The Reckless Moment (1949) - pretty decent noirish drama from Max Ophuls held together by taut direction and good performances from Joan Bennett and James Mason.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041786/

6.5-7/10


Sabotage (1936) - minor early Hitchcock that lacks a bit of the suspense he was famous for but makes up for it somewhat with the dry british humour that was also his trademark.

Also this is the movie with the 'film is flammable' warning scene that was used in Inglorious Basterds.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028212/

5.5-6/10


Secret Sunshine (2007) - overly long and slow but fantastically acted korean film about a woman who decides to settle in the hometown of her recently deceased husband. There, she starts to be build a new life (and also learns more about the husband she never really got along with while he was alive) when another tragedy strikes. The rest of the film is about her coping with both events with the assistance of some of the townsfolk and it takes some pretty interesting directions, even though it takes far too long to eventually reach the open ended conclusion.

Still, has some very strong scenes, and the performances, particularly from lead actress Jeon De-Yeon, are stunning.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0817225/

6.5/10


Session 9 (2001) - from what I've seen of him (The Machinist, Transsiberian), director Brad Anderson has his Hitchcock down pat and its again on display here, a moody, brooding slow burn psychological horror film about an asbestos crew working on an abandoned mental hospital with a hidden secret that seems to be surfacing more and more each day.

The film makes great use of its location setting which, combined with the excellent sound design, lends the whole thing a very creepy atmosphere. Unfortunately, the script isnt quite as strong or all that original (an issue for each of Anderson's other films too) but given the lean pickings of quality horror films these days, it's a reasonable effort.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0261983/

6-6.5/10


Splendor in the Grass (1961) - Elia Kazan's tragic love story may appear dated but only if you discount the fact that its actually set in the 1920's and overlook the stunning central performances by Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty. The first few scenes dont really ring true, almost playing like a fairy tale rather than a realistic romance, but the rest of it is stunning stuff, especially the understated final scenes.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055471/

7.5/10


Three Monkeys (2008) - slow but extremely well made Turkish film that manages to successfully get you inside the head of each of its characters even when they are doing mundane things. And once it achieves that, it then successfully manipulates you so that the plotting feels unexpected even though most of it actually isnt.

Focusing on a lower class family in Istanbul, it explores the domino like effect of the father's decision to go to jail on his boss's behalf in exchange for money. Special mention must go to the digitally graded cinematography which plays around with the colour and saturation of each shot to reflect the mood and thoughts of the characters.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1233381/

7.5/10


Ashes of Time Redux Version (2009) - I think that Wong Kar Wai has made 2 great films and a whole bunch of others that vary from being moderately successful to stylish rubbish. And the 2 great films have pretty much been his more recent output which comes across as less fractured, more comfortable with its tone and shot with an actual script.

This particular one is an interesting one because it was made early in Wong Kar Wai's career (1993) but was re-edited and touched up earlier last year. I cant really compare since I havent seen the original version but the redux version definitely feels like the new Wong Kar Wai, to an extent. There are still elements here, mainly stylistic ones, that he coudlnt alter without a complete overhaul but on the whole, it displays the qualities I mentioned above.

So what is it? An existential arthouse historical swordfighting film with all of China's then biggest stars in which there is far more emphasis on mood and posturing than actual fight scenes. But its probably also his best film apart from In the Mood for Love and 2046.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109688/

6.5-7/10 

Waking Life (2001) – A man shuffles through a lucid dream meeting various people and discussing the meanings and purpose of the universe, all in Richard Linklater's rotoscope animation technology which allows him (as it did in A Scanner Darkly) to render a dreamy landscape where everything is always moving and blending into each other.

But unlike A Scanner Darkly, this is a rather dull, pseudo-intellectual and self-important film that thinks its discussions are more thought provoking than they actually are. Instead, the ideas hardly rise above what philosophy 101 thinkers might talk about if they are high.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243017/

4/10


Salvador (1986) – Oliver Stone's not so subtle condemnation of US involvement in the 1980 military dictatorship of El Salvador turns out better than it should thanks to a tremendous performance by the great James Woods as a slimy, self serving reporter for hire who undergoes a predictable but very believable transformation as he covers the horrific events. Woods is terrific, selling ever scene he is in and covering some of the contrivances in the script and the otherwise sledgehammer direction by Stone.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091886/

7/10


In the Loop (2009) – the funniest film from last year, a zippy political satire done UK Office and anti West Wing style with pitch perfect performances and a constant stream of drab one liners that are hilarious and pithy. The only shame is the overused quasi-documentary format that makes it look like an overblown tv show episode rather than an actual film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226774/

7.5/10


Becket (1964) – Overlong but engrossing film about the friendship and eventual clash between King Henry II and Thomas Becket. Director Peter Glenville has a very sparse style and spends far too much time fawning over his locations but whenever the focus is on the two main performers, the superb Peter O'Toole and Richard Burton respectively, it is borderline brilliant. Some of O'Toole's rants are classic scenes, you never quite know which syllable he is going to explode on and who on screen his wrath will be directed at next.


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057877/

7-7.5/10


The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) – rewatch, and its still only above average. There's some good scenes and the characterisations are pretty good (as are both Steve Mcqueen and Faye Dunaway) but the tone is all over the place and it never quite knows what it wants to be. Reminded me a little that way of the recent Duplicity (review later) which had the same problems.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063688/

5.5-6/10


Veronika Voss (1982) – Reiner Werner Fassbinder seems to excel at taking famous classic american films and putting them through a german filter to come up with strong, unique films that work as homages but which are capable of also standing on their own. In fact, when he tackled Douglas Sirk's All that Heaven Allows in Ali : Fear Eats the Soul he came up with an arguably superior movie in all aspects.

This, his reworking of Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, through a post-war german filter, is most definitely not a better film than Wilder's masterpiece but its still an excellent one. Although the story is effectively the same, a journalist meets and is intrigued by a former popular actress who is now a hermit, the characterisations have been changed to allow them to represent the various components of society in post war Germany. It goes into some pretty dark areas and the stark black and white photography also lends it a noirish tone and mood, but most the credit lies with Fassbinder's script and the strong lead performances.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084654/

7.5/10


Wolverine (2009) – not as terrible as I was expecting but it never rises higher than the above average category. Pretty well paced but theres far too many peripheral and inconsequential characters whose screen time would have been better utilised by giving the more relevant characters more meat. Some of the effects work is also a little shoddy but on the whole, its ok for what it is and never for a second pretends to be anything otherwise.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458525/

5.5-6/10 

If you enjoy In the Loop, you might also want to check out a BBC series called The Thick Of It. It's a series produced by the same team behind the film, half-hour episodes with a few hour long specials. The style is very similar, although it only features the UK side of things. Many of the same actors appear in both, although the only one playing the same character is Peter Capaldi as Malcolm Tucker.

In the same way that the film resembled a fictional take on a real political story, some of the events in the show do reflect things that happened in politics recently(although as a regular TV series, it plays at a smaller scale than the film does). So it's possible that it's more fun when you know what they're really driving at, but I'm sure it's enjoyable universally. 

yep, found that on wiki. Mean to check it out eventually. 

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) � taut, tense, character driven drama-thriller with Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan about a one armed man who arrives in a remote and tiny american town that is hostile towards any visitors. The plotting's a little dated now but everything else about this film from John Sturges is exemplary.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047849/

7.5/10


The International (2009) � decent conspiracy thriller starring Clive Owen and Naomi Watts. Its not very original in terms of themes but the performances are good, the pacing is spot on, there is actual suspense and its phenomenally shot. Director Tom Tykwer appears to be struggling between making a more realistic thriller and delivering a mainstream blockbuster at the same time, but overall there's more good here than bad.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0963178/

6.5-7/10


Marked Woman (1937) - horribly dated "gritty" crime-courtroom drama with an uninterested Humphrey Bogart and a completely miscast Bette Davis. I couldn�t find any redeeming qualities in this dud.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029217/

3.5-4/10


The Return (2003) - amazing debut film from russian director Andrei Zvyagintsev whose love for perfectly planned compositions and slow tracking shots is reminiscent of his other russian namesake filmmaker, the great Andrei Tarkovsky. And like Tarkovsky, this movie has imagery that burns itself into your memory and an ending that may or may not alter everything that went before.

The father of two boys, who has been absent from their lives for 12 years, surprisingly returns and decides to take them on a fishing trip to try and reforge a bond with them. There is not much more plot than that and it is admittedly slow but there is a lot of wonderful characterisation, a lot of devastating emotion, fantastic acting and the imagery mentioned above.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376968/

7.5-8/10


Stardust Memories (1980) - Woody Allen's version of Federico Fellini's 8 1/2. So instead of getting a crazy, oblique and disjointed trip into Fellini's head, we get one into Allen's.

I've never been a big fan of 8 1/2 which is only really interesting if you are interested in Fellini himself. And it�s the same case here, unless you really want to know about Allen's life, loves and inspirations, most of this is not all that interesting beyond the amazing camerawork. I say most, because like 8 1/2, there are a handful of scenes that are very funny and a couple of others that are quite poignant regardless of your interest in the director.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081554/

5.5/10


Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008) - above average bollywood romantic comedy that is actually watchable thanks to its charming, if amateurish, leads and some half decent writing. Unfortunately its far too long for the lightweight fluff that it still makes for a pleasant distraction.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473367/

5.5-6/10


The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970) - not one of Sam Peckinpah's best films but still a pretty good one. The opening half an hour is brilliant as Jason Robards' hobo is left for dead in the middle of a desert and accidentally stumbles upon a water spring and decides to profit from the situation by creating a water station on a popular travel route. Peckinpah is at his best during this section of the film, objectively filming the harsh realities of life in the old west but with an admiration of the courage that went with it. However, its not quite so good once a love story is introduced or when it veers off into a revenge tale in the last act.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065446/

6.5/10


The Hangover (2009) - above average comedy that runs out of steam well before the rubbish ending but is kept afloat most the way by a fine ensemble cast that have great chemistry between them.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1119646/

6/10 

I really like Clive Owens movies on the whole, but this just bored me. I tried to watch it twice, but its just not very engaging and actually sent me to sleep once. Booooo! 

I prefer this to the usual action stuff I guess. 

Just saw this. I thought it was pretty awesome in it's genre. It promises a cheesy soppy sci-fi spectacle and woe betide you if you expect anything else because it delivers pretty much the pinnacle of that in cinema so far. Basically lots of fancy shit, laid over an entirely generic story - you can't polish a turd but if you gild it enough you can make it look pretty damn cool.

Score: higher than nitin's / 10 

I saw it in 3D at Imax which obviously means I got the full benefit of that fancy shit.

And yes I would bang the princess woman, and yes I want a hammer head rhinocerous. 

As much as I loathe to say this, I pretty much agree with Shambler. The film oozes polish and love, and that's why I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The 3D effects weren't really utilized that well, and with the glasses the movie looked way too dark. 

but why does it have to be cheesy? Star Trek (review coming) proved you dont have to be totally dumb to make a sci fi spectacle.

Anyway, what do I know, it will be the biggest movie of all time in a few days. 

They just steal Cartman's Smurfs return to fern gulley idea?

Spose will have to see it now. 

Lowest common denominator, appeal to the herds. But yes then again Star Trek was a little bit better.

It's a disease of cinema / blockbusters in general... 

Anyone seen Moon? I really enjoyed it, need more SF like this in cinema, and less crazy aliens with laser guns (or bow and arrows).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twuScTcDP_Q 

Also,

http://media.noob.us/avatarpocahontas.jpg

:D 

hopefully arriving tomorrow so that I can watch on the weekend. It looks a little bit 2001 and a little bit Solaris. 

I caught it completely by accident while in New York, which was very nice, because it never got a proper theater release here.

Very good, very highly recommended. 

Yeah, it's a bit of both, but not quite like either in the end, which is good (both of those are in my favorite movie list, I'm a sucker for SF), can't say more or I'd be spoiling.

Vig yeah I waited a long time for it to come out here (usually most movies get at lease a small release in Paris), but it never came out. Would have really liked seeing it at the cinema. =\ 

Avatar = Pocahontas bis.... 8|

Damned.. I was about to go seeing it at the cinema.. you just ruined my evening :( 

Wtf are you chatting about? Star Trek was horrible. And got worse the longer you sat through it... At least Avatar has amazing CGI 

"Damned.. I was about to go seeing it at the cinema.. you just ruined my evening :("

There are 7 stories in the world. You've seen them all by now. Don't worry about it. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Star Trek, I thought it was fast paced and it brought me into the world.

I haven't seen Avatar, and I don't plan to. I am not one who generally gets excited about pure CGI movies (Transformers, ahem) and if the story doesn't look all that good I will probably not bother watching it. 3D effects or not. 

Star Trek = 6/10 maybe 7 

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/reviews/transformers-2-10-things-i-liked-5-i-didnt.php 

The Transformers movies were atrocious. Just horrible. I can't believe anyone but the most hardcore fanboy would like them.