In The Mood For Love (Day 100)
My Opinion: 8.2 || Envelopes you in a world of humid longing — stifled desire has never been sexier. You could wish for fuller characterization, but movies don’t get more sultry or stylish.
Category Archive: 2000s
1 Comment
House of Flying Daggers (Day 98)
My Opinion: 7.2 || Gorgeous imagery and surreal action — a visually stunning film. There’s nothing special, though, in the romantic storyline which is essentially a platoform for the sumptuous images and choreography.
Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 (Day 96)
My Opinion: 8.1 || Exciting gangster biopic dominated by Vincent Cassel as the title character. Thrilling performance. Vibrant writing and direction. Engrossing from start to finish.
Lorna’s Silence (Day 95)
My Opinion: 8.5 || Intimate realism and a very mature look at moral compromise. After a nearly perfect first half, it makes an audacious narrative turn and loses some tightness but remains absorbing to the end.
Elite Squad (Day 94)
My Opinion: 6.7 || Gritty crime drama that’s more realistic than revealing. The film strives to deliver real meaning and has the right ingredients, but the crowded, overbearing production never gives the story room to breathe.
Distant (Day 91)
My Opinion: 6.7 || Patient character study that does too little with its subject matter. The film’s attentiveness is admirable, but closely observed details are not enough if they don’t lead to insights or deeper feeling.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter . . . And Spring (Day 89)
My Opinion: 7.6 || Contemplative and beautifully filmed. There’s a delicate loveliness to the structure of the film and quiet power in several scenes. However, characterization is thin, providing only tokens of personality and… Continue reading
Lady Vengeance (Day 87)
My Opinion: 6.9 || Great visual creativity and cinematic style, but the story reaches for profundity that isn’t there. The lead character is colorful but shallow, and there’s little insight into the psychological or… Continue reading
A Woman In Berlin (Day 84)
My Opinion: 7.4 || Courageous look at fear and survival in Berlin at the start of the Soviet occupation. Based on an anonymous first-hand account published (and then removed) after the war, the film… Continue reading
The Trap (Day 83)
My Opinion: 7.5 || Intelligent, gripping thriller that sets a compelling moral trap. The story is tight and the emotions are deeply felt.
