Films

Films

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Recent Additions (all ratings):

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Title Rating Country Actors Comment
Amelie B+ French Audrey Tatou A sweetly quirky movie about people's quirks. Lots of nice little sub-plots.
The Vertical Ray of the Sun,
or
At the Height of Summer		 B Vietnamese Unknown Vietnamese A beautiful movie about three sisters, all beautiful, and their relationships with their husbands. A sweet movie. I had seen it years ago and gave it an A, but this time I didn't like it quite as well. The scenery is beautiful.
Carlos Saura's Carmen (1983) A Spanish Antonio Gades, Laura del Sol, Paco de Lucía The Carmen story told in a new way with lots of scenes of wonderful Flamenco dancing and music. Just as good as I remembered from years ago. Carmen herself is fantastic.
The Revenant A American Leonardo DiCaprio
Academy Award for Best Actor 2016		 A fantastically realistic, violent, and rough movie about a man who is determined to survive anything to avenge the murder of his son. Incredible scenes - a bear attack, a herd of buffalo with one taken down by wolves, a horse and rider riding off a cliff, a man in rapids in winter, a fierce Indian attack on trappers.
The World According to Garp B American Robin Williams Williams was very good. We turned it off before a bad thing I knew was coming could happen. Up to then it was a pretty happy movie.
Zelig C- American Woody Allen Boring
Aferim! B Bulgarian Unknown Bulgarians A harsh movie set in the early 1800s in Bulgaria about human cruelty and ignorance, with a very unpleasant ending.
Summer Hours C French Julliette Binoche Even with Julliette Binoche it was dull.
The Best Price B- American Geoffrey Rush Well made and acted, but the story turned out to be nasty.
New York Murder Mystery C- American Woody Allen, Diane Keaton Boring and iritating.
The Lady in the Van B+ British Maggie Smith Maggie Smith deserves great credit for playing very well a role that required absolute abandonment of all vanity. The old lady is old and dirty and unpleasant.  As revealed toward the end, her story is sad, a waste.
A Most Wanted Man B British Philip Seymour Hoffman Based on the John Le Carre novel. Horrible ending. I wished I hadn’t seen the movie. The movie is well made and acted, but the ending is too horrible.
Punch-Drink Love D- American   Too stupid and objectionable to watch for more than 10 minutes
Dragonheart D British Sean Connery, Dennis Quade, Julie Christi Too stupid and objectionable to watch for more than 10 minutes. The actors should be ashamed.
The Quiet American B- British Michael Caine A nasty story about the CIA in Vietnam right after Vietnamese independence from the French
Time Bandits C- British A Terry Gilliam (Monty Python) movie I liked it long ago but now just found it stupid.
Jumanji D American Robin Williams Silly kids' excitement movie. Full of kids screaming. Stupid.
Bonjour Tristesse D French David Niven, Jean Sebold, and Deborah Kerr Very trivial, superficial movie. Niven and Kerr “phoned in” their performances.
Jurassic World C American Nobody Silly
People Will Talk D American Cary Grant and Jeanne Crain Very stupid story with lots of big holes in it.
The Apartment D American Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray The only remotely likable person in it was Shirley MacLaine.
The Grifters B American Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening A small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend--both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play. It is a hard, mean story, with no likeable characters.
Nights of Cabiria A Italian Giulietta Masina, Director: Federico Fellini (1957) A waifish prostitute wanders the streets of Rome looking for true love but finds only heartbreak. A strange movie, but Masina is incredibly expressive and cute.
Apollo 13 A American Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon NASA returned Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft suffered massive internal damage, putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy. We had seen it before, and we saw it again after touring NASA with John Jurgenson, who was on the Apollo team during the project. He said the film is very accurate.
To Rome with Love B American Woody Allen, Penélope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg The lives of some visitors and residents of Rome and the romances, adventures and predicaments they get into. It does not do for Rome what "Midnight in Paris" did for Paris.
The Martian A American Matt Damon During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wits, and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
Clouds of Sils Maria C French Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart The movie is poorly made, in my opinion, though it has some good acting and dialog. A veteran actress comes face-to-face with an uncomfortable reflection of herself when she agrees to take part in a revival of the play that launched her career 20 years earlier.
The Grand Budapest Hotel A American Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Tilda Swinton, Jeff Goldblum Very silly, very funny. Lots of good actors. Great music.
Mr. Holmes A English Ian McKellen, Hattie Morahan Shelock Holmes, an old man, remembers and solves his last case. Wonderful acting and casting.
A Special Day A Italian Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni Takes place between them while everyone else is out welcoming Hitler to Rome.
Philomena A British Judi Dench, Steve Coogan A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.
Brooklyn A- Irish Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson An Irish immigrant lands in 1950s Brooklyn, where she quickly falls into a romance with a local. When her past catches up with her, however, she must choose between two countries and the lives that exist within..
Tangerines B+ Russian   War in Georgia, Apkhazeti region in 1990. An Estonian man Ivo has stayed behind to harvest his crops of tangerines. In a bloody conflict at his door, a wounded man is left behind, and Ivo is forced to take him in. Very good character development. Sad story.
Grandma B+ American Lily Tomlin, Julia Garner, Marcia Gay Harden, Sam Elliott A teenager facing an unplanned pregnancy seeks help from her acerbic grandmother, a woman who is long estranged from her daughter.
Snow Cake B+ American Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver A drama focused on the friendship between a high-functioning autistic woman and a man who is traumatized after a fatal car accident.
Ex Machina B American Alicia Vikander Robots. Vikander is a beauty.
Magic of Belle Isle B American Morgan Freeman Very nice, suitable to watch with kids
Tim's Vermeer B American Tim Jenison Inventor Tim Jenison seeks to understand the painting technique used by Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer. He recreates one of Vermeer's paintings in perfect detail, using the technique.
         

1995 to Present
Title Rating Country Actors Comment
Carlos Saura's Carmen (1983) A Spanish Antonio Gades, Laura del Sol, Paco de Lucía The Carmen story told in a new way with lots of scenes of wonderful Flamenco dancing and music. Just as good as I remembered from years ago. Carmen herself is fantastic.
The Revenant A American Leonardo DiCaprio
Academy Award for Best Actor 2016		 A fantastically realistic, violent, and rough movie about a man who is determined to survive anything to avenge the murder of his son. Incredible scenes - a bear attack, a herd of buffalo with one taken down by wolves, a horse and rider riding off a cliff, a man in rapids in winter, a fierce Indian attack on trappers.
Nights of Cabiria A Italian Giulietta Masina, Director: Federico Fellini (1957) A waifish prostitute wanders the streets of Rome looking for true love but finds only heartbreak. A strange movie, but Masina is incredibly expressive and cute.
Apollo 13 A American Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon NASA returned Apollo 13 to Earth safely after the spacecraft suffered massive internal damage putting the lives of the three astronauts on board in jeopardy. We had seen it before, and we saw it again after touring NASA with John Jurgenson, who was on the Apollo team during the project. He said the film is very accurate.
The Martian A American Matt Damon During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wits and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.
The Grand Budapest Hotel A American Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Tilda Swinton, Jeff Goldblum Very silly, very funny. Lots of good actors. Great music.
Mr. Holmes A English Ian McKellen, Hattie Morahan Shelock Holmes, an old man, remembers and solves his last case. Wonderful acting and casting.
A Special Day A Italian Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni Takes place between them while everyone else is out welcoming Hitler to Rome.
Midnight in Paris A American Owen Wilson Fun movie, wonderful scenery of Paris
Nebraska A American Bruce Dern, Will Forte An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.
Selma A American David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth A chronicle of Martin Luther King's campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.
The King’s Speech A English Jeffrey Rush and Colin Firth  
Cloud Atlas A American Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant Good adaptation of the novel by David Mitchell, with lots of excellent characters. The plot(s) and organizaton of the book is so complex that the movie is very hard to understand for people who have not read it. Sonmi-451 is wonderful, in particular, my favorite character in the book.
Philomena A British Judi Dench, Steve Coogan A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.
Lincoln A American Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field  From the book by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Day-Lewis is really excellent as Lincoln - you hardly see him as the actor. The other actors are recognizable as themselves as well as their parts.
The Saphires A Australian Chris O'Dowd, Deborah Mailman Australian singers, a group of Bushwomen, are promoted by an English jpournalist and go to Vietnam to entertain the troops. Dowd and Mailman make the film.
The Lives of Others A German Martina Gedeck East German government spying on an author.
The Tango Lesson A British Sally Potter Wonderful Tango dancing, good characters
I've Loved You So Long A French Kristin Scott-Thomas A beautifully made movie, with wonderful casting and acting and a good story. No violence; everything bad in the past.
Good Night, and Good Luck A American David Strathairn
George Clooney
Patricia Clarkson
Robert Downey Jr.
Frank Langella
Jeff Daniels		 A timely film about Edward R. Morrow confronting and bringing about the end of the McCarthy Red-scare witch-hunts. Real footage of McCarthy and some of his hearings. All black & white. Excellent evocation of the styles, of all kinds, of that time. Lots of smoking. Good casting, especially of Morrow, also of Friendly, and others. George Clooney directed, co-wrote, and acted.
Capote A American Philip Seymour Hoffman
Clifton Collins Jr.,
Catherine Keener
others

 Hoffman should get an Oscar, and Clifton Collins Jr., who plays Perry Smith, should too. Catherine Keener has a beautiful face and presence. The cast are all good, and I found Hoffman, as Truman Capote, really fascinating. He is funny and smart in his NY cocktail party scenes, and intense in the town in Kansas and at the prison. I understand that Hoffman is actually very different, a big guy with a deep voice, which adds to his acting credit.

I also appreciated that the film went easy on the violence. A little was necessary, since the film is about the murders he wrote about in In Cold Blood, but it was not the focus of the movie, and it had happened in the past from the start.

Mad Hot Ballroom A American All real people 5th-Graders learning ballroom dancing in NYC
Godfather A American Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
Me, You, and
   Everyone We Know		 A American Miranda July Funny, appealing, good characters
Dogville A American Nicole Kidman, James Caan, others A filmed stage production. Deep, hard.
Rivers & Tides A Andy Goldsworthy Art
La Chevre A French Comedy
Mostly Martha A German Sergio Castellitto
Martina Gedeck		 Beautiful woman
Bread & Tulips A Italian Licia Maglietta, Bruno Ganz After being forgotten in a highway café during a bus trip, a housewife decides to start a new life by herself in Venice. Sweet and funny.
King of Hearts A British Allan Bates Whimsical comedy in WW I
Kitchen Stories A Swedish Comedy
Touching the Void A American True mountain-climbing story
Modern Times A American Charlie Chaplin Classic comedy, Restored
Powaqaatsi A American Philip Glass Images and music
Koyaanisqatsi A American Philip Glass Images and music
Naqoyqaatsi A American Philip Glass Images and music
Ghostbusters A American Bill Murray Comedy
The Station Agent A American Patricia Clarkson
Groundhog Day A American Bill Murray Comedy
The Man without a Past A Finnish Comedy
Band of Brothers A American HBO series about WW II
High Fidelity A American John Cusak,
Jack Black
A Man for All Seasons A English Paul Scoffield
Gosford Park A English Allan Bates Set in England
The Godfather, Part I A American Al Pacino
Amalie A French Audrey Tatou
Best in Show A American Christopher Guest Comedy
High Fidelity A American John Cusak
Mumford A American
An Ideal Husband A English Rupert Everett,
Juliane Moore		 Beautiful woman
The Meaning of Life A English Monty Python Comedy
Gods Must Be Crazy I & II A South African  
Autumn Tale A French
Good Will Hunting A American Matt Damon
Saving Private Ryan A American Tom Hanks
Dead Man Walking A American Susan Sarandon Beautiful woman
Get Shorty A American John Travolta
Quest for Fire A American
Smoke A American
King of Hearts A American Allan Bates WW I
Napoleon Dynamite A American Mary's rating
Breaker Morant A Australian
La Grande Chemin A French
Jean de Florette A French Gerard Depardieu,
Daniel Auteuil		  
Manon des Sources A French Daniel Auteuil
Talk to Her A Spanish Writer/Director: Pedro Almodovar Good music. Surprises.
Elling A Norwegian Comedy
In the Mood for Love A Chinese Maggie Chung Beautiful woman
Nebraska A American Bruce Dern, Will Forte An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize.
Selma A American David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth A chronicle of Martin Luther King's campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.
Philomena A British ,  A world-weary political journalist picks up the story of a woman's search for her son, who was taken away from her decades ago after she became pregnant and was forced to live in a convent.
Godfather A American Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
The Imitation Game A- English Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley During World War II, mathematician Alan Turing tries to crack the enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians. Later outrageously punished for being homosexual.
June Bug A- American No big-name actors Family dynamics, small-town life
Chicken Run A- English Claymation
I Am A- American ,  Director Tom Shadyac speaks with intellectual and spiritual leaders about what's wrong with our world and how we can improve both it and the way we live in it.
In a Better World A- Danish , ,  The lives of two Danish families cross each other, and an extraordinary but risky friendship comes into bud. But loneliness, frailty and sorrow lie in wait.
Winged Migration A- American Bird photography
Spellbound A- American Spelling bee
Russian Ark A- Russian
Memento A- American
Traffic A- American Catherine Zeta-Jones  
Crouching Tiger,
   Hidden Dragon		 A- Chinese Chow Yun Fat,
Michelle Yeoh		 Beautiful woman
Elizabeth A- British Cate Blanchette
The Opposite of Sex A- American Christina Ricci
To Live A- Chinese Raucous and profound.
The Lady in the Van B+ British Maggie Smith Maggie Smith deserves great credit for playing very well a role that required absolute abandonment of all vanity.  The old lady is old and dirty and unpleasant.  As revealed toward the end, her story is sad, a waste.  
Wild Tales ("Relatos Salvajes") B+ Argentinian Argentinians Six short films, all of them extraordinary, one of them, Road Rage, very extreme, to the point of being offensive, but, to me, fun.
Fury B+ American Brad Pitt A battle-hardened Army sergeant named Wardaddy commands a Sherman tank and his five-man crew on a mission to stop a German advance. 
Five Easy Pieces B+ American Jack Nicholson, Karen Black A drop-out from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil-rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars and motels.
My Neighbor Totoro B+ Japanese Animated (Anime)  
My Life as a Dog B+ Swedish Swedes  
Meru B+ American Jimmy Chin, Conrad Anker Mountain climbing. Three elite climbers struggle to find their way through obsession and loss as they attempt to climb Mount Meru, one of the most coveted prizes in the high stakes game of Himalayan big wall climbing.
Godfather II B+ American Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton Dark. The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York is portrayed while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on his crime syndicate stretching from Lake Tahoe, Nevada to pre-revolution 1958 Cuba.
The Train B+ French ,  In 1944, a German colonel loads a train with French art treasures to send to Germany. The Resistance must stop it without damaging the cargo.
B+ German , ,  Anna, a young novitiate nun in 1960s Poland, is on the verge of taking her vows when she discovers a dark family secret dating back to the years of the Nazi occupation.
Hyde Park on Hudson B+ American ,  The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret "Daisy" Suckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.
Silver Linings Playbook B+ American Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence A very enjoyable feel-good movie. Good character interaction and dialog. The movie changes your feelings about the two main characters from negative to positive. Good dancing.
The Sessions B+ American John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy  A man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest. Helen Hunt appears completely nude.
Bernie B+ American Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey Funny, true, good music
Kon Tiki B+ American   Legendary explorer Thor Heyerdal's epic 4,300-mile crossing of the Pacific on a balsawood raft in 1947, in an effort to prove that it was possible for South Americans to settle in Polynesia in pre-Columbian times.
Hannah Arendt B+ German ,  A look at the life of philosopher and political theorist Hannah Arendt, who reported for The New Yorker on the war crimes trial of the Nazi Adolf Eichmann.
The Great Gatsby (1974) B+ American  
Enough Said B+ American Julia Louise-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini  
Gravity B+ American Sandra Bullock, George Clooney Space movie with wonderful effects
Moonrise Kingdom B+ American Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray  
Life of Pi B+ American   Very vivid and true to the book. The tiger (Richard Parker) was even more terrifying than I had conceived of him in the book.
Get Low B+ American ,   A movie spun out of equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party... while he was still alive.
Master & Commander B+ American ,  During the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.
Sleeper B+ American Woody Allen, Diane Keaton  
Annie Hall B+ American Woody Allen, Diane Keaton  
Miss Potter B+ British   Very nice, about Beatrix Potter
Tangerines B+ Russian   War in Georgia, Apkhazeti region in 1990. An Estonian man Ivo has stayed behind to harvest his crops of tangerines. In a bloody conflict at his door, a wounded man is left behind, and Ivo is forced to take him in. Very good character development. Sad story.
Boyhood B+ American Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.
Grandma B+ American ,  A teenager facing an unplanned pregnancy seeks help from her acerbic grandmother, a woman who is long estranged from her daughter.
Up in the Air B+ American George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick With a job traveling around the country firing people, Ryan Bingham enjoys his life living out of a suitcase, but finds that lifestyle threatened by the presence of a new hire and a potential love interest.
Snow Cake B+ American Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver A drama focused on the friendship between a high-functioning autistic woman and a man who is traumatized after a fatal car accident.
Blue Jasmine B+ American Kate Blanchette Excellent acting and casting. A hard Woody Allen movie. A New York socialite, deeply troubled and in denial, arrives in San Francisco to impose upon her sister. She looks a million, but isn't bringing money, peace, or love...
Water B+ India About treatment of widows in India, especially very young girls married to old men who die
Elizabeth (Series DVD, 1st episode) B+ British Helen Mirren
Jeremy Irons		 Well done, but with horrible violence
The Queen B+ British Helen Mirren About the present queen and the royal family's handling of Princess Di's death.
Michael Collins B+ Irish Liam Neeson
Alan Rickman
Julia Roberts		 Good film on the fight for Irish independence
Quinceañera B+ American Very good film with different aspects, all interesting
The Illusionist B+ American Edward Norton, Kate Blanchet Extremely high production quality, good plot. I wish the magic had been real magicians' work and not movie magic.
Little Miss Sunshine B+ American Greg Kinnear
Toni Collette
Steve Carell
Alan Arkin
Abigail Breslin
Paul Dano		 Fun and funny, with a point. Arkin and Breslin (the little girl) are great.
An Inconvenient Truth B+ American Al Gore Well made and convincing

Thank You for Smoking 		B+ American Aaron Eckhart
Maria Bello
William H. Macy
Katie Holmes
J.K. Simmons
Robert Duvall


 Both fun, funny, and educational about the dishonest tactics of the tobacco industry.

Runaway Jury 		B+ American John Cusak
Gene Hackman
Dustin Hoffman
Rachel Weisz		 Very good acting by the four main actors and others. Complex plot, but not too difficult to follow. Satisfying ending.


Dear Frankie 		B+ American Emily Mortimer
Gerard Butler
Very good film, with levels revealed late in the film. I liked Emily Mortimer, and I liked “the Stranger” very much, and I liked the implication at the end that Frankie had understood for some time what his mother was doing for him. It left a little question about how much he had understood, or how long he had understood it. And, like a sap, I was happy that they left open the possibility that Frankie’s mom and the stranger would find each other later.
Match Point B+ American Woody Allen A non-funny Woody Allen Film. Very well done, but also dark and painful.
Prisoner of the Mountains B+ Russian A realistic and touching anti-war story set in the Russain conflict with Chechnya. Good acting, good casting. Not too heavy, but sad.
Yes B+ American Joan Allen
Simon Abkarian
Sam Neill		 Very interesting. Written and directed by Sally Potter, who also wrote, directed, and starred in The Tango Lesson, a wonderful dancing movie. Much of the dialog is in verse, but so well done you hardly notice it, and when you do, you appreciate it. Hard to say what the movie is about, maybe about personal connection being more important than ethnicity and background, though they are challenging.
Walk the Line B+ American Joaquin Phoenix
Reese Witherspoon		 Both main actors did an excellent job, especially since they sang the music themselves. Cash's drug and alcohol period got tiresome.
School of Rock B+ American Jack Black
Joan Cusak		 Jack Black is very funny, outrageous, hyperactive, and likable, and the kids are very good. The music is hard rock.
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress B+ Chinese A beautiful film with three very attractive and likable main characters, two young men sent to the country for "re-education" during the Cultural Revolution and a young woman, the seamstress, granddaughter of the village tailor. Wonderful scenery and sets. Sweet story. The three find a stash of classic European novels, some by Balzac (translated into Chinese), dangerous forbidden stuff at that time, and they read them more-or-less in secret. The books affect the little seamstress, and she affects the boys.
The Reckoning B+ American William Dafoe
Paul Bettany		 Based on a book called Morality Play, it takes place in medieval England. Very good settings and sets. Reminded me of The Seventh Seal and The Magician in its realistic misery of the times. Paul Bettany, the main character, played Tom Edison in Dogville, and all the acting was very good. For me the flaw, the only element that did not ring true, was the assumption that the people of the time would have felt free to be outraged at an injustice, to be horrified at the prospect of hanging an innocent woman. The idea that they might, for anything, stand up to their feudal lord is probably an anachronism.
Being Julia B+ American Annette Benning
Jeremy Irons		 This is a showcase for Annette Benning, and she is very good. If you like or admire her, you will like the film. She shows the currently demanded lack of vanity, in being willing to appear unglamorous, even unbeautiful, in some scenes. I thought the denouement fell quite short, but the film is very well made - settings, costumes, etc.

Syriana B+ American George Clooney,
Christopher Plummer,
Matt Damon,
William Hurt		 Rather like The Constant Gardener, a big-picture look at behind-the-scenes machinations and violence, in the world of middle-eastern petroleum, with several related sub-plots and many characters. Lots of treachery, CIA HQ stuff, Big American Oil, Arab suicide bombers, and a nasty but valuable look at torture. Long and hard to follow at times, but vivid and realistic. Clooney is especially good, as are some unknown Arab and Palestinian characters.
The Piano B+ American Holly Hunter,
Harvey Keitel,
Sam Neill		 All women give it an A
Waking Ned Devine B+ English
In July B+ German Very like "Auberge Espagnol"
Les Choristes B+ French Beautiful Music
Hotel Rwanda B+ Mary and Linda only
House of Flying Daggers B+ Chinese Beautiful scenery
Uncovered B+ Political
Schrek I & II B+ Animated
Rumpole of the Bailey,
   Missing Episode		 B+ British Leo McKern
Mystic River B+ Sean Penn Very hard
La Chevre B+ French Comedy
Les Comperes B+ French Comedy
Corporation B+ Documentary/Political
My First Mister B+
Two Men went to War B+ English
Phone Booth B+
Calendar Girls B+ English Beautiful women
Canadian Bacon B+ Michael Moore
The Very Long Engagement B+ French Audrey Tatou
Amelie B+ French Audrey Tatou
Something’s Got to Give B+ Jack Nicholson
Master & Commander B+ British Russell Crow From Patrick O'Brian
Sweet Sixteen B+
Swimming Pool B+ American
Sea Biscuit B+ American
Baraka B+ Images and music
Possession B+
The Verdict B+ American Paul Newman
The Rabbit-Proof Fence B+ Australian
Himalaya B+
Frida B+ Mexican
The Good Girl B+ American Jennifer Anniston
September B+ American Woody Allen
The Fast Runner B+ Eskimo
King of Masks B+ Chinese
Horatio Hornblower
   Parts I-IV		 B+
The Interview B+ American
Kissing Jessica Stein B+ American
In the Bedroom B+ American
Lucky Jim B+ English
The Naked Gun B+ American Leslie Neilson Comedy
Chinatown B+ American Jack Nicholson
Lantana B+
Monsoon Wedding B+ Indian
The Commitments B+
La Strada B+ Italian
The Golden Bowl B+
The Grandfather B+ Spanish
Chunhyang B+ Korean Unusual format
Chicken Run B+ British Claymation
Dead Again B+
The Castaway B+ American Tom Hanks
You can Count on Me B+ American
Cider House Rules B+ American
Life of Brian B+ British Monty Python Comedy
Topsy Turvy B+ English
The Limey B+
Mother B+ American Albert Brooks
Mansfield Park B+
Deconstructing Harry B+ American Woody Allen
Red B+ French
Zero Effect B+ American
Indochine B+ French Catherine Deneuve Beautiful woman
The Ref B+ American
Pecker B+ American
The Big Lebowski B+ American ,   "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
As Good as it Gets B+ American Jack Nicholson
Aristemia B+ French
The Usual Suspects B+ American Quentin Tarantino
The Full Monty B+ English
Kolya B+ Yugoslav Beautiful woman
Unstrung Heroes B+ American Michael Richards (Cramer)  
Antonia's Line B+ French
Sense and Sensibility B+
Reservoir Dogs B+ American Tarantino Ugly and violent
Country Life B+ Uncle Vanya
Voyage around My Father B+ Lawrence Olivier funny
Il Postino B+ Italian
Crimson Tide B+
Colonel Chabert B+ French
Nobody's Fool B+ American Paul Newman
The White Countess B+ Ralph Fiennes
Natasha Richardson
Hiroyuki Sanada
Two Redgraves		 A long and enjoyable film. Richly done. Very good cast, even though well known, including the secondary actors. A number of characters are well developed, and there is actual subtlety used in conveying some of their situations, personalities, and relationships. The Japanese villain, Mr. Matsuda, was very interesting, and Ingrid, the (White Russian) countess, was wonderful. Her beauty is not quite conventional, and she had to grow on me. I wish I had not seen Fiennes in so many other films, because I saw him too much instead of his character, Mr. Jackson. Not his fault. He did a great job of being blind with normal-looking eyes. Finally, the music, at least the performances in nightclubs, was excellent.
The Vertical Ray of the Sun,
or
At the Height of Summer		 B Vietnamese Unknown Vietnamese A beautiful movie about three sisters, all beautiful, and their relationships with their husbands. A sweet movie. I had seen it years ago and gave it an A, but this time I didn't like it quite as well. The scenery is beautiful.
The World According to Garp B American Robin Williams Williams was very good. We turned it off before a bad thing I knew was coming could happen. Up to then it was a pretty happy movie.
Aferim! B Bulgarian Unknown Bulgarians A harsh movie set in the early 1800s in Bulgaria about human cruelty and ignorance, with a very unpleasant ending.
A Most Wanted Man B British Philip Seymour Hoffman Based on the John Le Carre novel. Horrible ending. I wished I hadn’t seen the movie. The movie is well made and acted, but the ending is too horrible.
The Grifters B American Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening A small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend--both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play. It is a hard, mean story, with no likeable characters.
To Rome with Love B American Woody Allen, Penélope Cruz, Jesse Eisenberg The lives of some visitors and residents of Rome and the romances, adventures and predicaments they get into. It does not do for Rome what "Midnight in Paris" did for Paris.
The Artist B British Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo and John Goodman A silent movie star meets a young dancer, but the arrival of talking pictures sends their careers in opposite directions.
Best Exotic Marigold Hotel B British Judi Dench, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel  
Belle and Sebastian B French Unknown Cute. WW II. A dog and a boy.
Interstellar B American Matthew McConaghey Adventure in ourter space. Good, but excessively complex.
Ex Machina B American Alicia Vikander Robots. Vikander is a beauty.
Magic of Belle Isle B American Morgan Freeman Very nice, suitable to watch with kids
To Rome with Love B American Woody Allen, Alex Baldwin Fun, funny, but nothing like Midnight in Paris
The Reader B   Kate Winslet Hard and sad, but enjoyable anyway. A lest-we-forget (about the Holocaust) movie.
Til the Clouds Roll By B American   About Jerome Kern’s career
Jersey Boys B American John Lloyd Young, Erich Bergen, Michael Lomenda The story of four young men from the wrong side of the tracks in New Jersey who came together to form the iconic 1960s rock group The Four Seasons.
Pride B British Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West U.K. gay activists work to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984.
Royal Wedding B American Fred Astaire, Ann Powell  
Singing in the Rain B American Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds  
Smoke Signals B American   Takes place on an Indian reservation, a father/son issue. From a book by Sherman Alexie, author of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Web Therapy B American Lisa Kudrow A series. Funny, outrageous.
Incendies B Lebanese, in French   A hard movie in which a woman’s torturer and rapist turns out to be her son and the father of her twins (boy and girl).
The Wall B German Martina Gedeck Long and slow, beautiful scenery. A woman inexplicably finds herself cut off from all human contact when an invisible, unyielding wall suddenly surrounds the countryside. Accompanied by her loyal dog Lynx, she becomes immersed in a world untouched by civilization and ruled by the laws of nature.
A Royal Affair B Danish Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard Mikkelsen is very good, especially at the end when his head was cut off. A young queen, who is married to an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician - and together they start a revolution that changes a nation forever.
Vicki Christina Barcelona B American , ,  A Woody Allen film. Two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture.
Bullitt B American , ,  Famous for its car chase in San Francisco. San Francisco cop becomes determined to find the underworld kingpin who killed the witness in his protection.
Tim's Vermeer B American   Inventor Tim Jenison seeks to understand the painting technique used by Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer.He recreates one of Vermeer's paintings in perfect detail, using the technique.
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie B- British Maggie Smith  
The Departed B- American Leonardo diCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Vera Famiga Violent, but good acting.
The Trip to Italy B British ,  Two men, six meals in six different places on a road trip around Italy. Liguria, Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi and ending in Capri.
Slumdog Millionnaire B     Vivid and sensational, with an appealing main character, but mostly show, not much content.
Volver B Spain Penelope Cruz Good story. Cruz miscast, but good loving shots of her bust make up for it.
Stranger Than Fiction B American Will Ferrell
Dustin Hoffman
Emma Thompson
Queen Latifah		 Very original story
The Matador B American Pierce Brosnan
I’m Your Man – Leonard Cohen B Including
Leonard Cohen		 Good, but not enough of Cohen himself
Bill Maher in Concert B American Bill Maher He says some profound things, political and funny.

The Cooler 		B American William Macy
Maria Bello
Alec Baldwin 		The Cooler is a guy who can kill the luck of other gamblers around him, in Las Vegas. Good acting by Macy, Bello, and others. Unrealistic ending.
Lewis Black on Broadway B American Lewis Black We like Lewis Black from The Daily Show. He had some very funny stuff in this one-man show.
Head in the Clouds B American Cherize Therone, Penelope Cruz WW II story, well done.
Enigma B American Kate Winslet, Jeremy Northam Code breaking/espionage. Takes place at Bletchley Park, in the UK.
In Good Company B American Dennis Quaid Quaid plays a guy in his 40's who finds himself working for an ambitious young hot-shot, the age of his daughter, who is being "groomed" for greater things. The actors are good and greatly improve a story that could have been pretty trite.
Independent America: the Two Lane Search for Mom and Pop B American A good companion piece for The Walmart Movie, though it is not only about the effects of Walmart. It also shows the harmful effects of all chains on small communities, whose own small local businesses are forced out of business. At the show we attended, the two people who made the film spoke to the audience afterwards, and they were both impressive.
The Smartest Guys in the Room B American Lay
Skilling
Fastow
The real-life villains		 An amazing film about the arrogance and dishonesty of the top people at Enron. Much more entertaining than most documentaries.
Flawless B American Philip Seymour Hoffman
Robert DiNiro		 Once again, Hoffman is so good that he is the main reason to see the film, especially for those who are sick of DeNiro.

Hoffman is a drag queen...no, "a female impressionist," one of a whole nest of them, and DeNiro is a very straight cop who lives in the same apartment building. This is a tolerance movie and both funny and moving.

The Interpreter B American Nicole Kidman
Sean Penn
others

 (Rental) Political thriller at the UN - Assassination plot
Prime B American Uma Thurman
Merle Streep
 Better than I expected. Streep was a good Jewish mother/ therapist. Thurman was appealing. The guy was OK.

Auberge Espagnol B French Very like "In July"
Wallace and Gromit:
    The Curse of the
    Were-Rabbit		 B English Fun, but not as wonderful as Chicken Run
The Constant Gardener B American Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, others From a John Le Carre novel, about pharmaceutical companies using poor Africans for guinea pigs
Forces of Nature B Imax
Downfall B German Hitler's last days
The Terminal B American Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones  
House of Cards - Series, Disk 1 B American Kevin Spacey, Wonderful at first, but then it descends into plain violence., All Finess is lost. Spacey is excellent. So is Wright.
Inside Iraq B American
Finding Neverland B American Johnny Depp
Japon B Ugly, hard, slow
Underground B Yugoslavia Weird political allegory
The Thief B Russian
The Hunting of the President B American Mary only
The Exorcist B American
Silver City B
Garden State B American Zach Braf John only
The Winslow Boy B English
Zelary B Czech
Oleana B American William H. Macy Very intellectual, about ethics
Control Room B Documentary/Political
Fahrenheit 9/11 B Michael Moore Political
Dances with Wolves B American Kevin Costner
I’m not AfraidB Italian
Ladykillers B American Tom Hanks Comedy
Barbarian Invasions B French Canadian Assisted Suicide
The Fog of War B American McNamara Documentary/Political
He Loves Me...
   He Loves Me Not		 B French Audrey Tatou
Lost in Translation B American Bill Murray
Endurance B
Equilibrium B
Terminator II B American Arnold Schwarzenegger  
American Splendor B American Comic book story
Antwone Fisher B American Denzel Washington  
Die Another Day B American James Bond
David & Lisa B
Whale Rider B New Zealand
Croupier B American Clive Owen
Bend It Like Beckham B English
Bringing Down the House B American
The Quiet American B American
Testamento B Portuguese
The Big Picture B American
Tuskagee Airmen B American
About Schmidt B American Jack Nicholson
Far from Heaven B American Julianne Moore
Don’t be a Menace
   to South Central
   while Drinking Your
   Juice in the Hood		 B American Wayans
Secret Ballot B Iranian
Kate & Leopold B
The Gift B
Blood Simple B
Sexy Beast B American Ben Kingsley
Salvador B James Woods
Italian for Beginners B Swedish?
Such a Long Journey B Indian
The Conversation B American
Behind Enemy Lines B
The Lugier Defence B American John Turturro
The Royal Tennenbaums B American Gwyneth Paltrow
Lord of the Rings B American
Ghost World B
The Dish B Australian
Raise the Red Lantern B Chinese
The Closet B French
O Brother, Where art Thou? B American George Clooney
Bridget Jones’ Diary B British Rene Zellweger
The Contender B
Gallipoli B Australian Horrible suicidal assault
The Widow of St. Pierre B French Horrible execution
The Lost World
   (Jurassic Park sequel)		 B American
The Seven Samurai B Japanese
This is Spinal Tap B American Christopher Guest Comedy
Space Cowboys B
Open Your Eyes B Spanish
David Copperfield
   (from OPB)		 B
The Nephew B
The Thomas Crown Affair B American
Galaxy Quest B American Tim Allen,
Sigourney Weaver
Alan Rickman		 Comedy. The alumni cast of a space television series (very like Star Trek) have to play their roles as the real thing when an alien race needs their help.
Being John Malkovitch B American John Cusak,
Catherine Keener
Shall We Dance B Japanese
American Beauty B American Kevin Spacey
Stalingrad B
The Dinner Game B French
Bowfinger B American Steve Martin
A Perfect Murder B American Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow  
The Rainmaker B American
The Spanish Prisoner B American Steve Martin
Pleasantville B
The X-Files B David Duchovny
The Grass Harp B
Gattaca B
The Truman Show B Jim Carrey
Contact B
French Kiss B Meg Ryan,
Kevin Kline
Waiting for Guffman B Christopher Guest Comedy
The Sweet Hereafter B
Jackie Brown B Tarantino
The Man Who Knew
   Too Little		 B Steve Martin Comedy
The Game B
Barton Fink B
Grace of My Heart B
Executive Decision B
The English Patient B Kristin Scott-Thomas,
Ralph Fiennes		  
Twister B
Braveheart B Mel Gibson
The American President B Michael Douglas
Clockers B
The Accompanist B French
Speechless B Michael Keaton
House of the Spirits B Meryl Streep
Independence Day B Will Smith
The Best Price B- American Geoffrey Rush Well made and acted, but the story turned out to be nasty.
The Quiet American B- British Michael Caine A a nasty story about the CIA in Vietnam right after Vietnamese independence from the French
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie B- British Maggie Smith  
The Departed B- American Leonardo diCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Vera Famiga Violent, but good acting.
The Trip to Italy B- British ,  Two men, six meals in six different places on a road trip around Italy. Liguria, Tuscany, Rome, Amalfi and ending in Capri. Funny banter between them.
A Family Thing B- Robert Duvall,
James Earl Jones
Happy-Go-Lucky B- English All unknowns Seems wildly silly at first, but the girl has a solid center, and there are some very good scenes. I think she is a Zen master.
Eight Below B- Good, because of the dogs and scenery, but, except for the most basic facts, fiction
Life as a House B- Kevin Kline
Caterina in the Big City B- Italian Sergio Castellitto Caterina is a young girl of about 12 whose father teaches in the school in a small town and has ambitions of teaching kids who want to learn and of publishing a book. He gets transferred to Rome. In Rome Caterina is pulled this way and that by a couple of sophisticated girls. Her father realizes how stacked against him the world of powerful men is and makes a fool of himself. Caterina has a firm core and enough determination and talent to succeed in getting into a prestigious music school.

Monsieur Ibrahim B- French Omar Sharif Omar Sharif is very good, the boy the story is about is very appealing, and the street-walkers have hearts of silver, if not quite gold. The wisdom of Monsieur Ibrahim's ancient religion/philosophy doesn't come across with any eye-opening effect, but he is a contented man who has suffered, and maybe the boy will get there, too.
Serenity

 B- OK, but didn't live up to reviews
Miracle B- Kurt Russell,
Patricia Clarkson		 (Rental) About the US Hockey team that won the Olympics in the '80s
Ladies in Lavender B- Maggie Smith,
Judi Dench		 Big plot holes, but Maggie Smith and Judi Dench are very good, and the setting is beautiful.
God Said, Ha! B- Julia Sweeney Monologue
The Upside of Anger B-
Hero B-
Charlotte Gray B-
The Four Feathers B-
Tango B-
The Last Samurai B- Tom Crews
Mean Girls B-
Bon Voyage B- French
GlenGarry Glen Ross B-
Motorcycle Diaries B-
Bon Voyage B- French
Catch Me if You Can B-
Bagdad Café B-
Identity B-
House of Fools B- Russian
Office Space B-
Laurel Canyon B-
Deconstructing Harry B- Woody Allen
The Man on the Train B- French
About a Boy B- Hugh Grant
My Son the Fanatic B-
My Big Fat Greek Wedding B-
Bugsy B-
State and Main B-
Last Orders B-
Children of the Revolution B- Iranian?
Godfather, Part II B-
AI (Artificial Intelligence) B-
Never Been Kissed B-
The Sixth Sense B- Bruce Willis
The General B-
Sliding Door B- Gwyneth Paltrow
Snake Eyes B-
Look Who's Talking B- John Travolta