BROKEN FLOWERS is great. 2nd best for Jarmusch. I will review it soon.

And capo, I must say, you're giving out masterpieces like they were candy bars - everytime I come here you've just seen 1 or 2 masterpieces, whats the secret?

Hey rons, u think Craig will last another 4-5 films? BATMAN ROYALE could be the same story we had with Goldeneye..but whether he'll go on or not, I think it's safe to say that Brosnan will not be back. Whaddya think?

Fame, why bring up Brosnan? Fuck, hes happy to get away from that formulaic BOND shit that he had no serious control with. Hell, go watch THE MATADOR. He'll have a decent film career (which I can't say for Moore or Dalton), much like he was churning out before GOLDENEYE.

Well, Daniel Craig is booked for at least 3 movies(which is how EON has signed people for the part for the last few decades), and if they can keep up the same quality and intensity that CASINO ROYALE delivered, then yeah he'll stay. But he'll diversify in-between with hopefully good acting jobs.

The thing is Fame, will EON simply continue with original stories, since now after ROYALE they've exausted the entire Fleming-Bond collection of titles and story ideas, or...and this is what some websites claimed recently is the big deal...

CASINO ROYALE isn't a prequel, but a total reboot. Like BATMAN BEGINS, a start from scratch, and EON has the balls, they'll continue and do the original books in order. Which means, LIVE & LET DIE is next.

I was reading up the entire plot summary at wikipedia, and I realized, with the tone and aggression that ROYALE went for, the literary version of LIVE & LET DIE would fit perfectly for the next movie.

Besides, it ties into with the (finally) black Felix Leiter.

Also, Liv, you disapoint me! DISCIPLINE! We need a good spanking!

BROKEN FLOWERS is really really good, and honestly Murray should have gotten an Oscar nomination for his work, but oh well.

Off topic, but I remember when Murray got visibly pissed when he lost the Oscar to Sean Penn back in 2004. That was good TV, much like when Robert Altman got upset when Ron Howard beat him in 2002, and fellow nominee David Lynch had to walk over and comfort him.

And people have the gaul to wonder why I don't respect Opie.

Shadow of a doubt ***
Murder brought into a small town. Everyone in the small town is innocent except for the new visitor. Hitchcock is great at telling simple stories and building up mystery all the while. Though I liked Vertigo much better, this is quite good. This is my second Hitchcock movie.

Casino Royale
Martin Campbell 2006 US/UK/CzechRepublic 1st time; big screen
James Bond is given his Double-O status and is entered into a high stakes card game to track down a rich funder of terrorism.
Generally very good: less about saving the world than saving the franchise, which it does sufficiently - but in doing so, it creates a hell of a lot of potential for other directions. Comparisons with Batman Begins are easy yet unfavourable, since that film was revitalised by Christopher Nolan... With a more confident, less "in-the-box" director, these Bond films could perhaps venture down what would probably be considered a more "artistic" route, with an emphasis more on the character's psychology. Let's not kid ourselves, after all: not only are the villains becoming more and more unmemorable with each film, but the most intriguing scenes here are those in which Bond finds himself in a sort of character crisis, first when he meets the MI6 accountant who offers a character analysis of him, and then as he frantically washes himself of an ememy's blood following a gritty, not-so-clean kill. He's ruthless, brutal, very interesting because of his charm, and begs further exploration as a born-again phenomenon.

Les hurdes Land without Bread
Luis Buñuel 1933 Spain 1st time; big screen
Documentary on the Hurdanos, a remote area of Spain inhabited by peasants.
Excessively didactic and with too much of an agenda - arousing pity from images and social comment - to be comfortably placed as a documentary. The English voice-over, added after the film was banned in Spain, is horrid.

Festen The Celebration
Thomas Vinterberg 1998 Denmark 2nd time; big screen
At a formal gathering to celebrate his 60th birthday, a patriarch's eldest son drops a bomb when he makes a speech and a very serious accusation.
Few films have achieved the sustained energy of Festen, the aggressive aesthetic, the ferocious narrative, or the fierce rollercoaster of emotions. Essentially, it's a black comedy, at times uncomortable to watch because it is so well handled, tackling a disturbing subject theme with much confidence. Sharp and perceptive, with tremendous acting and a daring script, it must be continually praised for tackling major and awkward scenes instead of avoiding them. Gutwrenching, powerful, and quite possibly one of the best films ever.

Crash
David Cronenberg 1996 US/Canada 2nd time; big screen
A married couple become involved with a group of people with an overwhelming fetish for car crashes.
Cronenberg often begins his movies in the thick of it - little exposition, no real closure, and in between there's an endurance-testing, patience-requiring exploration of whatever theme is being tackled. Here, we have a succession of sex scenes in and around cars, increasing each time in disturbing, almost de-eroticised frankness. There are some incredible, brief explosions of intensity - Ballard having sex with Helen Remington for the first time, Ballard meeting Vaughan in the hospital for the first time, Vaughan's car ramming Ballard's wife from the rear ... in fact, as Vaughan, Elias Koteas steals the entire film.

Das Boot: The Original Uncut Version ***
(First Viewing)

A detailed look into the claustrophobic and terrifying world of a German U-boat crew hunting ships from undersea. Gritty, realistic, and peppered with black humour, this is one of the few sympathetic portrayals of the war from the German side to be released in western distribution.

Has anybody seen Coal Miner's Daughter? Based on Loretta Lynn's life. It's on tv now. Remind's me of my husband's family in Kentucky. My husband's great uncle was an extra in that movie. He's in a couple scenes.

Tommy Lee Jones reminds me of my husbands uncle Daniel. Talks just like him.

The Terminal **
Tom Hanks acts really well and the concept is also great. But I think I am biased against Spielberg - He makes these super formulaic commercial movies that are creative but don't touch me on any level

Patton. Need I say more?

Yes. Please.
Capo was right in his remark when he said that this is not a game thread, please tell us what you liked and what you didn't.

Another disapponting Spielberg's movie. Even the excellent performance of Hanks isn't enough to save it. Coupled with the insignificant if not irritating War of the worlds and the nothing more than decent Catch me if you can, Minority Report and A.I., it marks a worrying decline of inspiration and geniality and a patent demand for cash.

I still have to watch Munich though. I hope, I do hope!, it will cheer me up. Otherwise I'll stick to Schindler's list , Saving Private Ryan , Amistad, Empire of the Sun , The Color Purple , ET and Jaws when I need to think about Spielberg's movies.

Superman II ****
(Nth Viewing)

Picking up where "Superman: The Movie" left off, three criminals from the planet Krypton are released from the Phantom Zone by a nuclear explosion in space. They descend upon Earth where they could finally rule. Superman, meanwhile, is in love with Lois Lane, who finds out who he really is. Lex Luthor escapes from prison and is determined to destroy Superman by joining forces with the three criminals.

To begin, I realize this movie isn't on the same level as a Raging Bull or a Goodfellas. However, in the realm of comic books, this is one of the greatest of all-time and I felt deserved a 4-star rating. This is easily my favorite Superman and it's probably in my top 3 for greatest comic book movies ever. Does it get any better than Christopher Reeve as the bumbling Clark Kent? However, Terence Stamp really made this movie for me as General Zod with his infamous "Kneel before Zod!" remarks. Sarah Douglas was also enjoyable as well as General Zod's sidekick, Ursa. Other enjoyable elements of this film include: the amount of humor used, Ned Beatty as Otis, Margot Kidder as Lois Lane, and of course Gene Hackman as Mr. Lex Luthor himself.

Of this list, I rather enjoyed Catch Me If You Can the most (surprisingly), followed by War of the Worlds. I have yet to see A.I. but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt that Minority Report did infact suck.

I liked Munich a lot.

I think Munich is Spielberg's worst film.

Capo, worst even than 1941 or even ALWAYS?

You kidding me.

Oh wait.

Irish, which version of SUPERMAN 2? The old flawed Lester version, or that new edit that Donner pulled off?

The Lester version. I'm gonna try to see the Donner cut tonight or tomorrow. That's why I watched the Lester version first so I could compare the two

Just watched "Inside Man" with Denzel Washington.

A pretty entertaining movie with some twists and turns. Not a great movie by any means, but definitely worth a watch.



Don Cardi

I haven't seen those.

I both agree and disagree with Lavi.

THE TERMINAL(2004) - mediocre would-be situational romantic comedy, without any interesting literal narrative to which to fly beyond the decent premise. What if a foreigner's country is wiped off the map, and he's stuck indefinate limbo at La Guadia at NYC? The problem is, Spielberg never answers it in an intriging, substantial fashion. Film Rating - **

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (2002) - If the remarkable true story of Frank Abagnale Jr. didn't happen, someone would have created it. Spielberg again partakes in his psychodrama babble about divorce, but for the most part it allows him to tackle two things that fascinated him and the numerous directors attached for years to the project. One, the 1960's jet-set culture of America(and like TEMPLE OF DOOM, Spielberg plays his James Bond geek-fetish), and two, that this very entertaining cat and mouse pop-drama does play into a key American ideological belief, that in re-invention of the invidiual's self. Lukewarm ending aside, its a film that doesn't fade with frequent viewings. Film Rating - ***1/2

MINORITY REPORT & WAR OF THE WORLDS (2002;2005) - Its fustrating when watching these films. There are science fiction details in the schematics that I fucking dig. Yet while at times Spielberg appears to be bold in an autuer statesman sort of way, he folds back with the essential need for a nicely-wrapped up happy ending of a commercial package. MINORITY REPORT itself appeared to be setup for a BRAZIL-esque ending. Instead, we get a TOTAL RECALL-tyle clear-cut, resolution that is absolutely unneeded by the material. As for WAR OF THE WORLDS, the 9/11, Holocaust, and WW2 allusions forces investment in many viewers, but most will wonder by the final credits with a nagging question that distracts from the rest of the film: "Ok, the Army gets flattened into pancakes, but a smartass kid charges against them, and somehow lives?" Final Ratings for Both - ***

A.I.: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (2001) - An underrated, odyssey of a fairy set in a future when robots built in the image of man become more human than their creators. I was, and still certain, Stanley Kubrick's film would have been great back in 1999 when the master died. I was just pleased that Spielberg was able to deliver a very satisfying film on an artistic and intellectual fashion. Unlike the rest of the movies listed in this posting, A.I.'s ending is appropriate, and well-earned. The WWE-esque flesh farm sequence doesn't quite compute. Film Rating - ****

NOVEMBER
41 films; 37 features; 25 first viewings; 20 on the big screen.
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The Proposition
John Hillcoat 2005 Australia / UK 1st time; big screen
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Back to the Future Part II
Robert Zemeckis 1989 US 1st time; DVD
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Tim Burton 2005 UK / US / Australia 2nd time; DVD
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Monty Python's Life of Brian
Terry Jones 1979 UK 1st time; DVD
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Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Larry Charles 2006 US/UK 1st time; big screen
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Romanzo criminale
Michele Placido 2005 Italy/UK/France/US 1st time; big screen
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Back to the Future Part III
Robert Zemeckis 1990 US 1st time; DVD
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Shi mian mai fu House of Flying Daggers
Yimou Zhang 2004 China/Hong Kong 1st time; DVD
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Konec stalinismu v Cechách The Death of Stalinism in Bohemia
Jan Svankmajer 1990 UK 1st time; YouTube
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Kárhozat Damnation
Béla Tarr 1987 Hungary 2nd time; DVD
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Touch of Evil
Orson Welles 1958 US 2nd time; DVD
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Elephant
Gus Van Sant 2003 US 4th time; DVD
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2046
Wong Kar-wai 2004 France/Germany/Hong Kong/China 3rd time; DVD
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Gerry
Gus Van Sant 2001 US/Argentina/Jordan 3rd time; DVD
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Grand Canyon
Lawrence Kasdan 1991 US 1st time; big screen
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Garden State
Zach Braff 2004 US 2nd time; DVD
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True Lies
James Cameron 1994 US 2nd time; big screen
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Hana-bi Fireworks
Takeshi Kitano 1997 Japan 1st time; big screen
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Le genou de Claire Claire's Knee
Eric Rohmer 1970 France 1st time; DVD
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Fellini-Satyricon
Federico Fellini 1969 Italy/France 1st time; DVD
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Little Children
Todd Field 2006 US 1st time; big screen
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The Prestige
Christopher Nolan 2006 US/UK 1st time; big screen
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Banlieue 13 District 13
Pierre Morel 2004 France 1st time; big screen
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Sátántangó
Béla Tarr 1994 Hungary/Germany/Switzerland 1st time; DVD
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Persona
Ingmar Bergman 1966 Sweden 3rd time; DVD
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Meshes of the Afternoon
Maya Deren / Alexander Hammid 1943 US 1st time; big screen
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Gently Down the Stream
Su Friedrich 1981 US 1st time; big screen
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La strada The Road
Federico Fellini 1954 Italy 1st time; big screen
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Shrek 2
Andrew Adamson / Kelly Asbury / Conrad Vernon 2004 US 2nd time; big screen
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Les enfants du paradis Children of Paradise
Marcel Carné 1945 France 1st time; big screen
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Michel Gondry 2004 US 3rd time; DVD
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Lost In Translation
Sofia Coppola 2003 US/Japan Nth time; DVD
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Marie Antoinette
Sofia Coppola 2005 Japan/France/US 1st time; big screen
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Casino Royale
Martin Campbell 2006 US/UK/CzechRepublic 1st time; big screen
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Les hurdes Land without Bread
Luis Buñuel 1933 Spain 1st time; big screen
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Festen The Celebration
Thomas Vinterberg 1998 Denmark 2nd time; big screen
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Crash
David Cronenberg 1996 US/Canada 2nd time; big screen

And so begins December's viewing; I've already seen more films this year than I did last.

Night Moves
Arthur Penn 1975 US 1st time; DVD
A private eye - a former professional footballer in a struggling marriage - gets wrapped up in a missing girl case.
What is it about 1970s character studies that makes such enthralling viewing? They certainly don’t make them like they used to, and this whizzes past in 99 minutes: Hackman's performance is full of recurring, credible mannerisms, and the script seems to be driven by ambiguity - dialogue points to nothing, and the relationship between the protagonist and his multiple problems make for interesting viewing which would these days sit uneasily in the same film. It tackles difficult subject matter, a notch below Chinatown, and offers no resolution. Fantastic.

Miami Vice
Michael Mann 2006 US 2nd time; big screen
Two drugs squad cops infiltrate a drugs ring.
Mann's least impressive film, for which he has adopted a point-and-shoot method. If filming on DV has freed him up economically, it's also made him a lousy visualist. His work is becoming increasingly prone to caricature: the baddies all have baldy heads and Swastika tattoos, and there's almost a knowing, satirical nod near the end when the camera zooms in on a thug's greasy forehead, and a red spot in particular. The script is intolerable - the characters would do much better if they didn't speak at all. Ludicrous, ineffective bullshit.

Basically, I waited long enough to see Night Moves that it couldn't have been anything less than brilliant in order to be satisfactory. Miami Vice was the same situation I had with revisiting Munich: I got more out of it, but what was bad first time round was accentuated even more a second time round.

"Ships move, that's why they call them ships." - Jamie Foxx's best line of the film.

Superman II - The Richard Donner Cut ***
(First Viewing)

I felt there was too much recap from Superman: The Movie at the beginning of this film. Also, it was very choppy until about the halfway mark. There were some nice added things SPOILERS my favorite was probably when General Zod was in the White House, grabs a gun and starts shooting people However, I felt that when Lois Lane "discovered" that Clark Kent was really Superman, I felt it was too rushed and I didn't buy it. At least with Lester's cut, she notices when she takes Clarks glasses from him to clean them. With this version, she's just sitting at her desk with her newspaper open, looking at a picture of Superman and Clark standing across the room, and "just happens" to put it together. Plah-leze! Furthermore, I felt it was just rushed into the film and it didn't take hardly anytime to realize how monumental this discovery was. END OF SPOILERS. Not a great version of the film and inferior to Lester's effort.

CLERKS 2 (2006) - **** (2nd Viewing)

Unbelievable. I first expected Kevin Smith to make an obvious cash-in sequel to his legendary-debut film. I mean JERSEY GIRL flopped, and doing a small and cheap CLERKS sequel would get him back in the good financial graces with the Weinstein Brothers.

Then I figured, Smith would make a fun movie, like DOGMA and JAY & SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK.

I don't believe it, Smith not only makes his best movie since CHASING AMY, but as well he brings back Randall Graves and Dante Hicks with a meaningful story that very well feels to be a fitting conclusion to the whole Jersey "View Askewverse" of Smith's.

We get the usuals from Smith. The pop culture diatribes and debates. The gross-out juvenile humor. Crazy f*cked-up circumstances that the characters become trapped in.

However, its the perception of age that makes CLERKS 2 special even within Smith's filmography. The climax of the thematic climax comes to ahead with the jail scene that definately will make for a well-earned happy ending. Seriously, I was impressed with Jeff Anderson in this sequence, especially since the man isn't a natural or even a frequent actor.

BTW, the movie is very quotable. "Pickle Fucker!", "Pillowpants?", the LOTR/STAR WARS argument, "you ugly fucking chud!", etc.

CLERKS 2, as it looks, will be #5 on my top 10 list for 2006.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ***
(Second Viewing)

Legend has it that a tortured soul called Davy Jones lives beneath the sea with a terrible sea beast at his command. Unfortunately for the notorious pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, this particular legend is very real. Years ago, Jack made a deal with Davy Jones, who is now expecting him to make good on his promise by handing himself over to Jones's servitude. But Jack will not give in without a fight, which is especially bad news for Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann, who always seem to get caught up in Jack's mishaps. If Jack can't find a way to rid himself of Davy Jones once and for all, it may just spell the end for the three adventurers.

Definitely better with a second viewing but not as good as the first movie. What really disappointed me about this installment the most was the lack of humor. There is humor in the film, don't get me wrong, but not as much as in The Curse of the Black Pearl. However, the special effects for this movie were outstanding. And let the debate begin, but I think this is Johnny Depp's best character as Captain Jack Sparrow (or at least my favorite).

Miami Vice * 1/2
(First Viewing)

After a tragic security breach in the Joint Inter-Agency Task Force (JIATF), the FBI ask for help from the Miami authorities, who are not part of the compromised group. This assignment goes to Detectives James 'Sonny' Crockett and Ricardo 'Rico' Tubbs. Going undercover as offshore boat racers and outlaw smugglers Sonny Burnett and Rico Cooper, they take on the narcotrafficking network of the mysterious Archangel de Jesus Montoya-Londono and his Cuban Chinese banker Isabella. The intensity of the case pushes Crockett and Tubbs out onto the edge where identity and fabrication become blurred, where cop and player become one - especially when Crockett falls for Isabella, and when there is an assault on Tubbs's loved ones.

I have to agree with Capo here:

If by 'big screen' you mean paying and watching in a theater, the obvious question that comes to my mind is - why did you pay to watch a movie for the second time when according to your own rating it has Zero stars? why? why? why?

The Last Samurai ***
Very entertaining movie from the beginning and an OK performance from Tom Cruise. This movie highlights the cultural differences between the east and west and also acknowledges the stereotypes associated with them. I like the ending too.

Miami Vice **

I liked the dark, the black, the night. The story line was not that good. Acting was decent, but not outstanding. I enjoyed watching this movie.

Casino Royale ***

Finally, a true Bond. I liked Sean Connery and Timothy Dalton as Bond, because they were bastards. And yet, they were cool.
Roger Moore was an ass, too queer. Brosnan was too 'stereotypically British', too sophisticated; and his stunts were over the top.

Now, about the new Bond. It wasn't over the top: no big weapons by Q (no Q at all, in fact), no invisible cars, no bazooka launchers on Vipers. In stead: a cardiac machine, and 2 be-u-ti-ful Aston Martins (especially the '64). What it did had was a good amount of fighting; a sober and cool, yet bastard Bond; and a damn exciting game of Poker. Don't forget an evil bad guy.

This film/actor can go straight in the Connery/Dalton league.