two lovers: neurotic bachelor torn between love & duty; james gray takes to limp perfection a

brooklyn genre: yiddish melodrama

7 pounds: one of those dramas which require multiple laughs; gabriele muccino wallows in
rains & tub water, final twist c/o a jellyfish
300: grand entertainment reinventing peplum with CGI eye to muscle detail & unearthing
history at its bravest
broken embrace: almodovars muddiest & most labourious to-date; gorgeous penelope cannot
save convoluted melodrama
auf der anderen seite: f akin fails with intercultural mix wh looks like pc speech @ ngo conf on
migrations; too bad slut mother dies soon
the manchurian candidate: clumsy misfire c/o j demme wh tries 2 make serious points but ends
up like desperate housewives gone cold war
tales from the golden age: romanian palme dor mungiu provides bitterfunny omnibus therapy
with 6 sketches on ceausescus romania, 1 too many
tales from the golden age: romanian palme dor mungiu provides bitterfunny omnibus therapy
with 6 sketches on ceausescus romania, 1 too many
manderlay: lars von triers useless sequel 2 dogville runs like same on automatic pilot, with
bryce dallas howard as 2nd best 4 nicole kidman
cache: paranoid paris story by haneke peels off layers of french 50s guilt with chilling accuracy;
slasher scene auteuil & binoche stand out
atonement: lavish adaptation of mcewan novel seems like dull remake of losey & pinter gobetween, without the brains; keira knightley a bore
lord of war: (another) nicolas cage dud by a niccol of brilliant gattaca fame, who left subtlety
behind & chose inyrface propaganda instead
babel: inarritu/arriaga most ambitious effort not their best but this world map connecting people
by accident has its moments; b pitt shines
babylon a.d.: ponderous script tall on technomystic babble with vin diesel sent by french
kassovitz 2 distopian future; expect flawd ending
my enemys enemy: barbie (nazi, not doll) chased by k macdonald in biased docu raises tough
question: how shd democracies fight terrorism?
the boss of it all: von trier technical joke (cam device chooses angle) reinvents sitcom with
mixed results; best line: lifes a dogma movie
the break-up: j aniston/v vaughn vehicle has more than meets the eye working best as movie
therapy for the 2 stars @ start of relationship

bridget jones 2: like a version (thai hookers version of maddona anthem) = best moment in
this sequel; same cast, same rain, some new gags
bruno: better than borat! sacha baron cohen @ his most hilarious & politically incorrect
(hooray!); no child was harmed during shooting ;P
georgia rule: j fonda f huffman l lohan team up 4 good turns in smalltown story of 3 generations
with lohan providing best lines
infamous: 2nd take on capote is better & more glamourous than seymour hoffman one c/o toby
jones outshining oscar winner + great cameos
che: s soderberghs film crush on guerilla leader (intense del toro) looks digitally great but
otherwise more like che tshirt which talks
cheri: frears take on colette novel no masterpiece still pfeiffer gorgeous as frothy courtesan
having late crush on colleagues (k bates) son
burn after reading: story of cia as confederacy of dunces td by coens w devilish verve & superb
cast /clooneymalkovichmcdormandpittswinton
the reader: fine adaptation of novel about 2nd world war guilt; ones life may become chapter in
a trial but no life shd be read as just that
no country for old men: coens best (& darkest) since fargo knocks off as greek tragedy in
cowboys hats; cast good, bardem great
brokeback mountain: long lovestory of ledger & gyllenhaal (on proulx shortstory) becomes
quiet porcelain in everversatile ang lees direction
cinderella man: russell crowe burns the screen with rugged impersonation of depression-era
boxer in ron howard movie; boxing scenes = wow
elizabethtown: terrible cam crowe misstep as long as its bad with kirsten dunst wasted in
paperthin part; soundtrack great /as usual with cc
tideland: morbid gilliam (adapted) story of abandoned lil girl in isolated house runs more like
psycholand & goes freakin nowhere
collateral: stylish haunting thriller from m mann follows hitman cruise (best perf since
magnolia) followed by cabdriver foxx in nightlit la
because i said so: avoid all movie feat. diane keaton & mandy moore as mom & daughter,
indigestion awaits @ the exit!
pieces of april: moving turkey from 1 floor to next on thxgiving; peter hedges (this is 1st film)
has great cast with pat clarkson greatest

man on fire: tony scott back to drab routine after good spy game in unending movie (146
min!) on nap-inducing kidnapping (dakota fanning)
the black dahlia: ellroy adaptation goes briandepalmaesque (as in grotesque); high on style
(those slo-mos!), short on substance=nothing new
the dark knight: heath ledger mesmerizes with eerie turn as the joker in chris nolans darkly
realistic 'batman' /probably best from series
de-lovely: poor cole porter! the flashy/flamboyant composer fell into hands of irwin winkler.
musical comedy nitemare meeting biopic in hell
the aviator: bold biopic of howard hughes c/o scorsese flies high, especially compared to
oscarwinner million $ baby; unjustly underrated
pirates of the caribbean2: depp a hoot in sequel but gore verbinskys clever take has lots of
laughs c/o cartoonish humor. great fun allround
the orphanage: impressive debut of spanish bayona has atmosphere to spare in deft mix of
family drama, gothic story & supernatural suspense
les chansons damour: alex beaupains catchy songs carry characters in this parisian story of
love&death. dir. christophe honores best 2date
kinsey: intelligent biopic of sex pioneer alfred k gives bill condon chance to question todays
sexual mores. great story, so-so direction
fish tank: she-billy elliot waiting 2 get laid (newcomer katie jarvis v good) in kenloachish
sliceoflife drama; arnolds red road was better
thirst: park chan wook's priest-turns-vampire extravaganza has blood galore & imagination to
match it; crazy but fun, with eyepopping ending
bright star: jane campions portrait of poet keats & sweetheart fanny brawne is like ornate
cookie under glass in a museum. not for diabetics
taking woodstock: sweetsmart&humorous look @ hippy utopia centering on efforts to find
place for historic gig; ang lee @ his most versatile
agora: portrait of 4th c/a.d. astronomer hypathia (rachel weisz) turns intellectual peplum in
amenabars bold take on timeless fundamentalism
antichrist: von trier goes once more kamikaze in desperate story of couples grief (part
parable/part horror) with sex-as-sickness @ its core
looking for eric: cantona ordered, ken loach obliged: catering cinema runs like tv movie with all
twists&turns expected & pub humour tagged
inglourious basterds: qts metaplay with history has hitler die in cinema & jewish executioner
squad; greatest fun comes c/o christoph waltz

the white ribbon: b&w story of violent children in pre-ww1 germany has haneke as master in
command of austere study; sort of prequel 2 cache
enter the void: dazzling&dizzying descent in2 afterlife is like von trier on acid. gaspar noes
most ambitious 2date is eyetreat & asstorture