Saturday, June 7, 2008

Lee Just Watched: May 24 - June 6

American Gangster (07): Typical Denzel Washington vehicle. Formula to the max. If it hadn't been based on a true story it would have been useless to me.

Attenborough in Paradise Disc 2 (96): Can't gush enough about what this man and his work mean to me. One section is a DOC about his professional history from youth, thru formative years, in charge of BBC2, and his mind boggling influence on the developement of nature films. Must see if you are a fan. WWW.

No Country For Old Men (o7): Coen brothers hit the mark. LEM, especially Javier Bardem's character. The dialogue was brilliant and I'd like to read the book and see how close the dialogue was to the original. WBTIE.

My Kid Could Paint That (o7): Interesting DOC about a 4 yr old 'painter' and what happens to her family as her work becomes known. Coming up on our list to watch.

Wristcutters:A Love Story (06): A fantastical tale of a world populated by people who committed suicide. Pleasant but not great. CFE.

Climates (06): Pretentious, self absorbed over rated 'art' film from Turkey. Yawn Yawn Yawn.

Spiral (07): Mom and I watched this thriller together. We thought it was brilliantly crafted (unlike the majority of reviews we read!) The guy who wrote it stars as well. A talented young crew of friends put it together on a very restricted budget. Bravo! ( This may go on the list, definitely OTBP!) SOD, EOS, LEM, WWW.

Death of a Cyclist (1955): Spanish metaphorical drama (corrupt politics during the Franco era) about a cheating couple who hit a cyclist and are blackmailed. OKBNG.

The Dead Girl (06): Mystery set in an L.A .community. Young girl found dead in a field. Four separate stories converge to find the answers. Unique and well done. Pretty chilling segment involving the killer and his wife!

Harsh Times (05): Christian Bale in his usual intense acting style pulls off what otherwise would have been just way too much violence for my taste. However I was glad I finished it .The ending was surprisingly satisfying and it was a well done and off beat 'buddy story'. NECOT but if you are a Bale fan it's worth watching.

Subway Stories (97): A set of 'true' stories put to film. (sent in to HBO by NYC subway commuters.) Not terrible but not worth watching.

The Number 23 (07): Jim Carrey in another weird psychological thriller. OKBNG. I confess I do enjoy watching his face and body.

Stray Dog (49): Early Kurosawa film starring T. Mifune. About a young new police recruit in Tokyo who has his gun stolen on a crowded bus and the journey he takes to recover it. OKBNG.

Triple Agent (04): Film by French New Wave director Eric Rohmer about a Russian couple living in Paris. Hitchcock like plot and style. Wife slowly learns the truth about what her husband is involved in. OKBNG.

Family Nest (79): Blk & wht cinema verite style Hungarian film. Shows the tensions that a seven member family experience while living in a tiny apartment during a time of exteme housing shortage in communist ruled Hungary.

Gypo (05): British lower middle class family experiences a catharsis after a young Czech female refugee comes into their lives. I liked the direct and gritty way this film approached the subject matter of prejudice, marriage, friendship. WWW.

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