American History X

Le Million (1931)
A thoroughly enjoyable frenzy of pitch-perfect comedy, tightly directed by Rene Clair. Clair was a notable influence on Chaplin, and it is easy to see that here; there is a perfect pinch of pathos sprinkled into all of this wackiness and no matter how far into the abyss these characters fall, we are always wholly connected to them. This is really about as much fun as one can have watching a movie. Every situation, every character antic and every goofy musical number furthers the film's incredible charm. Along with its sense of fun, Clair's film is also of enormous significance for the history of the French cinema; this, one of the first synch-sound pictures the nation produced, stands as one of their proudest landmarks.

V, Fort, Return, Doc, neverending- have you seen this? Check it out if you haven't.

Red Cliff (2009)
A consistantly entertaining war epic by an artist who knows his craft. Obviously influenced by Kurosawa, Woo paints every inch of his mise-en-scene with rich colors and movement. One could certainly not accuse him of laziness as his screen comes more alive than almost any film this year. There are some definte dramatic pitfalls, and a handful of cliches; dialogue is often sprinkled with tired analogies and unpoetic monologues, but the central characters still come off as likable human beings; Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Takeshi Kaneshiro are appropriately humane and gentle creatues who happen to be excellently trained in the art of war, and both sides of this spectrum work. It can be a bit hokey from time to time, but on the whole this is an exciting picture painted on a very big canvas.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009)
This is an often entertaining but constantly underwhelming story by a filmmaker who could have brought so much more audacity to the table. Aesthetically, this is a safe movie; aside from a few great dips into avant-garde territory the film is shot mostly statically. There is something to be said about Cage's performance; I wouldn't call what he has talent, but he does have the balls to completely let go. His foray into insanity is campy for sure, but it is fun to watch, and ultimately holds the picture together; Good support from Val Kilmer and Brad Dourif round the cast out. It's far from spectacular, but it holds itself together and even makes a few stabs at uniqueness.

It would have been scarier without the monsters.

Legion (2010), in my opinion a rip-off -- well sort of -- of the movie Gabriel.

Nice review. I ll need to track this down.

Thanks for the heads up, my friend.

Le petit soldat (1963)
 

Made in 1960 but banned in France until 1963, this was Godard's second film. Slow to get off the ground, once it does so it keeps the viewer riveted. Centering on the War in Algeria, this is a dark portrayal of the fringe elements of that war. Torture scenes are shown between casual dialogue between captive(r) and captive(e), guns are drawn and left that way whilst walking down walkways or driving down the road, and women should never age over 26. Our hero here is stuck in the middle. Without a home country, he is surrounded by enemies and those threatening to become so. And then he meets the screen's beauty, an outlet really for his frustrations. This flick is daring but difficult, with infamous handheld camera-work and run-on dialogue, long takes and abruptly ended scenes. The acting was superb here, as was the direction. The camera-work was intriguing and engaging. The piano score-disquieting. Overall a difficult yet wonderful flick. Ashe.
derek

Across the Hall (2009)

http://content8.flixster.com/movie/1...924726_pro.jpg

Hitchcockian like twisted thriller but quite slow burn & bit sloppy. The small cast includes Mike Vogel (Cloverfield) & late Brittany Murphy.

>>: C+

I actually liked Go Ask Alice :-)

I think i M ight have seen 1969 - years ago on vhs..

Saw VI: Meh. It's a Saw movie. Nothing spectacular, but I did like it. I just wish they would end the series. Not that I dislike the series. I do like the movies for the most part, but I would just like to see a conclusion to the whole game.

Pandorum: Event Horizon Part II? Like Event Horizon, Pandorum has an excellent overall premise, but an exceedingly shitty execution and plot progression. I was really liking the movie until: spoiler: the ridiculous, tribal, mutants who got that way because they "evolved for life on the ship" nonsense. WTF? So living on a downed spaceship means you're superhuman strong, able to get the shit kicked out of you by three people and shrug most of it off, AND your head becomes horribly deformed? Sure. The movie has a great look and overall atmosphere, but it just felt like it could have progressed so much better than it did.

The Road---good movie, but depressing as hell.

also could have used a bit more back story.