Last movie you saw and rate it

Fallen Angels: 9/10
High and Low: 9/10
Vivre Sa Vie: 9.5/10

Travellers and Magicians (2003) by Khyentse Norbu

Beautiful, just breathtaking beautiful. One of the first films to be shot entirely in the Kingdom of Bhutan. I must post some screencaps later.

For Those who think Young….inane 60s beach movie with James Darren and Pamela Tiffen. It’s of note (I guess) for featuring a pre-Gilligan’s Island Bob Denver & Tina Louise as well as Nancy Sinatra in her film debut. And Ellen Burstyn as an uptight college professor. Paul Lynde is in it too…’nuf said

Clean (2004, France-Canada). Olivier Assayas.
3/4

Chan Is Missing (1982, USA). Wayne Wang
3/4

Bruno – 3/4
Scenes From a Marriage – 3.5/4

I agree with Rumplesink – Blow Up was over-rated. . . Fire on the Plain much, much better.
However, overall Antonioni may have been the greater film director between him and Ichikawa . . . then again, they were so different, maybe we shouldn’t try to compare them.

As well,

Public Enemies (2009): **** (out of ****)
Exceptional epic, but I think many people misunderstand it. They say there’s not enough character development in it, but I think that’s because Michael Mann is trying to focus on the culture and iconism of history, not actually history itself.

Grand Meaulnes (1967): **** (out of ****)
Rapturous, in a nutshell.

One Week (2008): 3 and a half (out of ****)
Humbling.

-

Blaise Pascal: 5/6
To Catch a Thief: 1/6
Two Lovers: 3/6
Danton: 4/6

A Scanner Darkly: 7/10

JCVD – 4/5 (or 8/10 if you prefer).
A completely unconventional heist movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as himself. JCVD basically plays a fictional version of himself, although everything leading up to the events of that day could be biographical. The aging, washed up and broke action star finds himself in the middle of a very real bank hostage situation. The juxtaposition of reality and Hollywood fiction are an important theme throughout the film. Credit is due to French director Mabrouk El Mechri for rooting JCVD in a very realistic character. While the film is shot very stylistically, everything seems very natural and realistic. JCVD is nothing more than a man, not a super hero like he is in the movies. He is flawed, he can get hurt and above all he doesn’t try to be the hero. To Van Damme’s credit he plays the role very well. Even though he is playing himself, the role allows him to show that he is a decent actor and can play a different kind of role. The film isn’t without its flaws, but even without the intrigue of JCVD playing himself, the movie holds up as a compelling thriller.

Funny People – 5/5 (9/10)

Lilith: 7.5/10
Code Unknown: 7/10
The English Patient: 8/10
I Heart Huckabees: 5/10
Les Chanson d’amour: 9/10

The Magnificent Seven: Seven

Bruno 7.74 (the audience kind of screwed it up for me though)

Aguirre, Wrath of God. Hmm, this is a tricky one…I’ll give it a 67/100.

@Rumplesink That one took some time for me to appreciate. Herzog is master at filming the wilderness and that movie is simply a beautiful thing to behold. Read up on the filming of it for an interesting story. Also, check out ‘Fitzcarraldo’, which I enjoyed more than Aguirre, but at the same time made me appreciate it more too.

eyes wide shut

10/10

Last couple months

The Best:
Intentions of Murder
The Insect Woman
Drag Me to Hell
Optical Vacuum
Away We Go
Whatever Works

The Good:
Tokyo Sonata
Waltz with Bashir
The Girlfriend Experience
Yeast
Public Enemies
You’re Gonna Miss Me
Beautiful Girls

The Bad:
Franklyn
The International
Revolver
Duplicity

The Ugly:
Downloading Nancy
Bronson
Woods are Wet: Woman’s Hell
The Woman With Red Hair
New Tokyo Decadence: The Slave

@Alex Stajos – Yes, I’m intending to watch Fitzcarraldo soon.

Play It Again Sam- 8.9

Ed Wood- 9.3

Brazil: 8/10

Tsotsi (2005, South Africa). Gavin Hood.
3/4

Lust, Caution (2007, Taiwan). Ang Lee.
3.5/4

Bruno – 6/10.

Bruno is pretty funny, pretty disgusting, and pretty enjoyable for the most part. My misgivings for this movie, as well as Borat center around two ideas. 1. Cohen takes cheap shots on some people and places. I think Cohen indicates his own prejudices when he feels he must tell the audience that Bruno is in Alabama – as opposed to upstate New York, where you might find similar people. 2. For all the talk about how this movie, and Borat, manage to expose the prejudices of Americans, I find that most of the people who encounter Bruno are extremely gracious and understanding. He manages to provoke people with sexuality, which is generally an extremely personal thing for most people. Rather than call him names or tell him to get out, the karate instructor, the psychic, the pastor, the Israeli and Palestinian men, and even the group of hunters treat him with kindness given just how asinine he is toward everyone he meets. I’ve actually come to think that Cohen’s two films speak volumes about the tolerance that can be found in America, which is not exactly what Cohen is going for.

None the less, Bruno was very funny.

Nacho Libre’ 5/5

With a Little Help from Myself — Francois Dupeyron 7/10

West Africans trying to get by in the projects outside Paris. Owes some to La Haine but the tone here is distinctly comic.

There’s always a way. African kora on the soundtrack is effective, good acting but a distinctly “washed out” cinematography earns the bulk of the lost points.

A Matter of Life and Death: 10/10

last three, i’ll do:
FLOWERS OF ST.FRANCIS 8/10
ALIEN 8.5/10
BRUNO -9/10

Love Exposure (Sono Sion, 2008) 9.2/10
It’s… “everything.”

Quest for Fire (J.-J. Annaud, 1981) 8/10
Minus one for the mammoth scene, the rest is a very poignant near-silent drama.

Henry Poole is Here – 5.7/10

Luke Wilson does wonders with a cliched, nearly empty story. Pellington’s mise en scene is glowing, but the writing is weak.