Netflix Customer Reviews

Tess of the D'Urbervilles

I found this most recent adaptation of the Tom Hardy novel to be highly engaging and entertaining overall. Beautifully shot in numerous lush and grand locations, well conceived, executed and surprisingly faithful, and featuring stark and dramatic music throughout, we find just about everything we could want out of a period/costume mini. The supporting cast is spectacular and each member is ideally suited for their respective roles. As for our leading men, both Eddie Redmayne as Angel and Hans Matheson as Alec are fantastic. Gemma Arterton makes for a convincing Tess, as she is obviously gorgeous, charming and carries with her just the right amount of innocence. At times she seems to lose touch with the pain of Tess' life, but those moments are rare and certainly forgivable given the incredibly challenging nature of the character. It's difficult not to compare Gemma's portrayal with that of Justine Waddell, but despite certain differences I believe Gemma put in every bit an equal effort of her predecessor. This is widely available on region 1 DVD, so I'm unclear why it is not available here, yet I was able to watch a copy through my public library. For those in the period/costume crowd, I highly recommend this and think it's worth your time trying to track down a copy elsewhere.

The Sky Crawlers

To get the most out of this, one must first recognize that there is much more to it than what is merely visible at the surface. This circular story of repetition, of general dissatisfaction and malaise, of lack of direction and lack of purpose - beneath the shimmering CG aerial acrobatics combined with traditional flat 2D animation - is at its core Mamoru Oshii's strong societal statement and illustration of contempt and derision towards the state of contemporary anime production. That is at least one way to interpret it - it's likely he's also commenting on anime fans as well as modern society (Japanese in particular) in general. Above that, it's evident that a lot of effort was made here to create a visually attractive and appealing sensory experience. In terms of style it most definitely ranks as one of the more beautifully drawn and executed modern anime features on the market. I was particularly struck by the attention to detail as reflections and lighting and streaming water, amongst others, are all gorgeously rendered. Yet despite so many strong points, overall this falls just short of also being one of the classics. Pacing throughout is a minor issue as along with the high flying excitement we find in the aerial scenes, the remainder of the story is somewhat slowly moving and even boring in places. Of course, that's part of the point he is making. The Japanese cast, made up largely of live-action actors, turn in subtle, low-key and quality performances. The English dub is passable, rewriting the script in areas but not so much as to destroy the overall message. Oshii has proven already that he knows what he's doing and there's enough beauty and originality here to warrant the moderate attention this one has received. Even though I can't give it my highest rating, I think it's an important entry in the genre and do still strongly encourage all anime fans to watch this one and watch it closely.

In Tranzit

Overall I feel this to be a fairly unremarkable and forgettable movie which suffers from numerous flaws. Somewhat sloppy and very inconsistent, many of the problems can easily be pinned on Tom Roberts and his relative inexperience as director. The problems here are certainly not all his fault. For example, the casting, in my opinion, is simply atrocious. I'm a big fan of Vera and she is really good here. As are both Nathalie Press and Evegeny Mironova (in a completely silent role). At the same time however, John Malkovich is terribly miscast and frankly it's one of the laziest performances you're ever going to see from him. If you read the other reviews you'll see that I'm alone in that opinion, but I stand by it. I'm sorry, but anyone can walk around with a sour look on his face - that's all he does here. In addition, across the board the cast is made up of a wide array of international performers, creating no continuity in accents and not a shred of chemistry. As a result I was constantly disengaged and often bored. It is a well shot, well edited, and starkly beautiful film, though. The final third improves dramatically in pace and substance, salvaging the experience somewhat, but in the end this is one that I neither enjoyed particularly or disliked particularly. Sadly I can only recommend this to Vera fans, and even then it's with some hesitation.

The Old Curiosity Shop

This ITV production - not BBC - disappointed me for many reasons, but I still found it to be mildly enjoyable. In terms of style and aesthetics, it feels virtually identical to the other recent high profile Dickens adaptations. That's not necessarily a bad thing of course, but ITV probably did waste an opportunity to break free from the BBC offerings by presenting a different look to its viewers. Outside of Toby Jones, the performances are generally quite bland and ordinary, particularly from Sophie Vavasseur who is just flat out boring. Most importantly though, this production is simply too short. I don't believe you can adequately adapt Dickens into a 90+ minute (originally 2 hours) production, otherwise you lose the complexity of his stories. That's exactly the problem here - it's much too linear. Yet this is meant to be a light quick-hitter, rather than a episodic mini, so in those terms it works. I'll certainly recommend this to the pre-20th century period crowd, but would caution against expecting anything remarkable or ground breaking.

Little Dorrit

My thoughts on this production are admittedly a bit jumbled as it is a tough one to really get a strong bite on. Screenwriter extraordinaire Andrew Davies certainly does a competent job here, however, this highly ambitious production doesn't quite reach perfection. It has tremendous strong points though, most notably being the truly phenomenal cast. It would be quite unfair to single out any one particular performance, but I did find Tom Courtenay and Judy Parfitt both to be ideally cast in their respective roles. As Dickens' feminine ideal and the titular character, newcomer Claire Foy holds her own throughout against her far more experienced castmates. Very lovely and certainly skilled, she is definitely one to watch for in the future. In addition to the across-the-board strength of the performances, the attention to detail in set and costume design is clearly evident. Yet at the same time I was particularly disappointed in the rather timid representation of the Marshalsea prison. Debtors prisons were hellish places, but that's not at all what we're presented. Instead we're shown a poor and meager yet relatively comfortable existence. Not remotely accurate and more than a bit frustrating for those like myself that wish to be fully transported back in time. In addition to that, some of the sets felt completely artificial which detracted significantly from those particular scenes. It is for those reasons that I find myself conflicted. I did enjoy it thoroughly, but found too many elements that just didn't click together to consider this one of the greats of the genre. Worthwhile to all Dickens and period/costume fans, but at 8 hours in total length it is a significant investment that perhaps may disappoint a few people.

Miss Austen Regrets

First to reiterate what other reviewers have kindly mentioned - the DVD menu is confusing and will make you think you have the wrong disc. These discs came in a collector's set with Sense & Sensibility, so the menu reads as though it's Disc 2 of S&S. Nothing to worry about though - just hit play and you'll be all set with the correct movie. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed this assumptive story about the later years of Jane Austen's life. Overall it rang with credibility and presented a perspective on the author that was easy to accept as possible as well as be satisfying to those who wish to romanticize her existence. I found it to be much more true to Austen's own tones and themes than that of Anne Hathaway's Becomming Jane, which merely tried to superficially replicate Austen's work. The dialog throughout is crisp and sharp and very enjoyable, made even better by Olivia Williams' remarkable performance. I could easily rave about it for this entire review as it's definitely one of the more noteworthy performances I've seen in the genre. Overall there's a lot to like here, with a great cast, strong writing and beautiful locations and costumes, while at the same time showing us a imaginary glimpse into a life we can only speculate about. This is definitely a worthwhile watch for anyone that enjoys Austen adaptations or costume/period pieces.

Mr. Thank You

For those unfamiliar, Shimizu is most definitely Ozu-esque in his storytelling style. You should not expect a grand story or production here. Rather what we find is a very simple story focused entirely on the personalities and relationships of the characters portrayed. The bulk of this short film is set on a day-long bus trip to Tokyo when we get to meet a variety of characters, some more interesting than others. There is virtually no conflict and in fact from start to finish the emotions and events are level. Yet it is quietly charming, warm and at times somewhat amusing. It is in those regards that Shimizu is so similar to Ozu. It is visually where Shimizu and Ozu diverge. While Ozu preferred to maintain a stationary camera throughout virtually all of his many dozens of films, Shimizu adopted the opposite style - often keeping his camera in motion with the frequent use of pans and zooms. In those terms this and all of Shimizu's available films are stylistically and contextually fascinating. Additionally, some might find the images of imperial expansion-era Japan to be equally interesting, although we see very little of it other than in the clothing and infrastructure - what little there actually was. In the end I don't have any problem recommending this to those interested in early Japanese cinema. It's probably not going to appeal to those outside of that niche market, however.

Jane Austen's Persuasion

While I definitely understand why some people may not enjoy this adaptation or perhaps even hate it, I personally found this version of the Jane Austen classic to be very engaging and entertaining overall. Granted, there are significant liberties taken with the source material, and indeed much is missing given the 90 minute running time. Through it all though it was Sally Hawkins that turned this from a mere run-of-the-mill British television production into something quite memorable for me. Hawkins has now left an indelible mark on me and I have most definitely become a staunch fan and admirer of her. As Anne Elliot here she turns in a performance every bit the equal of Amanda Root's while bringing a little bit extra to the role not seen in previous adaptations. In addition, while the ending portrayed here is quite a leap from the literary work, it also is one of the most romantic and remarkable endings I've seen in many years. In fact, I found myself re-watching the final climactic scenes a few times, each time being equally as heartwarming. I also found the rest of the cast to be far superior to those in the '95 adaptation, albeit perhaps many of their performances were not quite as faithful to the source material as a true Janeite might like. In the end I believe Hawkins fans will truly enjoy this, but I caution anyone loyal to Austen's work to understand that this is a very loose version of her final novel.

Dodes'ka-Den

An opening note - as of March '09 the Criterion version is available, so you should have no concerns about DVD quality. Having said that, coming off of his Tora! Tora! Tora! debacle, Kurosawa's first entry into the world of color is both beautiful and compelling. This ultra-low budget quickly shot film - by his standards - finds Kurosawa in many ways returning to his roots while simultaneously embracing a new style. Gone are the sweeping scenes and wide compositions of the late 50s & 60s. Instead he brings back his preferred camera format from the 40s & early 50s, while at the same time liberally using a technique we've never seen from him before - zoom. Here he also demonstrates his innate understanding of color composition with highly symbolic and picturesque designs. Overall visually it is a sharp and crisp, bright and colorful, strikingly lovely film. Lacking a central story, instead we're provided a series of scenes that really amount to quick glimpses into the everyday lives of the various denizens of this slum or shantytown. While early those glimpses are meant as an introduction to the characters and show us little more than the relatively mundane existence of these people, as the film moves along these glimpses become more dramatic, more intense, more riveting, and it becomes clear just how tightly woven the overall story is. The performances throughout are also very enjoyable, and indeed particularly noteworthy given that most of the actors were complete unknowns and only a couple members of the cast had ever worked with Kurosawa previously. This is a film that seems to have been forgotten by time, buried amongst his great achievements of the previous two decades. Yet it is incredible. I had tempered expectations going in, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it. While I don't rank it amongst my Kurosawa favorites, if this were any other director it would likely be universally revered as a legitimate classic.

Diary

This journey through the mind of madness is absolutely phenomenal. Certainly not a horror flick by any traditional definition, what we find here instead is entirely psychologically driven. Indeed, a great deal of the film is dedicated to the visual representation of our primary character's mental illness and it does so in terrific fashion. This film is stylistically simple and yet visually fresh and creative. The camera work is truly special, and of particular note is the incorporation of some unconventional composition throughout numerous scenes. The story itself is not particularly complicated yet structured in such a way as to be predictable in all the right places and still remain relatively unclear overall until the very end. Charlene Choi is wonderful! I don't want to suggest that this film doesn't work without her, but I will state quite strongly that she is a significant reason for why this film is so very good. She is subtle and low key and beautifully psychotic. It of course doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous as well. I haven't explored their entire library yet, but I do know that the Pang brothers rarely do the same thing twice (Bangkok Dangerous aside). When they break new ground on a project they almost always bring something you haven't seen before. That is certainly the case here. I easily rank this as my favorite Pang brothers production and firmly recommend it to virtually everyone.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

I had been eagerly anticipating this for quite a long time, and it most definitely delivered on all of my expectations. Loosely based upon a popular 1965 novel (probably better defined as a sequel), one that has in fact spawned numerous adaptations over the years, what we find here is mostly a simple coming-of-age story. It of course deals with many themes, but in the end that's essentially what it is. For a modern day anime feature the animation doesn't hold up to an Appleseed or Paprika in terms of absolute beauty. Indeed it's actually quite minimalistic in style, very similar to what you'd find in a typical anime series. Yet visually there are moments that are simply striking. The representation of eye movement is some of the best I've seen in the entirety of the genre, for example. What truly sets this apart is the voice work, though. Absolutely phenomenal performances from all involved (naturally I'm talking about the Japanese cast), but in particular from first time seiyuu Riisa Naka who is simply brilliant in the lead role. Her's is a role filled with screams and yells and grunts and all sorts of various sounds, yet also required tremendous range of emotion. All of which must be accomplished while still creating a highly lovable personality. Riisa Naka steals the show with her voice work. This may not appeal to all anime fans, but for those that enjoy these themes I really cannot recommend this more highly. An absolute contemporary classic!

Baby Blues

It's probably best not to have high expectations going into this obviously low budget made for television production. Another reviewer made the comparison to British mysteries, which I think is fair and accurate. It simply is not as good as what you'd find from a Marple or Poirot adaptation, for example. It has good qualities, though. The story is relatively complex and inventive and nothing is given away too early, allowing the viewer to stay immersed throughout. On the other hand, there's some needlessly over the top and exaggerated character personalities that made me feel as though the story wasn't particularly credible. I suspect most will watch this for Audrey, as I did. She's a prominent figure in the story, but she's hardly the lead as would be implied. As I explore more of her work I'm gaining a greater appreciation for not only her skills but her career choices. Her turn as a young, borderline crazy, lonely woman is not only believable but familiar, since I think most of us have probably met this character at some point in our own lives. So I think it's a worthwhile watch for her fans, but if you're simply in the market for a foreign thriller/mystery this may not quite satisfy you. I'm going to round up from 3.5 stars.

Priceless

This is a fairly cute little lightweight romantic comedy, although certainly nothing I'd rave about. Really the single most notable reason to watch this is for Audrey. She's always been adorable, but here she's simply gorgeous. Really phenomenally gorgeous. Tremendously drop-dead gorgeous. She also happens to pull off a pretty impressive performance as it's not always easy to play money-grubbing and heartless while still being endearing. Gad Elmaleh does a really nice job too, but nothing too memorable. Frankly his character, a goofy, unsure, lovestruck nobody, has been done to death in French cinema. But there's nice interaction and chemistry so character cliches aside it's still quite enjoyable. I definitely recommend this to Audrey fans and to most French film fans, but don't expect anything heavy.

Emma: A Victorian Romance: Season 2

Season 2 gives us a much more deeply layered overall storyline than what was laid out during the first season. Numerous new characters are introduced, creating a web of relationships that is complex and compelling. Visually it's much the same, with tremendous attention being paid to the smallest details. The voice work is also phenomenal, with the seiyuu doing a marvelous job of creating highly distinctive personalities that are all quite endearing. Even though I really enjoyed the first season, I believe this to be a far superior effort and strongly recommend it to all Emma fans. For those that missed the first season, Disc 1 leads off with a recap episode, so it is possible to catch up with previous events.

Love and Honor

Yoji Yamada further cements himself as one of the greats of the genre with yet another beautiful and touching film. As with The Twilight Samurai and The Hidden Blade, what really sets this film apart from others in the genre is how realistic the simple, basic human behavior is portrayed. People behave like real people in Yamada's films, with distinct personalities and characteristics, and despite the formal environment in which these characters live, even they are capable of frequent playfulness and an overall sense of comfort with one another. It seems silly, but so often in this genre all we ever see is rigid formality from the characters on screen. Also, Yamada's attention to detail is just incredible. Be it costume design or makeup, use of lighting or setting, he never fails to take everything into account, creating a film that has such a perfectly seamless flow from beginning to end. Finally, the performances here are simply outstanding. I found myself so easily connecting specific emotions to each character, which is only ever possible when the actors tell you precisely who their character is. That's rarely done through dialog alone. Very impressive film overall, and one I definitely recommend. It breaks my heart that Yamada has stated he will never shoot another samurai film, but we shall see if that holds true.

Lights in the Dusk

I've thought about this film for many days and have tried to review it a number of different ways only to always scrap the whole thing and start over. It is a very peculiar film and one that will likely strike most people as too cold and unfamiliar. I personally believe that Finnish cinema, and specifically Aki Kaurismaki films, are the most culturally exotic in the world simply because they almost universally lack any emotion whatsoever. Westerners aren't accustomed to expressionless faces and inflectionless voices, but that's what we find here. Anger and remorse, two emotions that should be prominent throughout this film, are barely, and I mean barely and incredibly subtly expressed. It's robotic in feel and structure and style. Having said that, this is about 99% black comedy, 1% noir. As noir it's transparent and boring, but as a black comedy it works. The characters are so exaggerated and the circumstances so unlikely that you can't help but find humor in it all. That said, I still can't recommend this to anyone other than those that have painstakingly acclimated themselves to the Finnish style. Most people probably won't enjoy this, though.

In Between Days

There really isn't anything particularly noteworthy or special about this film. For anyone that's seen even a small number of low budget indies, this will feel very familiar with its voyeuristic and minimalistic approach and style. For a cast of unknown non-actors they do a fairly decent job at creating an authentic feeling film, and at times it's easy to feel the isolation and loneliness of our primary character. However, the bleak, dreary, and ugly setting does little to help further establish that lonely and isolated tone. Rather it's simply a forgettable background. Also, the music is next to non-existent and that which is included does nothing to further communicate the emotions we are meant to be feeling. Strong music is Basic Indie Filmmaking 101, so such a failure is significant. Overall I didn't hate it and I didn't love it, but most certainly it will leave virtually no long term impression on me whatsoever.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion: Part 1

Along with Gurren Lagann, this is easily one of the best mecha anime series to come along in many, many years. Gorgeously drawn, masterful voice work, effective music and a really curiously intriguing storyline all add up to a series that hooks you immediately and leaves you wanting a whole lot more when it's all over. Luckily it's not just mecha, as with all great series it touches upon many genres, blending them seamlessly into the greater narrative. So anyone should find something they like here. Definitely recommended.

Linda Linda Linda

Like others have mentioned, this is really a very simple slice of life story. It just happens to work wonderfully because of strong performances, most notably from Korean star Du-na Bae, and because of the inclusion of some great music. Du-na Bae pulls off an incredibly quirky, intriguing, and indeed quite a funny character here that really overshadows the otherwise interesting personalities of the other girls. She's undoubtedly the strength of the film. Having listened to The Blue Hearts when I got to college in the early '90s, I was already aware of their influence and place in the Japanese musical scene. It's good to see that their popularity is still strong, even more than 10 years after their heyday. Of course, a Japanese punk bank isn't going to appeal to everyone, so the renditions of their music here probably leans more towards J-pop than J-rock. So, I would suggest that you shouldn't expect anything too complicated or complex, but rather just a nice little high school story with music at its core. Certainly one I'd recommend to the contemporary Japanese cinema crowd.

Sanshiro Sugata 2

As with the first Sanshiro Sugata, I watched this on IFC so I cannot comment on the quality of any DVD versions that may exist out there. That said, having seen nearly all of Kurosawa's work, I must sadly admit that this is the first of his films that I would openly refer to as mediocre and perhaps even ill-conceived. Frankly, I think he was significantly influenced by the political climate of 1945 as there is considerable anti-Americanism throughout, and in fact one could argue that this is very much a propaganda film. It also suffers greatly from a serious lack of resources. Shot mostly in only a handful of interiors, the lone exterior sequence, shot against a backdrop of snow, is so poorly lit that you cannot even distinguish faces as the background is over-exposed the foreground under-exposed. Considering Kurosawa's understanding of light, this is clearly a result of lack of resources. Finally, it's simply an unnecessary continuation of the story. Sugata's place in the world was already finely defined in the first film. He really had nothing of note left to accomplish, leaving this sequel feeling forced and tacked on. I can only recommend this to Kurosawa fans that wish to complete their exploration of his work, but in no means is this to be considered an example of the quality that he was capable of.

Sukeban Boy

Sweet Zombie Jesus! Yeah, this one is definitely beyond strange, and clearly was created for no other reason than to show naked women running around for an hour. Basically 60 minutes of WTF? I liked it though, and actually found myself laughing on more than a few occasions. Enter at your own risk.

The Good Life

I found this to be a highly enjoyable film for a variety of reasons, but as is my nature I also found some aspects to be critical of. Most notably, this film is indie-cliche and is quite derivative of about two dozen other films I could mention. For example, expect to hear slow, piano-driven, mood manipulating music, the sort that so very many indie directors resort to these days. Plus, the whole premise is hardly one that you haven't seen before. Having said that, there is so much to like about this film. First of all, the camera work is phenomenal. The DP, Patrice Lucien Cochet, did a marvelous job of lighting this film. His use of shadows, reflections and bokeh are all particularly noteworthy, creating a visually beautiful film that is fresh and creative while simultaneously feeling classic in style. Featuring an interesting cast, each of the performances are even and strong and there's an overall satisfying balance throughout. Of course, I'm a Zooey fanatic, so naturally I'm going to gravitate towards her. It's so easy to get lost in her eyes, and I don't believe she's ever looked more lovely than in this film. In my opinion, she is at her best when she's creating a character that you want to fall in love with, but ultimately is only going to break your heart. This is one of those roles. I have other thoughts, but those are the major points, and in the end I have no problem recommending this to the indie crowd or even those that aren't turned off by darker, even perhaps depressing stories.

Futurama: Bender's Game

This is unquestionably the best of the recent movies. The writing is crisp and clever, centering around a fairly ingenious overall storyline. In fact, this has some of the best one-liners you're going to find in the whole of the franchise. If your a fan of Futurama, this is not only worth a rental but probably worth adding to your permanent collection as well. Highly recommended.

Sunrise Earth: Seaside Collection

Sunrise Earth was one of the first television productions I took note of when I got my HD set. It's not necessarily a show that's meant to be watched at full attention from beginning to end, though. Instead it's probably best suited as background noise while you drink your morning coffee and read your email, or whatever your routine may be. Something to remind you that, while the urban world around you may not necessarily be all that wonderful first thing in the morning, there are still plenty of gorgeous natural places out there to marvel over. For me personally, as one that adores nature photography and in fact considers it a strong passion, there's a little bit more to be found here. I'm frequently fascinated by the use of natural light and the compositional choices made during these episodes. Indeed, I've sometimes found good ideas, locations and techniques to use in my own photography, simply by sleepily watching the sun rise on my tv. I can certainly recommend this to those that are interested in watching some truly breathtaking natural scenery. I also warn that this is quite literally one hour of watching the sun rise in real time, so perhaps it may not be right for everyone.

I Love Beijing

This might be considered the Chinese equivalent of mumblecore. Ultra-low budget, don't expect to find anything visually appealing here. In fact, there's really not too much of anything that will appeal to most people. A fairly sloppy story featuring not particularly likable characters, it also gives us a somewhat more authentic glimpse into Beijing society than what we are usually able to see in the west. Frankly, I'm surprised China allowed a Region 1 release, as images of heavy traffic, overpopulation, poverty, crime, and pollution doesn't exactly align with their usual marketing strategy. Having said all that, while I did like it for the most part, I can't recommend this to anyone in particular. If you have an interest in lower budget Asian productions, you might find something you like here. Otherwise you'd probably be better off skipping this.

Sway

This is an absolutely wonderful film, most notably due to the tremendous performances turned in by J� Odagiri and Teruyuki Kagawa. The story itself is not particularly complicated or inventive, but it's creatively shot and edited allowing for a more mysterious and engaging experience. Had Miwa Nishikawa opted for a more simple and linear approach, this likely would have been not much more than a standard court room drama. As it is, it in fact straddles numerous genres and touches upon a handful of themes. I also found the writing to be highly polished and authentic. Finally, the music is interesting, beautiful, and perfectly selected and utilized throughout. In addition to the two best actor nominations from the Japanese Academy Awards, this has also won numerous other awards from a variety of festivals and ceremonies, being recognized in actor, director, sound, and screenplay categories. Not a film that will be on the radar of most people, this is one I can certainly recommend to Japanese film fans, but particularly to J� Odagiri fans.

Tuya's Marriage

Quanan Wang has put together an interesting, culturally exotic, and visually desolate yet beautiful film which is thematically diverse while still being fairly simple. Still, while I did enjoy it, I'm not quite willing to be as generous as many critics have been. Speaking of which, I might encourage you to read some professional reviews to give you an even better idea for what you might be in for. At times I felt myself drifting away, but Yu Nan kept pulling me back. This is clearly her film as she is simply phenomenal in a complicated, complex role that would probably give most performers fits. Everyone else is strong as well, but without Yu Nan this would never have enjoyed such critical attention. Unfortunately, given the pace and style of the film, and the overall nature of the story, I can't eagerly recommend this to anyone in particular. I will certainly nudge anyone on the fence to give this a try, however.

The Hidden Blade

As much as I enjoyed Yoji Yamada's The Twilight Samurai, I believe this to be an even better effort from the fine director. In fact, this is quite easily my favorite samurai film made in the past three decades or so, if not longer. Sentimental at times, it also shows us a greater realism than what has generally been found in other films in the genre. It touches upon a handful of themes, but never fully devotes itself to any one in particular, allowing for a deeply layered story that keeps the viewer invested throughout. Masatoshi Nagase is superb in a low key performance and Takako Matsu is definitely one of the most beautiful women working in Japan today. Ken Ogata also turns in a relatively brief but not insignificant role here, although he's not credited on this page. Of course you know what to expect out of him. Overall I completely love this movie and strongly recommend it to absolutely every single fan of the genre.

Women of the Night

This film is surprisingly brutal, harsh and wholly unsentimental in its portrayal of the events of three women's lives, each of whom follow different paths leading to the same ultimate destination. In many ways this film was ahead of its time, showing the viewer the sort of realism that was extraordinarily uncommon for a 1948 production. Indeed, I can't think of any other film from the era which displayed a woman openly discussing her period, as an example. It's a beautifully shot film, utilizing some interesting and again, for the time, uncommon camera and lighting techniques. The performances are strong, but nothing particularly outstanding from anyone involved. At only 74 minutes it's a sharply paced film, but when it's over you don't feel as though anything was left out. For those curious about Mizoguchi's fabled female-centric style, this would be an excellent entry point for exploring his work. I certainly recommend it to fans of the genre.

Street of Shame

This is a beautiful, tragic, and even somewhat darkly comic film. That said, it's not one of my favorites from Mizoguchi. Like most of his projects, this one too focuses nearly entirely on his female protagonists, and it's certainly touching to a degree. At times it lacks some needed emotion, though. I definitely think there was greater potential within this story. Still, there's plenty to like as well. Two of my favorites, Machiko Ky� and Michiyo Kogure, are prominently featured, and both are phenomenal. Visually it's subtle and even perhaps intentionally simplified, but it works. Overall I don't hesitate in recommending this to fans of Japanese films from this era, but also strongly suggest that you check out Mizoguchi's Sansho the Baliff and Ugetsu when you get the opportunity. Those two films are something special indeed. I also recommend reading up on the social change this film helped initiate.

Mongol

This film is both wildly entertaining and wildly frustrating. Painfully obvious that this was made with western audiences in mind, the production values are as good as you're going to find anywhere. The look and feel of this movie is absolutely fantastic. You're in for a treat with its beautifully crisp imagery set amidst a phenomenal landscape. On the other hand, don't expect to get a history lesson here. I was particularly aggravated that important, relevant, character building aspects of his personal life were either quickly glossed over or ignored altogether. But I'm a snob, and those things generally bother me no matter how good a movie is otherwise. So having said that, I really expect that most people will thoroughly enjoy this. Unless they hate subtitles, that is.

Revenge of a Kabuki Actor

This very interesting and uniquely stylized film is not going to appeal to most people, but those that do accept its unusual nature will likely find it to be quite a wonderful little film. Expect it to be highly theatrical in both the performances and the overall look and feel, while incorporating a score which features a compelling mix of traditional Japanese music with 1960's contemporary slow jazz. It's certainly quite unlike anything I've seen before, and yet it's not inaccessible to anyone that is familiar with Japanese films from the era. Kazuo Hasegawa turns in a convincing effort as the kabuki actor bent on revenge, and both Ayako Wakao and Fujiko Yamamoto are gorgeous and entertaining in the two actual female lead roles. Kon Ichikawa fans should not miss this one.

Wings

In many ways Larisa Shepitko has become an icon of Soviet-era filmmaking because of this film. This is a lovely little film which is deeply layered with many varying themes. I found it to be compelling and engaging while being not particularly heavy or difficult to relate to. It is indeed a slowly paced film, so it likely won't appeal to everyone. I have only minor criticisms, such as poor sound editing, but most certainly nothing that would prevent me from recommending this to the Russian film crowd. If you end up enjoying this, I also highly recommend The Ascent, which is the only other Shepitko film available here.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

This might have Steven Spielberg's name attached to it, but the putrid stench of George Lucas and his perpetually childish and chronically unfunny writing wafts throughout every scene. Not to mention that Harrison Ford is way too old for this goofiness, Karen Allen has lost any shred of talent she may have once had, and Shia LaBeouf will forever be a mystery to me. I admit it, I simply do not understand what his appeal is. Even Cate was a disappointment with her, "I have an accent, I don't have an accent, I have an accent" waffle routine. Visually it's beautiful but it's much too heavily laden with CGI. I wasn't expecting too much from this as I was never a die hard fanatic of the trilogy to begin with, but this was still a significant letdown. George Lucas destroys absolutely everything he touches. Fanboys can go ahead and click Not Helpful right now, but it won't change the fact that this is a mediocre affair that is simultaneously an expertly produced project and yet a big, wet, sticky slap in the face of fans of the franchise.

Dora-Heita

Dora-Heita is an interesting and entertaining film that unfortunately has a handful of problems that keep it from being one of the better modern day samurai films. There is plenty to like, though. All the performances are strong, particularly from Koji Yakusho who pulls off the sneaky, comical and "loose cannon" magistrate wonderfully. Then again, Yakusho is good in everything, so that should be expected. Visually it's a beautiful film, but certainly nothing revolutionary. The story itself is quite interesting and somewhat unique for the genre. On the other hand, resolution of the main conflict comes much too quickly and without much effort. Also, the music is absolutely horrendous. I respect Kon Ichikawa's work tremendously, but for some mysterious reason he decided to include a score usually only found in a bad Steven Seagal action flick from the '90s. In addition I found the use of multi-colored subtitles to be ugly and at times distracting. Having said all that I still have no problem recommending this to samurai fans, but warn that this is not Ichikawa's best effort, most likely because too many people were involved in the writing.

The Sea is Watching

I'm somewhat surprised to see a heavy does of negative reviews for this film. Perhaps if Kurosawa had been able to realize this project during his lifetime we would have been treated to something a bit more special. Then again, the writing itself is hardly his strongest and in fact the filmmakers took great care to recreate Kurosawa's vision by taking advantage of the pages upon pages of production notes that he had left behind. So in those terms we really are witnessing a heavily Kurosawa influenced film that isn't quite up to his standard but is as close as you can realistically get. I personally found this to be a wonderful adaptation of his work. The women and their story stayed with me for quite some time after the film ended. One of Kurosawa's flaws, although a minor one at that, was that he was never great at writing women characters. Here we find a set of women with greatly differing personalities, desires, fears, circumstances, etc. So I found it very refreshing to finally get a woman-centric story from the master. Visually it's a beautiful film, but set almost entirely indoors with only a handful of landscape pans or exterior scenes. Overall I really enjoyed this film and I have no problem recommending it to the Japanese film crowd.

An Autumn Afternoon

Simply put, Ozu was a cinematic genius. Closing out a brilliant career which featured masterpiece after masterpiece, this film gives us exactly what we should expect from the man. Gorgeously and simplistically shot, tremendous performances, and a glimpse into the world of a natural and genuine yet somewhat exotic family life. I most feverishly recommend this to all Ozu fans, and I share my appreciation to Criterion for giving us so many of his films to enjoy.

The Match Factory Girl

This decidedly Finnish film from acclaimed director Aki Kaurismaki is most certainly not going to appeal to all tastes. It's incredibly minimalistic in scope and style, including only a handful of scenes with actual dialog and countless scenes featuring mundane daily activities. It's very much all about the sights and sounds of our world. Well, the sights and sounds of industrial Finland, at any rate. While the synopsis above labels this as a black comedy, it really isn't that at all. It's definitely not heavy drama either, but rather simply a look into a repressed woman and what happens when she's finally pushed over the edge. Even then it's all very low-key and painstakingly simple. Visually it's quite lovely, and the soundtrack has a heavy dose of 50's style American rock. Aki Kaurismaki fans will probably enjoy this as will fans of Scandinavian films in general, but most mainstream viewers will likely watch this and immediately drop the typical "there's no plot" and "I fell asleep" complaints.

The Two Coreys: Season 1

This is definitely one of the worst atrocities ever unleashed upon the American television viewing public. First of all, it's tediously boring. Secondly, these guys are idiots. Particularly Haim, who is just the very definition of jackass. Undoubtedly he rides a crotch rocket. Or he would if he could afford it. Feldman seems to have grown up a little, although he still married a girl 11 years younger than him who was all of 20 years old at the time they wed, and not to mention Susie Feldman is about 40% artificial from the waste up. Yeah, he's matured tremendously. What an amazingly awful show this is, even for a washed up celebrity based reality show.

Early Summer

I make no secret that I'm a huge fan of the Japanese golden age of cinema in general, a huge fan of Ozu, and a tremendously huge fan of Setsuko Hara. So needless to say I of course absolutely adore this masterpiece. The second film in the "Noriko Trilogy" gives us a glimpse into the lives of easily one of the most genuine and authentic families you're ever going to find on screen. It's gentle and calm and lures you into a peaceful trance like state. As you can tell though, while many find Ozu's style to be spellbinding, some are not prone to enjoy his work, so if you're unfamiliar with him you should probably prepare yourself for a visually gorgeous film, yet one that fits quite outside the standard movie formula.

The Riches: Season 3

There is no Season 3 nor is it likely there ever will be a third season, since FX has canceled this wonderful show after the shortened second season. Another great show fallen victim to the writer's strike.

Late Spring

It would be very difficult for me to overstate just how much I love this movie, but I certainly can appreciate that it's not for everyone. This is, however, an incredibly warm and touching story for those that have the disposition for Ozu's style of delivery. But aside from the beautiful story and the remarkably subtle and yet terribly inviting visuals, for me it is Setsuko Hara that makes this film stand out. I defy anyone to not fall completely in love with her, either in this film or any other. She has such a insanely infectious smile that brighten an entire room, and yet at her moments of sadness or despair those emotions equally permeate throughout the scene. There are many reasons why Ozu worked with Hara so frequently and why she was one of the greatest stars working during her time. What a beautiful film this is, and one I recommend very strongly. For those unfamiliar with either or both, I consider this a fantastic film to discover both of these wonderful talents through.

The Ascent

The Ascent is Larisa Shepitko's final and most well known film, particularly in the west where she is often lauded for her skills as a director. It is a beautiful, highly artistic and in many ways a deeply metaphorical film. Visually, set almost entirely against a landscape of snow, we find the sort of imagery that only works in a B+W medium. Her camera choices here are very reminiscent of and I would expect heavily influenced by the works of Bergman, frequently utilizing tight shots of her characters, particularly while in their more desperate situations. In fact, the more desperate the tighter the frame. I found the performances to be quite strong as well, although at times perhaps a bit overdone in certain scenes. Overall I feel like this is a remarkably gorgeous film in terms of imagery and message, and expect it would very much appeal to most fans of foreign films and most certainly to Russian cinema fans.

Dororo

This is a pretty silly movie overall, but that hardly makes it unworthy of your attention. It's true the special effects range from quite impressive to downright 70's-ish. The action sequences are pretty good too, but certainly nothing that will redefine your expectations. Kou Shibasaki's performance is far away the most entertaining. She's loud and whinny and bossy and at times quite aggravating while screaming every line of dialog. She's still incredibly endearing. Everyone else is fairly generic, though. The story is rather strange, but mildly unique as well, which always gets extra credit points in my book. There is resolution at the end, but the door is left wide open for a sequel. At least one is already in the works, with a second sequel likely to follow. I don't have any problem recommending this to Asian fantasy fans.

Dersu Uzala

It's hardly a secret that I adore pretty much all of Kurosawa's work, but I put this one towards the bottom of the list. Not at the very bottom, to be sure, but definitely down there. Unquestionably Maksim Munzuk's portrayal of the titular character is indeed very charming, making this a worthy watch for him alone. Yet at the same time the film as a whole doesn't quite click with me. It's not because it's subtle or deliberately paced, traits I frequently look for in a film, but rather that I simply never really felt engaged. This is purely a personal preference issue here, as I'm not criticizing the merits of the film in the least. It's beautiful and touching and definitely has a point to make. Indeed, I'm still giving it a solid 4-stars, but as far as Kurosawa films go I will always prefer his work from the previous three decades.

Love Conquers All

This isn't a particularly bad movie, but then again it's not a particularly good movie either. There's a handful of issues. Largely though, my greatest issue was my complete lack of respect for our lead character. She's a moron. She is given ample warning as to what eventually happens to her, and yet she is completely clueless. In fact, the title of this movie could easily have been, "Girls Are Stupid." That's a snippet of dialog from the film, which ultimately ends up being fairly true here. The movie also takes a very long time setting up. It isn't until well past the halfway point before any sort of conflict occurs. By then you already are going to have figured out exactly what's going to happen. Once it all does come to a head, it's fairly anticlimactic. Again, this isn't a horrible movie by any means, but I expect it will likely only appeal to those really interested in Malaysian cinema.

Bashing

Despite the rather low average rating given by viewers here, this is in fact a very good movie. Like with many smaller Japanese films, you should expect many scenes where nothing in particular happens and many scenes with limited dialog. In many ways it's strictly a voyeuristic experience as we watch Yuko buy soup from a convenience store or as she rides her bike down the street. It's subtle, but it's also beautiful. It's also an interesting look into a different culture. In the west, volunteerism is looked upon as a virtuous act. It would seem however, if the story told here has any merit, that in Japan it is a widely frowned upon practice. Indeed, after being held hostage in Iraq and then returning home to Japan, Yuko is held in great contempt by literally everyone. Their attitude being that she should not have been in that position in the first place, since helping people only embarrasses them, and that she ultimately got what she deserved. In fact, many argue that she deserved death. It's a fascinating glimpse into an already fascinating culture. If such a thing interests you than I'd certainly recommend this leisurely paced, quiet little film.

Red Beard

Red Beard marked an end of an era for Kurosawa. It was the last film he made during the most prolific period of his career. He only made seven more films over the next 30 years. It was also the last film he shot in B+W. Most notably it was the last time he worked with Mifune. Many have speculated that the breakup between the two was over Mifune's beard and his inability to work on other projects during the filming because of it, resulting in financial stress. That all said, I've seen this many times over the course of my life, and each time I've walked away with different thoughts and feelings. It is, in my opinion, not only both Kurosawa's and Mifune's cinematic masterpiece, not only the finest Japanese film ever created, but indeed one of the greatest artistic cinematic achievements ever put on screen. I believe this should be required viewing of anyone that even remotely considers themselves a movie lover.

Scandal

Definitely a wonderful film, but unfortunately Scandal feels much more like the American films of the era than any of Kurosawa's other work, and most certainly the most western influenced than any of his films that follow. He used a montage on more than one occasion, in addition to including the sort of sentimental music you would likely find in many of the American productions during the 40s and 50s. It simply didn't feel very much like a Japanese film from the era, but particularly unlike a Kurosawa film. Now of course that's not necessarily a bad thing. You really can't go wrong with a 29-year-old semi-rebellious motorcycle riding Toshiro Mifune. Even in these early years of his career he had already fine tuned many of the physical characteristics and mannerisms that helped set him apart. We also get to enjoy a really superb performance from Takashi Shimura. The rest of the cast is equally as strong, as should always be expected from Kurosawa. The man was a master at nearly all aspects of filmmaking, but I personally admire his ability to cast every roll to perfection. I certainly wouldn't rank this amongst my favorite Kurosawa projects, and indeed would probably place it towards the bottom. Then again it's still getting a very strong 4-star rating from me.

Kabluey

Here we have yet another quirky-cute indie. Within the first 20 minutes I was very close to shutting this off. Unlikeable characters, mostly the two monster rugrats, had me turned off almost immediately. Then it grew on me. The characters became more likable. The situations became more relatable. The humor became more...humorous. It's not an outstanding entry to the genre, but it's certainly cute and fairly entertaining. I think most people will probably enjoy this once they get past the halfway point or so.

Cure

This is a really outstanding crime drama which I'm absolutely shocked Hollywood hasn't yet stolen. It is a subtle psychological exploration, one that will likely leave you analyzing each scene until you're left either frustrated or confused, but probably both. The performances are top notch, particularly from the always enjoyable and yet still relatively unappreciated Koji Yakusho. Masato Hagiwara puts in a low key, modest turn as the amnesiac. He has a presence that upon initial reaction doesn't quite fit, but as the story moves along his energy becomes more and more key to the flow of the film. Certainly it's not a perfect film. Visually it's rather bland and uninspired. In my opinion, Kurosawa and his DP Tokusho Kikumura were too conservative with the camera. Don't expect absolute resolution in the end. You'll likely end up asking yourself what was the motivation and how was it all done. Those answers will never come. If you're alright with that then I expect you'll really enjoy this wonderful movie.

Whispering Corridors 3: Wishing Stairs

Well, the first half was good, I'll say that much. Sadly, it's not until the second half when all the scary stuff happens. Or when the scary stuff is supposed to happen, that is. None of it is even remotely scary or thrilling or tense though. Instead it's all just the same old thing. Girl hiding in a closet when all of a sudden the baddie is in there with her. Girl walks down a hallway and the lights are eerily flickering. Girl stumbles upon corpse of previously fallen victim. Yeah, not a whole lot new here. Like I said, the first half was actually pretty interesting. Of course even that's just standard character setup stuff, developing relationships and whatnot, but it's still somewhat dramatic and engrossing. Overall it's not a poor movie by any means, but I guarantee that you've seen every single frame of this somewhere else before.

Genghis Khan: To the Ends of the Earth and Sea

An opening note: If you don't like subtitles, don't bother. That said, this Japanese epic follows the life and career of a young Genghis Khan as he campaigns to unite the various warring tribes of what later becomes Mongolia. It's a deeply flawed production in many ways, and yet it's also fairly entertaining. The story itself is painfully formulaic, taking advantage of the lack of historical evidence and filling in the gaps with pure speculation about his life in the most screen friendly and time tested manner possible. The dialog too is, for the most part, generic and vanilla. The performances at times are over-the-top dramatic, but overall they're adequate. Takashi Sorimachi was a good casting choice, as he not only has some skills but he also really looks the part. The scenery is phenomenal, which should be expected since this production was filmed completely in Mongolia over the span of four months. That might be reason enough to watch this. The horsemanship displayed was also very impressive, but I'm not quite sure it was made abundantly clear just how important the horse was in their society. It seems as though the influence of the horse was merely implied throughout the movie, without ever really discussing how critical a tool it really was. Sadly, there are many liberties taken in terms of time line here. I'm a stickler for historical accuracy in these sort of epics, mainly because there's never any reason not to be accurate, so to see certain events take place either years too early or years too late is frustrating. Having said that, I still really enjoyed this and don't have any hesitation in recommending it to those interested in Genghis or historical dramas or even just Japanese productions.

Yojimbo

I won't bore anyone with my typical in depth and unnecessarily pretentious analysis of this masterpiece, since that's already been done by countless others for nearly 50 years. I will say that this is probably my favorite Kurosawa film, although that distinction fluctuates from time to time between two or three of his other works. I don't believe it's possible to watch this and not fall completely in love with Toshiro Mifune. He is maddeningly perfect in this role. The supporting cast is also marvelous, and indeed this could be used as a lesson on how to properly cast a film. In addition, this is simply some of the best camera work you're ever going to find anywhere. Kazuo Miyagawa was a masterful cinematographer for many years, but I believe this was his pinnacle. It's just a phenomenally gorgeous film to watch. I could easily gush and rave over this film for hours, but you already know how I feel. I most feverishly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

The Forbidden Kingdom

I never like it when Hollywood tries their hand at a well established and honored foreign genre, and when that genre is Wuxia I'm even more apprehensive. Of course it helps off-set any damage done when you cast the likes of Jet Li and Jackie Chan, both of whom are highly entertaining here and work very well with one another. On the other hand, I have no idea why the producers would cast a very oily Christian Bale wannabe. Michael Angarano does a fair enough job delivering the dialog and in his action sequences, but I personally find him to be rather funny looking and not well suited for the big screen. On the other hand, the two primary female leads, Yifei Liu and Bingbing Li, are both absolutely magnificence creatures. Even the stunning and lush scenery found throughout this film doesn't quite measure up to the loveliness that are those two. Otherwise, despite my early hesitation going in, I found this to be a surprisingly entertaining experience. Good silly fun.

Twenty-Four Eyes

Note: The Criterion version is now being shipped. That said, within Japan even today this is widely regarded as one of the finest films they've ever produced. That's a debatable conclusion, but one that as westerners most of us aren't in a position to challenge. The film itself can be looked at in two ways, and depending on how you look at it going in will likely largely determine your final thoughts. As pure film entertainment you will probably not enjoy it nearly as much as the other classics from the era. It's deliberately paced, sentimental and unconventionally structured. You can also look at it from a historical perspective, in which case this film was clearly used as propaganda. Not Leni Riefenstahl-esque propaganda necessarily, but rather the sort meant to initiate cultural change. It's a peaceful, gentle film, intended to encourage a perspective of peace and freedom. If viewed within such historical context, I believe many will get much more out of this fine film. This is also a great way to discover the unbelievably beautiful and talented Hideko Takamine, who was during the '20s and '30s a child star every bit the equal of Shirley Temple. Unlike Temple though, Takamine went on to have a long and impressive film career, becoming Japan's most recognizable and revered actress during the '50s and '60s. In many ways her influence is still being felt, and it's a real shame that we only have a handful of her films available to us here. I certainly recommend this film to all Japanese cinema aficionados, but not to most casual viewers.

Gate of Hell

This Palme d'Or and Academy Award winning film is the first Japanese production filmed in color to be released widely outside of Japan. It was very well received both critically and by audiences. The story features a minimal cast, lead up very nicely by the always lovely 1950's screen diva Machiko Kyo and the highly capable screen veteran Kazuo Hasegawa. While I wouldn't say their on screen chemistry was particularly noteworthy, they do indeed play off one another quite well which resulted in an overall satisfying performance from both. The story itself should be a familiar one, but in many ways it's oversimplified here. The fine details of circumstance are completely glossed over. Filmed using Eastmancolor, it may take a scene or two to acclimate to a soft image and somewhat unrealistic color. The audio was also quite bad, and the subtitles were downright horrific with entire lines of dialog left untranslated altogether. This rather quaint and enjoyable film definitely deserves the Criterion treatment. Until then you can probably track this down somewhere on VHS, but I would recommend waiting until a cleaner version becomes available.

Ikiru

I waffled over how I would ultimately rate this fine film for many days. 4-stars doesn't give it enough credit, and yet 5-stars seems a bit much when compared to other Kurosawa classics. In the end I felt it deserved the highest ranking based mostly on my personal identification with the story. Having worked myself in government for many years, and having also felt the overwhelming pressure of stagnancy and immobility within a bureaucracy, I probably have a stronger connection to this film than some people will. Nobody should find this story to be inaccessible or difficult to relate to, though. I found the first two acts of this story to be particularly intriguing, keeping at a fluid pace and featuring fantastic performances. It's in the third act that I believe the films begins to slow down a bit too much. I also think that Kurosawa hadn't quite mastered the art of editing at this point in his career, so by comparison to his later films this one may feel somewhat sloppy at times. Still, imperfections aside, this really is required viewing for all Kurosawa fans, even though it likely won't become the favorite of many of them.

Gurren Lagann: Vol. 3

It's true that this only contains the original Japanese language track, but if you let the lack of English dubs discourage you from watching this then you're only depriving yourself of one of the most fast-paced, exciting, and truly flat-out entertaining and enjoyable animes to hit the scene in some time. You're better off with the subs anyway, as the English dubs I heard on the Sci-Fi Channel are absolutely horrific in comparison. These final nine episodes close out the series in magnificent style, further amping up the excitement and tension until the very satisfying conclusion. This entire series is terrifically conceived and executed, and I really can't recommend it more to mecha fans. Ultimately it's so much more than just a mecha anime though, confronting themes common throughout nearly all genres. So if you've never really enjoyed the mecha genre, this may be the one to change your mind.

Origin: Spirits of the Past

Unfortunately, for as stunning as this film is to look at, the story falls well short of its visual beauty. Ecology based stories are commonplace in anime, and this one really doesn't bring anything new to the table. In fact, it's highly derivative of the far superior Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Indeed, it's the exact same story with only an ever so slight change to how mankind's near complete destruction happened in the first place. So, it's a worthwhile watch for the visuals, but the story moves from plot point to plot point too quickly and the characters lack anything resembling endearing personalities. If you've seen the brilliance of Nausicaa, this will probably feel very much like a knock-off. If you haven't seen Nausicaa, I'd recommend you go watch that instead.

The Face of Another

I won't delve too deeply into the fine details of why I like this film so much, other than to say that it is a near flawless character study. It may not be a film for everyone, and indeed I'd expect a good number of people to not enjoy it at all. That said, what we are treated to here is a superb journey of change within not only one man but those around him. It's a fascinating story, one that moves at a crisp pace and yet never reveals too much too quickly. Each character throughout this film demonstrates tremendous depth and complexity, an impressive achievement considering the limited screen time some characters are given. It's also gorgeously shot and just surreal enough in imagery to keep the viewer's own imagination well exercised. I was transfixed by Tatsuya Nakadai's performance. His transformation from bitter, resentful, self-imposed outcast to confident and even cocky player is a total joy to watch unfold. All the other performances are stellar, but his is the one that really elevates this film into the upper reaches. I strongly recommend this to all Japanese cinema lovers.

Dark Blue World

Yet another fantastic WWII film from the Europeans, once again proving that by comparison American filmmakers are absolutely clueless when it comes to this subject matter. This film features some of the very best aerial photography I've ever seen, and certainly some brilliant dogfighting scenes. The aircraft are all flawlessly authentic, as is the costume design. Clearly the producers made great use of the $8 million budget, the largest ever for a Czech production. This is a wonderful movie about a fairly unknown chapter of the war, with strong performances and a nice balance of emotion and action. I can't quite rank it amongst the very best the genre has to offer, but it most definitely is in the second tier.

Rashomon

This is one of my top-3 favorite Kurosawa films. It touches upon many different themes, from the manipulative power of women to the depths men will sink to survive to the value of perspective. It's also marvelously and beautifully shot by renowned cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Obviously Mifune fans will eat him up here, but the lovely Machiko Kyo's performance should not be overlooked either. Clearly it's not a film everyone will appreciate or enjoy, but I personally love it and expect most die-hard Japanese classic cinema fans will love it as well.

When They Cry

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni is a rather strange series based on a video game series, later adapted into not only this anime but a series of light novels and manga. What makes it an unconventional series is how it's structured. The first two-thirds of the series is presented in four chapters, considered "Question Arcs", each of which basically tells the same general story over and over again, but with variations in events and character importance, all the while very gradually revealing a bit more of the overall story. This technique at times, particularly the early episodes of each chapter, leads to a strong sense of repetition. The final third of the series consists of two chapters, considered "Answer Arcs", which brings about resolution to many of the questions presented in the earlier episodes. Overall the series is a very odd blend of genres, from cutesy harem to sci-fi metaphysical to plain old horror. I didn't personally find it all that suspenseful as others have, but I did think that it was well drawn, written and performed, and just unique and interesting enough to overshadow some of its flaws. It should be noted that this is a 26 episode series, so expect at least two more discs, Vol. 5 and Vol. 6, to be released later in '08 and early in '09, respectively. Did I use the word "series" too much?

Three Times

My thoughts about this film are conflicted. On the one hand, I really appreciate what Hsiao-hsien Hou tried to put together here. On the other hand, I don't think he did it all that particularly well. That's probably too strong, since I do think the first and third stories were well conceived and executed. The second, however, was a disaster. I say that only because it irritated me to no end that he would go to the trouble of making it a silent film, since the story itself takes place in 1911, presumably, and yet he still shot it in color and with all the other advantages of modern day filmmaking technology. It didn't work, and felt extremely gimmicky. Comically gimmicky. As I said though, the other two stories were both rather beautiful in their simplicity and emotion. All three stories, in fact, were completely emotion driven, lacking considerably in dialog and relying very heavily on music to relay the message. So while I enjoyed the minimalism of it all and found the performances to be top-notch, particularly Shu Qi's, who is smoking gorgeous by the way, that middle story nearly ruined the whole production for me. I suspect most people will not enjoy it either.

Madlax

Madlax is the spiritual successor to Noir and is the second series in director Koichi Mashimo's "girls-with-guns" trilogy The final series, not yet available in the U.S., is El Cazador de la Bruja. This is a difficult series to review, as it features a complex storyline with a wide variety of characters, relationships, locations, and themes. Ultimately the story boils down to one girls search for her identity. In trying to reach that goal the overall story does become convoluted at times, but it never deviates far enough to completely turn off the viewer. Madlax also takes a break from the realism found in Noir and adds in some mystical science fiction, which may not what fans that appreciated the authenticity of Noir are looking for. The animation is strong, although far from the best I've seen, but the music is certainly a cut above what you'll hear in most other anime series. Very stylized, unique, and mood-setting, while remaining very true to the turbulent and yet beautiful environment that had been created. I really did enjoy this series and don't really have any hesitation in recommending it. On the other hand, it's also a series that I will likely never really think much about ever again.

Son of Rambow

My first instinct after watching this film was to proclaim my love for it, but never being one to ever quickly proclaim love of anything or anyone at all, I of course took my time in reflecting upon its overall quality. While it's certainly a cute little film, entertaining for the most part, well written and directed, and most certainly very strongly performed, it also has a significant flaw. It is hopelessly and benignly sentimental. That in no way means it's a poor film or one not worth watching, because it most certainly is worth watching. But it's cute and soft and gentle at its core, and for such a film to reach the upper heights of quality it needs to be more than just cute and touching. Perhaps I'm being needlessly critical. Perhaps not. In either case, don't expect genius. Don't even expect anything particularly new. Just expect...cute.

Sansho the Bailiff

Like many Jidaigeki films from this era, this one too is deeply rooted in folklore and oozing with symbolism. Sansho the Bailiff represents a bit of departure for Kenji Mizoguchi, who generally preferred to focus his empathy towards his female characters. Here, at least once the story moves towards conclusion, the clear primary character and the one which Mizoguchi ties most greatly to the audience is that of a young man. Still, the greatest suffering and indeed the most significant sacrifices are found within the two lead women, mom and daughter, as they both fight to maintain hope that the other remains alive and that they will one day be reunited. The story itself is so familiar to the Japanese that Mizoguchi symbolizes its importance simply by displaying stones embedded into the earth during the opening credits, and he demonstrates his respect for the story by creating a film not only tremendously moving but stunningly gorgeous. Mizoguchi always took great effort to utilize the surroundings available, taking advantage of what they had to offer rather than forcing his ideal into a landscape. He also had a marvelous eye for composition, and in fact there are few other directors that could match his ability to compose a scene. Look for his heavy and masterful use of diagonal compositions throughout this film. Overall I really can't recommend this film more strongly. It's gorgeous from top to bottom.

Dexter: Season 2

Dexter is the perfect anti-hero. He's clearly got moral and ethical issues, and yet he nearly always does the right thing. That's why we love him, and that's why this show is different than any other on the air right now. We don't find his type of classical character being written anywhere else. In the second season we find a greater degree of tension as Dexter himself is fighting for his own survival. New characters are introduced, including Keith Carradine and Jaime Murray, both of whom are fantastic in their respective rolls. Incidentally, both are quite predatory in nature as well. I naturally loved the first season, but most shows really start to hit their stride in their second season. Dexter: Season 2 is certainly no exception to that rule.

Last Exile

This is easily one of my most favorite anime series, for many reasons. The story itself is magnificent in depth and detail, as is the animation and character design. It's also one of the very few anime series around that has a tremendous English dub which I enjoy just as much as I do watching with subtitles. I'm a certifiable subtitle snob and generally regard dubbing as one of our most greatest of evils, so for me to admit to such a thing requires unheard of quality in a dub. That quality is most certainly here, and indeed with both the English and Japanese tracks the voice work is some of the best you're going to hear. This series is full of everything you may want, from romance to action to high flying tension to mystery and even a bit of fantasy, wrapped around by a crunchy chewy crispy steampunk shell. This is a fantastic series for anyone who is unfamiliar with or apprehensive about anime in general, as it will give you a great sense of what the genre can provide when done right.

The King of Masks

Absolutely stellar filmmaking, reminding even the most cynical amongst us that when done right this indeed can be a tremendously moving art form. Everything about this film screams masterpiece. From the style to the cinematography to the writing to the performances, there is not a single week spot throughout. There's a reason why this won numerous awards, from China's Golden Rooster for Best Director to the Best Actor award at the Tokyo International Film Festival to many, many more at all variates of film festivals and award ceremonies. If you are even remotely interested in Chinese cinema, you must watch this.

Onibaba

Based on a Buddhist parable, this phenomenally gorgeous film is dripping with symbolism. Indeed, this is a story that may be hard to fully digest after just one viewing. But for those that might be intimidated at the idea of a film so rich and deep that it may not be immediately accessible, on the surface we still find stunning and beautiful imagery that will easily satisfy all fans of B+W cinema. In fact, you just may find the camera work here to be every bit the equal of another well know Japanese director. The performances too are each top-notch. Those familiar with Woman in the Dunes should expect comparable levels of sensuality and sex, although more graphic in detail than one might expect in a 1965 production. I really love this movie and recommend to anyone that has even a slight interest in exploring Japanese films from this era.

Gravitation

So many people seem to love this, but I found it lacking considerably in animation quality and overall story. In fact, understanding that this is nearly a decade old, the animation seems very bland and unoriginal with numerous scenes clearly incomplete. I watched this on Anime Network, so I only had access to the English dub, which sadly is comically amateurish. I'd recommend watching this with subs because the dubs will make your ears bleed. I'm also not a tremendous fan of yaoi or shonen-ai, so I didn't have large expectations to begin with. This story did little to change my mind about the genre. Considering the rather lazily conceived quality of the series overall, I most certainly can not recommend this to anyone other than the most fervent fans of the genre.

Maria Watches Over Us: Season 1

This 13-episode Studio Deen series originally aired in 2004 and is based on the long-running and wildly popular light novel and manga series. It's an expertly drawn series featuring absolutely fantastic voice work. It's soft and gentle, subtle and deliberately paced, with a very heavy emphasis on the introspective nature of the primary character, Yumi. It is, however, somewhat difficult to get into. There is entirely too much name dropping and not enough to distinguish the many characters from one another early on, leaving the viewer to frequently wonder who exactly they were just talking about. Therefor it took me at least five or six episodes before I felt reasonably comfortable knowing who everyone is and how they relate to one another. Indeed, it's those relationships that are the toughest to figure out. Still, the effort is rewarded with really strong story and character development. I certainly recommend this to yuri fans.

Whisper of the Heart

This is easily my favorite non-Miyazaki Studio Ghibli production, and in fact I'd actually rank it a bit higher than a couple of his projects. While it's not as stunningly beautiful as some of Miyazaki's work, particularly his more recent work, the animation is still wonderfully fluid and admirable. In many ways we find some of the most realistically drawn scenes found in the entirety of the genre. The story itself touches upon the young love themes that are so common within all of anime, but overall it's positive and inspirational. All of the characters are interesting, endearing and genuine while showing tremendous depth. Right from the start it's strange to hear Olivia Newton John's rendition of Take Me Home, Country Road in an anime, but once you get into the movie you'll see how nicely it ties into the story. This is a marvelous movie that I enjoyed from beginning to end. If you've enjoyed any of Ghibli's other work then you really should give this one a shot too.

Vexille

This is a really strong example of CGI done right. Well, close to right, anyway. It's not perfect. Despite near photo-realistic animation throughout much of the movie, there were still scenes that seemed to be somewhat incomplete, leaving me feeling as though the production needed another month or so. That's a minor point, though, as from start to finish I was fully immersed. The story itself is quite interesting and unique, although it clearly borrowed heavily from a number of stories that have come before. The primary characters are all fairly generic and lacking much in terms of development. Our lead on the other hand goes through much development, early on appearing to be sort of a weak personality, perhaps even prone to dependency issues, only to turn it all around in the end. This also features a really strong soundtrack and score, with the closing credits accompanied by a really great song from J-pop star Mink. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and easily recommend it to all animation fans, but I can't quite bring myself to give it a solid 5-star rating.

Live Free or Die

*Sigh* Yet another pretty mediocre movie that I've had to sit through just to get a few glimpses of my Zooey. Sadly, she's only in a handful of scenes despite what the above synopsis might imply. I've always enjoyed Paul Schneider too, and his performance here is definitely the high point of the movie. His is a very strange character which Schneider pulls off very nicely. Otherwise this is a story littered with highly unlikeable characters and a completely uninteresting plot. Listen to the warnings, as this is not a very good movie at all. It gets 3-stars from me only because of my completely unhealthy crush on Zooey.

The Legend of the Shadowless Sword

Welcome to Clich� City. From the story to the characters to the choreography to the setting, this has all been done before and done better. Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad movie. There are issues, though. I found the set design to be particularly poor. Frequently I was well aware that these events were taking place on some sound stage on a studio lot. While we're on the subject of sound, I found the sound editing to be poor as well. It appears that most, if not all, outdoor scenes required over-dubbing after the principal photography had been shot. What that created was frequent outdoor conversations which sounded as though they were taking place in a cocoon. In addition, some of the performances were comical. Now, having said all that, there's still plenty to like about this. The fight scenes are frequent and largely well executed. There's plenty of fake blood and gore, for those that get a kick out of such things. The two lead women are both flawlessly gorgeous and they both pull off their fight scenes much better than their male counterparts. Then again, I've always been partial to a hottie with a bloody sword. The Koreans haven't quite yet mastered the fine art of Wuxia, but they're getting better. In the meantime, this is really not much more than a summer blockbuster. I enjoyed it but it's hardly a classic of the genre.

The Counterfeiters

It has for many, many years been my belief that European filmmakers are far superior to American filmmakers when it comes to WWII movies. In terms of pure realism and genuine authenticity, they are simply much, much better at it than anyone in Hollywood has ever been. (If you want to argue this point, wait until you see Tom Cruise as a Nazi in Valkyrie). Having said that, I have mixed feelings about this effort and was left feeling somewhat disappointed given the awards and critical praise. While the story itself is infinitely interesting, and indeed one that has not been told on screen before, it simultaneously lacked any emotion whatsoever. Our lead character, who is admittedly intended to be selfish and unsympathetic, still never makes the viewer care about him in the slightest. That puts the viewer in a tough position considering the context of this story, as we really don't have anyone to root for. Stylistically it's a very interesting film, shot and edited in such a way as to make it feel very 1940s. Overall I found the story, the writing and most of the performances to be top-notch, but sadly I never became fully immersed or engaged. I think those searching for super high quality European WWII films should watch Black Book or Downfall first. One final note to those that feel they must publicly whine about their mental inability to watch moving pictures and read words at the same time. Nobody cares that you hate subtitles, so keep it to yourself!

The Cat Returns

Pretty much what you should expect coming out of Studio Ghibli. A wonderfully endearing story featuring wonderfully endearing characters in a wonderfully endearing setting. No, it's not Miyazaki, but it's got his fingerprints all over it. So if your a fan of his or of other Ghibli productions, than you should fully expect to enjoy this. Newcomers to the studio may wish to explore the more famous productions first.

Big Dreams, Little Tokyo

Writer/director Dave Boyle clearly is a devoted and hard-core Japanophile. This is an extremely low-budget film, produced for approximately $200,000, yet while it certainly looks and feels low-budget it also is professionally directed and edited. We don't find the typical grainy, shaky image that would normally accompany such a modest budget. Generally speaking I'm tiring of the constant barrage of quirky-cute indies that have been saturating the market for the past couple years. This one definitely ranks amongst the very best I've seen recently, though. Perhaps it's my own obsessive and unhealthy interest in all things Japan, but I found the writing and the performances to be highly entertaining. There is some dialog delivered from a couple of the supporting players that doesn't quite hit the mark, but those instances are rare and never from any of the leads. Both Dave Boyle and Rachel Morihiro are outstanding in their respective rolls. Fans of Heroes might like to see James Kyson Lee, aka Ando, too...even though he's actually Korean. Definitely recommended.

Gurren Lagann: Vol. 2

I found the middle episodes of this series contained in this volume to be more enjoyable than the first, which I already really enjoyed. These episodes are largely more exciting, even griping at times, with a deliberate emphasis on more human themes, as silly as that may sound. Granted, there is one particular episode that's very heavy on the fanservice, but even that episode brought a nice dose of comedy to an otherwise fairly tense storyline. The action here becomes even more over the top but it remains very nicely executed. Overall this is a fun series and these nine episodes really breeze by once you get immersed. One other note. It's true that there is only a Japanese language option. No English dubs. Look for the final nine episodes on Volume 3.

Voices of a Distant Star

Makoto Shinkai has shown a fondness for discussing similar themes throughout all three of his projects, but this is where it all got started. On the surface it may seem like nothing more than a story about love which cannot be, just as in his follow up films The Place Promised in Our Early Days and 5 Centimeters Per Second. His obsession with these themes can easily lead the viewer to believe that much that is found in these films is autobiographical. Perhaps so, however, it's just as likely that these stories are not about lost love at all. They're about fading youth. His stories discuss how we find ourselves bound through the commonalities of youth, but as we age and we pursue our own goals those bonds dissipate and eventually disappears altogether. His stories tell the tale of becoming an adult more than anything else. He simply masks those intentions with masterfully crafted stories of longing. Having said all that, this is still, simply put, a fantastic film. It is indeed short as others have mentioned, (and whined about), but if you can appreciate that everything you see here was done solely by one man on a home computer, then you'll accept why it is so short. Plus, there are three separate versions that can occupy your time, greatly extending the life of the disc. The English dub has significantly altered dialog, in a way creating a completely new story, while there is also the original Japanese version as well as a director's cut. Plus, the DVD extras feature an interesting interview with Shinkai as well as his 1999 short film, She and Her Cat, which is also a phenomenal piece of digital animation. 5 Centimeters Per Second will probably always be my favorite Shinkai work, but this is a great place for anyone to start to discover his talents.

Man, Woman and the Wall

I found this to be a intriguing and ultimately entertaining little film. Clearly operating with a modest budget, the overall style is very similar to an American or Canadian indie. That is to say that it's a fairly grainy image and there isn't much diversity in terms of locations. The whole movie takes place in two typical Tokyo apartments and a handful of restaurant interiors. None of that matters though as this is more about the characters and their circumstances than it is about anything else. The characters are fairly interesting. Sora Aoi, or Sola Aoi as she's credited here, is quite endearing and indeed quite lovely as well. Keita Ohno walks a fine line between creepy stalker and genuinely nice guy, and he does it very well. The circumstances, that of two apartments with a shared wall, albeit very thin, is probably more common in Tokyo than one might think. Given some of the dialog it's implied that eavesdropping is indeed a frequent pastime. Now, there is a fair amount of nudity and a handful of sex scenes so perhaps it would be best to send Lil' Dylan (or whatever you people are naming your kids these days) to bed before you watch. At any rate, I'd recommend this to most fans of smaller Japanese cinema. I'm not so sure it would appeal to most viewers, though.

Gurren Lagann: Vol. 1

I'm not a particularly big fan of mecha anime, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect going in. I found these nine episodes, comprising the first third of the series, to be a entertaining and exciting romp, though. There are plenty of over the top personalities and a smattering of fanservice, but neither turn out to be a major detriment to the overall quality of the series. On the other hand, at times I did find aspects to be quite immature, particularly for us older anime fans. Still, I found it entertaining for the most part and I don't have any problem recommending this to mecha fans. The episodes in Volume 2 are even better, so it's a worthwhile series to stick with for the duration.

Doomsday

It will forever be a mystery to me how these types of movies get made while strong, intelligent, original, creative, and entertaining screenplays sit on the desks of countless Starbucks baristas and Chili's dishwashers. With this script, the writers took elements of every single post-apocalyptic and dystopian future they could find and mixed them all up together into a mish-mash of cliched nonsense. I could go on and on and on about all the things wrong with this movie and I could go on and on about all the previous movies this stole from, but I'm trying incredibly hard to not let this movie bring out the inner snob in me. So I'll look at what's good about it. It's paced very well. The action is strong in most cases and well choreographed. Rhona Mitra is very hot, although the DP didn't utilize enough low angle shots of her. That might be wrong to say, but if she's not there just to look good, then why is she there? In the end I have to give this movie credit for being mindlessly entertaining to a certain degree, but at the same time there are countless issues that I hold against it. I can't recommend unless you simply have absolutely nothing else to do with your time.

Nana 2

On the surface I really enjoyed this film. It's a sadder story than found in the first film, with what might be considered significantly more weighty themes being explored. More broadly speaking though it's really just an "end of an era" story. It works fairly well, but upon further inspection there are issues. Firstly, while I found some of the scenery and camera work in the first one to be top notch, here both were quite mediocre. Locations and set design are both lacking in creativity and seem lazily conceived. Secondly, it was a huge mistake replacing Aoi Miyazaki as one of the Nana's with Yui Ichikawa. Yui is fine in the role but Aoi was perfect. In fact there are a number of casting changes that deteriorate the quality in comparison to the first film. On the other hand, Mika Nakashima remains and we get to enjoy even more of her musical talents. Having said that, I still enjoyed it. There's enough about these characters and their circumstances to offset the negatives. I strongly warn fans of the first film that they should not expect this to be as good. I also strongly warn newcomers to watch the first film before watching this, as you'll need a great deal of that back story or you'll be quite lost.

The Band's Visit

Let me start by saying, or rather warning, that this film is most certainly not for everyone. It's a subtle, simple story which is played out at a very deliberate pace and it's completely character driven. I found this film strikingly familiar in feel and yet I can't quite equate it with anything else I've ever seen. Had it been made in America, there's no doubt people would be lumping it into the increasingly popular quirky-indie genre. I'm not so sure it would belong there though, as this film has a different energy entirely. In reality there's nothing too particularly noteworthy or unique about this film other than its superb cast. You could tell the same story a thousand different ways in a thousand different locations, but the cast will always be the defining factor. Our leading trio here is simply spectacular, playing off one another as though they'd been working together for years. I can certainly see why this film has received so much critical attention from around the world, and I think anyone that is attracted to these types of films will agree with their praise.

Memories

As much as I'll give credit to Otomo for his achievement with Akira, I found his story here to be the most lacking of the three. Unique and original in story and style, it also is unfortunately rather boring. It would have been much better as the middle rather than the final story to appear. As it is we're treated to two very enjoyable and entertaining short films that are equally as visually beautiful, unique and original as Otomo's effort, setting a standard that isn't equaled as the compilation closes out with the final story. Still, it's important in all three cases to remember that these are just short stories and therefor will lack a great deal of substance usually found in full features. They are quick hitters and nothing more. That said I really enjoyed watching these very different but strongly executed shorts.

Paranoia Agent

Satoshi Kon and his team of super-mad geniuses does it yet again with this highly entertaining and stylish series. I would say about 10 of these episodes represent the absolute pinnacle of the genre, with the remaining three being considered merely fantastically wonderful. This is easily the most beautifully drawn series that I've seen, but that should come as no surprise to Kon fans. His follow up project Paprika is, after all, at the cutting edge of Japanese animation. That project took two years to complete though, whereas a broadcast series such as this must be completed in much less time under more scrutiny and pressure. So to achieve such glorious visuals as well as giving us such an enjoyable story is indeed very impressive. The story here, like most of Kon's stories, is anything but simple or traditionally linear. He thrives on sub-plots and deviations, and he's not a fan of clear cut answers. I absolutely love the character design as well. So many characters and all of them are creative in style and endearing in personality. The truth is I could gush over Satoshi Kon all day. He is my favorite anime director, despite his relatively few director credits. As a result I probably love this series more than I otherwise would, but even then I'm confident I'd really enjoy it. I expect you will too.

Wilder Napalm

I found the casting to be more interesting than anything else in this movie. At the time Debra Winger's cultural relevance was just about completely gone and Dennis Quaid was riding through the upper decade of his career. It's very strange indeed that the producers decided to pair these two up, and not only that but to stick Arliss Howard into the mix as well. Don't get me wrong about Arliss, though. He was great as Cowboy in Full Metal Jacket, but he's anything but a leading man. The story itself is just about as generic as they come. Two guys caught between the quirky goofy chick that always keeps them on their toes and can't ever quite make up her mind about anything to the point where everyone involved gets hurt one way or another. Or to put it more simply, she's just a selfish little childish pain in the butt. We've seen it countless times before, and adding a fire starter super-power element into the mix hardly does anything to make this plot more engaging. I've always liked Debra Winger and Dennis Quaid so it's hard for me to completely pan this film, but it's nothing to go crazy over. Not even close.

Metropolis

This is a very interesting movie which I found highly engaging, entertaining, and stunningly beautiful to look at. It clearly shows a vast array of influences, ranging from Astro Boy to Blade Runner to the original classic Metropolis, and even going so far as to utilize elements from Inspector Gadget and the Fallout video game franchise, to name a few. The entire world is beautifully conceived and executed featuring heavy use of Art Deco architecture and style with just enough futurism thrown in to satisfy even the most demanding sci-fi aficionados. Character design is some of the best I've seen. There's a lot of physical diversity amongst the characters and each is drawn masterfully to match their personalities. I also found the voice work to be absolutely spectacular. All in all this definitely ranks amongst my favorite anime movies, as it has everything you might want from the genre. This certainly gets my seal of approval.

Tokyo Godfathers

Another outstanding effort from Satoshi Kon and his team of talented animation super stars. While I don't find the animation to be as strong here as in most of Kon's other projects, I do believe that this is his best writing effort. I love these characters and found them to be incredibly authentic. It would have been very easy for Kon to have simply plugged in some generic character stereotypes. Rather, he spends great effort to develop these character's oddities and eccentricities. Given the nature of the trio's circumstances, it's important to note just how good a job Kon did at creating three very unusual and deeply flawed individuals. They are indeed very interesting and compelling anti-heroes. The story is very creative and engaging as well. 5-stars is pushing it from me as I'd rather give this a 4.8 if I could.

Paprika

This easily ranks among one of the top two or three most beautiful anime films that I've ever seen. In terms of visuals I don't believe it can be done any better than this. The music and voice work are also top notch. Add them all up and you've got one amazing display of talent from everyone involved. Having said that, this is not my favorite Satoshi Kon film. I really appreciate that his stories tend to be a bit more on the non-traditional side, but with this project his story felt to be lacking some needed emotion. I never really felt attached to any of the characters. In the end I found this to be a stunning piece of artwork that isn't quite the best representation of Satoshi Kon's storytelling ability.

Millennium Actress

As soon as the end credits began rolling, I added this to my personal list of all-time favorite films spanning all genres. That's a list that's brutally tough to break into, but that's just how good this is. I love the style of storytelling found here. A bit surreal and convoluted and yet still linear, we find a story that seamlessly blends a variety of narrative styles. It's this heartbreaking and identifiable story which really sets this film apart, but that's not to say that the story alone carries the film. Visually it's not as bright and colorful as Satoshi Kon's follow up projects. The animation is that of muted tones with an emphasis on detail rather than bright and flashy. Yet at the same time it offers some of the most perfectly fluid movement on screen that I've seen from the genre. That's really where Satoshi Kon excels as director. I personally believe there is none better at representing simple human movement. Whereas Miyazaki is known for his tremendous flying scenes, Kon will one day be known for his ability to masterfully animate simple and basic human movement. Even though I love everything Kon has done, in my opinion this is his masterpiece. I heartily recommend it to absolutely all animation fans. Those on the fence about the genre however may not be as enamored with it as I am, so enter at your own risk. I also strongly recommend looking into the films of Japanese actress Setsuko Hara, who was largely the inspiration for the lead character here.

Shuffle!

This is a good entry point for anime fans that have yet to really explore the harem genre or who have yet to find one that isn't ridiculous. While there's certainly a good dose of fanservice throughout, it tends towards the more low-key and comical, while tending away from the downright disrespectful we might find in other series. It took me a couple episodes before I really started to get into this series, but once I did I was fully hooked, to the point where I now consider this one of my absolute favorite series. Our lead, Rin, is a genuinely nice guy who tries to do the right thing, and he's very easy to identify with. At the same time, his suitors each possess interesting and unique and rich personalities which are deeply explored, allowing us to develop an affection for each of them. It's an impressive series which is beautifully animated, strongly performed, and featuring some very interesting surprises, all the while immersing the viewer into the world which has been created. I really enjoyed this series and wish there were a second season.

Emma: A Victorian Romance: Season 1

This is a very unique anime for many reasons, but largely because of the setting. Victorian era England is not often explored within the genre unless it's accompanied with fantasy or steampunk elements. The manga has developed a cult-like following, so this project had some high expectations to live up to. It definitely succeeds. Gorgeously drawn and yet low-key by most modern day standards, the attention to detail in creating late 19th century London is quite impressive. The story itself should be familiar as it's really just a comment on class struggle wrapped around a love story. Indeed, there are certainly themes taken right from a Jane Austen novel. Don't expect resolution this season, though, as you'll have to explore the second season for that. Still, overall it's a worthwhile watch but only for those that like a more subtle, slowly paced, and meticulously unfolding anime series.

5 Centimeters Per Second

Having watched both The Place Promised in Our Early Days and this over the same weekend, I can certainly see why some people would feel like they are essentially the same story. I won't argue that they both utilize the same basic themes, however there is plenty to differentiate the two. Firstly, while the animation in The Place Promised in Our Early Days is certainly strong, what we find here is something else entirely. In terms of sheer visuals, this is an absolute masterpiece. This film also focuses solely on the love-lost theme, while Shinkai's previous effort incorporated the love-lost theme within a larger story arch. Still, and as I've mentioned in reviews for his other projects, the true point of his stories is not about losing love at all, but rather about how people eventually drift from one another. The title refers to the speed at which cherry blossoms petals fall to the ground. The petals are a metaphorical representation of humans, indicating the slow passage of life and how people often start together but slowly forge their own path. I generally regard myself as a world-class cynic, but this story broke my heart. It's for that reason that I believe this film is far superior to his previous films, and why I will eagerly recommend it to those that don't mind a little angst once in awhile. I do wish it had been a little longer, though. Short films irritate me when it's clear there's enough material to make them longer.

Champion Joe

Definitely a groundbreaking effort, this really should be required viewing for those fans of anime, or really any sort of animation at all. Even after the nearly 30 years of animation which has followed, the style presented here still remains unique. It may feel rough around the edges at times though, but it's of course important to remember the context in which this film was produced. My largest complaint, and this is mostly an issue of personal taste, is that this film heavily uses the awfully terrible music often found in some of the worst action films of the 1970's. The music got on my nerves early and often. Nonetheless, I can fully recommend this to nearly all animation aficionados.

Flakes

Pretty disappointing effort overall. It tried very hard to be a hip, trendy, modern-day quirky indie. It failed. The feel of the film, and in many respects the characters and story, are all very similar to Empire Records. I don't think anyone wants to aspire to create an Empire Records ripoff. Having said that, I only really watched it for Zooey, but sadly this is most definitely one of her weakest efforts. It's a must watch film for those Zooey fanatics like myself, but everyone else will probably be bored by this.

Green Green: Co-Ed Casualties: Vol. 1

To call this series a fanservice extravaganza would be a huge understatement. That's not what makes this crap, though. Terrible characters and a mediocre story in addition to the over-saturation of fanservice is what makes this series crap. It's not all bad. The animation is actually really strong. Please avoid this unless you enjoy juvenile, puerile trash.

Adventures of Mini-Goddess

This series is hilarious and a must see for anyone that considers themselves fans of either of the other series in the franchise. The premise itself makes me chuckle. After all, who would have ever thought to pair up three miniature goddesses with a talking rat? Most of the humor is found when the goddesses, specifically Urd and Skuld, abuse and torture the poor rat through their various antics. The writers also poke a bit of fun at Japanese sub-culture, such as parodying Godzilla by turning the rat into a mold infested rampaging giant. They also pay homage to some classic anime characters from the past, most noteably Joe Yabuki from the Tomorrow's Joe (aka Champion Joe) manga, movies and series. Speaking of Urd and Skuld, for those fans of Belldandy you should expect minimal involvement from her. This is largely a series meant to feature her sisters. This definitely ranks high on the kawaii scale and can be enjoyed by longtime fans of the franchise and newcomers alike.

Sleepwalking

As much as I tried to see some value in this film, in the end I walked away feeling as though I had watched nothing more than an AnnaSophia Robb promotional video. The problems are numerous. The story is boring, derivative, and predictable. There's an entire sub-plot that opens up, but is never further explored and yet should have been as it would have added tremendous depth to Nick Stahl's character. The setting is unremarkable and equally as boring as the story. Many of the performances are stiff and without any charm whatsoever. As much as I respect Charlize Theron, this is a character she has played before and in fact I frequently felt as though I was suffering from deja vu as I watched her. AnnaSophia is strong here, but it's my firm believe that this film was made for one single purpose: to further establish and market AnnaSophia Robb to the public. Someone wants her to be a star, and that's the only point of this film. It's just a shame Bill Maher (not the political comedian) and company couldn't give her a better vehicle.

Stop-Loss

Completely bland and generic filmmaking. I expected a whole lot more from Kimberly Peirce, but what I got was Varsity Blues in fatigues. I was waiting for James Van Der Beek to walk on screen to say, "I don't want...your life." Speaking of expectation, I never would have thought that Joseph Gordon-Levitt would accept such a crap role in such a crap movie. When the hell is this war going to produce an Apocalypse Now or a Platoon or a Full Metal Jacket, because so far all we're getting is garbage.

The Tracey Fragments

This is not a film for the mainstream. Highly stylized, perhaps at times overdone, it takes a certain type of viewer to really enjoy what Bruce McDonald has put on screen. Aside from that style though, this is the sort of film that I tend to adore. Dark, disturbing, low-key, slowly paced, out of the ordinary, gritty, raw, and real. A film that shows the pains this life can cause. Those stories always grab me, and this is no different. Ellen Page is fantastic and I've gained a huge amount of respect for her. Even though I've long enjoyed her work, in this film she's shown me something else that I won't easily forget. The supporting players all have limited roles, but each do a great job. In addition, the music is really outstanding. Perhaps this is worth a watch for the soundtrack alone. I'd easily recommend this is a number of friends, but most certainly not to just anyone.

My Blueberry Nights

I have a lot of thoughts on this film. Firstly, Wong and his DP, Darius Khondji (Se7en, Panic Room, and many more), have put on screen a gorgeous display of images. Young cinematographers could learn something about composition from this film. On the other hand, Wong goes a bit crazy with his use of the ultra-slow motion technique. That's his style, but he uses it too much here. At times it's jarring and sometimes it's flat out annoying. Secondly, the main story is weak. We follow Norah around as she roams about, and that's it. However, we also find some wonderfully intriguing sub-plots. This is where the story shines, mostly because the performances are top-notch. In many ways this is the perfect film for Norah Jones to cut her teeth on. She's given a simple character with simple dialog with limited growth throughout. On the other hand, her cast mates are all given fairly complex characters, nearly all of whom pull off the challenge masterfully. David Strathairn's character is severely flawed and yet terribly endearing, a combination incredibly difficult to pull together and yet he does it seemingly effortlessly. This is easily Rachel Weisz's finest performance. With a spot-on accent, you likely won't even recognize her. I would love to see her in these types of roles more often. Jude doesn't give us anything we haven't seen from him before, but he has a charming screen presence, so it works. Finally, Natalie Portman, who I've only ever liked in a select handful of roles. She's great with body language and physical gestures, but her voice is terrible at anything other than a New York girl. Here, she tries and fails to pull off a decent "southern" accent. Having said all that, in the end I found myself very much having enjoyed the experience. The positives far outweigh the negatives here, but with more time in the editing room and perhaps a couple reshoots, I believe this could have been one of the finest films of the year. As it is, it's just really good.

Sunflower

This is an interesting film. It's very much a study of a semi-dysfunctional Chinese family during the tweener years of Maoism to modernization. At times it's painful to watch, and indeed you may very well come to despise the parents while feeling tremendous sympathy for the son. Joan Chen is subtle and subdued, yet there's a constant fire within her character which makes you anticipate the moment when she's finally going to release the beast. It comes, but only so much in the typical craziness we find from most aging women during their empty nest years. The father is overbearing and intimidating, even scary at times, as he wields a vice grip hold on his son well into adulthood. It's not the greatest story of its type, but this film is strongly performed, directed, and filmed. My only complaints are that it could have been told in about 110 minutes or so, and that the setting is rather drab and repetitive.

City of Men

I tried a few times but was never able to really get into the television series. That's not to say it was bad, only that it didn't quite click with me. So, going into this film I was not only lacking much of the history that had been established through the series, but I also held a certain apprehension about whether I'd even enjoy the film at all. Right from the start I recognized the gorgeous style of City of God, and I knew I had nothing to worry about. City of God is an impossible act to follow, but this film does it as well as could realistically be expected. Very strong performances with true, edgy dialog, unusual and compelling locations, and truly masterful camera work all add up to one great movie. There's a good amount of back story here, giving the viewer just enough knowledge of the personal history of the two leads that anyone unfamiliar with the series will not feel lost. If you enjoyed City of God you must watch this, but don't expect it to be a sequel.

Vantage Point

The biggest problem with this film is that these events would never happen. I have no issue with trying to tell a story through varying points of view, but I do have a problem with an inability to conceptualize a realistic scenario. Oh, but it's just a movie, some might say. That's nonsense, because the best movies are always those that feel authentic. Even a Star Wars or Lord of the Rings has a certain level of authenticity, but not this. It's just pure, flat out laziness to claim "it's just a movie" as some sort of excuse for lack of realism. Make an effort, that's all I ask. That said, of the multiple vantage points, Whitaker's is far and away the most interesting. It might just be worth a viewing to watch Forest do his thing. Of the rest of the cast, each are rather uninteresting. However, there's a fairly good car chase scene that was probably pretty difficult to pull off in such a location, so kudos for that, I guess. Otherwise, a mediocre affair that won't leave many lasting memories. *shrug*

Colorado: The Beauty of It All

This is the perfect documentary for anyone who has ever wanted to visit Colorado. You'll be treated to some of the most famous and beautiful sights my home state has to offer. Best of all, now that you've seen the documentary you won't have to come here, leaving all us residents relieved that one less flatlander is coming to clog up our roads, litter our trails, and otherwise destroy our home.

Californication: Season 1

With The Tudors, Weeds, Dexter, and now Californication, it certainly seems as though Showtime has forcibly overtaken HBO as the leader in original programming. This is a cleverly written and expertly performed series which rivals anything else on television right now in terms of sheer grittiness and edge. As much as people might identify Duchovny by his Mulder character, I personally believe he is much stronger in this role than he has been in anything prior. Granted, it's perhaps a bit hard to swallow that a man pushing 50 would be quite so successful with 20-something women, nonetheless he is highly believable here. My biggest complaint, which admittedly is minor, is with the casting of nearly 23-year old Madeline Zima as a 16-year old. Even when she was 16, I doubt anyone believed she was 16. That's questionable casting in my opinion. Otherwise, I find this series to be endlessly entertaining, but I warn that the more puritanical viewer will likely be highly offended by the content found here, and that it is most certainly not intended for younger audiences.

Shinobi: Heart Under Blade

This is a very enjoyable film featuring some stunning martial artistry surrounded by a beautiful setting. I did find the story itself to be a tad shallow and underdeveloped, though. It would have been nice to have had some back story as to why these two villages hate each other so much. I would have also liked to have learned how it is that each member of the respective villages are able to wield highly specialized skills. What gives these particular villages such power? Minor details that I think, had they been addressed, would have added tremendous value to the film. Aside from that, there are fews joys in life greater than watching the nearly perfect Yukie Nakama do her thing on screen. As for Jo Odagirl, I'm still not quite sold on him. While he's got the looks, I guess, he seems to lack personality on screen, and in this particular film he also lacks a certain masculinity needed to pull off the badass warrior role. Still, all in all this was very close to what I was expecting, so I'm hardly disappointed. One final note for those hoping to see the Blu-Ray version. After nearly six months of waiting for a copy, I finally gave up and queued up the standard DVD copy. Unless you're infinitely patient, I'd suggest you ignore the Blu-Ray option altogether, because you aren't going to get it.

Before the Rain

I tried, I really, really tried to be as emphatically loving of this film as so many others seem to be, but I can't be. I believe the loads of praise being lavished upon this is unfair and misleading to those that have yet to see it. After all, it's remarkably easy to become enamored with a foreign language film, since that difference in language often leads people to believe they are seeing something unique or perhaps even revolutionary. You're not going to find either quality in this film. Clearly divided into three acts, only the first and third are compelling and engaging. The middle act is just about completely unnecessary. Manchevski uses that middle act as a means to develop Serbedzija's character, but it's poorly executed and he'd have been much better served doing so in a completely different manner. Instead we're fed a rather boring London based sub-plot, which in itself lies an even more unnecessary sub-plot, both of which drags down the overall story line. In addition, while I generally appreciate the use of symbolism when used effectively, it's clear that the filmmakers were being needlessly obvious with their use of symbolism. Before the Rain...oh, how clever, rain = war. Still, it's a very strongly performed film with great camera work and the setting is quite interesting. I'm willing to give it four stars, but only because it's not quite so mediocre as to warrant three, and because I appreciate the conditions in which this film was made.

Wholphin: Issue 5

I only wanted to see one of the shorts in this set, so that's all I'm going to review. House Hunting, based on the short story from acclaimed author Michael Chabon, stars my absolute favorite actress, Zooey Deschanel, and the usually fairly amusing Paul Rudd. Zooey has received a lot of negative reviews for her recent work, but it's my opinion that she isn't very well suited for high profile roles. She flourishes, however, in independent and lower profile projects such as this. House Hunting is yet another perfect example of her ability to make the viewer wholly believe in the scenes on screen. In fact, while short, this is certainly one of her better efforts. Rudd is strong as well, and the story itself is very interesting, if not a tad predictable. I'm a total nutjob when it comes to Zooey, so I had no problem using a rental slot for a 20 minute short. Others might want to explore the numerous additional shorts on this disc, though.

10,000 B.C.

Let me sum up my feeling about this film simply. If the world's governments ever decide to enact some sort of breeding licensing program...that is to say, they require of their citizens a license to have children...the very first question on the test should be, "Do you like 10,000 B.C.?" If you answer, "Yes," than no license would be given and an official decree would be declared stating that your genetic line must die with you. To put it another way, this film should be used as a tool to separate out the weak amongst us.

When the Last Sword Is Drawn

As much as I want to completely love this movie from top to bottom, I can't. For as wonderful as it is, it's still flawed in important ways. Largely, the music is horrendous and completely out of place. The tension and emotion of a large, dramatic battle scene, for example, is completely changed simply because of the music which you might otherwise only hear at a carnival. Also, early in the film there is a great deal of jumping between time periods. There must be great care taken by a director when employing this technique as the viewer can easily become lost. Sadly, while I never was fully lost, there were times when I found the director too eager to jump through time at particularly unusual moments. Those two major issues aside, this is a truly a remarkable film. Gorgeously shot with a wonderfully compelling plot. All of the actors are phenomenal, but without question Kiichi Nakai stands head and shoulders above the rest. He has an on screen charm definitely equal to many of the past greats of the genre. This probably needs multiple viewings to fully appreciate.

The Machine Girl

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed this film from start to finish. It's a very low budget, low tech affair featuring gallons upon gallons of fake blood as well as loads of snappy dialog such as, "In a matter of minutes you'll be dead. Then you won't be able to hold a grudge against me." That's brilliant writing there. If you're able to go into this expecting camp and overly fake violence, you'll probably really appreciate it. If you go in thinking this is a typical movie, you'll hate it.

The Restless

Echoing how others feel about this film, it's gorgeously shot with impressive special effects, skilled martial artistry and beautiful performers, while lacking heart, intensity, and at times a seemingly disengaged and disinterested leading cast. The story itself is loose and lacking definition, although certainly it's still a fairly original premise for western audiences. For Asian audiences it will likely come off as highly derivative of the greater Chinese productions of the genre. I generally really enjoy Korean films, but this one doesn't quite measure up to the quality I've come to expect. It's got a very summer blockbuster feel too it. Big on budget, short of everything else that makes a movie compelling.

Be Kind Rewind

I'm sure this movie is supposed to be ironic and cleverly quirky while being a throwback or paying homage to the ridiculous comedies of yore. All that was lost on me, unfortunately. Frankly, I'm stunned that Jack Black would take such a monumental step back. This is the sort of movie he could have made a decade ago, when he was trying to build a reputation. Certainly not at this point in his career. That said, it's not terrible. It simply suffers from the most ridiculous of premises that the more sophisticated viewer might find too unrealistic to swallow. There are no true laugh out loud moments, at least for me, but there are a small handful of snicker moments. It's mildly cutish, but that's all.

Weeds: Season 3

I'm conflicted about the quality of this season. Where the first two seasons brought us a certain level of believability, even though the circumstances presented were hardly realistic, this season delves into the ridiculous. It seems as though the writers have decided to focus more on the comedy than the drama. Nancy finds herself repeatedly in situations that spiral out of control, but almost in slapstick manner. Many times the writers took the escalation too far, to the point where I expected Laurel and Hardy to step on screen at any moment. As I said, this show, particularly for those with any sort of history or inside knowledge of how this industry works, has always required a leap of faith from its viewers. I feel as though with this season the writers are really pushing their luck. That said, it all still works very nicely, mostly because of MLP. She has really found her form this season. That's not to say that she was lost in previous seasons, only to say that she's risen to a higher level of performance here. Mary-Kate Olsen has absolutely got to eat a cheeseburger once in awhile. She looks so frail that at any moment her own bones could collapse under her 85 pound weight. Gross.

Jumper

If you're a member of the highly coveted 16-24 year old, crotch rocket-riding, male demographic, than you're probably going to love this. Everyone else should expect to find a lazily written and incredibly poorly performed movie. Hayden Monotone Inflection-Free Expressionless Christensen does his usual feminine pretty boy whiny routine, while Sam Jackson trots out his usual "This party's over" personality. Everyone else is even more forgetable. But the music is thumping here, and the action is quickly paced, and there's lots of loud noises and shiny objects to keep any underdeveloped and/or puerile mind occupied. Enjoy.

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

Simply remarkable filmmaking. This is the sort of film that I absolutely adore. Gritty, raw, desolate, desperate, wretched, disgusting, depressing. The aspects of humanity we deny so strongly yet exists so frequently. This film is so lifelike and realistic that throughout you feel as though you're right there. That is largely accomplished through the use of extended scenes with no cuts. Watch, for example, during the dinner scene as minute after minute after minute passes by with constant movement and dialog from the performers, and not a single cut from the director. That sort of coordination, choreography, and skill is rarely seen and yet it's perfectly achieved from the first to the last scene of this film. This is most definitely not a film for everyone, but for those that appreciate a look into darkness, I'm confident you'll eat this up.

Mohawk

Allison Hayes (Attack of the 50' Woman) in all her wondrously perfect curvaceous glory is reason enough to watch this film. The film itself is horribly racist, even by '56 standards, and the story, dialog, and acting are all comically ludicrous. Still, I could watch Allison Hayes read a cereal box. That doesn't even take into consideration Rita Gam, painted up orange for some mysterious reason, and Lori Nelson in more conservative garb yet still looking sharp. It really is a joke of a film that just happens to have a trio of gorgeous women.

Nana

This is very entertaining film featuring beautiful visuals, fantastic music, strong character development, and a fair amount of humor. It does fall flat about 2/3rds through, though, but picks up again nicely right at the end. The two Nana characters are perfectly cast with real life Japanese rock star Mika Nakashima and super-kawaii Aoi Miyazaki. The whole padlock necklace, ala Sid Vicious, as symbolism was a tad on the nose for my tastes, but it's a minor point that doesn't take away from the film. I've never read the manga so I can't speak to the quality of this adaptation, but I can say that I did enjoy watching this film and would rate it closer to 4.5.

Semi-Pro

Painfully stupid with not a single moment of genuinely funny material. Sure, it will generate a snicker or grimace here or there, but I didn't laugh out loud once. Hopefully one day Will Farrell will realize that he is much more endearing and entertaining when playing roles such as in Winter Passing or in Stranger than Fiction. In this role he is merely unpleasant and unsympathetic. Woody Harrelson looks older than dirt and he simply doesn't work as the straight man. Maura Tierney trots out the same character she always plays. Grumpy and slightly mean with no sense of humor and who never cracks a smile nor shows any real emotion whatsoever. Jackie Earle is mildly amusing as the filthy hippie. There's a chance that this might be one of those comedies that gets better with each viewing, but I'll never know for sure since once is more than enough for me.

Ah! My Goddess

This series never fails to make me feel all warm and happy. It's pure cuteness wrapped around genuine sincerity while still dabbling just enough into more adult themes. It definitely is one of those rare series which you become eager to race through because it's so enjoyable, and yet you become increasingly sad as that final episode looms closer. This series is immediately accessible to all types of viewers, and I would suggest this as a great entry into the genre.

Noise

This is truly a remarkable film which only fails to achieve a 5-star rating from me because of the intense amount of concentration and/or multiple viewings required of the viewer. It's crucial here to closely pay attention to the abundant foreshadowing and symbolism at play, as only then will the numerous questions which arise be answered. This story does not slap you in the face with a clear cut definitive resolution. That's the point. It demands you pay close attention. This is a story about perspective. That of a witness, of law enforcement, of the public, of the criminal. The beauty here is that those perspectives are blended and bonded together into a seamless yet compelling narrative. It's creative yet structured filmmaking and it definitely ranks amongst the best dramatic work I've personally seen come out of Australia. Brendan Cowell is fantastic in the lead as are all of the supporting players. Very enjoyable and highly recommended. As for subtitles, there is no option in the DVD menu, but your player should have a Closed Caption option which will generate subtitles. If your player doesn't than it's time for a technology upgrade.

Reservation Road

Without this cast this film would quickly fall into the already overcrowded pit of formulaic vigilante films which have come before. For me this is easily one of Joaquin's better efforts, one which goes beyond simply adding 20 fleshy pounds and growing a ragged beard. It's not a flawless performance but there's no question that his acting chops are improving with each role. Ruffalo always brings a low-key energy to his roles, and in that regard he doesn't bring anything you haven't already seen from him. Connelly has earned better than the grieving wife and mother supporting character role. Nevertheless she's plays what is otherwise a limited and shallow role as well as anyone could. The story itself is a fairly simple journey of the psychological devolution of those involved. We've seen it all before, and this brings nothing new to the table. This isn't awful and it's not wonderful. It's just a middle of the road affair.

Manufactured Landscapes

As a documentation of the industrialization and modernization of China this stands up fairly well. Although perhaps it lacks a bit in the overall and sweeping detail needed to truly understand what is happening there, it does delve into more intimate circumstances. I do not, however, find Burtynsky's work to be terribly provocative nor innovative. I give him credit for attempting to chronicle the large scale impact human industrialization has had on the planet, but I personally find his style to be generic and uninspiring. There are a great many photographers working today that could do great wonders with the locations Burtynsky has had access to. Simply claiming to have a "I show it how it is" attitude is not enough to excuse a point-and-click approach. I can't eagerly recommend this to photographers or those greatly interested in photography, but for those interested in the growing economies of Asia this might be right up your alley.

Children of Paradise

I can definitely understand why this is widely considered the finest French film ever made. While it does begin slowly, painstakingly introducing us to the major characters for what might seem like an excessive length of time, once it gets going it never lets up. The performances throughout are absolutely stellar, particularly from Jean-Louis Barrault. Even those that absolutely despise mimes will come to appreciate his skills. Arletty has an on screen presence and energy that's difficult to define yet easy to be drawn to. We often get to see love triangles on screen, but rarely have we seen what can only be described as a love pentagram. That such a complicated web of relationships is so finely maintained is truly a remarkable accomplishment. Even more impressive is that this was filmed in bits and pieces over the course of nearly four years, much of which was during the German occupation. Stunning. This Criterion Collection DVD features a wide array of additional features, including a fascinating intro from Terry Gilliam, production photos, cast and crew bios, and much more. Be prepared though as this is actually a 3+ hour film shipped on two separate discs.

Kamikaze Girls

This film jumped up and took me by complete surprise. I was expecting a cute film which I'd enjoy but which wouldn't necessarily have a big impact on me. What I got was one of the most genuinely entertaining films I've ever seen in my life. As others have said, the style is very much reminiscent of Amelie, but the story is quite a bit different. It's an incredibly unique and original story that's only further enhanced by the creative and colorful style. This is definitely a new personal favorite of mine, and I highly recommend it.

Porco Rosso

This is probably my least favorite Miyazaki film. The animation is gorgeously conceived and executed, which of course we've all come to expect from him, but the story itself is less interesting to me than his other work. It's less fantastical. I realize that is perhaps an odd statement considering the lead character is a flying pig. However, there are fantasy elements Miyazaki generally injects into his stories that makes them increasingly endearing. Sadly those elements are in rare supply here. That said, we do get an abundance of thoroughly enjoyable animation. His trademark has always been flying sequences, so luckily we have a story centered around flight. It is indeed some of his best work in that regard. I certainly have no hesitation recommending this film, but would suggest newcomers start with some of his other work first and return to this later.

All the Real Girls

It was here that I fell in love with Zooey, but that's hardly the only reason I rank this amongst my personal favorites. It is in fact my absolute favorite love story gone bad. David Gordon Green is a patient director, one who lets his scenes play out at a deliberate pace. He never artificially pushes a scene forward nor intentionally holds a moment back that may otherwise organically move in a direction other than what he may have originally envisioned. The dialog never seems forced or over-rehearsed, but instead is authentic and real, painfully so at many times. Very much a mood driven film, dialog ranges from sweet pillow talk to full-blown arguments. Throughout it all though the timing and chemistry between Paul and Zooey is so perfectly in tune that it's incredibly easy to be consciously unaware of just how naturally real it all is. Beneath that there is a wonderfully engaging sub-plot mostly featuring the always charismatic and highly enjoyable Patricia Clarkson, whose whole purpose in life seems to be to play these sorts of characters to perfection. I simply adore this film and, while it's not for everyone, I am certain that some people will adore it as much as I do.

Kontroll

This is one of those incredibly rare films that is atmospherically and stylistically perfect in every way. Who would have thought that the Budapest underground could provide such a wonderfully remarkable setting. Both of the leads in this film, Sandor Csanyi and Eszter Balla, bring a quality to the screen that few can achieve and most can't quite pinpoint. They are familiar faces. They are recognizable individuals everyone will be able to relate to and identify with in intangible and unspecific ways. You will see yourself in them. They simply bring a presence and an energy that draws you in and endears you to their situation and who they are. This is a very metaphorical, a very symbolic film which is gripping and exciting, but for me it's all about the wondrous imagery and the highly intriguing characters throughout. I deeply regret not seeing this earlier and most highly recommend it to all.

The Detective

It's hard to rate this movie. On the one hand it's stylish and provides thrilling moments as well as being full of unusual twists and interesting character revelations. On the other hand it's edited poorly, music is very oddly utilized, and the overall DVD production, at least for western audiences, was obviously rushed and without much review before going to print. An example would be the English subtitles. In many instances they read as though Google Translation was providing the translation work. Many discussions made little sense as a result of the lack of attention paid to the subtitles. That said, I still rather enjoyed the film. The detective's eyesight problems are more metaphorical than physical, which was a nice touch. Aaron Kwok does a great job in the lead role. He certainly has the looks and is a charming presence on screen. This is a tweener film hovering in the 3.5-star range. I rarely round up, but I think this one deserves it.

PU-239

This is a wonderful film that hasn't received the attention it deserves. Paddy Considine and Radha Mitchell both turn in magnificent performances, backed up strongly by the rest of the supporting cast. I found the portrayal of the Russian criminal underworld to be a tad overdone, with a few of the characters being rather cliche and an overall atmosphere of savage cruelty that I think is more a reflection of western perspective than a reality. The story itself is original and compelling and indeed could easily be considered a cautionary tale as these events really aren't that far-fetched. It's a beautifully shot film utilizing muted tones and desolate locations to further communicate the bleak and helpless situation at hand. I believe most people will really enjoy this film as I did and I have no hesitation in recommending it.

La Haine

This is quite easily Mathieu Kassovitz's masterpiece as a director, creating a gritty, raw, and realistic look into the hopeless existence of French "ethnic" youths. Kassovitz and his Director of Photography have created a visually stunning film, taking full advantage of the black and white medium as well as choosing creative and mesmerizing frame composition throughout. For as much as the dialog rings true and the situations at play keep you engaged, it's quite easy to lose yourself in the pure imagery of it all. The soundtrack does wonders at further communicating to the viewer the blurring lines of French and American youth cultures. Vincent Cassel and Said Taghmaoui are both tremendous as two of the three friends, but Hubert Kounde puts in a truly special performance as the third. His screen presence reminds me of and is easily the equal to a Djimon Hounsou, and indeed it's incredibly difficult to take your eyes off of him. I strongly recommend this emotional, intense, and enthralling film.

Big Wednesday

Nothing made me wish to learn to surf more than watching this film more than 20 years ago. Sadly, I was deeply landlocked and never did have that opportunity. Yet even though I just now revisited this film after all those years have passed, it still has the same affect on me. It still inspires me and excites me and makes me long for the ocean tide. As most others have mentioned, this film features some of the absolute greatest surfing footage ever put into a movie, and that alone makes it a very worthwhile watch. Aside from that though it's a very charming and endearing coming of age story. It's not a particularly inventive story as we watch a trio of friends move from tightly bound surfing buddies to adults all leading drastically different lives, but the setting along does set it apart from the other films along these line. It's funny and it's sad and it's very genuine throughout. This is definitely a film few have heard of yet many will undoubtedly enjoy.

Love in the Time of Cholera

Javier Bardem once again proves his skills at creeping people out. He's a different sort of creepy here though, as ultimately his character becomes much more endearing and certainly sympathetic than any other character portrayed. Unfortunately, other than Javier's stellar performance there's nothing much of any great interest here. I found the story to be rather boring, and in fact there's very little drama or conflict at all. Simply the story of two different and separate lives which were once aligned, split apart, and then finally merged again decades later. Aside from that, costume design was a strong point but the makeup department failed miserably. It's hard for me to recommend this mediocre affair to anyone other than those who wish to explore Javier's work.

Atonement

It's not surprising to see so many negative reactions to this film, as it clearly fits into a very specific category generally only appreciated by a select group. Slowly evolving and deliberately paced, the film is intentionally excruciating for a reason. This at its core is a love story, yet we don't get that love any more than the individuals intimately involved do. We're meant to suffer. That's the point. Amongst that suffering is tremendous beauty, though. Lush and lavish imagery is abundant throughout this film, with strong costume and set design as well some quite remarkable yet subtle makeup work. This film deserves the recognition it has received for many reasons. As a viewer however, I feel you have to have the right expectations and the right perspective to get the most out of it.

Revolver

This is a very nicely edited, fairly quickly paced yet shallow film. It simply has very little substance, and in fact this is a very basic and extremely derivative plot. In addition, the introduction of the psychological elements come much too late in the story and once they do they are heavy handed and overpowering. This is definitely a much better film than Ritchie's last effort, Swept Away, but it doesn't nearly approach the quality of Snatch or Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. It seems as though Madonna's husband may have peaked early with those efforts and can't quite seem to find that winning formula again. Ditching Jason Statham as his leading man would be a fantastic start.

Frisky Dingo: Season 1

This is a really bizarre animated series on Adult Swim which utilizes some colorful and sharp animation, strong vocal performances, and inventive writing. It's meant to be comedic in its absurdity, and most of the time it achieves that goal. Sometimes it falls flat though, but that of course can be said of most series, animated or otherwise. It's definitely one of the better shows on Adult Swim right now.

Five Days

My greatest complaint with this otherwise highly compelling and detailed series is the BBC production values. I love British productions, but the BBC has tendencies that grate on my nerves. For example, the music is terrible. More than terrible, it's childish and amateurish and doesn't belong anywhere near something like this. The cinematography is exceedingly simple, too, never even attempting to be creative or even interesting. It's a BBC trademark of sorts to be as bland as possible, and they certainly apply those techniques here. That said, this highly detailed look into the occurrences surrounding a disappearance and how that event affects those involved is incredibly gripping. I'm very pleased to have found this and I think that anyone who can cope with the BBC "style" will be quite pleased as well.

Dresden

I'm always amazed at how much realism and authenticity the European filmmakers put into their WWII movies. Even a lower budget made for television production like this outshines most WWII films Americans have ever put on screen. It's not perfect by any sense as that lower budget does come into play in the form of stock footage usage and limited location shoots. But it's real. It's gripping and engaging and thrilling while still portraying the raw realism needed for the viewer to really feel the situations being played out. Felicitas Woll definitely gives us the best performance, but all involved do a great job.

Summer Palace

While obviously a love story that spans a decade, this story is as much about the evolution of China during that time period as it is about the individuals portrayed. It's subtle and shown only symbolically, but what we see is a move from repression to freedom, with all the struggles that must be endured throughout. The performances are compelling and very authentic, as this is not a rosy story but rather quite sad. It's not a particularly beautifully shot film, but that too is part of the point. I have two complaints though. I did lose focus at few times since there are scenes that seem to be unnecessary. Also, the sound editing at times is really awful. Whisper quiet dialog coupled with excessively loud music and ambient noises makes for a somewhat unpleasant viewing experience. In the end I did enjoy this film, but more importantly it left me thinking about it for quite some time after I viewed it.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Space Mutiny

This episode is worth a watch for no other reason than to hear the crew say, "Slab Bulkhead, Fridge Largemeat, Punt Speedchunk, Butch Deadlift, Bold Bigflank, Splint Chesthair, Flint Ironstag, Bolt Vanderhuge, Thick McRunfast, Blast Hardcheese, Buff Drinklots, Trunk Slamchest, Fist Rockbone, Stump Beefgnaw, Smash Lampjaw, Punch Rockgroin, Buck Plankchest, Stump Chunkman, Dirk Hardpeck, Rip Steakface, Slate Slabrock, Crud Bonemeal, Brick Hardmeat, Rip Sidecheek, Punch Sideiron, Gristle McThornBody, Slake Fistcrunch, Buff Hardback, Bob Johnson, Blast Thickneck, Crunch Buttsteak, Slab Squatthrust, Lump Beefrock, Touch Rustrod, Reef Blastbody, Big McLargeHuge, Smoke Manmuscle, Beat Punchbeef, Pack Blowfist, and Roll Fizzlebeef."

Dan in Real Life

It's sappy and sentimental and at times sad, and it works. On the other hand, Steve Carell is such a charming and endearing presence that he could make most things work. So I have to give most of the credit to him, since it really is a fairly formulaic story that doesn't bring a whole lot new to the table. Juliette Binoche has never looked better in my opinion and I think it was gutsy casting her here. Turns out that she was a very nice choice for the role. After initially being of fan of his in his early years, I've come to really dislike Dane Cook and his constant plagiarism on stage, yet he too worked out very nicely in this film. His character is warm and funny and not at the conceited and arrogant jerk that he normally pulls off so well. It's a cute story that I did enjoy and even though it didn't have me laughing, I did smile. Can't ask for too much more than that, I think.

Tell Me You Love Me: Season 1

It takes at least four or five episodes for this show to really become engaging, mostly because at first the characters are all fairly unlikable and even repellent at times. It's a slowly unfolding storyline we're given, and we don't really get to the core of these characters until well into middle of this first season. There is indeed a lot of sex which at times is relatively graphic, so those of a more puritanical nature are likely going to be turned off. Frankly, and it's nearly impossible to offend me, but I could have easily done without the old people sex. There's nothing really all that sexy about that. Sorry. This is certainly not HBO's best work, and indeed there are better options on Showtime as well, but I personally enjoy this show quite a bit.

Day Zero

The fundamental flaw in this story is that we have three guys that would never actually be friends. It's certainly plausible that three men so completely different from one another may have at one point been close, but it's complete nonsense that they would remain tight well into their late 20's or early 30's. People drift away from one another when they don't relate anymore, and yet we're expected to believe that these three guys are the same buddies they ever were. Seems odd that the writer doesn't understand such a basic part of human nature, and that's a major issue to overcome in my opinion. Elijah Wood's is easily the most intriguing character in the film as we watch him slowly drift into a rebellious madness. Klein is about as wooden a figure as you're ever going to come across, and the other guy simply fails to make you believe that he's this tough guy hardened thug with a heart of gold. All in all a rather disappointing affair that still has good moments yet fails most simply because of the characters. I didn't like it and I didn't dislike it.

To Kill a King

This is incredibly boring, which is quite an achievement considering the historical events were anything but. That just further proves that having an intriguing basis for a film doesn't in the slightest make up for bland performances, terribly poor writing, amateurish direction, and really embarrassingly awful editing. That's not even mentioning the inferior set and costume design, which at so many points throughout looked as though both were just thrown together at the last moment. Try Richard Harris' Cromwell for a better experience, which is still a fairly pedestrian film, but by comparison a masterpiece to this stinker.

Things We Lost in the Fire

I have long felt that Halle Berry�s skills are vastly underappreciated. I generally attribute this to her considerably poor career choices. She has, after all, made countless stinkers and has accepted few roles that have the potential for her to utilize her abilities in challenging ways. In this film she explores her character�s inner walls with an impressive range of emotions, and from start to finish we are witness to substantial growth. There�s an indefinable authenticity to Berry�s character that we rarely get to see on screen, and that by itself elevates the film to something special. Luckily, that�s only part of what�s special about this one. While Berry is often underappreciated, Del Toro is often underutilized. He films infrequently, and luckily for us his choice of roles has been generally good. In this case, his skills are exploited perfectly. Few others could have fit this role, and in fact it�s an entirely different and probably much poorer film without him. Watching these two fine actors in this film was a real treat for me. I found myself incredibly engaged in their lives, pulled right along with them in their struggles and their accomplishments. Susanne Bier has created an impressive film here, one that really took me by surprise and indeed far surpassed my expectations. Very much highly recommended.

Khadak

I have mixed feelings about this one. To begin with, it does offer an interesting and intimate look at traditional Mongolian culture. It also gives us some insight into the political struggles the nation has and will likely continue to suffer through as it attempts to further modernize. Having said that, the movie turns too surreal towards the end for my liking. Surreal is fine in the right context but it can be difficult to grasp the intended symbolism when the language is quite foreign and the culture even moreso. In the end it just didn't quite click with me. I'm sure there's a few that might really enjoy this, but I feel most won't care for it.

The Island

I'm generally not a big fan of Russian cinema, but I must say this is a marvelous film. Firstly, it's gorgeously shot in a starkly cold and desperate location. Through the heavy use of muted tones, desaturation, and over-exposed shots, we're witness to something stylistically unique and yet oddly pleasant. The performances are stellar, most notably from Pyotr Mamanov. I found myself enormously intrigued by this man's struggles with his inner demons, and when it was all over I truly felt as though this was a story perfectly told. I know most will never know of this film's existence, but should you happen upon this page, do yourself a favor and give this a try.

Torchwood: Season 1

I was very much surprised and pleased with how much I've ended up liking this show. For as much as I enjoy British comedies, and some of their dramas, I've always found their sci-fi to be ridiculously campy, cheesy, and most importantly, underfunded. Well, with this we have both comedy and drama wrapped up in a relatively adequately funded sci-fi package. Now, that's not to say that the effects are anywhere even remotely approaching the quality of your standard American sci-fi series, but by comparison to its British counterpart Doctor Who the special effects here are pure wizardry. That's really a minor point in the end, as the story lines are creative, the dialog is snappy and intelligent, and the characters are genuinely endearing. Plus, and this is not to be understated, Eve Myles is some kind of perfection. Indeed.

Silk

Michael Pitt always brings a very low-key, gentle energy to the screen. That works for certain roles, of course, but not for all. This is definitely one of those instances when better casting choices could have made a huge difference in the end product. It's not all Pitt's fault, though. I'm not at all sure why Keira was cast either, as her character is barely explored and given next to no interesting dialog whatsoever. Choosing these two ultimately was the demise of the film. Having said that, I didn't hate it. The scenery is phenomenal, and despite its very slow pace, I was still rather engaged in the story. I'm disappointed in this film for many reasons, but I cannot bring myself to say it was awful. It's not good, though.

Beowulf: Director's Cut

Let me start by saying that I couldn't possibly care any less about the source material and whether this is an accurate adaptation. It's totally irrelevant. I only mention it because most of the highly critical reviews you'll read will talk about how much it deviated and took liberties and so on. It should also be mentioned that this really was meant to be seen in 3D in the theaters. Watching on a television destroys a good chunk of the detail and quality of the animation. Not to say it's terrible, only that it's important to remember this was originally shown in 3D. Now, having said that, I really enjoyed this. Violence and action and all that super fun stuff. Swords and knives and dames in distress. It's stupid action, that's what it is. Expect any more and it's your own fault if you end up not liking it. The animation is stunning and the acting is for the most part strong. It's a fun experience. It's that simple.

Imagination

Ignore those other repeated and identical reviews. It's pretty obvious that those people, or person, was involved in the production and therefor is not objective about the quality of this film. Having said that, this is absolutely one of the strangest films I've ever seen, and I've seen some bizarre stuff in my time. This is an extremely low budget affair, featuring the grainiest picture you could possibly imagine from a modern film. Essentially what we witness is a fairly rambling ride through the imagination of two young girls, displayed to viewer through the use of animation (sort of, as it's more like childish doodling) and stop motion techniques, fast frames and slow motion, as well as what might be considered an appropriate score. The acting consists of, for the most part, short spurts of dialog and lots of moving about on screen. Very student film-ish. Actually, that's probably giving it too much credit. It's very similar to what you might expect your unskilled, untrained, and yet overconfident neighbor or uncle might produce if handed a 40 year old camera and told to be creative. Bleh.

Goya's Ghosts

This is a vastly superior film than what some have claimed. Certainly there are editing flaws, as at times transitions are clunky and forced. Certainly there were odd casting choices, such as Randy Quaid as the king of Spain. Who would have thought I'd ever use that sentence? Yet, for those seeking to explore Javier Bardem's work, you won't in the least be disappointed in his performance here. His is not a likable character, one which he is particularly well adept at portraying. Natalie Portman, while always a great choice for the quirky girl but not always for heavy hitting drama, pulls off her dual roles surprisingly well. I had major doubts about her going in, but left feeling a fresh sense of appreciation of her skills. The story is interesting and engaging at nearly every turn. Costume and makeup design, despite what must have been an inferior budget to other period pieces, was top notch and must be lauded for its authenticity. I very much enjoyed this, even though I am usually extremely critical of such films, and I can't understand why so many have panned it.

The Darjeeling Limited

Wes Anderson's work has, unfortunately, gone downhill somewhat since Rushmore. It must be tough to create your masterpiece so early, but nonetheless he's had a difficult time recapturing the magic he found with that film. I found this to be quite easily the most boring of his projects. The setting is indeed lovely, but in the end that's the most endearing element. The dialog is dry, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in this case it's uninspired, as if the silliness of the character's situation is enough to carry the film. It isn't. Brody, Wilson, and Schwartzman all do a good job of creating their various personalities, although I felt that Schwartzman's character in particular needed more development. It turns out that I neither like nor dislike this film. The DVD also included the short film "Hotel Chevalier", which is prologue to the events of the full-length feature.

Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.5

The second half of season two starts to weaken ever so slightly from the raw intensity of the previous 20 or so episodes. Still exciting, we begin to see much more of the political struggles rather than the military struggles of the fleet's existence. I'm not completely happy with the direction the writers have taken some of my favorite characters, but on the whole this is still easily one of the absolute best shows on the air. It's certainly not unusual for a show to become 'less good' over time, and I don't want to overstate the decline here because it is minimal, but it's declining none the less.

Redacted

It's just not a very good movie. No matter what your politics are or how you feel about the war, in the end this film just isn't very good. Firstly, the characters are all intentional exaggerations of standard stereotypes. The college boy, the meat-head, the hillbilly, the black sergeant. They're all here. The performances are laughable at times, and the dialog, while sometimes authentic, often was just ridiculous. Plus, if this story had to be told, it should have been told through standard dramatic filmmaking techniques. The style chosen here simply does not work. It's fake and forced and feels incredibly uncomfortable. It's just flat out a poor movie, and that has nothing to do with the subject matter whatsoever.

Rendition

This film is transparent and simplistic to a fault. In an effort to humanize our "enemies," Gavin Hood has intentionally created two American characters, both of which have virtually no depth whatsoever and neither of which we ever learn much of anything about. In contrast, nearly all of the Egyptian characters are examined in sufficient detail, in the end leaving, of course, the viewer to feel much more sympathy towards them than towards the Americans. That's not a bad thing necessarily, but the agenda is displayed so obviously and without any hint of subtly or creativity that one can't help but hold it against the film. Now, having said that and ignoring the poorly implemented political commentary, all in all this is a fairly good movie. Stylistically it's a interesting film, and there are strong performances by most of the supporting players. Take Jake and Reese out and put two different people in and the film really isn't that much different. I'm giving it such a high rating because it's edited well, shot well, and there's enough of an important message to be said here, despite the simplistic presentation, to warrant a high rating. But it's teetering ever so close to 3-stars.

Lust, Caution

I really want to love this film, as I'm a tremendous fan of Ang Lee, but I just can't. It is a remarkably gorgeous film, as all of Lee's are. It is also, in my opinion, over-directed. As an example, it's too long. Not because it's boring, though, but rather because Lee chose to include numerous scenes which were simply unnecessary. There are Mahjong scenes after Mahjong scenes, barely any of which were any more than loosely relevant to the overall plot. Most of these could have easily been cut, which would have saved at least 10 minutes on the running time. Not a major issue, but an example of over-direction. You shouldn't expect this to be one of Ang Lee's best efforts, but it's still wonderful by most standards. The story is incredibly interesting, as we really have not seen many espionage based thrillers that are largely psychological in nature and which are so slowly and incrementally unraveled. Wei Tang is stunning, both in physical beauty and her performance, and of course you can always expect the highest standard from Tony Leung Chiu Wai. In the end, I really enjoyed the film, found it extraordinarily beautiful in scope and style, but felt that Lee tried a bit too hard to do what he already does so phenomenally well.

Margot at the Wedding

Well, if you enjoy watching a story with some of the worst humans you'd ever be unlucky enough to meet, than you'll likely enjoy this. Kidman does a great job at creating a character that you will ultimately end up hating to the very core. Leigh and the rest of the supporting cast are all equally as strong in portraying their respective psychological disasters. Jack Black seems to be a bit outclassed in a few of his scenes, though in the end his is the character that becomes the most endearing. Despite the overwhelmingly unpleasant nature of all the characters, there's an indescribable quality to the film. The lighting is absolutely atrocious, and yet it has a certain fresh look. This is a film that I simply cannot say I disliked, and I cannot say I liked. It's just too complicated a mix of unsavory characters and interesting dialog and relationships to totally discount. Worth a viewing I suppose for anyone who wants to see something just a bit different.

Becoming Jane

This was a gutsy production to undertake. Considering the literary brilliance of Austen's work and of course all the classic screen renditions they have spawned, it was a monumental risk attempting to tell the story of Austen herself. This is a film that tries so very hard to replicate the classic films based on her work, and perhaps in many regards it succeeds. It also fails, unfortunately. It is far too similar a story that feels far too familiar. Take an Austen story, tweak it ever so slightly, insert Jane Austen into the lead, and that's what we have. It's pretty and charming and not at all unpleasant. It is, however, derivative to a fault. Lacking any sort of originality, in the end the viewer is left to question if Austen's life was like this even in the most remote sense. I believe it was ultimately a mistake to write this story as though Austen had written it herself. A fresh perspective, a fresh style, and a fresh language would have done wonders in breathing fresh air into a person and an era we have all seen so very much of through the years.

Kid Nation: Season 1

When I first starting seeing the ads for this show I of course snickered and quickly filed it away in the "stupid reality show" category. Then I watched it, and I kept it in the "stupid reality show" category. Being a stupid reality show doesn't necessarily make it bad, though. All reality shows are stupid, after all. This show had real, genuine moments of interest. Some of the kids chosen are quite remarkable and will give even the most cynical adult some hope for the future. A couple of these kids are incredibly smart, talented, and inventive. In fact, there were two or three that I would expect will achieve great things in life. Now, that's not to say that there weren't a handful of punks, either. In the end, though, I truly believe that each of these kids had a wonderful experience that will help them in life. Some will be great leaders while others will work in convenience stores. I have no doubt, though, that all will look back fondly on their time here.

Battlestar Galactica: Season 2.0

The first half of the second season ratchets up the already incredibly intense and stressful existence of the humans as they try to further distance themselves from the Cylons which chase them. We're introduced to a number of new characters in these ten episodes, some of whom you'll come to enjoy as much as any of the old BSG regulars. Others, you'll come to hate with a passion. That's a good thing though, as these are characters specifically written for you to hate. Already in season one, BSG established itself as a show that would tackle social issues in a more bold manner than we are generally accustomed to seeing. In this season the writers have taken even larger steps into rarely seen territory. The action is as exciting as we are used to, and of course we still have sexuality and stress and cowardice and all the beautiful little elements of humanity. Obviously any fan of season one must continue to season two and beyond. I doubt anyone will be disappointed.

Battlestar Galactica: Complete Epic Series

What a lame decade the 70's were. Only someone who lived through it could fully appreciate just how unsophisticated the viewers were, but watching this show will give everyone at least a good idea. Fat, talking Cylons, because we wouldn't have been able to figure out what they were doing unless they gave us a play by play. "Joysticks" in the Mark II Vipers, with such high-tech buttons as "Fire" and "Aim". Robotic dogs! What a marvelous age it was, the late 70's, when women became hysterical at nothing more than the sight of blood and men were always the heroes. When awful, atrocious, down-right comical acting was completely acceptable. I was 6 years old when this show aired, and at the time I love it. I remember fondly watching it every week, and I also remember my family not being even remotely as enamored with it as I was. At 34, now I understand. This was a show for children. Do yourself a favor and watch the more recent Battlestar Galactica first, then come back to this and laugh.

Blue State

This is a decent enough little film, but in the end it suffers from what has become all too common in the indie genre. It's what I like to call the "I'm a quirky cute indie so please love me" syndrome. It's not bad by any means, and certainly Paquin and Meyer do have a natural chemistry that works quite well. It's just that you cannot help but feel that this is nothing more than a very simple road trip movie. Our lead has a particular objective, he meets a girl, and in the end that objective changes. I'm reminded of the Paul Rudd and Reese Witherspoon movie called Overnight Delivery. With differences only in the setting and who the characters are, it essentially is the exact same plot. Still, as I said, it's a decent enough movie where you won't feel like you wasted your time, and in fact it's quite entertaining in places. Plus, of course, who can argue with Anna Paquin?

Martian Child

Yeah, it's a fluffy little ball of cutesy cuteness, all soft and cuddly and warm and peachy sweet in it's puffy sentimentalism. No, it's not at all original or inventive. It's just a standard, formulaic, unorthodox yet successful adult going through crisis meets charming and unorthodox child story. You see exactly how this will play out from the first scene, because you've already seen it in countless other movies. None of that makes it a bad film though. It's quite good, in fact. Of course both Cusack's are strong, although not a masterpiece for either. The kid is, yes, cute. The setting interesting, in it's own way. Direction is decent enough. It's just a good little film that never quite hits as a full-blown tear-jerker, but definitely is a step above what one might consider run of the mill. It's cute. There's really no other way to describe it.

We Own the Night

Joaquin Phoenix steals the show in this otherwise fairly unoriginal story. Of course, it's not entirely fair to criticize its originality. Nothing in this genre is really all that original anymore. Yet films of this sort can still distinguish themselves through fine performances and unique directing choices. We find both here, with quality performances from all involved as well as excellent direction from Gray, who frequently displays a unique talent at building and busting suspense. In the end this is a highly intriguing, engaging film that is enjoyable throughout.

Gone Baby Gone

Despite Ben Affleck's involvement as writer and director, this is actually one incredible film. It of course was a major advantage for Ben to have such talent to work with, including Casey, who continues with every step to outshine Ben in every possible way. I also believe this is one of Ed Harris' best performances, even though his is a career littered with best performances. The story itself is wonderfully engaging and surprising, consisting of numerous plot twists which even the most astute viewer will have a difficult time predicting. Despite all the critical praise I had heard prior to seeing this, I was still cautious going in. Now I regret not seeing it sooner, as it is without question one of the best of the year and most certainly worthy of all that praise. Most highly recommended.

Feast of Love

Sex, and loads of it. Yep, that's what we find in this film. The intent being to blur the lines between what is nothing more than physical lust and what we might define as love. Unfortunately, the director isn't very successful at doing so. Often disjointed, this film finds itself confused as to what it is exactly. It tries very hard to be a tear-jerker, but never really hits the mark. Attempts at humor almost always fail, as well. There is good, though. For a film with so many characters there is a satisfying amount of character development across the board. Indeed, we learn quite a good deal about nearly all of the primary figures, and for the most part it's an interesting journey. For those squeamish about such things, there are many naked bodies here. Well, mostly naked women, since America generally doesn't tolerate naked men too much. In the end, the misdirection and the film's own lack of identity doom this to mere mediocrity.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

This is not even remotely as good a film as the first. It's a beautiful soap opera, that's for sure, with incredibly lavish costume and set design that more often than not completely overwhelms any of the human drama playing in the background. Blanchett is superb, but of course that's like saying watermellons are moist. Her ungodly talents aren't enough to save this film from being anything more than merely adequate, though. It simply suffers from too many historical liberties and an entirely too dominant love triangle. In fact, much of the story is the love triangle with little else being covered save a few mentions of treason here and war there. In the end, it's a very week story that was obviously intended to highlight Elizabeth's eventual acceptance of her solitary fate, rather than highlighting her achievements at bringing England to the status of economic and military superpower.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

While watching this, I couldn't help but get the impression that it was a film made for absolutely no other reason than to show off some of the most beautiful and wondrous visual imagery in recent memory. Yet no matter how gorgeous the film turned out to be, that ultimately is only one aspect of many which make this a glorious film. This is a leisurely paced story completely enveloped by emotion, requiring a patient viewer and one that's willing to read between the lines and "feel" the action. If you expect a typical western, don't bother because this isn't a western at all. Casey Affleck is outstanding, far exceding any expectations one might have of him. However, even though Jesse James was a larger than life figure in his time, I felt like Pitt is too much of a larger than life personality now to properly play the role. That may not make any sense, but to me I think the role would have been better filled by a complete unknown. Never the less, Pitt was incredible. The music could not have been better, costume and set design was spot on, and all the supporting players were equally as strong as the leads. I love this film to pieces and highly recommend it, but warn that it's strictly character stuff here with very little action.

Great World of Sound

I was eagerly anticipating watching this film, given the high praise it's received. While I wouldn't go so far as to say I was disappointed in it, though, I would say it's probably been overstated just how good it really is. It's just a simple 'salesman grows a conscience' story. Nothing particularly inventive about that, only here we find them selling a dream rather than aluminum siding. It's entertaining and exceptionally well performed, particularly from the two leads, Pat Healy and Kene Holliday. Towards the end of the film we are also treated to an amazing vocal performance by Tricia Paoluccio, who will probably go on to have a fantastic stage career when it's all said and done. Honestly, I really have nothing bad to say about this little project, I just think it's been overhyped a tad.

The Nines

I took me quite a long time after watching this before I decided what I really thought about it. It's one of those films where I can quite easily fall on either side of the fence. That's generally not necessarily a bad thing. I will always value films which make me think, even if in the end I decide I didn't much like it. The problem here is that it's not an issue of hating or loving this film, but rather did I merely just barely enjoy it or did I merely barely tolerate it. When it's all said and done, this is nothing more than a gimmicky story filmed with an inadequate budget. I'm not a budget snob by any means, but throughout I was forced to be made aware of the budget because of poor lighting, poor image quality, and a nagging lack of editing continuity. It has its good points, including the surprising quality of Ryan Reynolds' performance. I was also quite interested in some of the story fundamentals, and felt like this was quite likely inspired by the writer's own experiences with games such as The Sims or WoW. It's a decent film, certainly far from great, worth watching only if you're into a slightly different story flow than the usual Hollywood formula.

Brotherhood: Season 1

This series further solidifies Showtime as the leader in paid cable original programming. What once was strictly the domain of HBO, Showtime has quickly and quietly usurped the throne. Brotherhood is an interesting series which really is much more about the commonalities of crime and politics than being a study of either of those worlds individually. Certainly we are treated with a heavy dose of both, but the point remains that the tactics and behavior we see in one we will also almost always see in the other. Of course it should never come to a surprise that politics and crime go hand in hand, but in this story we are shown a particularly well executed version of how they can remain independent and still be tied at the hip. This is not my favorite show on the air at the moment, but it is most certainly pretty high on a very short list.

Battlestar Galactica: Season 1

I ignored the existence of this series for the longest time because Sci-Fi Channel has consistently proven they are incapable of creating quality programming. They shattered that established history with this achievement. This is quite easily one of the best shows on television right now, and most certainly one of the absolute best on basic cable in recent memory. For it is so much more than mindless explosions and shiny objects. At least in this first season (I have yet to reach season 2 and beyond), we find the sort of genuine humanity generally only reserved for the finer dramatic series. Rather, stress and tension and sexuality and humor and so much more are all found in abundance here, leaving the viewer quite shocked at how authentic it all feels. I had exceptionally low expectations from this going in, and when I walked away I was absolutely floored by how much I love this series. Honestly, if you've been holding back because you hate the idea of Starbuck being a woman or because Sci-Fi Channel produces this, or any other of a million reasons, give this a chance because I'm certain you will love this too.

Flash Gordon

There was a time in my childhood when this movie was aired on HBO many times a day, and I loved it. I loved it so much than at one point I had memorized every single line from every single character throughout the entire movie. I could recite each line, word for word, and did that ever drive my friends and family crazy. Of course, many years later I viewed it again and saw it for what it really is. Campy, cheesy, poorly written, incredibly poorly performed, and an absolute beauty in its silliness. This is the pinnacle of ridiculous sci-fi fantasy. Yet for as bad as it really is, it's still a wildly entertaining movie. You simply must go into it knowing that it's an over the top, excessively colorful, over-produced action fest. Otherwise, you'll end up ripping it to shreds for how sophomoric it really is.

Trade

I was really surprised at how good this film turned out to be. I had somewhat guarded expectations given it's unceremonious arrival in theaters and on disc. My major complaint is the tired and excessively overused application of that damn sepia filter coupled with overexposing each shot, which every director for some reason feels compelled to do when shooting in Mexico. It's hot, and dry, and bright, and a desert, and poor. Yes, we get it, now enough with the sepia and blown out highlights. That said, the performances are top notch here, led by Cesar Ramos as the brother. All the women are particularly outstanding in their roles. Kline is decent enough I suppose, but I think he gave his character a bit too much of a dry personality. It's a very interesting story, although perhaps a tad unbelievable at times, which I think needed to be told. All in all this is a very strong film that definitely deserves a larger audience.

Right at Your Door

This movie turns out to be nowhere near what it could have been. Far too many unanswered questions left me feeling as though it must simply be a way to mask an otherwise weak script. By never answering a single question throughout this movie, the viewer never feels at all engaged, which is precisely what a director would want while telling such a story. It's a gimmicky technique which creates the exact opposite of what the director should have wanted. On top of that, these characters are incredibly boring. I don't care in the slightest bit about this single-dimensional, out of work, 30-something nobody. He's not charming, he's not funny, he's not anything. His wife is by no means any more interesting, and frankly she's not even anything special to look at. If you're going to give me an empty shell of a story coupled with boring characters, good lord! at least make them attractive. Could have been so very much more, but this turns out to be a stinker.

2 Days in Paris

So, what, the lesson here is that the woman of your dreams is likely going to turn out to be a complete mess? Well, that's certainly no big surprise. This man is supposed to be in his mid to late-30's, and he doesn't already understand that? No, this film is complete rubbish at its very core. Surely it's fairly well executed, but the entire premise of this discovery of the nature of women is simply ridiculous. That works when we're talking about early 20-somethings, but people in their late 30's know this stuff. At least they should. Delpy does a great job here, with some strong dialog and directing. Goldberg too is strong in this role, but I've personally always found him to be an incredibly awkward presence on screen and that certainly continues. In the end, I really didn't enjoy this despite its strong points, simply because it touches immediately at the heart of what women do to drive men crazy. Valid, certainly, but nonetheless unpleasant to watch.

Terry Jones' Barbarians

Terry Jones does his best Simon Schama impersonation in bringing us the truncated story of some of the more well known "barbarian" cultures throughout the past couple of thousand of years. We learn what most of us already probably suspect, in that all cultures, great and small, are quite capable of showing barbaric tendencies and in fact the word "barbarian" itself is simply a matter of perspective. The history we find here is certainly compelling and undoubtedly most people will learn something new, no matter their previous knowledge of these cultures. But it's a brief overview, never delving too deeply into the specifics of these people. That's not to say that specifics are left out, only that 50 minutes per culture is not nearly enough time to explore all there is to know on the matter. Jones does a solid enough job, always demonstrating to the viewer that he is indeed interested in the material if not already fairly well educated. He's a somewhat goofy man to begin with, and while he never goes so far as to make light of the subject at hand, his very nature is somewhat humorous at times. I enjoyed this series, but then again I am profoundly curious about most things historical, so it takes a real clunker to turn me off.

Rocket Science

Amongst the recent proliferation of these types of films we find here one of the very best of the entire genre. A writer can script their characters to be as quirky and original as they may wish, but those characters never actually realize quirkiness and originality unless they are performed by people capable of authentically portraying such characteristics. The young people in this film, each of them, pull off that task masterfully. Reece Thompson could not have possibly done a better job here, and I personally believe that although he's worked prior to this film, he will indeed be propelled into much larger and greater roles as a result of his performance. There are scenes in which his skills are so finely tuned that you will watch in wonder at the realization that this kid is only 19 years old. Dionne Audain is perfectly cast as the girl just cute enough to be believable as the high school crush, yet not too cute to be thought completely out of Hal's league. That's a trickier task than one might think. Vincent Piazza is the perfect older brother, bringing an absurd blend of tyranny, humor, and guidence. The film also features a wonderful soundtrack that does nothing to detract from the story, but rather adds tremendous value. Blitz proves more than a capable director, using a strong sense of timing and most definitely knowing how to get the best out of his performers. Highly enjoyable film which I recommend without hesitation. 4.5.

Yes, But...

The description up there does a fine job of telling you what this movie is about. In fact, there's nothing more to this story than what has already been explained in that synopsis. It really is quite a simple little story about a young woman coming to grips with who she is and how to handle her relationships. The acting is strong from Dequenne, and of course she is particularly enjoyable to watch for no other reason than her beauty. The whole film has a sort of made-for-tv, Lifetime-esque quality to it, but that's not a major detractor. In the end it's nothing groundbreaking, nothing overly noteworthy, but it is a cute little movie that I found enjoyable. I'd really rate it more in the 3.5 range.

Meet the Spartans: Unrated Pit of Death Edition

These spoof movies have been overdone for years already and this one brings absolutely nothing new to the table. It's time for Hollywood to take a long needed break from this genre, as they simply don't do it nearly as well as they once did, which was really never all that great to begin with. It's pure lowest common denominator without an ounce of creativity. It's filmmaking at its most laziest and, frankly, viewers that consume this dreck are to blame. Perhaps if we all start demanding entertainment meet certain standards than we'll all start seeing a product worth viewing.

No End in Sight

This should be required viewing for everyone that voted for Bush in 2000. Actually, this should be required viewing for everyone. It's incredibly important that each of us understands just how monumentally incompetent this administration has been, because only then will we perhaps understand that selecting a leader should not be about whether we want to have a beer with that person, but rather is that person even remotely qualified for the job in the first place.

Golden Door

It's the attention to detail, the authenticity, the realism that sets this movie apart. It's not a quickly paced film, but then again, it doesn't need to be. It's specifically designed to show the journey of immigrating to America. Not to show conflict/resolution over and over and over again. What makes this film such high quality is the minor details. Costume design is as good here as in any other film I've ever seen. The tattered rags are actually just that, tattered rags. Not newly created costumes artificially designed to look ragged. Casting is spot on. When Charlotte Gainsbourg, who I admit is always perplexingly attractive, is far and away the most beautiful face on screen, that's perfect, absolutely perfect casting for the period. We get used to movies showing us characters in period pieces with perfect teeth and shaved legs. That's not reality. What we find in this film is absolute, complete dedication to authenticity and realism. I most certainly recommend this to anyone who cares about such things.

The District!

The animation is fairly well done and most certainly unique. Frankly, it's much better than one would expect coming out of Hungary. Unfortunately, it also becomes disorienting and difficult to watch within 30 minutes or so. The story itself touches upon Romeo & Juliet elements, but not enough so to keep it compelling, especially once the time travel silliness kicks in. It's an incredibly juvenile story, in fact. I suspect the target demographic is 24 and younger. Now, that's not to say that there weren't aspects of the film that I couldn't enjoy. Some of the music, albeit in Hungarian, is quite entertaining and well crafted. The music is largely rap/hip-hop, but unlike American rap/hip-hop we have the benefit of subtitles here. In the end the ultimately unpleasant animation coupled with an immature storyline adds up to an unsatisfactory viewing experience. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone other than die-hard animation aficionados. I consider myself one of those people, but the Japanese are much better at this so I'll stick with them.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring

One of the most effectively symbolic movies that I've seen in recent memory. While obviously the seasons are the strongest symbolic elements at play here, in reality virtually everything we witness in this film represents something else. From doors to statues to animals, these are symbolic elements finely at play. It should be noted that this story is densely layered in Buddhist philosophies. Take that into consideration if you happen to be strongly bound by another faith.

The War Bride

The Canadians have never been considered great filmmakers, but Chubbuck and company certainly did an incredible job here. Having only ever seen Anna Friel in Pushing Daisies, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from her here, but her performance is magnificent. She shines as her character transforms from complete free spirit in wartime London to rural Canadian living an extrememly modest and difficult lifestyle. Brenda Fricker and Molly Parker are both wonderful as Friel's new family, Loren Dean never disappoints, and I found Caroline Cave to be particularly compelling. It's interesting to me that such a story hasn't really been told before, or at least one that I've never heard of. The whole war bride scenario seems ideal for dramatization. All in all I really enjoyed this film and now that it's released on DVD after a very long delay I hope it finally gets some of the recognition it deserves.

Eagle vs. Shark

A lot of people have mentioned the similarities of this to Napoleon Dynamite. I agree that there are indeed similarities, in terms of the characters and some story parallels, but much moreso in the general silliness of it all. I also find it incredibly similar to Muriel's Wedding. I found Jemaine's character here to mirror Toni Collette's Muriel in a great many ways, such as their families attitude towards them and each of their own somewhat over-inflated self-esteem. At any rate, both Jemaine and Loren play their roles superbly here, and most of the supporting cast is strong as well. It's a funny and quirky movie that is quite cute and entertaining. Certainly fans of Jemaine from Conchords will enjoy watching him here, as he has a natural gift for absurdity. This is most definitely a recommendable film.

Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God: Be Back By Five

This is a pretty good little movie. It's interesting to go back and see that Jon Cryer was in fact finding work prior to 2 and a Half Men. His and Rafael Baez's performances are the best of the film. I found Rick Stear's performance lacking though, as he really doesn't do the bad boy thing very well. Featuring a pretty gloomy setting wrapped around what ultimately ends up being a pretty gloomy story, I think you have to be in the right mood for this. I'm not surprised this film was overlooked 10 years ago, but hopefully this DVD will allow more people to discover it because it really is worth discovering.

Syndromes and a Century

This is a marvelous film that was banned in its own country. Not a fast paced or action packed film, rather it's layered heavily with symbolism and it frequently asks the viewer to make up their own mind as to the meaning of certain events and dialog. You're not spoon fed much of anything with this one. It's a very serene, calming, gentle film that I expect will bore a great many people, but I also believe there's an audience that will absolutely adore it.

Carbon Copy

This was the first time I, and probably everyone else, noticed Denzel. This was one of those movies that HBO in the early '80s had a tendency to air over and over again, so as a kid fascinated with movies I of course watched this as often as I could. It's not a good movie, and given the subject matter it most certainly would never get made today. Some more sensitive people might in fact find the story offensive, but it's really just silly. I can't necessarily recommend it as entertainment, but there may be a certain interest in seeing Denzel so young. Even ten years later he looked considerably older than he did in this movie.

Happenstance

This is a cute little movie. Nothing particularly noteworthy or original, though. There's been thousands of stories like this before, where random events lead to other random events and before we know it we're back to where we began. In a sense, that is. The French certainly seem to employ this style of storytelling moreso than others, or at least that's what it seems to me. Luckily they generally do it well, but of course there are always varying degrees of "well." There's a general morose feeling throughout this film. It's not a happy, funny type of story. It's dark and rainy in both setting and attitude. Yet, oddly, that works. I liked it, but it's not a film that I'm going to remember much of.

The Bothersome Man

What a goofy movie. It's very much like Being John Malkovich or Spotless Mind in terms of its beautiful absurdity. Charming to a surprising degree considering none of the characters, aside from perhaps the lead, are all that interesting. For as odd as the film is, the characters do have an element of authenticity to them, to the point where you actually wonder if these are merely generic human beings being portrayed on screen or, in fact, are Norwegian people really this emotionally frozen. Well, at any rate, there's a lot of beauty to be found here. Certainly a lovely setting, the primary characters all do a very nice job and are nice to look at, the story is peculiar in a very good way, and the direction, although nothing groundbreaking, is strong. A good film indeed.

Children of Men

Whether you like this film or not, the director, Alfonso Cuaron, deserves a tremendous amount of respect and credit for what he was able to accomplish. Not only in the scope and style of his work, but also for maintaining throughout a specific vision for what this film should be, and then being able to perfectly realize that vision. In terms of scope, he's put together a remarkable number of very long scenes which must have required the sort of choreography and coordination we very rarely get to see on screen. We don't see cuts within scenes, but rather 10, 12, 15 minutes of real-time footage from beginning to end. These are scenes with dozens of extras and vehicles, explosions and gunfire, action and dialog. It's something to behold indeed. In terms of style, Alfonso Cuaron has created a world in which no single moment feels unrealistic, inauthentic, disingenuous. The images are gritty and raw and the details are so true to life that as the viewer you will quite easily feel as though this place in this time exists, and the filmmakers merely used this place in this time to coincidently shoot a film. Due to the scope and style, such as long scenes, each performer was held to a much higher standard that didn't allow for multiple takes. They simply had to get the shot right the first time. So what we see is remarkable performance after remarkable performance, from quite literally every single performer involved. I absolutely adore this film and consider it to be a masterpiece of filmmaking. In my opinion, it truly is a stunning final product that deserves respect.

Sunshine

I honestly don't really know what I think of this film. It's gorgeous, undoubtedly, and the acting is strong enough I suppose given that aside from Yeoh, and maybe Murphy, there's nobody here that could be classified as an overly well-known performer. Odd direction though, which should usually be expected of Boyle. Unfortunately, this film doesn't know what it is. Is it serious, scientifically accurate sci-fi, or is it sci-fi thriller gone silly? Well, the truth is, it's neither. It tries to be credible sci-fi, yet deviates exponentially as the film moves along. And it tries to be a thriller, but when all is said and done, turns out to be more horror than thriller. It's incredibly frustrating to want to like a film so very much only to have logic and reason overrule instinct. It's an entertaining movie that might have done more, but it's not a classic of the genre, whatever that genre might be.

Dexter: Season 1

After a slow start, Showtime has finally caught up with HBO in terms of overall quality of their original programming. Actually, one could argue that right now Sho's programming is far superior to HBO's, led most certainly by The Tudors and Dexter. This series is highly entertaining, funny and clever, and not nearly as graphically violent as one would think given the subject matter. Like others, I found it a bit difficult to watch Michael Hall in any other role than David Fisher, but he's a strong enough actor to pull it off and you soon forget about it and appreciate that his Dexter character is the polar opposite of his Fisher character. My only really nagging issue is the setting. Frankly, Miami doesn't do it for me. Although we don't often see Miami as a setting, I would have prefered even a more rarely utilized city such as a Pittsburgh or Detroit or Denver, for example. Like I said though, that's just a minor issue. Overall, a highly enjoyable show.

The Painted Veil

I feel as though this movie missed the mark. It's certainly not a bad film, but I wouldn't say it's a great film either. I sensed no chemistry between Watts and Norton, which is disappointing because I really like them both. Of course there's supposed to be great tension and resentment between the two characters, but there still needs to be a certain underlying chemistry, which just wasn't there. Obviously the scenery is absolutely gorgeous, but that really shouldn't be the very best thing in any movie. Should it? Meanwhile, it's a very ploding story which never seems to amp up at all. It just plods along. I really have to put this into that undefined, in-between zone of sort of liked/sort of didn't like.

High Fidelity

This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It's certainly one of Cusack's best as well, and Jack Black has rarely been in better form despite his soon-to-be elevation to leading man. The music is truly terrific and in fact tells its own story, but I'll let you decide what that story is. Very unusual characters are in abundance throughout, which are ably played by an eclectic mix of well-known, previously well-known, and little known performers. This perhaps might be a tale guys will relate to more easily, although I don't know that for certain. Yet, it is definitely portrayed from the guy's point of view. A much better adaptation of the literature it's based upon than Fever Pitch.

3:10 to Yuma

For those familiar with the original, you shouldn't expect a completely faithful retelling here. This updated version has a lot of additional story used to fill in some of the gaps that were ignored in the '57 version. There are also scenes which are completely rewritten, and indeed new characters as well. None of that is to say that this is worse than the original, simply that in many ways it's an entirelly different story. It is in fact a wonderful film. Rarely do we get true quality, authentic westerns these days, but this certainly delivers. Bale just keeps on proving that he is the best screen actor of his generation, and Crowe does an adequate job. I feel like Glenn Ford's Ben Wade was a more charming, charismatic character, though. Crowe, however, does a better job showing Wade's darker side. The final 30 minutes is a real treat to watch, and quite frankly should be used in film school to teach young directors what a climax really is. Extremely fine film that I would rate more in the 4.5 range, but falls short of a perfect 5 simply because I only reserve those honors for the best of the best.

Angel-A

I love French cinema. You most certainly would never see in a million years an American director/producer casting a one-armed man as the lead, and yet in France they have no problem doing so. Well, it helps of course that Jamel Debbouze is an entertaining presence on screen, arm or not. At any rate, I found this film to be rather odd and interesting, which in my book almost always equates to enjoyable. Modern films in B+W can come off as being a bit gimmicky at times, but this one works well and probably wouldn't have been as good if shot in color. You get the standard French dialog here, of course. You know, quick, witty retorts that only work in French. Rie Rasmussen is an attractive enough woman, but not so much that you ever think of her as being strictly eye candy. Certainly I'd recommend this to all French cinema fans, and probably to most foreign language fans, but most likely not to those that really only enjoy Hollywood fare.

China Moon

I had a really bad experience watching this back in the mid-90s, so my assessment of its quality is probably skewed as a result. That said, this film made me physically ill. Not because it's graphic or particularly offensive, but simply because of the lengths it showed a woman would go to in order to get what she wants. While it's no different on that count than many other movies that have come and gone over the years, for whatever reason this particular story with these particular people made me sick. The reality is, it's probably a pretty decent little thriller, although I'd never go so far as to say it's a standard bearer for the genre. You really can't go wrong with Ed Harris, and during her time Madeleine Stowe was decent enough in most of her roles.

The Hee Haw Collection

The Hillbilly Collection is just that, a collection of hillbillies. So, if you like hillbillies, than you'll enjoy The Hillbilly Collection. If you don't care for hillbillies, than The Hillbilly Collection is probably not for you. If you're indifferent to hillbillies, than you could probably go either way with The Hillbilly Collection. The Hillbilly Collection: Making The South look ridiculous and reinforcing stereotypes for generations to come.

The Godthumb

This is easily the worst of the Thumb movies. In fact, it's not even remotely close to being as funny as the others. I would certainly recommend Thumb Wars and Blair Thumb first.

Bat Thumb

This is where the Thumb movies start to go down hill a bit. After Thumb Wars, Blair Thumb, and Thumbtanic, I would rate this the fourth best of the six movies. There are not nearly as many funny or clever lines to be found here.

The Tudors: Season 1

Many people have complained about Rhys Meyers being cast as Henry VIII, since he has dark hair, is too short, and entirely too thin. In reality though, he's actually a pretty good match. Aside from being four inches too short and having dark hair, that is. For a man who died with a 54-inch waist, Henry VIII started out a regular pin-up boy. At 6'2", he featured a "small but sensual mouth," an "admirably proportioned frame" and "a round face so beautiful it would become a pretty woman." When Henry played tennis, his fair skin "glowed" through his shirt, according to Venetian Sebastian Giustinian, who added "His Majesty is the handsomest potentate I ever set eyes on." That description certainly seems to fit Rhys Meyers portrayal, again, despite being too short and with dark hair. Casting questions aside, this series is undoubtedly entertaining. Historically inaccurate to the point of being comical, if you enter into this knowing you aren't getting a history lesson but rather simply an enjoyable dramatic series set in an interesting period of history, than you'll do just fine. Focus on the historical problems, and that's all you'll end up thinking about. It's fun, it's dramatic, it's sexy, but it's not the History Channel.

Six Feet Under: Season 5

Like others, I feel like this is by far the best season. The final three episodes are simply phenomenal. Powerful in such strength that it's an almost certainty that I will never again in my lifetime see a show that affects me so much. I miss this damn show like none other. Episode 10 totally devastated me to the point where I was literally crying throughout nearly the entire hour. And of course this final season provides us with quite simply the single greatest series finale in the history of television. That's not hyperbole, it's just true. It's exactly what every devotee wants and hopes for from a finale, and yet all shows ultimately fall short of expectations in the end. This finale does it perfectly. Six Feet Under, a show I will watch over and over again for the rest of my life.

Thumbtanic

This is in my opinion the third best Thumb movie, behind Thumb Wars and Blair Thumb. It's a perfect spoof, and the faces here are just hilarious. Oedekerk is brilliant for coming up with this idea.

Thumb Wars: The Phantom Cuticle

This is the single greatest Star Wars spoof ever made. While there are plenty of funny lines, the real humor of this, and indeed all the Thumb movies, are the faces. Definitely visual humor. This is the best of the Thumb movies.

The Blair Thumb

Probably the second best Thumb movie behind Thumb Wars. The faces, which I consider to be the best part of these spoofs, are as ridiculous as ever. The dialog lacks somewhat in areas. If you're at all a fan of any of the Thumb movies though, you must watch this.

September Dawn

This movie is decent enough I suppose. I've wavered between three and four stars, but in reality it's just not quality enough for four. The story is interesting, interweaving a fictional love story with the factually based slaughter of innocent people in the name of religion. Yet, there are issues that nag at me. I just don't like Jon Voight, first of all. He has always given me the creeps. Which fits perfectly here, actually, but still he's very unpleasant to watch. The younger actors, particularly the female lead, are fairly disappointing. Some scenes they are really strong, but there are many where they just seem awkward and unsure how to handle themselves. That's a product of uncertain direction. Like I said, a decent enough film, but nothing I'm going to really remember for too long.

RoboCop 3

Truly a horrendous sequel to two films that really weren't all that good in the first place. At least in the first two, however, Peter Weller was a capable actor for the roll. Robert John Burke is just awful in everything he does, and that immediately drags this movie down even before you take into consideration the moronic script, laughable special effects, and juvenille direction. Nancy Allen, who was one of better reasons to watch the first two films, is only here for a short time, leaving you with little reason to continue watching after the first 20 minutes or so. Watch the first two and pretend this one never existed.

The Woman in Red

This film really highlights Gene Wilder's comic abilities. He's such a likeable, goofy and awkward presence that it's hard not to identify with him on at least a certain level. This film does a wonderful job of being both funny and sad at the same time, contrasting the clumsy antics of Wilder with the repercussions of adultery. Kelly LeBrock looks great, but let's face it, she was never a very good actor. Gilda Radner, while only in a limited number of scenes here, is perfectly ludicrous. In addition, San Francisco is a perfect setting. I really enjoyed this film when I was younger and it still holds up well nearly 25 years later.

Walk the Line

This is a good movie, but everyone should understand that it strictly follows the Hollywood musician biopic forumula to a T. That is to say, we see Musician A as a child, in a less than ideal environment. Child Musician A wants to be a star, but grows up and ends up working some dead-end job. Young adult Musician A stumbles into way to record music. Musician A gets noticed by industry insider. Musician A begins gaining fame and fortune. Musician A gets out of control, alienating friends and family, becomes arrogant, etc. Musician A falls on hard times, ie drugs, women, gambling, whatever. Musician A learns a lesson, and tries to rebuild his relationships. End of story. It's been done over and over again, most recently in Ray and Dreamgirls, but as far back as the musician biopic has existed it's been done just like this. At least here it's done very well.

Blood Diamond

I really did enjoy this film, even though it wasn't quite as stellar as some friends have said. Leo is fantastic, and he's really proved himself as one of the absolute best in the business. I though it was a very nice change of pace seeing Djimon as a more vulnerable character. Usually he's used as an aggressive figure. Connelly's character I found to be lacking the depth needed to match up with the other two leads. She was fine, but unlike the other two I feel like it wasn't a role that was challenging to her. The story was certainly one that needed to be told. The issues of diamonds and their origins has largely been ignored for generations, and I'm particularly pleased to see some negativity surrounding this otherwise worthless rock.

Kinamand

It's a very sad love story that most certainly will stick with you for a while. This is one of those films that provides to the viewer only as much as the viewer is willing to bring in on their own. Subtle moments, quiet scenes, empty frames. It's what the viewer fills in on their own that's important. Vivian Wu is charming and beautiful in this film. Then again, when isn't she?

The Kids in the Hall: Season 1

KITH are easily the second (just barely) comedy troupe in living memory. While they are undoubtedly beyond the realm of strange, that's precisely what makes them genius. At the time they had no problems pushing the bounderies of good taste and in fact had no problem whatsoever ignoring good taste altogether. While I believe that their greatest material came later, it's crucial that you watch their early stuff first, as recurring characters were utilized frequently. I can't necessarily recommend these guys to just anyone, but I still think everyone should give them a shot.

Paris, Je T'aime

This is indeed a very strong collection of short films by some very talented filmmakers. Of course there are some stories in here that fall a bit flat or are otherwise less interesting, but no doubt everyone will find at least a handful that are truly engaging and entertaining. I myself absolutely loved three or four of the stories presented, which made the entire two hours worthwhile. My only true criticism is that there's one story that totally destroys the continuity of the greater collection. What we see here is story after story of true to life drama, yet inexplicably included is a fantasy horror story. It doesn't fit, and it may take the viewer a few moments following to reacquaint themselves with the overall theme. That said, this is a very enjoyable watch and highly recommended for those interested in Paris or French culture or French filmmakers.

The War: A Ken Burns Film

You should always expect quality from a Ken Burns project, and he most certainly delivers on that promise here. This multi-episode documentary series provides the sort of details about WWII that you cannot find anywhere else, except perhaps within a select handful of top-notch literature. The re-telling of individual experiences is the highlight of this project. This is an incredibly unbiased view of the war, taking into account larger historical, economic, cultural and social issues within all nations involved, and indeed further examines the sub-cultures within those nations as well. In addition to the smaller stories being examined, there's a wealth of detail concerning the events of the War itself. I most definitely highly recommend this for anyone that has even a slight interest in this period of history.

Big Love: Season 2

Looks as though mine is the lone negative review here, as everyone else seems to absolutely adore this show. I, on the other hand, find it nothing more than a boring affair with boring characters set in a boring location. Even the conflicts are boring. I believe this show is only getting such reviews because it's on HBO. If this was an ABC production it never would have made it past the first month. I happen to love almost all of HBO's original series from the past decade or so, but they fall incredibly short with this. Or perhaps it simply fails by comparison to shows like Six Feet Under and The Sopranos. Those are indeed massive shoes to fill, and unfortunately Big Love is nothing more than a woman's size 6.

Just One of the Guys

Certainly one of the better films of the genre during the 80's, and in fact still holds up well today. This is the sort of charming and endearing teen comedy that we don't see much of these days. There are genuinely amusing moments throughout the film, although nothing that could be classified as laugh-out-loud. This isn't revolutionary, it's just a simple and enjoyable little film.

Without Limits

You wouldn't expect a movie about a middle distance runner would turn out to be anything special, but it is. In fact, I would easily label this as one of the better sports movies made in the past 20 years. No, it's not particularly sappy or inspirational, but it is indeed interesting and entertaining. Billy Crudup portrays Pre almost flawlessly, and in this role just oozes confidence. Sutherland is low-key, and yet I find this to be one of his more engaging roles. Monica Potter is not particularly dynamic here, but she's gorgeous and that certainly adds something. This is most certainly much better than the other Prefontaine film of the same year, titled cleverly, Prefontaine.

Eastern Promises

I had high hopes for this film given the people involved and the highly intriguing subject matter. Unfortunately it falls well short of my expectations. I found the story to be flat from start to finish. In particular, the climax of the film is hardly that at all. One could quite easily argue that this film has no climax at all. Before watching this film I questioned the running time of 100 minutes and thought that given the subject matter this story couldn't possibly be properly told in the same amount of time as a teen comedy. This film needs another 20 minutes at least, because there are major character issues that never get explored. Watts, while a favorite of mine, is wooden and boring throughout. In her defense though, she was given a character that would never be in these situations in the first place. Viggo is top notch as usual. In the end this turns out to be a moderately decent film, but doesn't reach anywhere near its potential.

Once

I love movies. I think anyone here probably would say the same thing. More than movies, though, I absolutely adore music. It's so much more important to me than movies ever could be. To find a film that is so genuinely moving and touching and charming that also incorporates fantastic music...well, that's Heaven for me. Perhaps you feel differently, perhaps not. In either case, watch it for a great movie experience or listen to it for a great musical experience. I couldn't more strongly recommend this little independent film, which while described as a modern day musical, isn't really that at all. It's much more than that.

Bill Maher: The Decider

I've long been a fan of Maher's social and political commentary, however I do find this to be some of his weakest material. In fact, rather than the intelligent and common sense material we are generally accustomed to with Bill, in this concert we find him ranting hatefully moreso than anything else. I was actually a bit turned off from the amount of hate coming from his mouth, and I am widely considered to be about as cynical as they come. That's not even to mention that Bill is trying much too hard to deny that he's 52 years old. Extremely tight designer jeans with a wannabe rock star t-shirt does nothing to make anyone think he's still a young man. Bill needs to accept his age. I know he dates models more than half his age, but he can still present himself age appropriately. All in all, a disappointing show from the usually funny and insightful Bill Maher.

Journeyman: Season 1

This gem of the Fall '07 season didn't get the chance it deserved. Partly because of a nearly complete lack of promotion from NBC, mostly due to the writer's strike, it only got a half season run of 13 episodes. Hopefully Kevin McKidd will land on his feet soon, because he's worth having on screen somewhere. The same can easily be said of both Gretchen Egolf and definitely Moon Bloodgood, who just oozes perfection. Hopefully everyone will get the chance to enjoy this show, despite it's short existence, because it truly is enjoyable and engaging.

Roxanne

I believe this to be Martin's best film. It is genuinely sincere and charming, while still being silly and funny. Martin pulls off his Cyrino character beautifully, but I find the supporting characters to be the jewels of this film, particularly the wacky volunteers in his fire house. I've never really liked Daryl Hannah, but here she is charming and particularly beautiful, although perhaps a tad too thin. I really feel that this is one everyone should take a chance on. "A nose by any other name..."

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

The single worst Robin Hood adaptation ever put on film. Literally. I'm not a Costner hater, either. I think he's quite good, in certain roles, but not any role. He shouldn't have been anywhere near the top-100 candidates for this role. Terrible, just terrible. And one more thing. This is middle-ages England. What's an Italian, (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), doing in the royal family? That's a head scratcher. Avoid at all costs.

Mysterious Skin

This is a pretty harsh study of the possible effects of child sexual abuse. This is certainly not a "fun" watch, so for those seeking pure entertainment, you aren't going to like this. Yet, it's incredibly compelling to those that have an interest in human behavior. All the players portray their characters wonderfully, and the story is succinct and to the point without losing a shred of important detail. Of course, fans of Gordon-Levitt must watch this.

The Adventures of Ford Fairlane

This movie brings exactly the sort of low-rent stupidity that you would expect from a movie staring Andrew Dice Clay. I mean, seriously, what are you expecting? It's not completely without merit, though. Lauren Holly looks absolutely spectacular.

Weeds: Season 2

This is really a charming series with some great characters. Definitely an enjoyable watch. For anyone that's spent anytime at all in this culture though, you'll almost instantly recognize how ridiculously unrealistic it is. But being silly is sort of the point of the show.

The Rocket

I watched this online, which turned out to be the dubbed version. I assume the actual dvd offers either subtitles or dubbed. I highly recommend watching with subtitles, because the dubbed sections of this film offer some of the absolute worst voice over work I've heard since the heyday of 1970's kung fu features. Having said that, the movie itself is wonderful. It offers some of the best, if not the best hockey footage I've ever seen in a movie. My only complaint is that Roy Dupuis' portrayal of Maurice Richard seemed quite bland. I find it hard to believe that the real Richard was so wooden and without any real personality to speak of.

Black Book

Europeans do war movies, and particularly WWII movies, so much better than America does. Why? Authenticity and realism. No flashy special effects, no dumbed down enemies, and no clear cut black and white/right and wrong. In war there are always shades of grey, even in this war, and that's precisely what's portrayed in this story. It's an intriguing story that's very nicely performed, most noteably by Carice van Houten (who is gorgeous, by the way), as well as the entire supporting cast. Now, that is not to say it's a perfect picture. There are moments when the viewer must accept that certain situations could take place, even though the likelihood of those situations playing out as portrayed is highly questionable. I also feel as though the desperation that the Nazis would have undoubtedly felt at such a late point in the war was not at all taken into account. Indeed, at virtually no point did I get the sense that the Nazis were panicked about their impending defeat. But that's a nagging issue that would only irritate the most fickle of history aficianados. In the end, I most highly recommend this to anyone interested in a very strong WWII movie.

The Riches: Season 1

This is definitely one of the better television programs on the air right now. Eddie Izzard is always entertaining, whether he's doing stand up or when he's acting. The rest of the cast is very strong and at no point do you feel as though this is only Izzard's show. The writing is interesting if not a tad unrealistic. My only complaint is that this idea deserves to be on a better network. This seems very much like an HBO or Showtime series, and yet we find it on FX, which simply doesn't have the budget to fully take advantage of the premise and cast. Still, The Riches stands well above most major network programs and is nearly the equal of many of the higher budget paid-cable original series. Recommended for fans of the quirky and out of the ordinary.

Superbad

I had no big expectations going into this film. I generally find most comedies to be lacking anything resembling authentic and original humor, so that's basically what I anticipated here. But I was surprised to find a good deal of original humor, on top of some really strong performances from nearly everyone involved. Now, I do think that most of the funniest content in this film occurs relatively early on and that the story weakens a tad as it rolls along, but not so much as to really ruin the movie. In the end, I found it a very enjoyable escape, and isn't that really all you should ask of a film like this.

The Nanny Diaries

First of all, if you're one of those Scarlett haters than you most definitely should not rent this. It's only going to make you hate her more (for whatever reason). I actually enjoyed this film despite it not being anything more than a formulaicly generic story. There are no stellar performances here, no great scenery or costumes, no interesting love story (although there is a love story, of course), etc. The parent characters are pretty unrealistic, and although I'm sure people like them do exist to some extent, the intentional exaggeration of their characters is a tad annoying. You can see exactly how the movie is going to end within the first 15 minutes, if not sooner. Yeah, it's all pretty much a been-done-before affair. And yet, I liked it. Scarlett, to me, is always charming and she looks particularly good in this movie. I simply enjoy watching her, and to me I can easily overlook otherwise significant flaws in a movie because of her. So there you go. It really does come down to her. If you like her, you'll probably get something positive out of this film. If you hate her, like so many do for absolutely inexplicable reasons, than you're not going to enjoy this.

Any Given Sunday

There are two things you need to know about this movie, and if those two things don't give you a reason to expect complete trash, then no review can help you. Firstly, Al Pacino is supposed to be a professional football coach. Go ahead, roll your eyes now. Secondly, his football team is in Miami. Now, what do we know about Miami? It's sunny, right? And hot too. Hot and sunny. Ok, so, you own a football team in Miami...what color uniforms would you choose. White? Yellow? Blue? Nah, of course not. You'd choose solid black, wouldn't you? Wait, you wouldn't? Oh, so it's only the stupid producers of this movie that think that someone would deck out their highly paid professional athletes in solid black and then have them go out and perform in 85-degree weather. Nice. That's real dedication to realism there, and a perfect example of how pathetic this movie is.

A Good Woman

Call me cruel if you must, but to be perfectly honest Helen Hunt isn't nearly beautiful enough to pull off the character she's supposed to be portraying here. So, right from the beginning you question the casting and that makes it incredibly difficult to get into the film itself. Sorry, but I find it very hard to believe that even in Helen Hunt's prime that she could be believable as some irresistable seductress that all men are compelled to flock to. It would have been nonsense ten years ago, and it's even moreso now that Hunt is well past her 'I'm hot so cast me' phase of her career. Of course, my distaste for this movie doesn't completely revolve around silly casting. It's boring, and that comes from someone who absolutely adores films such as Remains of the Day and the like. Well, whatever the case may be, I found this a tedious affair that I will likely never think about again. Perhaps you'll like it more than I did.

Krull

This is one of those cheesy, campy, poorly written stories featuring an all-star cast of complete nobody's (+Liam Neeson) that just seems to work for inexplicable reasons. It's weird and nonsensical and yet the scenery is gorgeous, thanks to shoot locations in the Alps, Spain, and England, coupled with strong interior set design and surprisingly decent special effects for the early 80's. Ok, so the acting is for the most part quite pedestrian, but that should be expected. This type of movie would never get made today, or at least not with a comparable budget ($21mil in '83!). A movie of this nature today would be extremely low budget and of course the final product would look it. If someone were trying to get it green lit today, with a decent budget, a studio would likely require people like Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Colin Farrell to already be attached. So, take some enjoyment in the fact that you're watching movie history, because quality in film-making is relative.

SherryBaby

Maggie Gyllenhaal further establishes herself as one of the better actors of her generation with this portrayal. The film does a great job of developing the Sherry character throughout, so we have no problems understanding who she is and why. It certainly lacks in areas, though. A few of the supporting characters are one-dimensional, and I feel like the setting could have been better selected. Generic New Jersey, while symbolic in important ways, doesn't lend itself visually nor does it add much to the character's rock-bottom status. A more run down, urban environment would have worked better, I think. In the end, it's a very strong, character driven Indie that worth a watch by anyone even slightly interested in these types of stories. There are better films of this ilk out there, but there are certainly many, many more that are worse.

Futurama the Movie: Bender's Big Score

Futurama fans will be pleased with how true this "film" is to the series. Although I found a couple of the voices to be a tad off, particularly Leela's. There's plenty of classic Futurama humor here and the animation is stronger than it ever was. I find it doubtful that any fan will be disappointed in this.

Muffin Man

Contrary to a previous reviewer, there was no need for some studio exec to "green light" this since it was entirely financed by the director/writer/producer. It's a true independent film. Strong points would be the image quality, which doesn't appear as much like a low budget film as one would expect. That's because some pretty high quality digital cameras were used instead of traditional film cameras. Also, the lead actress is certainly cute and performs well. Costumes and makeup are well done as well. Those positives don't outweigh the negatives though. It premise itself simply doesn't lend itself to film. The director is herself a doctor and her noble intentions to tackle the issue of obesity aside, such a subject is not suitable for this medium. Documentary, perhaps, but not a full-length feature film meant to entertain. I wouldn't recommend renting this, unless you have a particularly strong interest in the subject matter.

Mr. Bean's Holiday

Old school Bean fans will likely understand going in that there's no realistic way to replicate in this format the Bean we once knew and loved. Bean of old had next to no dialog whatsoever, from any character, but that simply cannot be done in a movie. While there are certainly classic Bean moments to be found here, the movie itself simply suffers from, well, being a movie. For those new to the character, I highly recommend watching the original Bean "series" first before watching this. For those long-time fans, consider, any Bean is better than no Bean at all. Plus, how could you not enjoy looking at Emma de Caunes?

American Gangster

Listen, what do you honestly expect from Ridley Scott, Denzel, and Crowe? Well, that's what you get. Strong directing and strong performances. That of course leads to a strong film, but it's not flawless. Perhaps the problem is that we've seen this same story many times before. It's always a compelling story, but no matter how well it's put together, in the end it's still something you've seen before. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does prevent this movie from being one of the classics of the genre. Watch it and I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Amazing Grace

Well performed by a strong cast, with beautiful locations and solid cinematography, coupled with an interesting and noteworthy story. However, the film itself is disjointed at times, lacking a consistent flow that would otherwise keep the viewer engaged throughout. I couldn't help but wonder which scenes were left on the cutting room floor in an effort to keep the running time down. In the end, the film is neither great nor terrible. It is simply good.

Rescue Dawn

This is a solid film, however it never really clicks. Obviously Bale does a fantastic job, as he does with all his projects. His ability to adjust his body to fit the role always proves his dedication, but it's equally impressive how he can manipulate his voice. He has, in all his films, never used the same accent. The film brings what you'd expect in terms of realism, and the heroism and survival instinct portrayed can be inspiring. And yet, the movie plays out one or two scenes too long in my opinion. A specific tone is set throughout the movie which is slightly ruined in the end. All in all, a worthy watch.

LolliLove

I really wanted to like this, since Jenna is awfully cute in The Office and seems like the kind of person you'd like to root for. However, this really isn't that good of a movie. It tries too hard to be a Christopher Guest film. Plus, after watching some of the extras, it's painfully obvious that Jenna's husband, James Gunn, is a total idiot, which of course reflects negatively on her. It's never a good thing when an attractive, talented, intelligent women pairs herself up with a dufus.

Broken Flowers

Listen, this film will give you in return exactly what you bring into it. It is not big shiny objects, loud noises, and constant dialog. I know that's not the type of entertainment most Americans enjoy...you know, the kind that requires you to use your own internal dialog on occasion, and requires a bit of emotional investment on your part, and requires just a little bit of viewer participation. So go...go rent Stripes like another viewer suggested. Also, this film is not about a character giving up his "Pan." It's about a character chasing what's missing...looking for what has never been. Revisiting his past is only the setting.

Closer

This story is simultaneously wildly inaccurate and stunningly true. It goes without saying that you will take away from this film precisely what you bring into it. That is to say, your perception of the quality of the film will be wholly dependent on your own personal experiences and your point of view concerning the issues addressed in the film. In the end though, a constant truth of human nature remains...love cannot be contained, it cannot be controlled, and under no circumstance can it be predictable. The issues addressed in this film are never so openly available in our real lives. Real life consists of subtleties. This story brings to the open the issues we often prefer to bury. This film is hard to swallow as realism, but that's hardly the point. Watch it, absorb the underlying message, and learn about yourself. Or don't...that's up to you.

Crash

This film is ruined by its own concept. That is not to say that it isn't an interesting and compelling film, simply that they efforts made by the filmmakers to feature numerous characters and storylines ultimately does more harm than good. I found myself quite intrigued by virtually all the characters, yet I never really got to know any of them, and before I knew it the film was over. So the concept of the film - showing diverse and complex characters living in a racist American society - is harmful to the film because the diversity and complexity of those characters are not nearly explored deeply enough. I'm certain you'll find yourself wanting more from this promising film, but it's worth a watch nonetheless.

American Astronaut

There are many ways one could categorize this film, but I tend to think it falls into that often cliched "Space Opera" crowd. If this had the benefit of better marketing, it would easily go down as one of the top all-time cult classics. This is one of those very rare films which can honestly be considered art...the photography is brilliant. Cory McAbee, the writer/director, is a very accomplished artist/musician (all the music is his). I highly recommend this film for those sick of the mainstream...or sick of independent films that follow the same Hollywood formula.

Dead Like Me: Season 1

This is clearly a rip-off of SFU, but that's to be expected, as Showtime rips off everything HBO does. However, that said, it's still a very well produced, acted, and written show that, in the end, leaves you very well entertained. So, don't let the similarity of this show to another more high profile series dissuade you from giving it a chance. You'll enjoy it.

The Company

Find me the plot of this film and I'll give you a crisp, new $100 bill. I'm serious. But you shouldn't bother trying to find the plot, because there isn't one. It's just a string of random scenes with random people whom we never get to know in the slightest. In reality, this film is just an excuse to put some dance on screen. And I'll admit, I enjoyed most of the dancing. Not all, but most. Yet, if the sole purpose is simply to put dance on screen, then document the real Joffrey company, and release it as just that...a documentary. Plotless stories can work, but they require at the very least some character development. Plotless stories require characters we care about. Plotless stories require an interesting setting. This plotless story has a moderately interesting setting, but nothing else. Only watch it if you're interested in ballet, or even if you aren't but at least can appreciate it. But do not watch it if you're a fan of Neve and you expect some great performance.

Welcome to Mooseport

Well, this is a steaming pile of moose something, that's for sure. Let this be the one that finally makes people realize that Ray Romano has never been, is not currently, and never will be funny. He's just a dufus, plain and simple. It's a crying shame that the once great Gene Hackman has been reduced to this type of highly simplistic and formulaic comedy, but, such is show business I suppose. I loved Maura Tierney in News Radio, but sadly since then it seems everything she's played has been tainted by her bitter and resentful Abby from E.R.. She's not a particularly rangy actress. Anyway, poor acting, poor dialog, and the decision to not feature the quirky nature of small town America, particularly small town New England, ultimately turn this into nothing special whatsoever. Ignore this, and forget you ever heard of it. I'm sure those involved in its creation already have.

In America

Very boring movie. Not because it's slowly paced, which I can handle just fine, but because there's virtually nothing I could possibly relate to. I don't understand what it's like to lose a child, as the family in this movie do, so there's no way for me to feel their pain. But a solid story and good acting are supposed to bring every viewer into the fold, and this movie fails on both counts. This is now the second Samantha Morton movie which I had high hopes for and which let me down considerably. Perhaps it's time I avoid her at all costs.

Notorious C.H.O.

I had high hopes for this, as I've read the reviews and I've heard of the cult status that she's recently enjoyed. But, 20 minutes in, I realized that she was bringing absolutely nothing new to the art. There are so many more talented and entertaining comedians working today. Rent Dave Chappelle and Eddie Izzard, and look for Dane Cook and Pablo Francisco before you rent this. (April '04)

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Fans of Tautou from Amelie will probably have a more difficult time embraccing her in this film. However, fans of hers based more on Dirty Pretty Things will more likely be able to accept her here. Without wanting to provide any spoilers here, I'll just say that this film incorporates a rather interesting twist which is somewhat obvious upon reflection. Despite a not-so-unique method of revealing the true story, there are no continuity issues, as one might expect. That alone deserves some credit. Worth a watch as much for Samuel Le Bihan as it is for Tautou.

Brotherhood of the Wolf

This is the French version of the summer blockbuster, although that seems to be a huge contradiction in terms. But unlike the American summer blockbuster formula, this actually has an engaging plot and superb performances from most of the primary characters. However, having said that, do not expect much realism in this film. You would be hard pressed to find many American Indians, throughout history, who are well versed in a wide variety of East Asian fighting styles, as we do in this film. But in keeping with the fantastical story in whole, that's an acceptable inclusion. Look for the hidden meaning in many of the scenes, as the film makers went heavy on the symbolism. At times the editing is inconsistent, but not glaringly so. This is worth watching, if for no other reason than to get the French take on the American action film.

Something's Gotta Give

Pure Hollywood clich�d nonsense. Keaton's character is the typical older woman who is bitter and resentful of men her age who show interest only in the younger woman. Her character never shows any such resentment towards those younger women themselves, nor does she acknowledge that she has actually raised a daughter who has turned into one of those younger women dating an older man. That sort of irony seems to be lost on Keaton's character. Perhaps she might admit, also, that if she had made better decisions about men when she was younger then she wouldn't be alone when she was older. Or perhaps the movie should just preach a tad bit less about how men are evil for liking younger women but how there's not a single thing wrong with younger women liking older men. These types of romantic comedies, and by type I mean totally unrealistic, idealistic misrepresentations, do more harm than good because they further exacerbate the already hugely problematic and offensive belief that anything wrong that's ever been done has been done so by a man. Men cannot do right in America, and that has something to do with trash like this.

Gothika

Pure trash that will once again leave Halle Berry fans terribly disappointed. This film's reliance on transparent gimmicks, such as "spooky" music designed to build suspense but instead only provokes irritation, and loud noises timed to instigate scares, only further chips away at what could have been a pretty good movie had the concept of originality ever entered into the director's mind. As it is, though, the director felt more compelled to create a heavily formulaic supernatural thriller which we've all seen, yawn, a hundred times before.

Boys of 2nd Street Park

Endure the first segment of this documentary, which centers around a group of neighborhood boys playing basketball constantly, and you'll eventually be taken into a much more diverse story of competitive basketball, love, sex, drugs, war, death, and finding oneself. This really is the story of a generation rather than a story of a group of childhood friends. If you're a Boomer, than you'll instantly relate, and if you're the child of a Boomer and want to try to relate more with your parents, than you really should watch this little documentary.

Veronica Guerin

While this is not a bad movie, it might have been better had it spent more time developing Guerin's character prior to her investigations into the heroine trade. It would have been nice to see what she had covered in the past which had made her such an infamous reporter. As it stands, the viewer is asked to just accept that she's infamous and somewhat rebellious. Blanchett is superb, as always, but the rest of the cast is highly generic. There have been much better movies about individuals who attempt to change the world, but this one isn't too bad on the whole.

21 Grams

It is incredibly rare to find three stellar performances in one movie, yet we do here. Sean Pean's Oscar is for Mystic River, but he won it because of 21 Grams. Del Toro does what he always does. I cannot say enough about Naomi Watts. She is absolutely brilliant. Those three alone make this a worthy movie for viewing. That doesn't even take into consideration how gripping the film itself is. Watch it!

25th Hour

This would be a very good movie, possibly one of Lee's best, if it weren't for the inexplicably random and often times bewildering inclusion of his political, social, and economic opinions. Once you get past that, though, the film is quite good, although some characters lack the development needed for the viewer to really care about them. The single worst part of this movie, however, is the casting of ex Baltimore Raven fat man Tony Siragusa, who couldn't manage to deliver a single sentance in a believable and consistent Ukrainian accent.

Pieces of April

What a great little movie this is. Such strong writing and directing, and not a single failed performance in the bunch. More importantly though is that it does inspire one to reflect upon their own family relationships. I really enjoyed this film and highly recommend it.

Morvern Callar

Reminiscent of another film, Breaking the Waves. Both are exceedingly tedious and boring and lacking any real depth whatsoever. I do not, under any circumstance, recommend this movie. Unless, that is, you like characters that you can't possibly relate to.

Lost in Translation

You know, it really requires very little to determine whether you'll like this movie or not. If you're capable of understanding human emotion on a vast variety of levels, then yes, you'll enjoy this film. If you're a tad more emotionally shallow, not a judgement, than you'll probably find this film boring. This film is for those who have felt lost at some point in their life. This film is for those who hope for something greater, something deeper, but have either had it and lost it or have yet to experience it. This film is for the thinkers and feelers amongst us. It's that simple.

Dirty Pretty Things

A fantastically disturbing tale of how unjustified and undeserved misfortune sometimes lead individuals into situations of fantastically disturbing greed. Highly recommended film which peers into the eyes of London illegal immigrants who must make awful decisions just to survive. The question of how far is too far is, thankfully, addressed in terrific fashion.

Amores Perros

I recommend that anyone who might consider watching this film really think about how much violence against animals that you can tolerate. While I really enjoyed the movie overall, the violence is very realistic and at times very tough to endure. Having said that, it's clear that Alejandro Gonz�lez I�arritu's is a top-notch director who knows when to sacrifice less critical story elements, such as developing a rock-solid connection between the viewer and the characters, in order to push the story forward. Visually it's not a revolutionary film, but it's shot very well. I do recommend this for anyone who isn't shy about seeing content which otherwise is very, very rarely displayed on American screens.

Y tu mam� tambi�n

This film is not for those that prefer the simple, straight-forward approach to story telling. This is not a happy film, so if you aren't intrigued by the mistakes humans sometimes make, the complexities of our lives, and the elements that make up our relationships, then stay away by all means. However, if you enjoy clever films which portray imperfect people facing immoral decisions, for example, than try this out. It's not the type of movie that is often made in America, so take that into consideration. I for one loved the film and greatly appreciated the style and performances.