Minority Report

I think it's the most solid of the post-90's Spielbergs (not to say it doesn't outshine a lot of his 90's work, too). He borrows liberally from Ridley Scott and Kubrick, and some of those canted camera angles look like vintage Gilliam. Watch out for some scenes of long-winded exposition.

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Tideland:

I thought this movie sounded interesting, so I rented it despite the poor reviews. I'm not sure if I regretted watching it, but I certainly wouldn't recommend it or say I liked it. It was visually fascinating, and Jodelle Ferland was excellent, one of the best child perfomances I've seen. But the movie just got incredibly creepy, and I couldn't shake the feeling that it advocated pedophilia. Without her "boyfriend" Dickens I probably would've thought this was pretty good.... But the way that storyline was portrayed just made me wonder if Gilliam is in his right mind... 

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

The Painted Veil (yes, I cried)

Hannibal Rising (young Hannibal is pretty sexy) 

The Host - believe the hype, one of the better monster films I've seen. Although I should say I've sat through Mimic and The Relic.

The Godfather Part II

Somehow I'd never gotten around to seeing this, though I love the first one and have seen it four times. I was totally riveted through the 3 hours plus running time and was sad when it ended (rather suddenly, but brilliantly), as with the first one. I didn't think it was as good as the first, since I found the central storyline involving the potential downfall of the Corleone family less riveting than the first one's tale of Michael's rise to power, but it certainly made the original seem rather simplistic and unambitious by comparison. After all this one spanned 58 years, whereas the first was only about 5 I think. The subplots are more important than the main story arch here, as are the incredibly vivid and detailed characters.  I now get what is so incredible about Pacino's performance... I'd always preferred Marlon Brando's in the first one, but now I realize that while Brandon turned in an entire performance in the first, Pacino's was only half a performance. His transformation here is incredible, and the final scene were haunting, where you realized Michael had lost every vestige of his humanity. However, overall I don't think the two films felt like one, and thought the two parts of the story should certainly be presented as seperate works. Diane Keaton had a lot more to do here, and the female characters got a bit more attention all around. And DeNiro was totally different from any other perfomance of his I've ever seen... I forgot it was him for long periods of time. I know I missed a few plot details however, due to the complexity of work... I'll have to see it again sometime soon.

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

Zodiac, which I missed in theaters. I'll buy the director's cut when it's released..

Gyllenhaal sure Acts, though, doesn't he? If Robert Downey Jr was that earnest -- which he thankfully is not -- the two of them couldn't share a scene, because all the oxygen would have been sucked out of the room and the crew would have fainted. (Though, to be fair, Fincher is apparently the new Kubrick, actor-wise.)

Matador

It started well, but towards the end some things got introduced from nowhere. Or maybe I wasn't paying strict enough attention. Decent, but forgettable.

The Seventh Seal

I'll be perfectly honest and say that I don't think I've ever seen a Bergman film from beginning to end.
I've found each and every one of them excruciatingly boring. So what better time to try to change one's mind than now?
Unfortunately, that didn't happen.

I still want to see The Hour of the Wolf.

All About My Mother - this just might be my favorite Almodovar film, Cecilia Roth gives a breathtaking performance of a mourning mother trying to start over by returning to her roots. Marisa Paredes is her usual brilliant self and Penelope Cruz is lovely as the pregnant nun...a really lovely film

Turistas - not bad as far as films of this ilk goes, sort of The Beach meets Hostel, but with "better" motives.    

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

Bleep you, & bleep the establishment, and bleep all of you who are trying to make me part of the unestablished establishment.

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

My Son the Fanatic. A British film peopled with actors I didn't recognize except for Stellan Skarsgard, Sarah-Jane Potts and Rachel Griffiths. I see on IMDB that the lead actor, Om Puri, has made over 150 films!  i'm sure I've seen lots of them but his name was unfamiliar to me.

The film was made ten years ago but the subject is even more meaningful today. Pakistani immigrant taxi driver and his wife live in England with their handsome son who becomes attracted to fundamental Islam. It's actually lighter in spirit than it sounds -- almost comic in parts but with a deepening darkness as the story progresses. I would love to see a My Son the Fanatic - Part II, but do not expect that will happen.

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

We'll be watching Zodiac tonight inspite of the commentary here. I keep calling it Scorpio for some reason. Zodiac, Zodiac, Zodiac. I remember the real murder sprees so well. Used to have a tropical fish man who was friends with a survivor of the Zodiac kiler. Doonesbury had done a really funny bit around the time period between the Zodiac killer and the Son of Sam killer, where an up-and-comer is having a hard time getting press attention without a "Nom de Tabloid."

Air sucking perfs, eh? Hmmm, we shall see. Fincher = Kubrick?! Sounds a bit blasphemous but still. We shall see.

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

A Novel Romance

Not my kind of movie but it stars Traci Lords and Sherilyn Fenn as sisters! They both do well with what amounts to a lamentable script and a lame plot. Traci looks like she's hit the gym a bit more often, but Sherilyn is still adorable. 

"Every day holds a new beginning and every hour holds the promise of an Invitation to Love." 

Had to stop watching Zodiac because....

...it really FREAKED me out.  Freaked me out like In Cold Blood once did.  I was too able to feel the horror of the victims.  

Will try again later.

Lots of yellows in that film.  I liked that.

But, oh man, the final realization of those murder victims...

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

McCabe and Mrs. Miller:

An incredible film. I was skeptical about the great praise for this movie for some reason, but it was truly great, moving, poetic, and magical. Warren Beatty turned in an amazing performance, surely among the greatest male performances of all time, and Julie Christie held her own against him. The two lead characters were really convincing and compelling, and Altman's direction was excellent. Throw a great and interesting soundtrack and a particularly beautiful ending to cap it all off... this is a truly great film. Far, far, superior to MASH.

That god damn trailer's more popular than Uncle's Day in a whorehouse!

Hey, Susan, I just meant "Kubrick" in the sense of making his actors do 50 takes at a time.   Jake got all sensitive about it in the post-release media.  I liked Fincher's response, though: if you're gonna be the kind of actor who waits for the character to manifest within you, you'd best be ready to do the scene over and over again until he finally shows up.

I agree that the actual scenes of violence are very affecting, but honestly, after the lake scene, most of the film is more of a collection of character studies and tense discussions than a gross-out.

Plus, Ruuuuuffalo!  Ruuuuuuuuffalo!  I know you can't resist. 

Do return to it when you work up the gumption, it's worth watching. 

I too really liked Zodiac, even though it was in... FULLSCREEN! I didn't think Hollywood Video even carried pan-and-scan anymore, but apparently they do, 'cause that's what I accidentally rented. I'm interested to see the Director's Cut as well.

I looked very, very carefully at my copy of Hot Fuzz today before I got in line. Details later.

Logic Hat Online- logichat.org

Hot Fuzz

Seen as a comedy, I didn't like it very much. I think I only laughed at the ice cream headache joke.
The movie was pretty good overall, but the action movie ending was a bit lame.

Jamie wrote:  I agree that the actual scenes of violence are very affecting, but honestly, after the lake scene, most of the film is more of a collection of character studies and tense discussions than a gross-out.

But it was not that I was grossed out, Jamie, but rather that I was seriously spooked.  I told my husband tonight that if we are ever in that situation, let's both go for the gun.  I also promised I wouldn't tie him up and expect the same consideration on his end. 

After we turned it off, I went into my kitchen and had this disconcerting feeling that someone was watching from outside the window.  It just made me sooooo uneasy. 

 We will finish watching but may have to do so by the light of day. I liked what I saw.

Susan 

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin