last updated: september 10, 2006latest at top
| movie | more info. | rating (out of 10) | comments | |
| * the apartment (1960) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | one of shirley maclaine's big hits. a classic, but didn't really do anything for me. very weird to see fred macmurray (of flubber (the original) fame) as the baddie. | |
| * babes in toyland (1961) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | blast from the past. fun disney flick, apparently based on a victor herbert operetta. not one of the best, esp. if you don't have the added nostalgia factor, but there are some good moments/scenes inc. annette funicello as mary quite contrary. | |
| * chung hing sam lam (1994) (chungking express) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | wong kar wai. nice cinematography. in two distinct sections, one dramatic and one more comedic, with nothing really connecting the two. enjoyable, though, and i'd watch it again. | |
| * the devil wears prada (2006) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | fun summer movie. as most critics have pointed out: meryl streep lifts this up from the dreck it could've been. i couldn't decide how much anne hathaway was annoying me, though. | |
| * heisei tanuki gassen pompoko (1994) (the raccoon war) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | somewhat trippy studio ghibli flick (miyazaki was one of the producers). typically japanese quirkiness with some raunchy humor and a fairly downer ending. | |
| * howards end (1992) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | entertaining enough and has emma thompson in an academy award-winning role. not quite a keeper though. | |
| * i can hear the sea (umi ga kikoeru) (1993) (tv) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | another studio ghibli flick. this one's about a girl from tokyo forced to live in a small town because of her parent's divorce. has some nice insights into adolescence, particularly at the end, but didn't really resonate with me. | |
| * i think i do (1997) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | fairly cliche story, but a surprisingly enjoyable gay flick. one of the leads is pretty hot, and the whole cast is competent and likable. prob. best if you watch this with low expectations. | |
| * kind hearts and coronets (1949) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | alec guiness flick in which he plays multiple roles. fairly slow with little tension. | |
| * the muppet movie (1979) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | the first muppet movie. fairly slow and a slew of celebrity cameos that if you weren't around at the time are fairly unrecognizable, but some great scenes esp. with ms. piggy, kermit, and fozzy. | |
| * nine to five (1980) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | fluffy flick with jane fonda, dolly parton, and lily tomlin. a workplace romantic comedy about three women vs their boss. fairly slow, but i like lily tomlin. | |
| * notorious (1946) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | hitchcock suspense classic. nice performances by ingrid bergman, cary grant, and claude rains, although the ending is a bit abrupt. | |
| * the palm beach story (1942) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | another highly entertaining preston sturges flick. not quite as memorable as some of his others, but still worth watching. | |
| * passport to pimlico (1949) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | odd little british flick about a village that finds an ancient charter that declares them to be an independent country separate from britain and the chaos that ensues. entertaining, but doesn't really move beyond the premise. | |
| * thelma & louise (1991) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | a classic, and still fairly novel today as a female "buddy movie". not always the most convincing, but a good direction (ridley scott) and a good pair of leads. | |
| * top hat (1935) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | fun astaire and rogers movie. wasn't much more memorable than the others to me, although apparently people single it out as the best. | |
| * whisper of the heart (mimi wo sumaseba) (1995) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | once again miyazaki completely captures childhood in all its confusion, enthusiasm, and innocence. a truly beautiful film. this is on the level of classics like citizen's kane or all about eve but all the more amazing because it's a "kids" movie (although i imagine it's prob. too slow for a lot of kids, american at least). no fantasy elements, but completely enchanting. | |
| about a boy (2002) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | hugh grant is actually good in this movie, and plays something more substantial than bumbling good guy. the story is entertaining and avoids cliche enough to make it an easy recommendation for people tired of the typical "romantic comedy". actually this isn't even really a romantic comedy, more like a character study. the guy who plays the kid really deserves kudos for a great job, def. holding his own w/ grant if not outshining him. | |
| absolutely fabulous - complete series 1 (1994) | entry at amazon.com | 7 | variable, but overall i thought these 6 episodes were worth watching, if just for the interactions between edina and saffy (my newest crush), and the occasional memorable line from patsy. also jennifer saunders is always great. | |
| adaptation. (2002) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | surprisingly good. kaufman takes what is gen. a painfully boring subject (namely, a writer writing about writer's block), and turns it into a worthwhile character portrait. the line b/t "reality" and fiction is wonderfully blurred, and although the movie only dips its toes into deeper emotional waters, its inventiveness makes it worth watching. | |
| the adventures of felix (2000) (drôle de félix) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | quite enjoyable. the setup, of a man without a family and his encounters with strangers who "become his family", stays well away from the maudlin although it doesn't quite reach any great depth either. | |
| the adventures of priscilla, queen of the desert (1994) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | cute and colorful, but formulaic. the costumes are amazing, and the main trio of actors, which includes guy pearce, are quite good. | |
| the adventures of robin hood (1938) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | mostly entertaining if cliche classic, although now it's much campier than it was originally intended. | |
| the accidental tourist (1988) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | i mistakenly thought this would be a sort of romantic comedy, when it's actually a drama about a man and his grief over his son's death. generally well constructed and acted, but the reason i'd recommend it is b/c of geena davis's completely worthy academy award-winning performance. | |
| a.i.: artificial intelligence (2001) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | annoying in almost every way, including the script and cinematography, although there were some interesting visual images, like when david, the robot, throws himself into the water. pretty much the only good thing about this movie was osment's performance as the robotic boy. | |
| alien (1979) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | pretty dull. | |
| all about eve (1950) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | i'm not terribly fond of character studies, but this one develops a whole group connected by one person. bette davis was quite good. better than citizen kane in my opinion. | |
| all about my mother (todo sobre mi madre) (1998) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | characteristically colorful and entertaining, but not particularly memorable, although esteban (manuela's son) was wicked cute. | |
| all of me (1984) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | fun steve martin/lily tomlin flick. lags a bit in places and it's a bit hard to imagine lily tomlin being frigid instead of her usual goofy self, but both pull off some great moments. | |
| all over the guy (2001) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | thoroughly average. average story (two boys having a love-hate, on-again-off-again relationship), average acting, average direction. | |
| amelie, or le fabuleux destin d'amélie poulain (2001) | entry at
imdb.com new york times preview: includes interview with jeunet |
9 | a light, whimsical movie (cheesy adjectives, i know, but they fit). the writers, jeunet and laurant, fill the movie with clever and warmhearted humour, oftentimes visual, that is completely engaging and will win over cynics. although the film is oftentimes episodic and works well as a romantic comedy, it also works quite well as a character study in which a shy girl learns how to interact with the rest of the world. the small community the filmmakers create is beautifully delineated without ever feeling heavy-handed, and the characterization of amelie is extremely well-done. plus the main male lead is cute. ;) | |
| the american president (1995) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | one of the better romantic comedies, although some parts of it get bogged down in political jargon. | |
| the animatrix (2003) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | some really great animation, but most of the stories were mediocre, with the main exception being "beyond". | |
| arsenic and old lace (1944) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | entertaining although rather dispensible. also, cary grant is rather monotonous. | |
| babe (1995) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | cute and clever and not overly sentimental. don't know if i'd want to watch it again anytime soon, though. | |
| babe: pig in the city (1998) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | woefully underrated. a really great film, although much darker than the first. | |
| babettes gæstebud (babette's feast) (1987) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | the story of a woman who flees france and ends up living with two elderly religious sisters in a small town in denmark. the story was pretty straightforward, but the direction, characters, and acting were good, and the last scene was quite memorable. won the 1988 oscar for best foreign film. | |
| back to the future (1985) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | michael j. fox look so young -- heh ... christopher lloyd is great as the mad scientist. extremely silly, but cute and engaging. | |
| bambi (1942) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | rather a nature documentary sort of disney film. enjoyable for its classy animation and unusual-for-disney pacing and presentation and, of course, thumper. | |
| beautiful thing (1996) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | now a classic, this is a gay coming-of-age flick set in britain, one of the best of its genre by virtue of the strong emotions and performances rather than any particularly great cinematography or script. at first i didn't think it was that astounding (having just seen john greyson's haunting -lilies-), b/c the script, while sweet, didn't delve very deeply into the feelings of the protagonists and was rather irrelevant at times. also, the pacing just seemed a little off throughout. nevertheless, after having had time to mull over it i felt more sympathetic to the story and much more moved by the plight of the two boys and the main character's mother ... and who can resist a cute gay love story with cute boys with british accents? | |
| beauty and the beast (1991) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | a classic. a bit less sophisticated than i remember, but still some fantastic animation and moments. | |
| beavers (1988) | entry at imdb.com | 3 | this 30-minute flick has some pretty good visuals, but it turns out that it was pretty much all unnatural. tame beavers and other animals, a fake beaver lodge, and an 50-year old dam. the accompanying silent film is actually more entertaining (not to mention accurate) than the feature movie. | |
| bedknobs and broomsticks (1971) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | watched in honor of angela lansbury's recent 80th birthday. angela's quite lovable here, and overall the movie is enjoyable, although not particularly memorable. | |
| before sunrise (1995) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | surprisingly moving. on the surface the plot sounds like a "romantic comedy", but as you may know it's a very, very talk-y linklater film (he did waking life, dazed and confused (which i hated), tape, and school of rock). one of the things that made me appreciate it, though, is that the two protagonists were (perhaps intentionally) not "my kind" of people; so even though i was distanced from them as people, not being in love w/ them made me feel even more moved by their situation, b/c it constantly reminded me that they were just two people out of millions in similar situations (one of the big themes of the movie). i really hope this was intentionally done by linklater (and the other writer). i'm inclined to think it was b/c linklater seems like an intelligent guy, and also b/c i think in real life ethan hawke isn't quite so toothy. either way, julie delpy is totally gorgeous. why isn't she in more movies? cheesy to say, but her skin can only be described as "luminescent", a la (as ethan hawke's character notes) a botticelli painting. | |
| before sunset (2004) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | this is a beautiful film. i feel that most of the time film pales when compared to theater in terms of really convincing character development, but this is one of the few films i've seen that had a real emotional depth to it. if this had been in new york, there's no doubt in my mind it would've been a strong contender for best new play. and just b/c it's expected and the norm, it is no less a travesty that julie delpy, who is breathtaking, wasn't nominated for a best actress oscar. (although apparently the boston society of film critics gave their "2nd best movie" award to before sunset and SF's critics, in a very independent move, gave delpy their best actress award.) i highly recommend you see before sunrise so you can see this movie. a big part of the depth of this movie to me was the power of seeing two people after 9 years has passed in real time. (btw the actors of have said they thought at one point could continue every 9 years which would be very interesting.) |
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| besieged (1998) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | visually excellent and stylish and good acting by the two main characters, but the growth of the protagonist's love for her benefactor was rather underdeveloped. | |
| best in show (2000) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | thought this movie was wicked annoying. examines various colorful characters, none of whom were particularly interesting, with the exception perhaps of christopher guest as harlan pepper: "peanut ... macadamia nut ... walnut ..." | |
| big business (1988) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | this is another one of those movies i'd seen when i was younger
and liked and which i rewatched recently ... it's fluffy and doesn't
ever quite find its footing, but it's a lot of fun, the writers make
the most of the mistaken identities, and bette midler and lily tomlin
are both great comic actors and a great pair. watched again. quite fun and full of clever (albeit contrived) setups. great to see bette and lily tomlin each playing two completely different roles. |
|
| billy elliot (2000) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | man, i'm such a sap for these kinds of movies. utterly predictable and emotionally manipulative, but still, very well-done and great acting/dancing by the lead. i liked how the backdrop contributed to the story. | |
| billy's hollywood screen kiss (1998) | entry at
imdb.com
|
5 | fairly insipid. the general ideas weren't that bad, but the execution was generally uncreative. | |
| bjork: volumen (1998) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | a collection of her music videos ... half of them are flat out
amazing (e.g. "big time sensuality," "it's oh so quiet," "i miss you,"
"hunter") and the other half are still worth seeing. too bad it
doesn't include the ethereal "all is full of love" video ... update: the updated edition now includes -all- of the bjork music videos, adding the rest of the homogenic videos, as well as the videos from vespertine and family tree/greatest hits. whoo! |
|
| bjork: minuscule (2001) | entry at amazon.com | 6 | good but doesn't say much that's revelatory. still, it's always fun to see bjork talking, the production values are high, and the ambience fits with the album. would've been nice for the music clips to be longer, but i guess i'll have to get the vespertine concert dvd for that. | |
| bjork: the inner or deep part of an animal or plant structure (2004) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | the production on this DVD was minimal. the menu doesn't have any chapter selection, and the segments only feature interviews with a fraction of the performers (bjork of course, rahzel, mike patton, dokaka, the sound engineer, and a bit of shlomo and taqaq, so that means no info from robert wyatt, mark bell, sjon, nico, or lynn fox). also, the interviews are generally really short, and when bjork talks about the album she talks only about generalities. so there's no info about such things as what the different songs are about or their inspiration, why she chose to use another e.e. cummings text, or what the wigs are about. overall this is worth seeing once or twice if you're a bjork fan, but it was a bit of a lost opportunity as most of the documentaries she's released have been. | |
| the black cauldron (1985) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | an anomaly in the disney canon, and not particularly worth seeing. the earliest (?) disney animated feature-length films that didn't receive a PG rating, and didn't include songs. the movie took out so much of the original source's emotion and clever humour (e.g. eilonwy in the movie is a much less interesting character than in the books). | |
| black narcissus (1947) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | atmospheric and moody, but didn't really move me. | |
| blade runner (director's cut) (1982) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | dark and really atmospheric. kept me on the edge for the whole movie, although it's long (the director's cut was prob. longer than the orig. release.) a really unique "action" movie, and the points it raised about robots, etc. were done in a way that was engaging instead of dull, like in a.i . | |
| bluebeard's castle (1991) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | interesting version of the great bartok opera which tells the story of a man and his new wife; the latter's curiosity leads to their mutual destruction. the two performers sing well, although the stylized acting of opera works less well on screen and the scenery is a little ridiculous at times because it's so unrealistic. also, the singer who plays bluebeard is a little too stoic at the end. the last scene is extremely well-done dramatically and visually -- the costumes are amazing. worth seeing this fascinating highly allegorical opera visually, although the production doesn't do very well resolving the difficulties of the staging because it tries to depict the scenes too literally. | |
| bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom (2003) (spring, summer, autumn, winter ... and spring) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | good cinematography and some good ideas about life and buddhism, but didn't leave a lasting impression. | |
| bowfinger (1999) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | had some funny bits and had a blending of pathos and comedy similar to waiting for guffman but otherwise wasn't that memorable. eddie murphy playing two roles was fun. | |
| boys don't cry (1999) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | soooo depressing. visceral and haunting and amazing performance by hilary swank as brandon, but it didn't quite stay with me afterwards. | |
| bride and prejudice (2004) | entry at imdb.com | 2 | poor jane austen. it was actually a pretty good idea to adapt her most famous novel to a bollywood-style musical set in india, but the execution was a decided failure in pretty much every way. characters act without any motivation; dialogue is stilted and unbelievable; and the bollywood-campiness is completely sporadic and never used to its fullest potential. skip this one. | |
| bridget jones's diary (2001) | entry at imdb.com | 4 | wow. yet another case of hollywood mediocrity. renee zellweger is passably charming, but hugh grant goes for minor variations on a theme yet again and colin firth has absolutely nothing to do in his paper-thin role. i can't believe this movie was popular. | |
| brigadoon (1954) | entry at imdb.com | 3 | basically no plot and no tension. the songs aren't bad, but the staging etc. were completely annoying. | |
| broadway melody of 1940 (1940) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | it amazes me that completely mediocre musicals like -singin' in the rain- become part of the canon, and great classics like this one get completely overlooked. typical plot, but astaire is unbelievably fantastic. | |
| broadway's lost treasures (2003) (tv) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | has some definite highlights, including barbara harris in the apple tree and a very young patti lupone in evita. it's weird that some of the numbers are obviously lip-synced. not indispensible viewing with only a few real highlights, but as a historical document it's worthwhile. | |
| broadway's lost treasures 2 (2004) | entry at imdb.com | 2 | not as worthwhile as volume 1 (and 80 min vs. the 110 min of vol. 1), but broadway buffs will still want to see some of the obscure stuff they've dug up here. highlights include orbach's great number from chicago and jeter in grand hotel. | |
| brokeback mountain (2005) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | i like ang lee's direction, and he didn't disappoint. the story could've easily been banal, but it was beautifully restrained. of the 4 leads, i was really impressed wih 2 of them. all in all a solid 9 out of 10. | |
| the broken hearts club (2000) | entry at imdb.com | 4 | amusing presentation but too many characters, none of which are people you could be emotionally interested in except for the photographer, except his romance is boring. | |
| but i'm a cheerleader (1999) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | not as quirkily funny as i remember, but had enough gags to keep me entertained the 2nd time through. | |
| calendar girls (2003) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | if this were an american movie it would be unbearably sachharine, but since it's british and led by a serious cast including helen mirren this mostly fluffy feel-good movie (more drama than comedy in the end) almost transcends it genre. | |
| can't buy me love (1987) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | blast from the past, from the days of disney's sunday night movies. a very 80's teen flick about the perils of popularity, but some scenes have surprisingly good writing. | |
| camp (2003) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | pretty much only worth seeing for the music and dance numbers. | |
| carousel (1956) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | some great music and good performances by the two leads, but never really gets off the ground. | |
| casablanca (1942) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | wow. there's a reason this movie's a classic ... b/c it's good. has humour, romance, action, and emotion-stirring WWII drama. the acting wasn't tremendous, but the drama makes this one a winner. | |
| castle in the sky (tenkû no shiro rapyuta) (1986) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | really good. probably my favorite of the english-dubbed miyazaki movies. the over-dubbing was quite good. miyazaki's imagination is perhaps not quite as limitless as in spirited away, but the story is more coherent. | |
| the castle of cagliostro (rupan sansei: kariosutoro no shiro) (1979) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | great james bond-type adventure movie, w/ a distinctly miyazaki feel. very enjoyable. | |
| cecilia bartoli: a portrait | entry at imdb.com | 6 | this release includes a mini-documentary about cecilia and a full-length concert in england. the mini-documentary is entertaining as it shows a very young cecilia (24 years old) at the beginning of what has become a one in a million career. the interviews are with her mother, a british record producer, the editor of opera magazine, and, of course, cecilia. also included are some segments showing cecilia's daily life, rehearsing with her mother, cooking, recording, and driving around. the concert is for the most part enjoyable; mostly art songs and a few arias, and in general very heavy on the rossini. highlights include an absolutely stunning slow song by vivaldi and "una voce poco fa" from rossini's barber of seville. however, the front camera-view was consistently shaky (distractingly so), and my biggest gripe is that there are no subtitles for the entire concert! surely this would've been an easy thing to do, esp. since not all of the selections are well-known. | |
| charlie and the chocolate factory (2005) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | johnny depp was entertaining, but this didn't really add anything to the originial other than a humdrum backstory on willy wonka's childhood and boring songs. | |
| chicago (2002) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | surprisingly decent although i wasn't bowled over. | |
| chicken run (2000) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | not as original and spontaneous as the wallace and gromit shorts (surprisingly i thought the characterization was less, although the movie was longer), but still highly entertaining and excellent animation. | |
| a chorus line (1985) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | interesting to compare this to the stage version, although i still don't care for either of them. frame stories are inherently problematic, and the monologues aren't powerful enough for me to care about any of the characters, although the ending shot where the winners are resigned to the obscurity of the homogeneous chorus line is powerful. in the film the relationship between the director and his ex-wife is developed more, but it becomes more of a romantic issue than before which is fairly trite. the monologues really don't work very well on screen and the opening dance sequence is far too long. some of the performers, particularly the actor who plays richie, are stunningly talented. funny to see the versatile terrence mann as the assistant choreographer, but he does a great job in the fleshed out role. | |
| chunhyang (2000) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | yeah! a korean movie made it to an indie release in the states! tells an age old story told in a highly stylized form of korean drama. beautiful cinematography that completely captures the vibrancy of ancient korea, although the form limits the viewer's emotional involvement. | |
| cinderella (1957) (tv) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | critics complain about how sappy rodgers and hammerstein can be, but the simple fact is these two knew how to write songs that make you smile. their tv production of cinderella doesn't have any surprises in terms of plot, but fantastic performances by all the cast (lead by a very young and fresh julie andrews although the male lead is great as is kaye ballard who steals several scenes as one of the stepsisters) make thie well worth watching. the accompanying "making of" is pretty decent. it really makes you appreciate the fact that the show had an incredible reception and more amazingly that it was filmed live w/ no retakes (and apparently only one major goof! although it's unclear if this video is of a dress rehearsal or the actual broadcast or both). great stuff from the golden age of musicals. | |
| citizen kane (1941) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | interesting classic but i didn't find it to be particularly moving. | |
| the city of lost children (la cite des enfants perdus) (1995) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | fantastic. the characters are all great caricatures a la roald dahl, the cinematography is outstanding, the acting is great (the girl is absolutely knockout), and jeunet's direction is loads of fun. | |
| coming to america (1988) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | i had seen this a long time ago, and didn't remember too much about it. a benign although only occasionally funny movie. | |
| cradle will rock (1999) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | has a huge cast including jack black, sigourney weaver, emily watson, hank azaria, cary elwes, and vanessa redgrave. famous personages portrayed included orson welles, diego rivera, rockefeller, and mussolini's wife. the last 1/2 hour wasn't so good but it had some interesting parts overall. prob. only worth watching if you know and like many of the actors. the pj harvey track (played during the credits) is fantastic. | |
| crouching tiger, hidden dragon (2000) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | amazing. the first fight scene had me absolutely stunned. some of the special effects were a little off and the story had some bobbles, but the drama was generally engaging and poignant, michelle yeoh was stunning and kicked ass, and in general the acting was powerful, even despite the language barrier (although a friend told me later that michelle yeoh's accent was actually quite bad). | |
| the crying game (1992) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | really picked up after the prologue. worth seeing, although not particlarly deep. nice and atmospheric. | |
| dancer in the dark (2000) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | wicked depressing. i agree w/ the new york times that it was both irritating and extremely powerful. in the last half bjork is absolutely amazing. the first half is far less engaging, however. the musical scenes were hit or miss, w/ "i've seen it all" and "107 steps" being perfect hits, and "scatter heart" being a painfully horrible miss. very uneven. | |
| dave (1993) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | the only thing really going for this movie is kevin kline's agreeable personality. the script, both in plot and dialogue, is barely passable. | |
| the daytrippers (1996) | entry at
imdb.com
pretty accurate film review by random person (james
berardinelli) |
5 | at first i really hated this movie. it's full of loud, annoying, whiny people. why watch a movie full of them when you get enough of them in real life? i had a similar feeling in watching -dr. strangelove-. in retrospect it does give some food for thought about families and relationships, esp. in how the main character (played by the ever lovely hope davis) deals with them, which makes it possibly worth watching, but be prepared to be irritated. plus, there are a lot of funnier comedies and more moving dramas out there. | |
| dead men don't wear plaid (1982) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | actually decent. extremely clever gimmick, and steve martin's brand of humour (which i'm not personally crazy about) is kept in check by the engagingly twisty plot. | |
| delicatessen (1991) | entry at
imdb.com |
8 | watched this after seeing amelie. has the same penchant for "stratagems", although with a much more morbid sense of humour. the penultimate scene is fantastic, and there's a lot of memorable visual humour. | |
| destination mozart: a night at the opera with peter sellars (1990) | entry at amazon.com | 6 | interesting, but a little too straightforward. also, it would've been nice if it had had longer excerpts. | |
| different for girls (1996) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | watched this one for rupert graves. he's quite cute in this and the actor playing the transsexual was also good. the acting makes this worth seeing, and overall it's not a bad story and pretty realistic. | |
| dinosaur (2000) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | a pretty mediocre plot, although the animation is pretty amazing. i wish disney would stop reusing the same, tired stories. at least it didn't have songs in it ... | |
| director's series, vol. 3 - the work of director michel gondry (2003) (v) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | see blog entry | |
| divine madness! (1980) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | the songs are probably not the greatest thing about this concert movie, but bette midler's larger than life personality fills it with quite funny, charmingly bawdy humor. novel, fun, and the scene that involving bette as a mermaid that makes the whole thing almost automatically worth it. | |
| dr. strangelove (1964) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | hmm. i think i need to watch this movie again some time. at the time, like -the daytrippers-, i really didn't enjoy watching it, but upon reflection i see its point and i think i would find it more amusing if i appreciated it for its satire and cynicism. | |
| dogma (1999) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | my review was much more positive than it should have been. looking back i think this movie is muddled, bombastic, self-indulgent, and mostly irrelevant. with that said, it's partially redeemed b/c it's by kevin smith and when his dialogue isn't being preachy it's actually entertaining. besides, he's cute as silent bob. ;) | |
| la dolce vita (1960) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | movies like this frustrate me b/c the characters are so obtuse and emotionally immature. as a character study this works fairly well, but getting more from it would require perhaps a bit too much personal interpretation. | |
| donnie darko (2001) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | see blog entry | |
| dumb and dumber (1994) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | pretty funny, albeit mindless flick. | |
| eat drink man woman (1994) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | the food preparation scenes were fascinating and the movie was nicely paced. it occasionally reached true emotion, but in general it was a little too random and the characters were too shallow. | |
| election (1999) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | pretty fluffy and annoying, but also somewhat entertaining. | |
| elizabeth (1998) | entry at imdb.com | 4 | easily one of the worst movies i've seen in a while. i can't believe other people thought this movie was any good at all. it was completely incoherent with little to no room for the acting to pierce through the muddled plot, with the exception only occasionally of cate blanchett, but hardly enough for her performance to warrant a golden globe award. even the editing, cinematography, and screenplay were all crappy. avoid at all costs. | |
| emma (1996) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | has a good cast, but is fairly dull overall. gwyneth paltrow is pretty good, toni collette was rather drippy. ewan macgregor is annoying and alan cumming is appropriately | |
| erasure: pop! the first 20 hits (1992) | entry at amazon.com | 7 | i hadn't listened to erasure in a while, but, man, it's great to be reminded of how cool they are. andy bell is hilarious in most of these videos - dressing up as a farmer, a cowboy, an ABBA chick, a spaceman, among other things, and other times he just dances around and looks cute. vince clark is stoic and virtuosic in most of the videos, which makes the last video such a funny surprise. a drawback is the number of videos which feature minimal action and maximal "watch andy sing from different angles and under different coloured lights." ... overall not very varied like other music video collections (e.g. tori amos's), but the music is great and there are some real gems (like "heavenly action") that definitely make it worth watching if you're an erasure fan and pretty well worth watching if you're a newbie. | |
| erin brockovich (2000) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | surprisingly good, although predictable. julia roberts is surprisingly effective. nicely paced. | |
| escape to witch mountain (1975) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | funny trip down memory lane. holds up a bit better than some other childhood flicks. | |
| evita (1996) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | i enjoyed re-watching this. i think this musical is one of ALW's best, and the production values are high. good adaptation, cinematography, and direction, and solid acting from madonna and banderas. much better than the average movie musical. | |
| fire (1996) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | fascinating look at two married women in india, one older and one just married, and their growing romantic relationship. at times it seems a little disjoint, but the characterization is generally well-done and sensitive, in particular of the two women (as opposed to their two husbands), and the symbolism isn't too painfully obvious. | |
| fargo (1996) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | overrated. the characters didn't seem particularly three-dimensional. also, the movie was more violent than i expected. still, the movie has a few redeeming qualities, like the pacing and cinematography were quite nice, as was frances mcdermond's performance as madgie. | |
| the five obstructions (de fem benspænd) (2003) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | the original, leth's short film "the perfect human", is memorable, as are his 4 variations included in this film. however, the film as a documentary itself, composed almost solely of highly abbreviated conversations w/ lars von trier and leth, is mostly empty and completely unmemorable and the "challenges" were actually mostly superficial and dull. | |
| the 5,000 fingers of dr. t. (1953) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | ehh. pretty bad. one among thousands of musical messes. the short that's on the dvd is better than this movie. | |
| a fish called wanda (1988) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | very entertaining. john cleese and jamie lee curtis are both great, and there's some really good situational humour. even though it's intentional, i found kevin kline to be wicked annoying. | |
| 42 up (1998) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | not the most interesting in the series. as the series has progressed, the updates on each person have by necessity gotten shorter and shorter, which has been disappointing. | |
| freaky friday (2003) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | overrated, but cute | |
| french & saunders live: new show | entry at amazon.com | 7 | enjoyable and def. better than the first live show, although rather a bit too much shouting and not their most brilliant work. | |
| french & saunders live (1998) | entry at amazon.com | 5 | not so good. repetitive and not their best, plus the picture quality is pretty subpar. it's mostly french and saunders arguing back and forth, but occasionally there are some funny bits, like early versions of the "countdown" sketch. | |
| french & saunders - back with a vengeance | entry at amazon.com | 8 | i've been a long-time french and saunders fan and think that at they're best they're amazing. i'd heard that their latest series for the BBC, 6 episodes which ran last year i believe, got tepid to bad reviews, so i wasn't sure what to expect for this. fortunately, i found this release to be as enjoyable as any of their other released DVDs. the duo, older than their appearances on previous compilations, still have an uncanny knack for comedy that isn't ever mean-spirited and is oftentimes surrealistically funny. the movie parodies are actually the least funny parts (mostly just including parodies of cold mountain and troy and nods to kill bill and the matrix). the highlights include the familiar but always wacky conversations in jennifer's all-white living room; two incredibly funny scenes where coldplay's lead singer's mother calls him; and a parody of a british tv show called rosemary and thyme and reworked as "sausages and mash" which, like their house of idiot parody, is extremely funny even if you're not familiar w/ the source. great stuff. | |
| french & saunders - the ingenue years (2003) | entry at amazon.com | 5 out of 5 | i too think this is a great F&S DVD. this doesn't have any real movie parodies which may explain others' less-than-positive reactions, but you won't miss them at all. (the exception is an absolutely fantastic rip of the piano, and there are some parodies of movie stars inc. jennifer as a great loopy liza minelli and a short bit w/ dawn as elizabeth taylor on cat on a hot tin roof). there are some really classic moments here, inc. a series of sketches where the two are schoolgirls, some of the best living room sketches, and some great 80's parodies inc. a kid's TV show called "it's great!" and a pet shop boys and bangles parody. there are some misses, like the bits w/ the two lechers gets a bit old, but overall this is a very worthwhile collection. | |
| funny face (1957) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | a really fun, albeit fluffy movie. audrey hepburn is lovely as ever and the chemistry b/t her and fred astaire is more or less convincing. the script did a nice job of integrating the old songs from the orig. stage version in the completely reworked movie script. visually attractive and sweet, with great classic musical numbers like hepburn's dancing in "basal metabolism", fred astaire's cape dance, "on how to be lovely", and the hilarious "clap yo hands". | |
| funny girl (1968) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | my friend john and i rented this movie b/c we were afraid our cards would get revoked if we didn't watch any streisand soon. the flick was entertaining and the music and dramatic performances were good, but despite styne's memorable score the film as a whole was fairly humdrum. typical "broadway musical turns hollywood mishmash" scenario. | |
| get real (1998) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | all right. -beautiful thing- does it better. the jock guy seemed way too old. | |
| ghostbusters (1984) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | pretty lame, even though it's a classic. bill murray's funny though doing his usual shtick, and it's fun to see sigourney weaver. | |
| gigi (1958) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | annoying wannabe my fair lady. has a couple of worthwhile moments, otherwise a complete bore. | |
| girls just want to have fun (1985) | entry at imdb.com | 3 | how in the world did i let myself get coerced into watching this? almost painfully bad, although it's almost worth watching because it's so 80's and so dumb and a young helen hunt is so wacky. | |
| girls on top (season 1) (1985) | entry at amazon.com | 3 | fairly disappointing. we just watched the first two episodes. the characters are supremely irritating and the plots paper thin. french and saunders' talents don't get much of a chance to shine. | |
| the gnome-mobile (1967) | entry at imdb.com | 4 | not terribly terrible, but very disjoint and generic. some cute actors in unmemorable roles. the last scene, with the women gnomes, makes the movie almost worthwhile though. | |
| the gods must be crazy (1980) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | a lot of great physical and situational comedy. a classic. | |
| the great american songbook (2003) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | i agree with most of horiuchi's review except i found feinstein's narration to be irritating. he's too earnest and has a rather plastic smile, and i found myself fervently wishing that they had replaced his performances (of which there are too many, esp in the second section) with real footage. the pacing is a little rushed b/c of the large amount of territory covered, and a bit confusing in the way the film jumps back and forth between composers b/c everything is presented chronologically. clips are generally great, but ultimately disappointing because usually they just show the verse and the first chorus and then sometimes they skip to the finale, i.e. less than 1/2 of the actual song. in other words, all in all it's good as an introduction to this genre, but for many of these you'll want to see the movies the clips are from. | |
| great expectations (1998) | entry at imdb.com | 4 | another bad adaptation. the leads have little to nothing to do here. | |
| the great muppet caper (1981) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | enjoyable muppet humor w/ a host of familiar faces. | |
| happiness (1998) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | a thoroughly depressing movie, but also quite funny in a very, very twisted way. worth seeing. | |
| a hard day's night (1964) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | silly but fun. not as good as help! | |
| harold and maude (1971) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | not as good as i remembered, but def. still a good cult classic. | |
| harry potter and the sorcerer's stone (2001) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | pretty good. religiously faithful to the book, which is good and bad, but mostly good. the quidditch match was a definite highlight, and oliver wood is my new dreamboat -- ha ha. | |
| harry potter and the chamber of secrets (2002) | entry at
imdb.com |
8 | better than the first one, but another "books on video" adaptation. | |
| the harvey girls (1946) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | silly. judy garland is good even though the plot is pretty threadbare. it's too bad angela lansbury was underutilized. | |
| hauru no ugoku shiro (2004) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | diana wynne jones' original book is way better than the movie, with loads of plot twists and memorable characters. miyazaki's version is exactly what i expected from him, with visuals stressed over plot coherency and sympathetic characters. with that said, his invention is still better than anything disney is doing these days and is worth seeing. | |
| hedwig and the angry inch (2000) | entry at
imdb.com entry at ifilm.com: check out the music video of "wig in a box". official site: pretty standard fare, but does feature downloadable hedwig paper dolls ... ha ha. new york times: quote from mitchell in an article about sundance planetout.com: interview with john cameron mitchell
hedwiginabox.com: hedwig fan
site; has TABs |
9 | excellent. unlike any other rock musical out there. part stand-up
comedy, part punk rock show, part biography. very tuneful, fantastic
acting (john cameron mitchell -- mm mm), and creative
cinematography. the emotions were there, but a little hard to fathom
at times, e.g. the relationship b/t yitzhak and hedwig isn't clear so
the ending is a little confusing. watched again and even though i started out a little more cynical, thinking that it wouldn't still be affecting the second time around, i was still moved, despite being more aware of some slight unevenness at times. also, the ending made more sense to me. i can't believe the deleted scenes in the DVD involving the agent with the surgically implanted cell phone were ever even considered in the first place. watched yet again. still packs a punch and i think it makes more sense the more time you watch it. |
|
| hero (ying xiong) (2002) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | competent action flick with great cinematography. the fight scenes were surprisingly clunky and the story rather clumsy despite some good use of non-linear storytelling. overall fun and stylish with good acting. | |
| high fidelity (2000) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | quirky. not really a romantic comedy. some good ideas about relationships, but the path of the development of the main character isn't very well delineated. i personally enjoyed it b/c i recognized the type of characters so well (e.g. music snobs, indie rockers, etc.). | |
| i know where i'm going! (1945) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | interesting black and white film, with a distinct feel. not quite a keeper, though. | |
| i love you, don't touch me! (1998) | entry at imdb.com | 3 | sorry, carolyn, but we both agree -- this movie is horrible. the two of us realized it was one of those direct release to video deals only after watching the previews, which was unfortunate b/c this movie was a pretty big waste of time. although there were parts that were mildly amusing, they were rare and didn't make up for the nonexistent plot and the trivial dialogue. the points that were brought up weren't even really worth bringing up; well, some of them were kind of thought-provoking, but only in a, "there's nothing else i'm getting out of this movie" kind of way. i don't see how marketa could have sat through this twice! ... anyway, the bare bones of a plot is about a girl who is grappling with the issue of sex and what sort of value it has in today's society - should we just gain pleasure from it and get as much of it as we can or should we reserve it for people we really love? although that one sentence summary might sound intriguing, the movie's exploration of the issue was painful and annoying instead of enlightening. | |
| i'm the one that i want (2000) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | hilarious live taping of a show of hers ... a little cheesy at times in its motivational speaking, but margaret cho is undeniably funny (although her raunchiness may not appeal to all) and i laughed so hard the first time i saw it that it got to be painful. one of the few movies i saw twice in the theaters. | |
| impromptu (1991) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | fairly incoherent. has bernadette peters and mandy patinkin and was written by james lapine. | |
| the incredibles (2004) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | wow. a pixar movie that i actually enjoyed w/ out reservations for once. much better plot than usual, a lot of good humor, and really fantastic visuals. | |
| in her shoes (2005) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | good direction and good acting make this otherwise chick flick movie worth watching, although not particularly necessary. | |
| the inspector lynley mysteries: well schooled in murder (2002) (tv) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | okay. well done, although fairly disposable. | |
| inspector morse: the dead of jericho | entry at amazon.com | 7 | good, but not great. the first of a series, but does a good job of introducing the characters. | |
| in the mood for love (2000) (fa yeung nin wa) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | moody, yes, and good direction. fairly empty though in the end. | |
| the iron giant (1999) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | enjoyed this flick. first off, it's one of the first animated features to feel diff. to me than the so, so, so now cliche disney type. -the iron giant-, although visually similar to disney, had a more off-beat plot, a PG rating, and thankfully no tacked-on songs and dances. also, i've said this before, but i'm so sick of disney and pixar's tired M.O. of stuffing their movies w/ so many references that you can hardly find the movie underneath, which the iron giant doesn't do. overall i liked it a lot as entertainment even though it's not that revolutionary, and it was sweet but not saccharine. plus the animation is simply gorgeous. amazing adept. really loved the movie's 50's feel and 50's color palette. and i was surprised to find out afterwards that the giant was completely CGI; it looked so well-integrated, unlike some of the other early CGI (like the carpet and the cave of wonders in aladdin, which was a few years earlier). also, i have to say in general i really love hand-drawn animation, so much warmer than slick and distancing CGI. | |
| it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown (1966) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | this dvd also included you're not elected, charlie brown. this was a nice trip down memory lane but not really worth seeing again other than that. (although the voices are really perfect, and sally in particular is great.) | |
| the jerk (1979) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | bernadette is so cute! the movie occasionally hits upon something funny, but more often plods amusingly along. | |
| the jetsons meet the flintstones (1987) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | this movie was really enjoyable. i'd forgotten how great these two shows are. my favorite characters elroy, rosie, and jane are still as awesome as ever, as are wilma, betty, and barney. includes all the little things i'd forgotten about the originals, like little puns thrown in and the machine/animals in the flinstones making comments. this 90+ min movie is a little disjoint and the two families are only actually together for one section, but it's a great gimmick. highlights include barney dressing as a woman, wilma and betty trying out jane's hair and makeup robots, and elroy mowing the lawn -- the first time he's ever seen grass. all in all a load of fun. i'm going to have to track down the other movies now. | |
| jumpin' jack flash (1986) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | the plot has more holes than um something with a lot of holes, but if you can get past that this is an enjoyable albeit mindless flick. mostly just worth seeing for whoopi goldberg's funny, if not particularly virtuosic, performance. | |
| kamikaze girls (2004) (shimotsuma monogatari) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | if you like amelie i think you'll like this. this has the same sort of quirky humor, although the morals are rather looser. the protagonist is an aloof daydreaming girl who's obsessed with wearing rococo clothes, while the girl that intrudes on her life is in a biker gang. has the larger-than-life characters and stylized action and reactions that i've been loving from reading manga lately. def. recommended. | |
| kate & leopold (2001) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | crappy plot (of course) and meg ryan is irritating as usual, but jackman is quite believable. | |
| kiki's delivery service (1989) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | entertaining, but a little disjoint. phil hartman as the cat gigi is great. there are some points that are very interesting but never get developed, which is too bad. | |
| the king of comedy (1983) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | de niro impresses as a geeky, irritating wannabe stand-up comedian who, along with sandra bernhard, worships late night impresario jerry lewis to the point of stalking him. not a comedy, and not as visceral as it could've/should've been, but has its moments mostly thanks to the acting and the direction by scorsese. | |
| kissing jessica stein (2001) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | not an offensively bad movie, just not very interesting or clever or for that matter funny. | |
| kokaku kidotai (1995) (ghost in the shell) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | a sci-fi anime classic, w/ some great visuals and mood but a fairly weak story. | |
| kylie minogue: body language live | entry at amazon.com | 7 | on the short side and def. not as great as the other two concert videos: here kylie lacks her usual spark. the documentary reveals that this is largely due to the fact the show was a one-off and a bit thrown together, so if you take that into account you'll enjoy it more for what it is. | |
| l.a. confidential (1997) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | why do people love this movie so much? the plot has some twists, but it's not particularly clever. the story itself and the acting isn't particularly noteworthy either. still, it's a fairly good flick to watch if you're in the mood for an action movie. | |
| the lady eve (1941) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | preston sturges continues to impress. a popular auteur in his day (often writing the films he directed), he isn't as generally known nowadays as he should be. in this film, like his others, characters do things just a bit differently then you would expect them to in a film, but their actions are emotionally believable and oftentimes thought-provoking. his "romantic comedies" are what every romantic comedy should aspire to be: literate, witty, thoughtful, and memorable. definitely recommended. | |
| the lady vanishes (1938) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | had the typical hitchcockian suspense, which is good. some of the characterization was particularly enjoyable (the two british men for example). | |
| latter days (2003) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | a fairly cheesy gay story about a mormon and an LA party boy, but solid acting by the two (good-looking) leads make this worth watching. | |
| the lavendar hill mob (1951) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | sort of slow crime caper, although parts are really nicely done, like the scene w/ the two men running down the eiffel tower. | |
| legally blonde (2001) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | i agree that reese witherspoon is one of the selling points of this movie, which has an amusing but not outstanding plot. some of the visual gags are memorable, as is the final courtroom scene, but witherspoon really makes the audience root for her character and admire her determination. | |
| life of brian (1979) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | wonderfully irreverent. has gotten andy and me back into monty python. | |
| the life of mammals (2003) | entry at amazon.com | 8 | some of the episodes were quite good, but overall the quality was variable. still, worth seeing and has some really great footage. | |
| like water for chocolate (como agua para chocolate) (1992) | entry at
imdb.com |
6 | some interesting visuals, but the story is mostly humdrum and lacks interest. | |
| lilies (les feluettes) (1996) | entry at imdb.com | 9 | saw again recently. really creative and memorable, great acting w/ the exception of simon, but he's hot so it's all good. heh. | |
| lilo and stitch (2002) | entry at imdb.com | 8 | surprisingly different than the standard disney fare. some of the
scenes at the beginning are really emotional and great, but then the
movie falls back onto slapstick, familiar humour. watched again recently and was again impressed by the pitch perfect interaction between the two sisters. the ending w/ the aliens on the island was less jarring than before and the characterization of stitch a little less compelling than before, but the movie is overall still better than the average disney fare. |
|
| the little mermaid ii: return to the sea (2000) | entry at imdb.com | 5 | my curiosity got the better of me. pretty ridiculous, but mildly amusing. a little better than pocahontas ii anyway. heh. | |
| little shop of horrors (1986) | entry at imdb.com | 6 | mildly humorous story with good performances by such actors as rick moranis and steve martin. rick moranis and ellen greene, despite one of the oddest (affected?) voices i've ever heard, perform the songs quite well. menken and ashman's music is good, but not outstanding, although the writing for and the performances by the three motown singers is consistently entertaining. | |
| the lord of the rings: the fellowship of the ring (2001) | entry at
imdb.com official site: pretty well-designed and good content for a fanatic who wants to know all about middle-earth and such, i suppose. new york times review: really amusing. funny quote: "Together, they rock against the forces of Sauron". official trailer: this trailer is one of the best i've seen. it's rare that a trailer makes me actually resolve right there to see the movie. imdb.com: bio on legolas = hottie, and some pics. ha ha. i = stalker. |
8 | pretty well-done, but quite a few parts felt clunky, such as the beginning w/ sauron and the fight b/t saruman and gandalf. some parts were quite good, though, like the mines of moria and the death of boromir. frodo was annoying. the parts that were changed were definitely for the better. should be interesting to see how they adapt the rest of the trilogy. | |
| lost in translation (2003) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | atmospheric, although didn't feel developed. | |
| love actually (2003) | entry at imdb.com | 7 | this series of disconnected stories is an inconsistent jumble. only a few of the stories were really worthwhile, namely the story involving emma thompson (i don't see why critics disliked it so much) and the one with laura linney. | |