Seen in 2005 (older)

Submitted by lukeprog on Thu, 05/05/2005 - 07:40
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  1. Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001) 6
  2. Medea (1969) 5 There aren't many movies like this one in terms of setting and subject matter, so it was pretty interesting. But the actors that surround the superb Maria Callas are weak. Also, I watched the film with subtitles, but I noticed that the Italian dialogue didn't match the actor's mouths most of the time due to bad dubbing. Pasolini was clearly a director of great vision but he always seems lacking in budget and execution.
  3. Pickpocket (1959) 8 I prefer epic, dynamic, complex movies, but I still loved this typical-Bresson, intimate, quiet picture. It reminded me very much of A Man Escaped with its focus on how-to details and quiet character revelation. The reveal shot on the child in his room was a great surprise. I found the final shot a bit overly poetic for such an otherwise unassuming human film.
  4. Luther (2003) 4 Felt like a TV movie. Poor direction. Didn't sell the period very well. Ignored some of Luther's more damnable faults (hatred of Jews, etc.) in favor of more sympathetic ones (perfectionism, etc.). Still, pretty historically accurate to my knowledge, but I can't imagine what this film brings to the table. It's a pretty weak, safe, preachy portrayl of the events and characters, and therefore a little boring. Still, Alfred Molina gives one hell of a fire-and-brimstone presentation.
  5. National Treasure (2004) 3 Lessee... a predictable paint-by-numbers script, massive leaps of logic, idiotic dialogue, poor direction, one of the worst musical scores I've ever heard... this one's got it all!
  6. Mortal Combat (1995) 1 Geez... not even the excessive gore of the game.
  7. Breaking the Waves (1996) 8 Emily Watson is sooooooooo cute! I'm pretty sure that's what this movie is about. Okay, it's about a whole lot more than that; more than most movies are 'about', but Watson's cuteness just overrides everything else for me in this movie. Heh, this is a masterpiece of Emily Watson's cuteness! Yeah, sorry, I'm too giddy about Emily Watson to write any 'real' thoughts. Damn, I love watching really great movies!
  8. Short Cuts (1993) 8 My, what a cast! I could have watched this for 3 more hours! Not as seamlessly breathless as Magnolia, but just as masterfully executed. I have a weak spot for multiple-protagonist movies, and I'm lucky that they're so often very well done. I can't really find any faults in this movie.
  9. The Human Stain (2004) 5 I dunno... just didn't work for me on the moment-by-moment scale. Maybe I'm just gettin' ornery. Or hey, you know some of those invisible qualities it's a director's hardest job to manage? Maybe they just weren't pulled off too well. Whatever; I didn't like it.
  10. Eulogy (2004) 4 Reminded me of Stuart Saves His Family, though far less funny for lacking Al Franken. This kind of quirky, dark comedy relies entirely on the inventiveness of its quirks and the success of its jokes, and this one falls flat. I kept thinking it might get better, but it didn't. So, it was just boring, and didn't sport the best acting. I quit after 45 minutes; I've got better ways to spend my time.
  11. Garden State (2004) 5 This movie is for people who love The O.C.. It's cute and cuddly and it has a great indie soundtrack, so you just gotta give it a big bear hug, but if you squeeze too hard or too long it'll pop like a balloon. It's best moments are those that have nothing to do with the story or characters, like an alligator eating a deer or a knight wandering through a kitchen and turning to look at the camera. But then it starts beating you over the head with cliche, romantic (in the pure sense) dialogue. And then it keeps clobbering you. And then it finishes with a brass knuckle. Ouch, that hurts. I hate The O.C..
  12. The Name of the Rose (1986) 6 A good murder mystery transplanted to Medieval Europe featuring snappy religious dialogue by Sean Connery and Christian Slater's penis. I found it a little too staged, and Connery's character was too Sherlock Holmes-ish, but still: good flick.
  13. Star Wars: Revelations (2005) 1 Let's get one thing straight: this is an awful, awful movie. But it's also one of the most impressive fan films ever made. And, at 47 minutes, it is 'feature-length' by AFI rules. With its wooden acting, weak script, and overabundance of CGI environments, Revelations is not much worse than the first two Star Wars prequels. Though they can't compare to those of the real Star Wars movies, the special effects are the star of the show; the film looks as good as I imagine a moderately budgeted Star Wars TV movie might look. Clive Thompson exaggerates; fans still don't make better Star Wars movies than even the Fallen Lucas.
  14. Gertrud (1964) 9 As simple and quiet as anything Dreyer ever made, though he did amp up the volume on the sets this time. This film is so handsome it almost hurts. The final shot is the simplest and somehow the most captivating. Sorry, I really can't think of anything more to say about this one, except that it held my attention much better than Ordet.
  15. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) 6 Eastwood rules. This movie has a few major problems, but as I've come to expect from Eastwood, the characters and setting were fascinating, the subject matter was unflinching, the story was quite good, and the acting was top-notch. Seriously, how did The Man With No Name become one of America's finest directors?
  16. Sansho the Bailiff (1954) 9 I actually think Ugetsu is slightly better, but this is an awesome Japanese moral fairy tale, as gorgeously shot as anything you'll ever see.
  17. /Caddyshack (1980)/ 5 This is a classic comedy to many people on the same level as Monty Python and the Holy Grail. But comedy is very subjective, and I just don't think Caddyshack is all that funny. And man do I need to stop letting my friends convince me to watch so many movies with them.
  18. 50 First Dates (2004) 3 I'd heard so many people say this movie was 'not as bad as they thought it was going to be'. It was.
  19. Alfie (2004) 5 Has 'It's cool to be non-PC' extrapolated to 'It's uncool to be PC'? But Alfie's cleanliness and preachiness are not its problems. In fact, its emptiness may not even be a fault in this case. Alfie is a triumphantly preachy, PC film about happiness and meaning. Unfortunately, it's also poorly shot & edited and it's far too obvious. It has its moments (Alfie failing to explain his aversion to implied commitment), quite a lot of them actually, but nothing quite worked because of its transparency & the sub-par direction. There is a good film here somewhere - perhaps the original? I haven't seen it. Props to Jude Law, though - talking to a camera that often and pulling it off can't be easy.
  20. Zorba the Greek (1964) 7 A delightful crowd-pleaser that succeeds because it is even more fun than it is obvious. It's darker moments are also effective. But the real fun is in its insights into culture, human nature, and the principles of living and happiness.
  21. Tabu (1931) 7 Hmmm... interesting titles. I wonder if I can download that font somewhere. - My cries of "Bullshit!" at Tabu's faux-reality were louder than for Nanook of the North but less enraged than for anything labeled 'reality TV' - Sweet! Sexy dancing chick with flawless, jiggling boobies! - but the staging is more acknowledged than with Nanook, anyway - Murnau, why isn't the camera moving? - Tabu is a bigger, busier, more narrative snapshot of exotic people and locales than Nanook, but slightly less affecting (until the ending). A good movie, but disappointing after Nosferatu and especially The Last Laugh and Sunrise.
  22. Prisoner of the Mountains (1996) 7 Almost certainly the best film ever shot & financed (partly) in Kazakhstan. The story behind this movie is even cooler than the movie itself: it was shot 20 miles from active battles between Russians and Chechens. Local Muslim guerrillas (serving as bogyguards for the cast and crew) found out that the lead actress was paid in U.S. dollars, and they took the whole crew captive until her salary was changed for rubles. Shooting then resumed as if nothing had happened. The filmmakers themselves were prisoners of the mountains!
  23. Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) 6 A feature-length music video. This doesn't mean I'll start keeping track of every music video I've seen (not that that would be very many). As a movie, I suppose it's more imaginative than most. As a music video, it's merely good. For some reason I just didn't feel that it lived up to its potential or ended up being 'extra special.'
  24. /The Incredibles (2004)/ 8 When I saw this in theaters, all I did was whine about this and that. The truth is that this is funnier and more exciting than Empire Strikes Back or Raiders of the Lost Ark. It has problems, but... dammit it's just so much fun!
  25. /Frailty (2002)/ 6 Yet again, with friends. It is a fun movie to see with people who haven't seen it, though.
  26. The Cherry Orchard (1999) 5 Blah, blah, blah, boring. There's nothing truly bad about this Chekhov adaptation, but there's nothing particularily good about it, either.
  27. Lady in the Lake (1947) 3 Did you ever read Encyclopedia Brown?? He's a smart kid who solves simple mysteries, but before he gives the solution the reader is encouraged to review the clues in each short story and find the answer for themselves. Lady in the Lake is the same thing. At the opening, Philip Marlow introduces us to the movie (paraphrase): "You'll see what I saw, hear what I heard. Pay close attention to the clues." Then, the entire movie (the 'case') is shown from Marlow's POV. If you're into idiotic dialogue ("Do you need help?" "Like I need four thumbs") and laughable acting, you might like this movie, but I found the story and technique execution extremely wooden and silly. Still, it's a cool idea that could be done far more convincingly today. A filmmaker could give his MC a pair of glasses with a camera in the bridge - I think I saw one of those on a porn site somewhere. I don't think the 'Solve the Case Yourself' approach is needed, though.
  28. Buena Vista Social Club (1999) 6 Okay, I've given up on the concept of 'mini-reviews'. These are all just 'capsule reactions'. This documentary is seperate from the kinds that are popular today: investagative (The Corporation, Fahrenheit 9/11) and narrative (Capturing the Freidmans, Spellbound). It's a quiet, slow portrait of Cuban musicians and often a concert film. I definitely prefer investigative and narrative documentaries, and I'm no big fan of Cuban music, but I have to admit to Wenders' artful handling of the material. I'm sure that in many ways this is a 'better' film than Some Kind of Monster, but because I love Metallica I'm sure to love Monster 10x more than Social Club.
  29. /Quest for Fire (1981)/ 7 Hi. My name is Luke, and I am a movie junkie.
  30. /Quest for Fire (1981)/ 7 Making a movie like this must've been an amazing experience, and the two DVD commentaries definitely reflect that. Very interesting stuff.
  31. Quest for Fire (1981) 7 Somehow I doubt Jean-Jacques Annaud will ever make what I'd call a 'masterpiece', but with Quest for Fire, The Bear, and The Name of the Rose, his films are far more interesting than those of 99% of filmmakers. I'm sure the science is fuzzy, but Annaud's dedication to the film's premise is awe-inspiring. That he managed to simultaneously give it some mainsteram appeal is also impressive. I so badly wish more films were made with this kind of vision. I'd sacrifice 100 romantic comedies and murder mysteries for another film as singular as this. And hey, must there be only one decent film about ancient man (not counting 2001)? Why not dozens, each from a filmmaker with a different vision? Please? Oh, a few criticisms: Would've been better without a musical score, the 'gift for mammoths' scene was stupid, and the ending scene was too sappy, especially for this kind of movie. Thank goodness for my old standbys, graphic sex and violence!
  32. /M (1931)/ 8 As the first real psychological thriller, M is probably even more important than it is good. For a film without any central characters it manages to be quite suspenseful during the sequences leading up to the climax. It'd be interesting to see more movies like this with an entire city being a 'character'. It's interesting to note how even a master like Lang was visually impaired by the arrival of sound (Metropolis vs. M).
  33. Holes (2003) 4 Didn't bother to finish it; too crappy.
  34. Testamento (1997) 6
  35. /Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)/ 10 I'd like to know why this DVD has basically disappeared - it's very well done! Very competant transfer of the 1954 restoration, full-length commentary, outtakes with commentary, theatrical trailer, original scenario & screenplay. Also included is a 40-minute look at what Murnau's tragically lost masterpiece, 4 Devils, might have looked like, drawn from notes, scetches, programs, drawings, and other surviving production materials.
  36. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) 10 Like credit cards and Paris Hilton, hype is evil but unavoidable. I've been trying to get my hands on Murnau's silent masterpiece for nearly a year and finally succeeded. God, it feels good to watch a film surpass the hype. Potemkin's Odessa Steps sequence may forever remain unsurpassed in silent cinema (mostly because smart people keep telling me so), but Sunrise is the apex of silent films. But anyway, it doesn't matter. It's my favorite. It appeals equally to the wannabe critic and sentimental glob in me. If you really want to know how great this film is, you can read real critics talk about the film. All I can tell you is that I love, love, love this movie! It's not without weakness, though. The sequence with the pig is too long and I don't understand why a sophisticated city dance hall plays what seems to be a 'country bumpkin' dance song. Minor weaknesses in a film as great as this, though.
  37. Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) 6 This is a good movie, quite lyrical, but it also helped to show me how great La Belle noiseuse really is.
  38. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 6 Occasionally fun, funny, and 'magical,' but loaded with serious mistakes and prickly cuteness.
  39. Shaun of the Dead (2004) 6 A change of heart. This is a funny, if simplistic and predictable movie. Good, wholesome fun for the whole family.
  40. Kagemusha (1980) 7 When a master like Kurosawa makes a 'bad' film, it isn't usually a bad film; merely a non-masterpiece. Despite its many strengths (which I won't mention - they're the same strengths as most any Kurosawa film has), I found Kagemusha to be too calculated and flat for my opinion, and too involved with the process of war and politics for my taste. And it drags a little. Also, I'm quite certain Darth Vader makes an appearance in this film.
  41. The Life of Oharu (1952) 8 I'm beginning to understand that every Mizoguchi film will be impeccably directed, edited, and paced. But it's hard to describe exactly why Oharu and others are so great in short form; it's almost as if I've added up the successes and failures and magnitude of each for every film and found Oharu and a few others to have an abnormally high score. I'm so anal. Oh, and I felt bludgeoned by
    Spoiler: Highlight to view
    Oharu's husband's death
    , but I eventually got over it, so it's cool.
  42. Osaka Elegy (1936) 7 A very good Japanese melodrama that dominates similar Hollywood fare from the same era in the directing/editing department. I've been told this is Mizoguchi's first masterpiece, and I don't quite agree, but it might be when his coming genius really began to break through.
  43. Love Actually (2003) 3 I have a new policy, one I should have adopted much sooner. If a movie is really bad and I stick around long enough to confirm that it's not going to get better, I'll quit watching it (unless I'm with friends or something). I quit watching Love Actually about 2/3 of the way through, so the '3' is an estimate, but it doesn't matter: it's a very bad movie and that's all I really want to say. Ignore that inexplicable 7.7 from IMDB users.
  44. _grau (2004) (Short) 7 Not quite abstract, but it looks that way. A visually arresting and hauntingly scored short film you can't take your eyes from. It's hard to judge a film like this, but I thought it was pretty awesome. Download.
  45. Floating Weeds (1959) 8 I was so ready to defy decades of respected film critics and complain about this movie as being blandly shot or a well-crafted soap opera or uninteresting... anything but a 'masterpiece.' But I can't do it. As much as I'd like to show some independent thought, the truth is that most of the time universally acclaimed movies really are that good, and in this case I just have to add my voice to the crowds singing the praises of Floating Weeds. Ozu isn't quite the image painter that Kurosawa or Mizoguchi are (and he doesn't aspire to be), but he's a great people painter. I always feel I'm missing a great deal of cultural references and conditions when I watch such a deeply foreign movie, but Ozu's films manage to be touching, dramatic, and uncontrived.
  46. /Down with Love (2003)/ 7 Yup, still that good.
  47. Down with Love (2003) 7 Holy crap. The most thorough parody ever. This is the only movie I can think of that is actually 'so bad it's good' (emphasis on that second half). I should count some time, but I think there might be 20 jokes a minute in this one (most of them visual). I'm stunned. I really didn't think I'd like this, or that it would be a good idea with too many mistakes. Everything works. Wow. The movie strikes a perfect Rock Hudson pose with one foot in the late 50s/early 60s and one foot in 2003. Seriously, I'm stunned at how exhaustively good this is. If I had more respect for parodies, this would be an '8'. But let's not quibble over numbers. I loved this movie.
  48. Spanglish (2004) 7 &$%! film criticism. I had more fun watching this movie than I can remember having having for a long time. Maybe I was just in a good mood because I'd been hanging out with friends all evening. Maybe I was sick of thoroughly respecting but only half-enjoying foreign classics. Maybe this film made me feel great about life, about dreams, about joy and despair. Intellectually this is an absolute '7' - very well done with great characters and humor but quite obvious. I respect people who can watch and write about film better than I, and I will continue to read them. But this made me feel alive. I laughed hard and often, I believed in and loved some characters, and somehow I was left feeling just so damn great. I'm not high. The timing and delivery of the comedy in this movie was absolutely perfect for my tastes. Gahhhh... I won't even leave you with a brief apology that I haven't written a real review. I feel great. I feel great.
  49. Throne of Blood (1957) 9 Geez. How many masterpieces has this Kurosawa fellow made? I've seen 7 Kurosawa films now, and they were all masterpieces (if memory serves, which it frequently doesn't). It's hard to say in short form what makes masterful works like Ugetsu or Throne of Blood so incredible because it's all the little things. Each camera move, each set, each character action, each spoken line, each plot development is handled with skill and verve. But I guess one way to remark about films like these is why they add up to more than the sum of these parts. Throne of Blood is a special triumph because
  50. The Burmese Harp (1956) 8 Who am I deceiving? Only myself, I hope. I'm no film critic. I've little talent or training for watching film, interpreting film, analyzing film, or writing about film. But like anyone else, I can tell you what I like and don't like. And I don't like musicals. Usually. But like most great musicals, The Burmese Harp is an unusual one. Japanese soldiers in Burma learn of their nation's surrender and the destruction of their homeland. They fear for their honor, their families, and their lives. They keep up their spirits with songs. If you think that sounds like a story ill-suited to film, you're right. But The Burmese Heart is told with heart, care, and cultural insight. Besides, it's not really a musical anyway.
  51. Sideways (2004) 7 I'm a convicted Rosenbaum fan, and I disagree with him as often as not, but he's right on the money regarding Sideways: "flawlessly executed -- in the same way that a Fig Newton can be flawless" (and actually, I don't think it's quite flawless). Perhaps too calculated, but then I love Chinatown. Wonderful story, wonderful dialogue, a few great scenes, deep characters, so why did it leave me feeling... empty? Don't get me wrong: I loved this movie and it is very well crafted, but it's missing something (and it ain't 'heart'). Bah, who knows. I was probably just tired when I watched it.
  52. Closer (2004) 5 If there's a moral to this immoral tale, it's honesty. So I'll be honest. When preposterously quick-witted dialogue is charming and fun in a Grant/Hepburn movie, it lifts my spirits and gives me a good time. When preposterously quick-witted dialogue in Closer bludgeons me repeatedly with malice and despair, it's somewhat less fun. I can respect a movie I don't enjoy, but I don't hold Closer in high regard. While much of it works, I found the film too indulgent and pretentious, and a little soulless. And no, a happy ending wouldn't have given it a soul. P.S. I didn't care for the score/soundtrack. P.P.S. Or Portman's performance.
  53. Mr. Theobald (2005) (Short) 7 For every talented (short) filmmaker enabled by internet distribution there are 1000 talentless hacks that flood the web with worthless trash. Simon Burrill, director of Mr. Theobald, has talent. Theobald is a workforce automaton who daydreams his way to unemployment and meets a young woman on the way home. The story is told with visual wit, humor, and powerful Buñuelian surrealism and is surprisingly unforgettable. Certainly, this would've been a classic had it been made in the 20s or 30s, but it is still impressive today. Seriously, check it out.
  54. /American Beauty (1999)/ 8 I was recording my fan commentary track for the movie.
  55. /American Beauty (1999)/ 8
  56. /American Beauty (1999)/ 8 What I love so much about American Beauty is that it finds beauty in human messiness and ugliness, and that it confounds or common 'wisdom' and morality. The most 'together', capable character is a drug dealer. The
    Spoiler: Highlight to view
    character most outspoken about sex is a virgin.
    Lester is a hero for comforting and supporting the confused Angela during the same scene in which
    Spoiler: Highlight to view
    he, a middle-aged man, intended to sleep with this high school girl.
    The dialogue, scenes, and characters, are flawlessly constructed, even if everything is pushed to the surface so there's really no need to 'look closer'. It's not perfect, but it is beautiful.
  57. Pixote (1981) 9 Maybe you've noticed my reviews' shallowness, even considering the mini-review format. I typically eschew discussion of some elements that are important in most great art - culture, politics, philosophy, and religion - in favor of only two considerations: (1) narrative effectiveness and (2) 'filmic' art, which to me means the composition and juxtaposition of frames. I wish this note prefaced an announcement that I was changing my ways and becoming a more thorough movie reviewer, but instead it leads to an apology that I will continue to gloss over those elements that require deep research and long thought. Thankfully, Pixote opens with an introduction to the socio-political concerns of Pixote by the director, so I can quote directly: 28 million Brazilian children live below the U.N. standards for children's rights (or did, in 1981), and none of them can be prosecuted, so of course crime is ubiquitous. Pixote is the story of one of these impoverished, crime-driven kids. Some people might complain that the film doesn't depict the average Brazilian street kid at all. It doesn't, and that's not the point - like every movie, this one amplifies reality. And I loved it. Its beauty of ugliness overwhelmed me. A film like this could never be made in the United States, unfortunately (and perhaps for legitimate reasons). Rarely will you witness such fascinating characters and scenes. Films like this one expose almost everything else as hopelessly boring.
  58. Ugetsu (1953) 9 It's not fair. I've used up all my hyperbole describing the fantabulificent shots of other great films and have no words left with which to convince you that Ugetsu is even more impressive. The story and characters that populate these painterly images are less subtle than Ozu's and less poetic than Kurosawa's but just as heartfelt. Mizoguchi me up, DVD! If the 60s belonged to France and Italy, the 50s belonged to Japan.
  59. Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948) 6 A thoroughly competant movie, but not one that played my heartstrings like It's a Wonderful Life or even Random Harvest. I've heard Orphuls described as a 'great' filmmaker, but I didn't see anything 'great' about this movie. It's merely 'good'.
  60. EarthQuake! (2002) (Short) 5
  61. Non-Abductees Anonymous (2002) (Short) 4
  62. Coda (2003) (Short) 5
  63. Fish Never Sleep (2002) (Short) 5
  64. Sleep (2001) (Short) 6
  65. Pishadoo (1998) (Short) 4
  66. Tenth (2002) (Short) 3
  67. Ready (2002) (Short) 6
  68. Dad's Dead (2002) (Short) 6
  69. The World of Interiors (2001) (Short) 6
  70. John and Mia (2002) (Short) 6 A very simple story about a 52-year-old truck driver who discovers his own daughter in an adult video he rents. It's one of those 'duh' ideas that is perfect for a short film. Unlike most of the films on Shorts! Vol 1, John and Mia is not remotely artistic, and not at all creative in its presentation of the story. Still, it's the one that most affected me on an emotional level, even if it's not much to talk about as film art.
  71. In Absentia (2002) (Short) 6
  72. Dreamscapes (2003) (Short) 6
  73. The Chinese Wall (2002) (Short) 6
  74. What's Wrong with This Picture? (2002) (Short) 5
  75. The Bone Snatcher (2003) 1 I guess this is a 'B' or 'C' movie and it's supposed to be laughably idiotic, horribly acted, and more derivative than Shrek 2. It succeeds.
  76. Sin City (2005) 6 The slickest, pulpiest, most brutal flick in town. The sugary-sweet style drips - no, sprays - off the screen, body parts are attached to each other as often as not, stoic antiheroes leak world-weary narration from multiple bullet wounds, and sin saturates it all. Though there are almost as many weak moments (Minion 8's unending, bemused surprise at the arrow protruding from his chest) as strong ones (Nancy seducing Hartigan), the film's style and scenes are done with such panache (precisely what Sky Captain lacked) that you can't help but be a little awed by its ballsy gallsy gory glory.
  77. Last Year at Marienbad (1961) 9 This movie brought me what could be called an epiphany. It's a 'difficult', experimental, different-for-the-sake-of-different film, and I loved it from the start. I'll definitely have to see L'Avventura and others again to see if my reaction will be different. Marienbad is a trancelike film with a deliberate lack of continuity, plot and conclusion. It concerns a man and woman at a ritzy hotel who may or may not have seen each other last year at Marienbad, but the story does not develop and we never know the truth about them. This film isn't really about the story anyway. Time starts and stops for individuals at varying times in the same shot, characters 'teleport' in the middle of scenes to different places or into different costumes, shots repeat themselves with different in-frame results, and much of the dialogue is nonsensical. The hotel interior and surrounding grounds provide plenty to entertain the eye if frozen characters and pointless dialogue bore. Essentially, the film asks many questions that (I think) nobody thought to ask before about the nature of narrative film and space and time and characters. I don't think it answers those questions, but it's fascinating to watch them being asked. I suspect this is one of those films that was 'highly influential' for... ten later films. Oh well, popularity shopularity. (Anybody catch that Farkian alternate meaning?)
  78. /Bloody Sunday (2002)/ 8
  79. Bloody Sunday (2002) 8 The first third is a kind of political High Noon. The second third is a gut-wrenching, insane, nasty war. The final third is a desperate search for justification and a despairing picture of a horrific reality that has only worsened. It's clear with whom director Paul Greengrass sides, but he does show several British officers and troops displeased with the decisions of their superiors and subordinates and in just as much confusion as the protestors. He also does a wonderful job of developing his major characters despite the austere documentary style (I turned subtitles on to know what they were saying). The documentary style (fade-outs, no music, handheld camera, no staged lighting) creates a fantastic 'you are there' atmosphere which makes the massacre far more potent: it's not a 'good story' you're watching; its people. And they're being murdered. I think I actually prefer this to the also-fantastic Battle of Algiers.
  80. Victim (1961) 7 I was inspired to watch this film by AJDaGreat's comments on it. Since I completely agree with what he has written, I'll take the lazy way out and quote him: "Far from an overtly political film, Victim is a wonderful character drama and a wonderful mystery. It is in every sense an entertaining film, and any political message than one reads arises naturally from the story... In films today a homosexual character is either a topic of a joke (e.g. School of Rock) or a dark, emotionally distant person (e.g. Far From Heaven). It's shocking how few homosexuals are actually portrayed as multi-dimensional characters in Hollywood. But I digress. Victim resists making such an overt statement; it's far subtler, which leaves room for plenty of character development and plot, and I applaud it for that. The acting is excellent across the board, and the direction evokes a great portrait of 1960s London."
  81. Puce Moment (1949) (Short) 5 What makes a confused lightplay like Return to Reason wonderful and a series of flapping dresses and actress poses not? If I could articulate that I'd be a salaried movie critic. So, ignore me and go see what a salaried movie critic has to say abot this film.
  82. /Un Chien Andalou (1929)/ (Short) 9 Now that I've embraced the fact that it all means nothing, it's easier for me to recognize this as one of the greatest films of all time. No later surreal film I've seen has evoked such a compelling dream/nightmare world or been so memorable. And it probably helps that it's so short - in small doses it's great but I wouldn't want to swallow a pound of sugar. Download it now.
  83. /Return to Reason (1923)/ (Short) 7 A complete experiment, but an extremely interesting one for 1923. I don't care if it means anything or not. And hey! Boobies! Download it now.
  84. /The City of Lost Children (1995)/ 6 Definitely the most Gilliam-esque film not directed by Terry Gilliam that I've seen. From the director of Amelie, it's a French, R-rated biazzare fantasy kid's film starring Ron Perlman (who doesn't speak French but reportedly delivers his French lines flawlessly with the intended Russian accent). It's a pretty good story pretty well told, but really the weirdness is the most fun part anyway. The relationship between Ron Perlman's circus strongman and child gangleader Miette was especially interesting.
  85. The City of Lost Children (1995) 6
  86. Spartan (2004) 6 A good thriller that tackles two subjects I always love to see get attention: the American sex slave trade industry and (really, really) corrupt politics. Though it suffers from the usual ratio of plot twists to plot holes for this kind of complex movie, Spartan is mostly very effective.
  87. Don't Be A Menace (1996) 1 I'll admit I laughed a few times at this spoof of 'growing up in the hood' movies, but mostly I was outraged at how bad it was.
  88. Napoleon (1927) 9 Damn you, Jazz Singer! We don't want sound yet! Just as silent films were getting really flippin' great, sound came in and restricted everything to blandly shot stageplays. Napoleon is a fantastic silent epic that surpassed my very high expectations for it. It's an absolute masterpiece, and quite an enjoyable one. In fact, I'll bet it could be remade today, scene for scene (with an hour cut out) and be an assured blockbuster. Two sequences in particular are among the best in all silent cinema: the opening snowball fight and the justly famous finale, which anticipated widescreen 30 years before Cinemarama. Oh, and man I've been watching a lot of long movies recently. Dick Tracy: 4.8 hrs. Les Vampires: 6.6 hrs. Napoleon: 4 hrs.
  89. /Finding Neverland (2004)/ 7 Like Bazooka Bubblegum or Audrey Hepburn, Finding Neverland is so delightful it hurts but you forgive it. And once again, Johnny Depp gives the best performance of the year (that I've seen). P.S. This is not a biopic.
  90. Finding Neverland (2004) 7
  91. Les Vampires (1915) 6 (Serial) My film rating method depends heavily on the assertion that not all genres are created equal. The best chop-socky flick ain't the best screwball comedy ain't the best art film. With their ridiculous gimicks, repetive plot, and oblique... everything, serial films are just a notch above chop-socky. Les Vampires is probably as good as they get, though. Just don't try to watch it (or any serial) in one sitting. If you want just a taste, try episode 8... it's the best.
  92. Dick Tracy (1937) 3 (Serial) As expected, another worthless serial film not worth discussing.
  93. The Motorcycle Diaries (2004) 6 Yet another successful but formulaic road movie. Even when it's based on a true story, everything that doesn't fit the formula gets stripped away, everything that fits the formula best is emphasized, and whatever's missing from the formula is made up. Don't get me wrong, though; they always do it this way because it's a good formula, and Motorcycle Diaries plays the formula well. It's just not anything special.
  94. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964) 5 Why must so many Jesus films have so much going for them and fail for totally different reasons? Passion of the Christ had good performances, cinematography and scoring, and a marvelous decision to film in the original languages, but it was pointless, weak, and simply didn't work. Jesus of Nazareth was beautifully acted and shot, but its fusion of ancient times with modern values and customs was ridiculous. The Gospel According to St. Matthew avoids those problems but brings its own: it's stiflingly literal and features poor acting, even ignoring the awful English dubbing on the DVD.
  95. Closely Watched Trains (1966) 7 As a Graduate-esque coming-of-age tale, Closely Watched Trains is wonderfully uncomfortable. And with its direction and editing, I would be surprised if this is one of the best Czech films ever made. The political themes add another layer of intrigue, but the plot (subplot?) that comes with them should've been better developed or cut altogether, and it somewhat spoils the movie, especially the unepected and pointless 'finale.' Nearly a masterpiece.
  96. Employee of the Month (2004) 2 Reeks of amateur direction and especially writing and a million "Hey, I saw that once in a good movie - if I put it in mine it'll make my movie good, too!" decisions. It's head-bashingly idiotic, a flaw compounded by its apparent infatuation with its own (non-) cleverness in countless twists and uppity dialogue.
  97. Scent of a Woman (1992) 5 Most of this movie is perfectly decent in an '80s moral tale' way, but there are two awful scenes. One involves the blind Pacino character flooring a Ferrari perfectly down the center of a strangely empty back street and then talking his way out of a speeding/'driving blind without a license' ticket. The other terrible scene is the most critical one in the movie, in which the Pacino gives a speech that reveals the 'high morality' of the film to be "Don't be a snitch, especially if the school headmaster is a snude." Seriously, you won't believe how bad this scene gets as it keeps going. And Pacino's performance is vastly overrated, but: respected veteran actor + 'blind man' role = Oscar.
  98. Leaving Las Vegas (1995) 6
  99. The Stepford Wives (1975) 5
  100. /Dark City (1998)/ 3 I had fond memories of this movie. They've been rewritten (with a rewatch). This film was conceived of a few good ideas and themes (which are shockingly similar to those of The Matrix), but the score is bad, the acting is bad, the script is so-so, the shot selection is bad, and the editing is awful. Geez, let me take a breath. Let the scene mean something. Let it sink in. I had to check to make sure I wasn't watching some TV-edited version of the movie. Terrible, terrible editing that irked me unabated.
  101. /Star Wars (1977)/ 7
  102. /Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)/ 5
  103. /Fight Club (1999)/ 7
  104. /L.A. Confidential (1997)/ 8
  105. /Memento (2000)/ 8
  106. /Training Day (2001)/ 6
  107. /Unforgiven (1992)/ 8
  108. /Unbreakable (2000)/ 6
  109. Barry Lyndon (1975) 7
  110. The Professional (1994) 6
  111. /Chinatown (1974)/ 9 Perhaps the most perfect movie to ever come from Hollywood. Every scene is precisely perfect and causes the next, every character is cleverly developed, every subplot is woven perfectly, every line of dialogue is great, every twist is truly shocking. The acting is superb, and the setting is beautifully realized. After these terrible reviewing shortcuts, I'll draw attention to one specific moment. When Gittes throws Evelyn down on the couch and she explains,
    Spoiler: Highlight to view
    "She's my sister and my daughter"
    , it's the most shocking moment of the film - an incredibly powerful instant. But instead of letting this sink in, the moment is interrupted by a 'common sense' issue: Evelyn's assistant has heard the noise and descends the stairs, but Evelyn tells him to go back upstairs. Most movies would ignore this 'logistical' issue and let the power of the moment percolate, and the audience wouldn't notice that the assistant was strangely deaf to the noise, anyway. But Chinatown is too perfect for even this tiny conceit.
  112. A Perfect World (1993) 5 Somehow Eastwood managed to turn this stellar story and edgy material into clichéd, 'safe', unbelievable tripe. In its ambitions and the messages it could've preached, it's a noble failure, but definitely a failure. The kid's loyalty, affection, and especially trust for Butch could've been supported by abusive parents, but Philip defends his mother at the end. The movie could've had wonderful (read: daring) things to say about its characters and societal stereotypes, but instead opted for a safer route by concluding things as we'd expect. It feels like there's a fantastic movie in here silenced and redressed by studios (or Eastwood) as yet another pseudo-edgy high concept flick.
  113. The Outsiders (1983) 4
  114. /Nosferatu (1922)/ 8
  115. Touching the Void (2003) 7 Some people on this planet are friggin' morons. These people scale the most excruciatingly painful and reliably fatal mountain faces... for fun. Then, after the mountain kicked their asses and they just barely made it out of hell with their lives, they do it again as soon as possible. Friggin' morons. Sure makes for a great movie, though.
  116. Before Sunset (2004) 8 It's a romance, sure, but most people don't know it also belongs the horror genre. Here are my running thoughts on the film: Ah, this is great... ... oh, great... ... ...yes, thank God this is so great... ...mmhmm, yes... ...oh shit, his plane is coming... ...yes, get on the boat... ...damn, that's the dock in the background! No, don't end! ... ...Get in the car, please get in the car!... whew... ... No, don't leave!... ...yes, thank goodness... ...no, don't let it end!... ... ...oh, shit, how are they going to end this... damn, I have no idea... ... ...ohhhhhh... yessssssss...
  117. AVP: Alien Vs. Predator (2004) 1
  118. The Stepford Wives (2004) 3
  119. /The Graduate (1967)/ 8
  120. Young Adam (2003) 6 This is a good idea that results in a good movie, and nothing more. And now I'll take a moment to talk about Ewan McGregor's penis (surprise!). Its appearance in the film is unnecessary, but of course it doesn't weaken or improve the film. I think good (not 'great') movies that happen to have gratuitous, explicit male nudity like Young Adam, The Cooler, and The Dreamers are slowly bringing a sort of 'equality' to the screen; we've been seeing explicit female nudity regularly for decades, and finally males are joining in the game. I'm not saying this is good or bad, but I think the same danger we've had with the history of female nudity in film is relevant. Just as men may develop unreasonable expectations for the women in their lives from seeing so many busty, perfectly sculpted nude women in films, I'll bet women may develop unreasonable expectations for the men in their lives if the only dicks they see in movies are of the well-hung Ewan McGregor/Vincent Gallo variety. On a related note, explicit lesbian scenes have become less rare in film recently, but gay (male) love scenes are still absent from mainstream cinema. That's another 'inequality' I won't judge from a good/bad standpoint. As soon as studios think explicit gay sex scenes will increase the box office of a movie, though, I don't doubt they'll shoot them. I think they correctly sense that most people in the U.S. still don't want to see that even though most of us are up for a steamy lesbian scene.
  121. Springtime in a Small Town (2002) 4 A slightly above-average soap opera with abominable acting. I'm normally 'race-blind' to Oriental acting, and I don't speak Mandarin, but the performances in this film are so bad even I noticed. I can't imagine what it's zealous fans see in it.
  122. /Persona (1966)/ 9
  123. /Persona (1966)/ 9
  124. /Magnolia (1999)/ 8
  125. The Hustler (1961) 8
  126. Flatliners (1990) 3
  127. /Trainspotting (1996)/ 8
  128. /Wings of Desire (1987)/ 9
  129. /Persona (1966)/ 9
  130. /Persona (1966)/ 9
  131. /Persona (1966)/ 9
  132. The Kid Stays In the Picture (2002) 6
  133. Give Us This Day (1949) 6
  134. /The Shipping News (2001)/ 7 Cate Blanchett disappears into her role, Judi Dench gives a wonderful performance without acting for a second, and Kevin Spacey plays a similar character to Lester from American Beauty but gives an even better performance here. Despite every character and plot point essentially being grafted from a hundred other stories, the delight is in the details that seperate it from its peers. This is why good stories can still be written even though there are no new stories.
  135. The Shipping News (2001) 7
  136. Bringing Out the Dead (1999) 6
  137. /One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)/ 8
  138. /American History X (1998)/ 6 There's a really great story hiding in here but it's outshined by Norton's performance and buried in poor dialogue. And too much slow-motion photography. And a ridiculous score during a basketball game. But I love that I thought some points of Norton's racist arguments were momentarily convincing. Hitler was probably even more convincing, and that's why millions of intelligent, rational people embarked on a slaughterfest. I guess I just love a good mindfuck. But the film didn't quite live up to its ideas.
  139. /Being John Malkovich (1999)/ 8
  140. /The Last Laugh (1924)/ 9
  141. /American Beauty (1999)/ 8
  142. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) 3
  143. /Umberto D. (1952) 8
  144. The Battle (1911) (Short) 4
  145. Swords and Hearts (1911) (Short) 3
  146. His Trust Fulfilled (1910) (Short) 4
  147. His Trust (1910) (Short) 5
  148. The Fugitive (1910) (Short) 4
  149. The House With Closed Studies (1910) (Short) 4
  150. In the Border States (1910) (Short) 5
  151. /The Birth of a Nation (1915)/ 8
  152. Easy Virtue (1928) 4
  153. Blackmail (1929) 5
  154. Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972) 5
  155. Day for Night (1973) 8 I could've watched this forever. As a definite movie lover, everything in this film about making films fascinated me. It's like the ultimate set of 'behind the scenes, on the set' documentaries. Now I want every major director to make a film like this chronicling their experiences in making movies. Peter Jackson especially.
  156. /Blowup (1966)/ 8 Like La Dolce Vita and the paparazzi, Blowup is a fascinating picture of 60's London swingers. Somewhere in here there's also a strange and occasionally very tense plot about a man discovering a murder in his own photographs. The tensest scenes play without any score at all, and they're more powerful that way. The mystery goes unsolved, and somehow didn't leave me wondering because I was more interested in the unnamed central character and his surroundings than the murder - never thought I'd say that!
  157. Blowup (1966) 8
  158. /A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)/ 5 Not nearly as good as I remember. Stuffed with fantabulous ideas, but it's clear that Speilberg is no Kubrick. There's way too much thorough explaining and 'look what we can do with CGI!' and not enough mystery and magic. Speilberg only takes his ideas as far as he thinks mainstream tastes and a PG-13 rating will allow, which is pretty close to where they begin. It's surprising how many scenes don't work at all. The only ten minutes that I thought really worked were from when the world froze to when the blue fairy started explaining everything. Everything else was beautiful and full of potential but ultimately unsuccessful.
  159. /Citizen Kane (1941)/ 10
  160. /The Seventh Seal (1957)/ 10
  161. I &#9829 Huckabees (2004) 6
  162. /The Shining (1980)/ 9
  163. La Belle noiseuse (1991) 8
  164. /Rear Window (1954)/ 9
  165. /Frailty (2002)/ 6 This is a merely decent execution of two abnormally fantastic ideas:
    Spoiler: Highlight to view
    (1) A single-parent father goes nutso and becomes a serial killer, thinking he is acting for God. One of his young sons believes his father is right, the other doesn't. (2) As the end of the film reveals, the father is not insane - he really does have special powers and is called by God to destroy demons (and the same goes for the 'believing' son).
    (At least, that's my reading.) I'm dying to know what ideas like this would result in if someone like Kubrick was at the helm. The 'current day' portion of the film is entirely unnecessary.
  166. /A Clockwork Orange (1971)/ 9
  167. The Relaxed Wife (1957) (Short) 1 (but funny as hell)
  168. /Pulp Fiction (1994)/ 9
  169. /Heavenly Creatures (1994)/ 7
  170. 11'09''01 - September 11 (2002) 6 Several short films about different peoples' reactions to September 11th. Some good ones (#1, #2, #8) and couple bad ones (#3, #7) average this one out to just above mediocre.
  171. /Resevoir Dogs (1992)/ 8
  172. /The Godfather Part II (1974)/ 9
  173. /The Godfather (1972)/ 9
  174. Ray (2004) 5
  175. /Requiem for a Dream (2000)/ 9
  176. /Powers of Ten (1977)/ (Short) 7
  177. /Men in Black (1997)/ 6
  178. Bob le flambeur (1955) 8
  179. /Mulholland Drive (2001)/ 10 Like Kubrick's 2001, this is a gorgeous and stunning film even if you don't understand it. But it's even better if you can make sense of it. And for me, finally making sense of this movie was even more rewarding than it was with 2001. In the end, 2001 is a rather simple but beautiful film. Mulholland Drive has so many layers of meaning and gorgeous interplay that even after my fourth viewing I feel I could watch it several more times and always get something more from it (and don't think I won't do just that!). Explaining my own take on the film (not that I'm the only one to interpret it that way) is beyond the scope of this minireview, and has potential to detract from your own interpretation (though I'm willing to share in <spoiler> if you like). I'm telling you, this is one of the 20 best movies ever made, and fully worthy of the elusive 10/10 on my harsh rating scale. I'll be surprised if we get another film this good this decade.
  180. /Mulholland Drive (2001)/ 10
  181. /Mulholland Drive (2001)/ 10
  182. My Life to Live (1962) 9
  183. /Black Narcissus (1947)/ 8
  184. Black Narcissus (1947) 8
  185. /A Fish Called Wanda (1988) 8
  186. /Powers of Ten (1977)/ (Short) 7
  187. /King Arthur (2004)/ 2
  188. /Evil Dead II (1987)/ 5
  189. /Swimming Pool (2003)/ 5
  190. /Almost Famous (2000)/ 7 A movie that follows all the classic rules of filmic storytelling and proves they can still work. Scarily, Crudup's central character nearly sinks the film, but there's enough else that excells to love this movie. I've mentioned its triumph of classical filmmaking principles, so I don't need to tell you about all the great characters, scenes, subplots, insights, humor, and of course behind-the-scenes scoops. Kate Hudson's performance is especially exceptional. My brother watched this with me and when William told Penny that Russel sold her and Penny turned to him with a weak smile, he said, "That's the saddest face I've ever seen." Ditto.
  191. Girl, Interrupted (1999) 6
  192. Jesus of Nazareth (1977) (Mini) 5
  193. Aventurera (1950) 4 I don't hate melodrama by default. But it is usually done with unforgiveable laziness and stupidity, and Aventurera is no exception. And I'm not part of the 'so bad it's good' camp. It's a very important picture in a very bad way; in part, it inspired the godawful musical melodramas that dominate the screens in Latin America and India today. Cinematography better than it deserves and several above-par musical numbers elevate it from shit to garbage.
  194. The Castaway on the Street of Providence (1970) (Short)
  195. The Discreet Charms of the Bourgeouise (1972) 9
  196. Blind Shaft (2003) 7
  197. My Darling Clementine (1946) 8
  198. Shadowlands (1993) 6
  199. /Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)/ 9 This is one of the clearest statements on the importance of screenwriting ever made. Kaufman's brilliant script is one of the best ever written (yeah, you heard me). It shapes and enables everything. I hated Kirsten Dunst's performance in Spider-Man 2, but here she shines because she's given good dialogue and action to perform with. Jim Carrey, too, gives his best performance here. Kate Winslet is nearly unrecognizable (thought not as unrecognizable as Cameron Diaz in Being John Malkovich), which means she also gave a great performance. I'd also like to think that Kaufman's script suggested Gondry's excellent direction, but Gondry still deserves full credit (in the same way Pirates' script suggested Depp's performance, but Depp still deserves full credit). As much as I adore Being John Malkovich, it's stunning how superior ESotSM is. Kaufman has finally harnessed his stunning talent and originality into a script with heart, social importance, and a solid ending. Though I'm sure he'd hate it, Kaufman deserves to be a superstar.
  200. Open City (1945) 8 A common fault of Neo-Realist pictures is their sentimentality. An overtly melodramatic score doesn't help Open City. But it's clear that films like this are more than just movies. They are the record of a people - no, the heart of a people and a time. Perhaps these films are beyond criticism. Trying to review the mettle of Open City as film feels like trying to review the Holy Bible as literature. Yet, The Battle of Algiers shows that one can make an important, relevant record of deeply emotional events without the sentimentality. But I can't find it within me to fault Neo-Realist directors for letting their hearts show through their deeply personal pictures.
  201. Breaking Away (1979) 6
  202. The Battle of Algiers (1965) 8
  203. The Boys from Brazil (1978) 3
  204. /The King of Comedy (1983)/ 7
  205. Code Unknown (2000) 7
  206. The King of Comedy (1983) 7
  207. Shoah (1985) 5 This is a 9.5 hour Holocaust documentary with no archival footage - just interviews with survivors of the camps and surroudning villages. Its length is unjustified by its lazy pace and unfocused agenda. We're left with a sprawling mess of accounts that are sometimes surprising and powerful, sometimes dry and boring (a lengthy, uncut examination of train schedules comes to mind). There's also no reason for this to be a film - it would be just as effective as a book with some glossy photo pages. It doesn't utilize any of the particular strengths of the film medium, and it doesn't reward its epic length. If used as a massive archive of bits and pieces of Holocaust data, it's not too bad. As a film, it fails.
  208. Gerry (2002) 6
  209. The Wages of Fear (1953) 8
  210. Besieged (1998) 6
  211. Monsieur Verdoux (1947) 5
  212. All the King's Men (1949) 7
  213. A Wrinkle in Time (2003) (TV) 2
  214. 6ixtynin9 (1999) 6
  215. Yi yi (2000) 7
  216. /The General (1927)/ 8
  217. A Fistful of Dollars (1964) 7
  218. Napoleon Dynamite (2004) 4
  219. White (1994) 8
  220. Shrek 2 (2004) 5
  221. The Passion of The Christ (2004) 4
  222. Transformers: The Movie (1986) 0
  223. Ong-Bak (2003) 1
  224. Sombra dolorosa (2004) (Short)
  225. Sissy Boy Slap Party (1995) (Short)
  226. A Trip to the Orphanage (2004) (Short)
  227. The Saddest Music in the World (2003) 7
  228. Red (1994) 8
  229. Hoop Dreams (1994) 5
  230. The Player (1992) 8
  231. Infernal Affairs (2002) 7
  232. My Voyage to Italy (1999) 6
  233. Blue (1994) 8
  234. Cold Comfort Farm (1995) (TV) 5
  235. St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) 4
  236. Henry V (1989)
  237. Diabolique (1955) 7
  238. Shaun of the Dead (2004) 5
  239. Troy (2004) 4
  240. Aparajito (1957)
  241. L’Argent (1983)
  242. The Fly (1986) 7
  243. Naked Lunch (1991)
  244. Orpheus (1949)
  245. Cinema Paradiso (1989) 8
  246. The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
  247. The Scarlet Claw (1944)
  248. Bringing Up Baby (1938) 8
  249. Hero (2002)
  250. See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989)
  251. /Elephant (2003)/ 7 Van Sant reigns in the technical excess of Gerry for this shockingly realistic portrayl of high school life. The characters are likable not because they kiss puppies or spout witty remarks, but because we see their naked, unscripted, ordinary lives. We see a young man take the wheel from his drunk dad and later warn people not to enter the dangerous school building but not physically stop them. We see a homely teenage girl stare at the floor as cheerleader molds joke about her. We see a photographer quietly hang his negatives by himself and walk down a hall casually greeting friends. I care about them even more because they aren't living to impress me or make me care about them. They're just... living. That's rare and beautiful, as is this entire film. A few fixable weaknesses keep this from being a masterpiece.
  252. Elephant (2003) 7
  253. The Testament of Orpheus (1960)
  254. Phantasm (1979) 1
  255. The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
  256. Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
  257. Before Night Falls (2000)
  258. Raising Victor Vargas (2002) 6
  259. Dummy (2002) 5
  260. Born on the Fourth of July (1989) 4
  261. Tupac: Resurrection (2003) 4
Author Comments: 

I ran out of room here, so I had to split the list. This is the latter (older) half.

These reviews are old, incorrect, and outdated. Reviews I can still stand by are here, rated on a 5-star scale.

Cloned From: 
Seen in 2005 Part I