtvite) (d. Ilian Simeonov;  Bulgaria) **
WARLORDS (d. Peter Chen, Wai Man Yip) *** 1/4
WARM SPRINGS (d. Joseph Sergeant) Emotionally satisfying well acted HBO tv movie about Roosevelt's early years of polio recouperation.  ***
WARMING UP YESTERDAY'S LUNCH (d.  Kostadin Bonev)  Bulgaria AFF.  Old lady's memoire of 60 yrs. of Balkan politics.  **
WARRIOR (d. Asif Kapadia) Slow, meditative, almost silent period piece about a warrior in Kashmir who wants to quit killing.  ** 3/4
WARRIORS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH (d. He Ping) Gorgeous and gripping, if somewhat confusing, wide screen Chinese epic historical battle film.  ***
WARRIORS OF HEAVEN AND EARTH (d. He Ping)+  I had forgotten I'd seen it before...not worth another view, though visually it's a treat.  ** 3/4
WARSAW (d. Dariusz Gajewski) Slightly amusing story of several assorted characters wandering around Warsaw & sort of connecting one snowy day. ** 1/2
WASSUP ROCKERS (d. Larry Clark) Unlikely story; but Clark's latest "it boy", Jonathan Valasquez, is worth it.  Good bad film.  ** 1/2
WATCHMEN (d. Zack Snyder) Fabulous f/x and a script to match.  Brilliantly evocative '80s depiction and superhero deconstruction just thrilled.  *** 3/4
WATER (d. Deepa Mehta) Gorgeous wide screen intimate epic of plight of a 7 yr. old widow & 34 mil other Indian widows. *** 1/2
WATER LILIES (d. Céline Sciamma) **
WATERCOLORS (d. David Oliveras) Touching, beautiful, evocative drama of gay teenage love. One of the best ever.  *** 1/2
WATERLOO (d. Sergei Bondarchuk) 1970 epic with some incredibly great battle footage & Steiger's wonderful portrayal of Napoleon.  *** 1/4
WATERMARKS (d. Yaron Zilberman) V. Interesting docu about a Vienna Jewish swimming club in the '30s & the far-flung survivors' reunion in today's Vienna.  ***
WATER'S EDGE (d. Harvey Kahn) Thriller melodrama about corrupt rural town.  Laughably bad straight to video.  1/2*
WATTSTAX: 2003 SPECIAL EDITION (d. Mel Stuart) Newly remixed print of '71 rockumentary...too little music, boring in parts. Rufus rocked.  **
WAVE, THE (Die Welle) (d. Dennis Gansel) *** 1/2
WAY I SEE THINGS, THE (d. Brian Pera) New Agey, pretentious, arty gay film of about recovering from depression.  ** 1/4
WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD, THE (d. Catalin Mitulescu;  Romania) ** 3/4
WAYWARD CLOUD, THE (d. Tsai Ming-liang) *** 1/2
WE ARE MARSHALL (d. McG)  Story of real-life football  team resurrected.  Well directed and emotionally true. *** 
WE ARE TOGETHER (THINA SIMUNYE) (d. Paul Taylor) Moving docu: So. African orphanage saved by singing. *** 1/4
WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (d. John Curran) Well acted but relentlessly downbeat story of 2 couples and their mutual adulteries.  ***
WE GO WAY BACK (d. Lynn Shelton) * 1/2
WE LIVE IN PUBLIC (d. Ondi Timoner) *** 1/2
WE SHALL OVERCOME (d. Niels Arden Oplev) *** 1/2
WEATHER MAN, THE (d. Gore Verbinski)  ** 3/4
WEATHER UNDERGROUND, THE  (d. Sam Green) Documentary about '70s American terrorist group.  Good footage & well written.  *** 1/4
WEDDING CHEST, THE (d. Nurbek Egen; Kyrgyzstan) ***
WEDDING CRASHERS, THE (d. David Dobkin) ** 3/4
WEDDING SONG, THE (Le Chant des Mariées) (d. Karen Albou) ** 1/4
WEDDING WARS (d. Jim Fall) V. Very well done issue tv flick (gay marriage) with a game perf. by John Stamos.  ***
WEIRDSVILLE (d. Allan Moyle) * 
WELCOME (d. Philippe Lioret) *** 3/4
WELCOME HOME (Bienvenido A Casa) (d. David Trueba) *** 1/4
WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL (d. Park Kwang-hyun; Republic of Korea)  ** 3/4
WELCOME TO MOOSEWOOD (d. Dan Petrie) Silly, utterly predictable Hollywood fare. Hackman good, as always; but Ray Romano should stict to TV.  * 3/4
WELCOME TO THE LAND OF CH'TIS (Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis) (d. Dany Boone) ** 1/2
WELL, THE (d. Kristian Petri) Extremely well written documentary tone poem about Orson Welles' relationship to Spain.  *** 3/4
WELLNESS (d. Jake Mahaffy) ** 1/2
WELTS, THE (d. Magdalena Piekorz) Polish AFF. Dour, involving story of a boy whose path to manhood was fixed by his physically abusing, but well-meaning, father. *** 1/4
WENDY AND LUCY (d. Kelly Reichardt) Quietly effective character study which mirrors bad economic times. Michelle Williams very fine here. *** 1/4
WERE THE WORLD MINE (d. Tom Gustafson)  Good try at a gay Midsummernight's Dream prep school fantasy.  But no cigar.  **
WESTENDER (U.S.  d. Bruce Morse)  Overblown, tacky, unironic mideval quest film.  * 3/4
WHALE RIDER (New Zealand/Germany  d. Niki Caro) Wide screen crowd pleaser about dying Maori traditions & the little girl who changed things. ***
WHAT A WONDERFUL PLACE (d. Eyal Halfon) **
WHAT DOESN'T KILL YOU (d. Brian Goodman) ***
WHAT I KNOW ABOUT LOLA (Lo que se de Lola) (d. Javier Rebollo) W/O
WHAT IF...? (Notre univers impitoyable) (d. Léa Fazer) ** 1/4
WHAT JUST HAPPENED (d. Barry Levinson) Funny, truthful look at Hollywood from pov of a fading power-broker producer (DeNiro's best role in years.)  *** 1/4
WHAT THE SUN HAS SEEN (d. Michal Rosa) 3 interwoven stories of impoverishment in modern day Poland. Long & just ok. ** 3/4
WHATEVER IT TAKES (d. David Ranyr)V. Horny teenage comedy variant on Cyrano. Trivial stuff; but Shane West and James Franco raise its level a tad.  * 3/4
WHATEVER WORKS (d. Woody Allen) Pure comedy, sunny & funny throwback to earlier Allen works. Evan Rachel Wood & Larry David perfect. ***
WHEN A MAN COMES HOME (d. Thomas Vinterberg) ** 3/4
WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER (d. Anand Tucker) *** 1/4
WHEN MARYAM SPOKE OUT (d. Assad Fouladkar)  Lebanon AFF.  Travails of barren wife.  ***
WHEN WILL I BE LOVED (d. James Tobak) V. ** 3/4
WHERE THE TRUTH LIES (d. Atom Egoyan)  ***
WHIRLWIND (d. Richard LeMay) Multi-character NY gay friends story, mostly poorly acted and only intermittently involving. **
WHISKY (d. Rebella & Stoll) Observent, touching slice-of-life film about two competitive brothers & their pretenses. ***
WHISKY ROMEO ZULU (d. Enrique Piñeyro) Fascinating aircrash drama based on fact. The whistleblower pilot (also acted & directed) is amazing.  *** 1/4
WHITE COUNTESS, THE (d. James Ivory)  *** 1/4
WHITE LIGHT/BLACK RAIN (d. Steven Okazaki) Comprehensive, clinical docu about Hiroshima & Nakasaki.  ***
WHITE NIGHT WEDDING (Brúdguminn) (d. Baltasar Kormákur) ** 3/4
WHITE PALM (d. Szabolcs Hajdu; Hungary) +  *** 1/4
WHITE PALMS (d. Szabolcs Hajdu) ***
WHITE SILK DRESS, THE (d. Huynh Luu; Vietnam) **
WHO IS HARRY NILSSON (d. John Scheinfeld) *** 1/4
WHO KILLED BAMBI (d. Gilles Marchand) Creepy, atmospheric French thriller about a craftily crazy surgeon and an intern nurse.  ***
WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR (d. Chris Paine) *** 3/4
WHO LOVES THE SUN  (d. Matt Bissonnette) *** 1/2
WHOLE NEW THING(d. Amnon Buchbinder) *** 1/4                           
WHOLE TRUTH, THE (d. Coleen Patrick) 0*
WHORE & THE WHALE, THE (d. Luis Puenzo) V. Gorgeous Patagonian photography, naked women & sexy Leo Sbaraglia. *** 1/4
WICKER MAN, THE (d. Neil La Bute) V. Hokey, cult-as-bee-colony metaphor film.  Great northwest island homes! **
WICKER PARK (d. Paul McGuigan) And Now My Love for Gen-Y. Loopy structure and overall good acting and direction. Absurd; but it kept getting better as it went along. ***
WILBY WONDERFUL (d. Daniel MacIvor) Slice of life film on the Canadian island of Wilby.  Pleasant trifle with nifty perfs from Paul Gross & Sandra Oh.  ** 3/4
WILD DOGS, THE  (Canade  d. Thom Fitzgerald) Drama about a pornographer in Rumania to find women & instead finds wild dogs & Gypsy slaves.  ***
WILD FIELD (d. Mikhail Kalatozishvili) *** 3/4
WILD SIDE (d. Sébastien Lifshitz) Affecting drama about an unconventional three-way relationship between 2 guys and a pre-op transexual  *** 
WILD THORNBERRYS MOVIE, THE  (d. McGrath and Malkasian)  Nickelodian cartoon.  * 1/2
WILD TIGERS I HAVE KNOWN (d. Cam Archer) ** 1/4
WILLIAM KUNSTLER: DISTURBING THE UNIVERSE (d. Sarah Kunstler & Emily Kunstler) ***
WIMBLEDON (d. Richard Loncraine) Genuine chemistry between Bettany and Dunst makes for a good romance; but the tennis isn't very realistic.  ***
WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON (d. Robert Lukatik) Fun, if predictable, romantic comedy which brings stardom to Topher Grace.  ** 3/4
WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY, THE (d. Ken Loach) *** 1/2
WINDOW, THE (d. Ted Tetzlaff) *** 1/4
WINDS OF SEPTEMBER (Jiu Jiang Feng) (d. Tom Shu-Yu Lin) **
WINE AND KISSES (Come le Formiche) (d. Ilaria Borrelli) * 1/2
WINGED MIGRATION (d. Jacques Cluzaud) (V) Docu feature on birds. Visual tour de force; but poorly constructed.  ** 3/4
WINNING SEASON, THE (d. John Kent Harrison) V. Sappy nostalgia baseball flick about a 1985 boy thrown back to 1909 to relate to Honus Wagner. * 3/4
WINTER SOLSTICE (d. Josh Sternfeld) Quintessential Sundance indie film, quiet, revelatory, fine acting (Mark Webber & Aaron Stanford rule!)  *** 1/4
WINTER SOLSTICE (d. Josh Sternfeld) V.+ Quintessential Sundance indie film, quiet, revelatory, fine acting (Webber & Stanford rule!) *** 1/4
WINTERLAND (d. Hisham Zaman) ** 3/4
WIRE, THE - season 4 (d. various) V.  The best season of the best series on TV.  How the world really works.  ****
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MYSELF (Aide-toi, et le Ciel t'aidera) (François Dupeyron)  *** 1/4
WITH YOUR PERMISSION (Til Doden Os Skiller) (d. Paprika Steen) ** 1/2
WITNESSES  (d. Vinko Bresan) Croatia's Academy sub:  Intimate, complex, big-screen enigma/horrors of war drama. Slow accretion of detail adds up.  ***
WITNESSES, THE (d. André Téchiné) *** 1/2
WOLFSBURG (d. Christian Petzold) Heavy drama - a weak man who makes a fatal mistake & seeks redemption.  Good acting and script; but a downer.  ***
WOMAN IN BERLIN, A (Anonyma - Eine Frau in Berlin) (d. Max Färberböck) ***
WOMAN'S WAY, A (Strella) (d. Panos H. Koutras) *** 1/2
WOMEN, THE (d. George Cukor)V.  ***
WONDERFUL NIGHT IN SPLIT, A (d. Arsen Anton Ostojic) Gorgeous, noir B&W film about a two hour period from 3 different points of view. *** 1/4
WONDERFUL WORLD (d. Joshua Goldin) ** 1/4
WONDERLAND (d. James Cox) Bravura filmmaking in aid of tawdry true story. Kilmer & especially Josh Logan are fine. Effectively stomach-turning.  ***
WONDROUS OBLIVION (d.  Paul Morrison) Heartwarming English film about a post-War Jewish immigrant family whose son loves cricket.  ***
WOODSMAN, THE (d. Nicole Kassell) Excellent, if dour drama about a man fighting his pederast proclivity with a great perf by Kevin Bacon. *** 1/4
WORD OF HONOR (d. Robert Markowitz) A favorite novel makes pretty fair transition to tv thanks to fine acting, albeit too compressed a script.  ** 3/4
WORDPLAY (d. Patrick Creadon) *** 3/4
WORK HARD PLAY HARD (Violence des échanges en milieu tempéré) (d. Jean-Marc Moutou) V. Jérémie Renier fine!  ***
WORLD TRADE CENTER (d. Oliver Stone) Seamless f/x, affecting, surprisingly powerful.  *** 1/4
WORLD WITHOUT THIEVES, A (d. Xiaogang Feng) Clever variant on martial arts film about thieves on a train going after an innocent patsy.  ***
WORLDS APART (To verdener) (d. Niels Arden Oplev; Denmark) ***
WORLD'S FASTEST INDIAN, THE (d. Roger Donaldson) V. Hopkins is fine, as usual. The film is pretty predictable. ** 3/4
WORLD'S GREATEST DAD (d. Bobcat Goldthwait) ** 1/4
WRECKING CREW, THE (d. Denny Tedesco) *** 1/4
WRESTLER, THE  (d. Darren Aronofsky) Despite cringeworthy wrestling action, humanistic Aronofsky shines. Rourk is phenomenal, as are the women. *** 1/4
WRESTLING WITH ANGELS: PLAYWRITE TONY KUSHNER (d. Freida Lee Mock) *** 1/2
WRIST CUTTERS:  A LOVE STORY (d. Goran Dukic) * 3/4
WRONG SIDE UP (Pribehy Obycejneho Silenstvi) (d. Petr Zelenka) ** 
WTC VIEW (d. Brian Sloan) Emotionally shattering, brilliantly written & acted (watch for Michael Urie) story of 9/11's effects on some gay NYers.  *** 1/2
X (d. Luis Marias)  Thriller about cop who may or may not have murdered his gay trick.  ***
X2 (d. Bryan Singer) Good efx, a story that held together better than the usual comic book turned into film.  ** 3/4
X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE (d. Gavin Hood) Entertaining action, better than average acting.  What did happen to Liev Schreiber's character? ** 3/4
X-MEN:  THE LAST STAND (d. Brett Ratner) For my money better than 1 & 2.  ***
XXY (d. Lucia Puenzo) ***
YACOUBIAN BUILDING, THE (d. Marwan Hamed; Egypt) ** 3/4
YASMIN (d. Kenny Glennan) Drama about a family of Pakis in England after 9/11. Scary and truthful, but as a film sort of primitive.  ** 3/4
YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION, THE (d. Cao Hamburger; Brazil) ***
YEAR OF THE WOLF, THE (d. Olli Saarela) ***
YEAR WITHOUT LOVE, A (d. Anahi Berneri) Quietly affecting, often raunchy film journal about an S&M bottom with AIDS.  *** 1/4
YEAR ZERO(d. Joseph Patchhadze)  *** 1/4                                           
YELLA (d. Christian Petzold) ***
YES (d. Sally Potter) Romantic woman's pic in rhymed verse.  Joan Allen exudes sex; but for me Potter remains an elusive taste.  ** 1/2
YES MEN FIX THE WORLD, THE (d. Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Kurt Engfehr) *** 1/4
YES NURSE, NO NURSE  (Netherlands  d. Pieter Kramer)  Full-on, campy musical in the Singing in the Rain tradition.  Silly; but great fun.  ***
YESTERDAY (d. Darrell Roodt) Picturesque & heartfelt So. African AFF about a rural Zulu family ravaged by AIDS.  ***
YMCA BASEBALL TEAM  (S. Korea  d. Kim Hyeun-seok) Historical pageant about the first baseball team in Korea as metaphor for national identity. ** 3/4
YOSSI & JAGGER  (Israel  d. Eytan Fox)  Unexpectedly good drama about a gay relationship in the Israeli army.  *** 1/4
YOU AND ME (d. Julie Lopes-Curval) ** 3/4
YOU ARE SO HANDSOME (d. Isabelle Mergault) ** 3/4
YOU BET YOUR LIFE (d. Antonin Svoboda; Austria) ** 1/2
YOU I LOVE (d. Olga Stopovskaja & Dimitru Troitskji) Screwball modern day Russian comedy about a bisexual commercial maker who falls for a guy.  * 3/4
YOU, THE LIVING (d. Roy Andersson; Sweden) ** 3/4
YOUNG ADAM (d. David Mackenzie) Dark Scottish film, slow & sexy, visually dull, but unexpectedly poignant. Ewen has never been more attractive. ***
YOUNG BLOOD (Pura Sangre)  (d. Leo Ricciardi) ** 3/4
YOUNG PEOPLE FUCKING (d. Martin Gero) *** 1/4
YOUNG UNKNOWNS, THE  (d. Catherine Jelski) Four screwed up, overpriveleged L.A. 20-somethings have a memorable night.  ** 3/4
YOUR LIFE IN '65 (Tu Vida in 65') (d. Maria Ripoll) *** 1/4
YOUR NEXT LIFE (d. Manuel Aragón) A satisfying romance/drama about two feuding farming families in the Pyrannies.  ** 3/4
YOUTH RUN AMOK (Short program)
YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH (d. Francis Ford Coppola) Beautiful, Roth is fine; but wha....!?  ** 1/2
Z CHANNEL: A MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION (d. Alexandra Cassavettes)V. Well made, informative docu on Jerry Harvey with great movie clips.  *** 1/2
ZACK AND MIRA MAKE A PORNO (d. Kevin Smith) Intermittantly funny and Rogan is the perfect pomo hero...still, Smith's script sucks.  ** 1/2
ZATOICHI (d. Takeshi Kitano) Sorry, I was sort of bored...but the Japanese "Riverdance" rhythmic stuff was fun, if weird.  ** 1/2
ZELARY (d. Ondrej Trojan) Beautifully realized WWII story of a nurse who escapes from the Gestapo to a small Czech village & finds herself. *** 1/2
ZHOU YU'S TRAIN (d. Sun Zhou) Elliptical romantic drama about a woman torn by conflicting love for two men. Confusing and overwrought.  * 3/4
ZIFT (d. Vladislav Todorov; Bulgaria)  ***
ZIM AND CO. (d. Pierre Jolivet) ***
ZODIAC (d. David Fincher) Fascinating procedural which plays like All the Presidents Men rather than Se7en.  *** 1/4
ZOZO (d. Josef Fares; Sweden) ***
ZUS & ZO  (d.  Paula van der Oest)  Netherlands AFF.  Family farce about 3 sisters and their gay brother.  *** 1/4