| 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 |